Commentary Information and reports
327.Paragraph 33 inserts sections 21A and 21B after section 21 of the Reservoirs Act 1975.
328.New section 21A (power to require information) allows the Environment Agency by notice to require an undertaker to provide specified information where the information is required by the Environment Agency for the purposes of carrying out its functions under the Reservoirs Act 1975.
329.New section 21B (reports) allows the Minister to make regulations to require a specified person to report to the Environment Agency on any incident of a specified kind which affected or could have affected the safety of a large raised reservoir. This will enable the Minister to specify the kinds of incident that should be reported to the Environment Agency for collating and dissemination to reservoir undertakers and panel engineers. The intention is that issues of safety arising from individual incidents should be disseminated to undertakers and the profession so that all can learn from individual incidents and if necessary technical guidance can be issued.
330.Paragraph 34 inserts subsection (4A) to (4C) after section 22(4) of the Reservoirs Act 1975 (criminal liability) to make it an offence to fail to comply with a requirement of a notice under new section 21A or to make a report under regulations made under new section 21B.
331.Regulations made under new section 21B(1) are subject to the negative resolution procedure.