14.—(1) Network Rail may use any watercourse or any public sewer or drain for the drainage of water in connection with the construction, operation or maintenance of the authorised works and for that purpose may lay down, take up and alter pipes and may, on any land within the Order limits, make openings into, and connections with, the watercourse, public sewer or drain.
(2) Any dispute arising from the exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph (1) to connect to or use a public sewer or drain shall be determined as if it were a dispute under section 106 of the Water Industry Act 1991(1).
(3) Network Rail shall not discharge any water into any watercourse, public sewer or drain except with the consent of the person to whom it belongs; and such consent may be given subject to such terms and conditions as that person may reasonably impose, but shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(4) Network Rail shall not make any opening into any public sewer or drain except—
(a)in accordance with plans approved by the person to whom the sewer or drain belongs, but such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld; and
(b)where that person has been given the opportunity to supervise the making of the opening.
(5) Network Rail shall not, in the exercise of the powers conferred by this article, damage or interfere with the bed or banks of any watercourse forming part of a main river.
(6) Network Rail shall take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that any water discharged into a watercourse or public sewer or drain under the powers conferred by this article is as free as may be practicable from gravel, soil or other solid substance, oil or matter in suspension.
(7) Nothing in this article obviates the requirement for an environmental permit under regulation 12(1)(b) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010(2).
(8) In this article—
(a)“public sewer or drain” means a sewer or drain which belongs to a sewerage undertaker, the Environment Agency, an internal drainage board or a local authority; and
(b)other expressions, excluding watercourses, used both in this article and in the Water Resources Act 1991 have the same meaning as in that Act.
15.—(1) Network Rail may for the purposes of this Order—
(a)survey or investigate any land shown within the Order limits or which may be affected by the authorised works;
(b)without limiting the scope of sub-paragraph (a), make trial holes in such positions as Network Rail thinks fit on the land to investigate the nature of the surface layer and subsoil and remove soil samples;
(c)without limiting the scope of sub-paragraph (a), carry out ecological or archaeological investigations on such land;
(d)take steps to protect or remove any flora or fauna on the land where the flora or fauna may be affected by the carrying out of the authorised works;
(e)place on, leave on and remove from the land apparatus for use in connection with the exercise of any of the powers conferred by sub-paragraphs (a) to (d); and
(f)enter on the land for the purpose of exercising the powers conferred by sub-paragraphs (a) to (e).
(2) No land may be entered or equipment placed or left on or removed from the land under paragraph (1), unless at least 7 days’ notice has been served on every owner and occupier of the land.
(3) Any person entering land under this article on behalf of Network Rail—
(a)shall, if so required, before or after entering the land produce written evidence of authority to do so; and
(b)may take onto the land such vehicles and equipment as are necessary to carry out the survey or investigation or to make the trial holes.
(4) No trial holes shall be made under this article—
(a)in a carriageway or footway without the consent of the highway authority; or
(b)in a private street without the consent of the street authority,
but such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(5) Network Rail shall compensate the owners and occupiers of the land for any loss or damage arising by reason of the exercise of the powers conferred by this article, such compensation to be determined, in case of dispute, under Part 1 of the 1961 Act.
(6) Nothing in this article obviates the requirement for scheduled monument consent under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979(3).
(7) If either a highway authority which receives an application for consent under paragraph (4)(a) or a street authority which receives an application for consent under paragraph (4)(b) fails to notify Network Rail of its decision before the end of the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which the application was made, it shall be deemed to have granted consent.
16. Any person who, without reasonable excuse—
(a)obstructs another person acting under the authority of Network Rail in setting out the lines of the scheduled works, or in constructing any of the authorised works; or
(b)interferes with, moves or removes any apparatus belonging to any person acting under the authority of Network Rail,
shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.