(1)For the purpose of supplementing the river basin management plan for a river basin district—
(a)SEPA must—
(i)divide the district into such geographical areas as it thinks fit, and
(ii)prepare, for each of those areas, a plan in relation to water management within the area,
(b)SEPA or a responsible authority may, if it thinks fit, prepare a plan in relation to a particular aspect of water management within the district.
(2)A plan prepared under subsection (1)(b) may, for example, relate to—
(a)a particular description of body of water,
(b)a particular catchment or geographical area (whether or not an area determined in pursuance of subsection (1)(a)),
(c)a particular matter relating to the water environment,
(d)a particular description of user of water resources.
(3)A plan prepared under subsection (1)(a) or (b) is referred to in this Part as a “sub-basin plan”.
(4)A sub-basin plan must not be inconsistent with anything in the river basin management plan which it supplements.
(5)A sub-basin plan prepared under subsection (1)(b), so far as applying to an area determined in pursuance of subsection (1)(a), must not be inconsistent with the sub-basin plan prepared for that area under subsection (1)(a).
(6)SEPA or, as the case may be, the responsible authority must consult such of the persons specified or referred to in section 11(6)(a) to (j) as it thinks fit about a proposed sub-basin plan and must take into account any views expressed by those consulted.
(7)For the purposes of subsection (6) as it applies to a responsible authority, the references in section 11(6)(g) to (j) to SEPA are to be read as if they were references to that responsible authority.