Water Environment (Abstractions and Associated Impoundments) Act 2022
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Surrender of licence | ||
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49. (1) A licensee who has ceased or who intends to cease carrying out an abstraction to which the licence relates may, subject to this section, surrender the licence. | ||
(2) A licensee who has ceased carrying out an abstraction shall immediately, on the occurrence of the cesser, give notice of it to the Agency. | ||
(3) The cesser of an abstraction to which a licence relates shall not affect the obligations of the licensee to comply with the requirements of the licence, any conditions to which the licence is subject or this Act. | ||
(4) The surrender of a licence shall not affect the obligations of the person who surrendered the licence to comply with any conditions to which the surrender of the licence is subject or this Act. | ||
(5) A licensee referred to in subsection (1) shall make an application to the Agency for a decision to accept a surrender of the licence, in such form and accompanied by such information, including but not limited to evidence of the cessation of the abstraction, as may be prescribed under section 57 . | ||
(6) On receipt of an application under subsection (5), the Agency may— | ||
(a) inspect the site of the abstraction and, as appropriate, any abstraction still being carried out, and | ||
(b) require the person who makes the application to submit to the Agency, within such period as the Agency may specify, such further information as the Agency may specify. | ||
(7) The Agency may give notice to a person who makes an application under subsection (5), requiring the person to carry out, or have carried out, any monitoring, sampling or investigation, within the period and in the manner specified in the notice, as the Agency considers necessary for the purpose of considering the application. | ||
(8) Before the Agency makes a decision to accept the surrender of a licence on foot of an application under subsection (5), it shall consult with such persons it considers appropriate and in accordance with such procedures as may be prescribed under section 57 . | ||
(9) The Agency shall only make a decision on an application under subsection (5) to accept a surrender of the licence concerned where it is satisfied— | ||
(a) that the carrying out of the abstraction has ceased, | ||
(b) in the case of an application relating to a licence referred to in section 48 or a joint licence— | ||
(i) that the associated impoundment has ceased operating, or | ||
(ii) that the cesser or proposed cesser of the abstraction will not affect the continued operation of the associated impoundment concerned as an associated impoundment to a different abstraction which is the subject of a joint licence (other than the joint licence the subject of the application under subsection (5)), | ||
and | ||
(c) that acceptance of the surrender will not adversely affect the environmental objectives of the water body concerned. | ||
(10) The Agency shall give notice of its decision on an application under subsection (5) to the licensee who makes the application and shall give the main reasons for the decision. | ||
(11) The surrender of a licence under this section may be subject to such conditions as the Agency considers necessary. | ||
(12) Where the surrender of a licence under this section is subject to conditions— | ||
(a) the conditions to which the surrender is subject shall be entered in the register by the Agency, and | ||
(b) the licence may not be surrendered until the Agency gives notice to the licensee that the Agency is satisfied that the conditions have been complied with. | ||
(13) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), where the decision on an application under subsection (5) is to accept a surrender of a licence, the licence shall be taken to be surrendered on the date of the giving of the notice under subsection (10) or, if applicable under, subsection (12)(b). | ||
(14) Where the decision on an application under subsection (5) is to accept a surrender of the licence the Agency shall give notice of the decision to— | ||
(a) the local authority in whose functional area the abstraction is being or has been carried out, and | ||
(b) any person consulted by the Agency under subsection (8). |