Local Government (Water Pollution) Act 1977
Provisions relating to certain contraventions under Act.
F23[10.—(1) (a) Where, on application by any person to the appropriate court, whether or not the person has an interest in the waters concerned, that court is satisfied that another person—
(i) is causing or permitting, or has caused or permitted, polluting matter to enter waters and the entry is or was not one to which section 3 (5) applies and is or was not under and in accordance with a licence under section 171 of the Act of 1959, or
(ii) is discharging or causing or permitting to be discharged, or has discharged or caused or permitted to be discharged, trade effluent or sewage effluent to waters and the discharge is or was not one to which subsection (2) of section 4 applies and is or was not under and in accordance with a licence under that section or the said section 171,
that court may make an order directing that other person to do one or more of the following, that is to say:
(I) to terminate the entry or discharge within such period as may be specified in the order, or
(II) to mitigate or remedy any effects of the entry or discharge concerned in such manner and within such period as may be specified in the order, or
(III) to pay to the applicant or such other person as may be specified in the order a specified amount to defray all or part of any costs incurred by the applicant or that other person in investigating, mitigating or remedying the effects of the entry or discharge concerned.
(b) In this subsection ‘appropriate court’, in relation to an application under paragraph (a) means—
(i) in case the estimated cost of complying with the order to which the application relates does not exceed F24[€15,000], the District Court,
(ii) in case the estimated cost aforesaid does not exceed F25[€75,000], the Circuit Court, and
(iii) in any case, the High Court.
(c) (i) If, in relation to an application under this section to the District Court, that court becomes of opinion during the hearing of the application that the estimated cost aforesaid will exceed F24[€15,000], it may, if it so thinks fit, transfer the application to the Circuit Court or the High Court, whichever it considers appropriate having regard to the estimated cost aforesaid.
(ii) If, in relation to an application under this section to the Circuit Court, that court becomes of opinion during the hearing of the application that the estimated cost aforesaid will exceed F25[€75,000], it may, if it so thinks fit, by order transfer the application to the High Court.
(iii) This paragraph is without prejudice to the jurisdiction of a court (being either the District Court or the Circuit Court) to determine an application under this section in relation to which it was, at the time of the making of the application, the appropriate court.
(d) An application under this section shall be brought in a summary manner.
(e) A court may, if it so thinks fit, make such interim or interlocutory order as it considers appropriate in proceedings under this section and, where an application is transferred under paragraph (c), the court to which it is transferred shall be deemed to have made any order made under this paragraph by the court from which it is so transferred in the proceedings in relation to the application.
F26[(2) Without prejudice to any power of a court to enforce orders made by it, a person who does not comply with an order under subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €5,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, or both.]
(3) (a) An order shall not be made by a court under this section unless the person named in the order has been given an opportunity of being heard by the court in the proceedings relating to the application for the order.
(b) The court concerned may make such order as to the costs of the parties to or persons heard by the court in proceedings relating to an application for an order under this section as it considers appropriate.
F27[(4) (a) Where a person does not comply with an order under subsection (1), Inland Fisheries Ireland or the local authority in whose functional area the waters concerned are situated, may take any steps specified in the order to mitigate or remedy the effects of the entry or discharge concerned.
(b) The amount of any expenditure incurred by a local authority or Inland Fisheries Ireland in relation to steps taken by it under paragraph (a) shall be a simple contract debt owed by the person in respect of whom the order under subsection (1) was made to the authority or Inland Fisheries Ireland, as the case may be, and may be recovered by it from the person as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.]
(5) A local authority may serve on a person who is—
(a) causing or permitting polluting matter to enter waters and the entry is not one to which section 3 (5) applies and is not under and in accordance with a licence under section 171 of the Act of 1959, or
(b) causing or permitting trade effluent or sewage effluent to be discharged to waters and the discharge is not one to which section 4 (2) applies, and is not under and in accordance with a licence under that section or under the said section 171,
a notice in writing requiring the cesser of the entry or discharge concerned within such period as may be specified in the notice and requiring the mitigation or remedying of any effects of such entry or discharge in such manner and within such period as may be specified in the notice.
