76.—(1) Every waste licence and revised waste licence granted under this Act and in force immediately before the commencement of section 53 of the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 shall, without prejudice to subsections (3) and (4), section 49 and the other provisions of this Act, continue in force; for the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of this Act as they stand amended by the Protection of the Environment Act 2003, and not as they stood before such amendment, shall apply to such a waste licence.

(2) Every application made under this Act for a waste licence, or the review of a waste licence or a revised waste licence, and every review of a waste licence or revised waste licence commenced by the Agency of its own volition under this Act and not finally dealt with and determined or completed before the commencement of section 53 of the Protection of the Environment Act 2003, shall continue to be dealt with by the Agency, and be determined or completed by it, as if the application were an application for a waste licence, or the review of a waste licence or a revised waste licence under this Act as it stands amended by the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 or, as the case may be, the review were a review commenced by the Agency of its own volition under this Act as it stands so amended.

(3) The Agency shall, not later than 30 September 2007, have done the following (which, by virtue of this subsection, it has the power to do)—

(a) examined the terms of every waste licence and revised waste licence to which subsection (1) applies and for the time being in force and determined whether, having regard to the provisions of Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 and subsection (4), the waste licence or revised waste licence requires to be reviewed under this Part or be the subject of the exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (4), and

(b) if—

(i) it has determined that the waste licence or revised waste licence requires to be so reviewed, commenced such a review and exercised the powers conferred on it by this Part consequent on such a review, or

(ii) it has determined that the waste licence or the revised waste licence does not require to be so reviewed and subsection (4) does not apply and, accordingly, that no further action is required, declared in writing that it is of that opinion.

(4) If the bringing into conformity with Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 of a waste licence or revised waste licence to which subsection (1) applies can, in the opinion of the Agency, be achieved by amending one or more conditions of the licence (and the making of those amendments will not significantly alter the character of the licence) then, unless the Agency considers it ought nevertheless, in the public interest or because of other special considerations, carry out the review and exercise the powers referred to in subsection (3)(b)(i) in relation to the licence, the Agency shall have made, not later than 30 September 2007, those amendments of the conditions of the waste licence or revised waste licence (which, by virtue of this subsection, it has power to do).]