Commentary on Sections Interpretation Section 86 - Meaning of “tip” and “disused tip”
322.This section defines “tip” and “disused tip”.
323.Both definitions encompass coal and non-coal tips. Non-coal tips (of which there are many in Wales) could, for example, include tips that are a legacy of historic metal mining and mineral quarrying in Wales.
324.Subsection (3) provides that tips that are located “wholly or partly in Wales” fall within the definition of “disused tip”. The Act provides the Authority with the power to act in respect of tips that straddle the border, and the Authority is subject to duties in relation to tips that fall solely within Wales as well those that are partly in Wales and partly in England (cross- border tips). How the Act applies to cross-border tips is explained at paragraph 301 above.
325.Subsection (3) places tips that are subject to the provisions of the Quarries Regulations 1999 (“1999 Regulations”) or the Mines Regulations 2014 (“2014 Regulations”) outside the scope of the Act. The effect of this is that the Act does not apply to any active tips that are associated with operational mines or quarries.
326.If either the 1999 Regulations or the 2014 Regulations are revoked or amended, subsection (4) enables the Welsh Ministers, by regulations, to amend the meaning of “disused tip”. This power reflects the interplay between the Act and the legislation governing active tips and the need to avoid overlap.
327.Subsection (5) gives the Welsh Ministers a regulation-making power that enables them to set out certain descriptions of tip that would fall outside the definition of a “disused tip” either altogether or for the purposes of those provisions of the Act specified in the regulations. The descriptions could refer to a tip’s height, gradient, volume, surface area or the material from which it is composed, or any combination of these.
328.Regulations under subsection (5) could, for example, provide that the Authority is not under a duty to carry out its functions under Part 2 of the Act in relation to tips where there is a negligible accumulation or deposit of waste.
329.Subsection (6) requires the Welsh Ministers to consult such persons as they consider appropriate before making regulations under subsection (5).