(6) Where a person does not comply with a notice under subsection (5), the local authority concerned may take any steps it considers necessary to terminate the entry or discharge concerned and to mitigate or remedy any effects thereof and the amount of any expenditure incurred by it in relation to any such steps shall be a simple contract debt owed by the person to it and may be recovered by it from the person as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(7) (a) An application under subsection (1) to the District Court shall be made to the justice of the District Court for the District Court district in which the waters concerned or the land or other premises from which the entry or discharge concerned takes place, is situated.
(b) An application under subsection (1) to the Circuit Court shall be made to the judge of the Circuit Court for the circuit in which the waters concerned or the land or other premises from which the entry or discharge concerned takes place, is situated.
(8) Without prejudice to the generality of subsections (1) and (5), an order under subsection (1) or a notice under subsection (5) may require—
(a) the replacement of fish stocks,
(b) the restoration of spawning grounds,
(c) the taking of measures to prevent the continuance of the entry or discharge to which the order or notice relates,
(d) the removal of polluting matter from waters,
(e) the treatment of affected waters so as to mitigate or remedy the effects of the entry or discharge concerned,
(f) the making of alternative arrangements for the supply of water for domestic, commercial, industrial, fishery (including fish-farming), agricultural or recreational purposes or the payment of a specified amount to the sanitary authority or other person concerned to defray all or part of the costs of such arrangements,
(g) the making good of any damage to plant or equipment or to any water abstraction or treatment works and any consequential losses incurred by any person by reason of the entry of polluting matter into waters.
(9) An application may be made under subsection (1) and a notice may be served under subsection (5) notwithstanding that a prosecution under section 3 or 4 has not been brought in respect of the relevant entry or discharge referred to in subsection (1) or (5), as may be appropriate.]
Annotations:
Amendments:
F23
Substituted (18.07.1990) by Local Government (Water Pollution) (Amendment) Act 1990 (21/1990), s. 7, commenced on enactment.
F24
Substituted (3.02.2014) by Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 (32/2013), s. 15 and sch. part 2 ref. 5, S.I. No. 566 of 2013, art. 2.
F25
Substituted (3.02.2014) by Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 (32/2013), s. 14 and sch. part 2 ref. 2, S.I. No. 566 of 2013, art. 2.
F26
Substituted (31.12.2007) by Water Services Act 2007 (30/2007), s. 110(1)(d), S.I. No. 846 of 2007, art. 2. A fine of €5,000 translates into a class A fine, not exceeding €5,000, as provided (4.01.2011) by Fines Act 2010 (8/2010), ss. 3, 4(3) and table ref. no. 1, S.I. No. 662 of 2021.
F27
Substituted (1.06.2010) by Inland Fisheries Act 2010 (10/2010), s. 8(3)(a) and sch. 2 part 3 item 2, commenced on enactment.
F28
Substituted by Courts and Court Officers Act 2002 (15/2002), s. 14, and sch. 2 part 2, not commenced as of date of revision.
F29
Substituted by Courts and Court Officers Act 2002 (15/2002), s. 13, and sch. 2 part 1, not commenced as of date of revision.
Modifications (not altering text):
C19
Prospective affecting provision: subss. (1)(b)(i), (ii) and (c)(i), (ii) substituted by Courts and Court Officers Act 2002 (15/2002), ss. 13, 14 and sch. 2, not commenced as of date of revision.
10.—(1) (a)...
(b) In this subsection ‘appropriate court’, in relation to an application under paragraph (a) means—
(i) in case the estimated cost of complying with the order to which the application relates does not exceed F28[€20,000], the District Court,
(ii) in case the estimated cost aforesaid does not exceed F29[€100,000], the Circuit Court, and
(iii)...
