74URecovery of cost of action under section 74S or 74T as debt due

74U Recovery of cost of action under section 74S or 74T as debt due

(1)  In this section –

relevant person, in relation to an area of land in respect of which a notice has been issued, means –

(a) if the Director has taken action in respect of that area of land under section 74S , a person who has been served with that notice under section 74E , 74F or 74G ; or

(b) if the Director has taken action in respect of that area of land under section 74T , a person who could have been served with that notice under section 74E , 74F or 74G had the Director been able to determine, before taking that action, the whereabouts of the person or the person on whom that notice could have been served;

specified means specified in a requirement served under subsection (4) .

(2)  If the Director does any work or takes any action under section 74S or 74T in relation to an area of land in respect of which a notice has been issued, the reasonable costs of doing that work or taking that action may be recovered by the Director as a debt due in a court of competent jurisdiction –

(a) from the relevant person; or

(b) if there is more than one relevant person, from each relevant person in the same proportion as the proportion of the responsibility each relevant person bears for the pollutant's presence in, on or under that area of land and taking into account any costs each relevant person has incurred in complying with the notice.

(3)  In determining for the purposes of subsection (2)(b) the proportion of the responsibility each relevant person bears for the pollutant's presence in, on or under an area of land –

(a) the responsibility for that pollutant's presence borne by any person who is not a relevant person is to be disregarded and the relevant persons, together, are to be taken to be wholly responsible for the pollutant's presence; and