§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will recommend the use of(a) mobile pollution detectors as used by a division of Wessex water authority and (b) the new anti-pollution vessel Thames Bubbler as used by Thames water authority, to other water boards in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MoynihanThese are both interesting developments whose operational performance will, no doubt, be carefully assessed by the individual water authorities concerned.
After Royal Assent of the Water Bill, the National Rivers Authority will take over the water authorities' regulatory functions. I would expect it to wish to review the scope for using mobile pollution detectors and oxygenating vessels more widely.
§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the location of each intermediate variation order currently under consideration by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution to each of the water authorities.
§ Mr. HowardDetails of applications made under the Control of Pollution Act 1974, including those for426W time-limited variations, are held on the individual water authorities' registers. These may be inspected, free of charge, by anyone at all reasonable hours.
§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how long he expects consideration of each application for intermediate variation orders to take; and by what date he expects all those applications received by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution on or after 28 March to be processed.
§ Mr. HowardIt is not possible to say how long consideration of each application for a time-limited consent variation will take. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will consider applications and where applicable, grant time-limited variations as quickly as possible. The inspectorate will remain responsible for issuing discharge consents until the National Rivers Authority is established.