(c) (i) If, in relation to an application under this section to the District Court, that court becomes of opinion during the hearing of the application that the estimated cost aforesaid will exceed F28[€20,000], it may, if it so thinks fit, transfer the application to the Circuit Court or the High Court, whichever it considers appropriate having regard to the estimated cost aforesaid.
(ii) If, in relation to an application under this section to the Circuit Court, that court becomes of opinion during the hearing of the application that the estimated cost aforesaid will exceed F29[€100,000], it may, if it so thinks fit, by order transfer the application to the High Court.
(iii) ...
...
C20
Certain functions under section transferred (1.06.2010) by Inland Fisheries Act 2010 (10/2010), s. 8(1), (2), commenced on enactment. This section is listed in sch. 2 part 3 item 2.
Transfer of functions to IFI.
8.— (1) The administration and business in connection with the exercise, performance or execution of any of the functions transferred by subsection (2) are transferred, on the establishment day, to IFI.
(2) The functions vested in the Central Board or a regional board by or under—
(a) the provisions of the enactments mentioned in Schedule 2, and
(b) the regulations mentioned in Schedule 3,
are, on the establishment day, transferred to IFI.
...
C21
Application of section modified (27.05.1996) by Environmental Protection Agency (Extension of Powers) Order 1996 (S.I. No. 126 of 1996), art. 4, in effect as per art. 2.
4. The provisions of the Act of 1977, of that Act as amended by the Act of 1990, and of the Act of 1990, which are specified in the Table hereunder as modified by this Order shall apply to the Agency in lieu of the local authority or sanitary authority for the purposes of the prevention or limitation, or the remedying of the effects, as the case may be, of water pollution from an activity, other than an activity to which section 99 (2) of the Act applies, in respect of which a licence or revised licence under Part IV of the Act is in force.
Table
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Section |
Provision |
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... |
... |
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10 |
The whole section |
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... |
... |
5. For the purposes of article 4, a function conferred on a local authority or sanitary authority, or anything required to be done in relation to a local authority or sanitary authority, as the case may be, under any of the provisions of the Act of 1977, of that Act as amended by the Act of 1990 and of the Act of 1990 which are specified in that article shall, as the case may be, be exercised by, or done in relation to, the Agency in lieu of the local authority or sanitary authority.
6. (1) For the purposes of articles 4 and 5, for references to "local authority" or "sanitary authority" in any of the provisions therein referred to (other than section 10 (8) (f) of the Act of 1977), there shall be substituted the following—
"the Environmental Protection Agency, in the case of an activity in respect of which a licence or revised licence under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 , is in force and, in any other case, a local authority, or sanitary authority, as the case may be",
and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.
(2) For the purposes of articles 4 and 5, the provisions of the Act of 1977 and the Act of 1990 which are specified in the said articles shall apply as modified in the manner set out in the First Schedule.
...
FIRST SCHEDULE
Modifications of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts, 1977 and 1990
The provisions of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts. 1977 and 1990 as modified for the purposes of articles 6 (2) and 9 are set out as follows— ...
...
C22
Application of section modified (1.08.1994) by Environmental Protection Agency (Extension of Powers) Order 1994 (S.I. No. 206 of 1994), art. 4, in effect as per art. 2.
4. The provisions of the Act of 1977, of that Act as amended by the Act of 1990, and of the Act of 1990, which are specified in the Table hereunder as modified by this Order shall apply to the Agency in lieu of the local authority or sanitary authority for the purposes of the prevention or limitation, or the remedying of the effects, as the case may be, of water pollution from an activity, other than an activity to which section 99 (2) of the Act applies, in respect of which a licence or revised licence under Part IV of the Act is in force.
Table
|
Section |
Provision |
|
... |
... |
|
10 |
The whole section. |
|
... |
... |
5. For the purposes of article 4, a function conferred on a local authority or sanitary authority, or anything required to be done in relation to a local authority or sanitary authority, as the case may be, under any of the provisions of the Act of 1977, of that Act as amended by the Act of 1990 and of the Act of 1990 which are specified in that article shall, as the case may be, be exercised by, or done in relation to, the Agency in lieu of the local authority or sanitary authority.
