The Act consists of 125 sections divided into 5 Parts: The Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (I); Contaminated Land and Abandoned Mines (II); National Parks (III); Air Quality (IV); Miscellaneous, General and Supplemental Provisions (V). The Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency are established as a body corporate. The Environment Agency shall inherit functions of the various environment protection authorities including the National Rivers Authority and the London waste Authority, both abolished by this Act. (sect. 2). Principal aim and objectives of the Agency are set out in section 4. Functions of the Agency with respect to pollution control, water, the environment in general and incidental functions are described in sections 5 to 10. Various national, regional advisory committees, local fisheries advisory committees, regional and local flood defence committees shall be established. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) shall inherit all the functions of river purification authorities, waste regulation authorities, and other environmental management authorities for Scotland (sect. 21). Other functions of SEPA with respect to drainage and flood management are set out in sections 24 and 25. General powers and duties of SEPA are set out in sections 31 and following. Part II concerns identification of contaminated land by local authorities and remediation of such land by enforcing authorities. Every enforcing authority shall maintain a register. Part III amends National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 with respect to purposes of national parks, prescribes a duty of certain bodies and persons to have regard to the purposes for which National Parks are designated, provides for establishment of national parks authorities and prescribes their general purposes, functions and powers. Every National Park authority shall, within three years after its operational date, prepare and publish a National Park Management Plan (sect. 66). Part V provides for matters of miscellaneous nature such as a National waste strategy (sect. 92), mineral planning permissions (sect. 96), drainage (sects. 100 and 101), powers of local fisheries committees with respect to sea fisheries and the conservation of the marine environment fisheries by-laws and offences (sects. 102 to 104), etc. (completed by 24 Schedules)
Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande du Nord · 1995-07-19