§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what differences exist in the right of the public to know about substances discharged into a river, estuarial or coastal waters by pipe and by boat.
§ Sir Hector MonroUnder the Control of Pollution Act 1974, discharges from pipes to rivers, estuaries and coastal waters require the consent of the relevant river purification authority. The Act also requires the river purification authorities to maintain public registers containing particulars of all consents, the conditions set and monitoring results. In the case of the deposit of substances or articles from ships, similar registers are maintained by the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department which grants licences under part II of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 relating to deposits in the sea.
Other discharges from boats and ships are controlled by local byelaws, by the Prevention of Pollution Act 1986 or the international convention on the prevention of pollution—MARPOL—but none have associated public registers. However, certain permitted discharge levels are available for public scrutiny.