6. (1) For the purposes of articles 4 and 5, for references to "local authority" or "sanitary authority" in any of the provisions therein referred to (other than section 10 (8) (f) of the Act of 1977), there shall be substituted the following—
"the Environmental Protection Agency, in the case of an activity in respect of which a licence or revised licence under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 , is in force and, in any other case, a local authority, or sanitary authority, as the case may be",
and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.
(2) For the purposes of articles 4 and 5, the provisions of the Act of 1977 and the Act of 1990 which are specified in the said articles shall apply as modified in the manner set out in the First Schedule.
FIRST SCHEDULE
Modifications of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts 1977 and 1990
The provisions of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts, 1977 and 1990 as modified for the purposes of articles 6 (2) and 9 are set out as follows— ...
...
Editorial Notes:
E62
Offence under section is an offence for the purposes of Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (7/1992), s. 84(1)(a) as provided (24.07.2013) by Environmental Protection Agency (Integrated Pollution Control) (Licensing) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 283 of 2013), reg. 41(e).
E63
Offence under section is offence for purposes of Waste Management (Facility Permit and Registration) Regulations 2007, reg. 36 (revocation of a waste facility permit) and reg. 38 (review, amendment, revocation or transfer of a certificate of registration) as provided (31.03.2008) by Waste Management (Facility Permit and Registration) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 821 of 2007), reg. 22(h), in effect as per reg. 2.
E64
Offence under section is an offence for the purposes of Waste Management Act 1996 (10/1996), s. 34(5)(a) as provided (31.03.2008) by Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 820 of 2007), reg. 21(h), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E65
Defence to proceedings under section provided by Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (7/1992), s. 84(3)(b)(i) as substituted (12.07.2004) by Protection of the Environment Act 2003 (27/2003), s. 15, S.I. No. 393 of 2004.
E66
Defence to proceedings under section provided (1.07.1996) by Waste Management Act 1996(10/1996), s. 40(12)(b)(i), S.I. No. 192 of 1996.
E67
Offence under section may be prosecuted by the person who applied to the court for the order to which the offence relates as provided (18.07.1990) by Local Government (Water Pollution) (Amendment) Act 1990 (21/1990), s. 27(a) and table part I, commenced on enactment.
E68
Previous affecting provision: offence under section was an offence for the purposes of Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (7/1992), s. 84(1)(a) as provided (12.07.2004) by Environmental Protection Agency (Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (S.I. No. 394 of 2004), reg. 6(e), in effect as per reg. 2; revoked (24.07.2013) by Environmental Protection Agency (Integrated Pollution Control) (Licensing) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 283 of 2013), reg. 42(1) and sch. 2, subject to transitional provision in para. (2).
E69
Previous affecting provision: offence under section was an offence for the purposes of Waste Management Act 1996 (10/1996), s. 34(5)(a) as provided (30.08.2001) by Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations 2001 (S.I. No. 402 of 2001), reg. 19(h); revoked (31.03.20008) by Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 820 of 2007), reg. 2(1) and sch. 1, subject to transitional provisions in paras. (2), (3).
E70
Previous affecting provision: functions transferred (1.09.1994) by Environmental Protection Agency (Licensing) Regulations 1994 (S.I. No. 85 of 1994), reg. 43, in effect as per reg. 2(b); revoked (24.07.2013) by Environmental Protection Agency (Integrated Pollution Control) (Licensing) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 283 of 2013), reg. 42 and sch. 2.
E71
Previous affecting provision: defence to proceedings under section provided by Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (7/1992), s. 83(7)(b)(i), not commenced; subsituted (12.07.2004) by Protection of the Environment Act 2003 (27/2003), s. 15, S.I. No. 393 of 2004.
E72
Previous affecting provision: subs. (1)(b)(i), (ii), (c)(i), (ii) amended (15.08.1991) by Courts Act 1991 (20/1991), s. 10, commenced in accordance with s. 23(3); substituted as per F-note above.