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45
NUISANCES.
In the matter of a complaint received from the Port of London Authority that a
quantity of thick black oil was pumped into the River at Gravesend from a vessel, and
the suggestion that the proviso of Section 92 of the Thames Conservancy Act, 1894,
would bring this within the purview of the Port Sanitary Authority. The matter is
one that demands attention from that body under whose jurisdiction its falls, since large
patches of oil on the surface of the Thames interfere with the amenities of the River, at
Gravesend and elsewhere, from time to time.
Section 92 of the Thames Conservancy Act, 1894, carries a proviso to its
Sub-section (4) which might appear to debar action by the Port of London Authority
under that section and clause, but, of course, this proviso conveys no powers to the
Port Sanitary Authority.
The relevant section and clause are as follows:—
"If any person without lawful excuse (the proof whereof shall lie upon
" him) does any of the following, namely:—
"(4) Willingly causes or suffers any washing or other substance produced
"in making or supplying gas or any other offensive matter whether solid or
" fluid to flow or pass into the Thames or any tributary he shall
" for every such offence be liable to a penalty not exceeding 20l
"Provided always that Sub-section (4) of this section shall not extend or apply
"to any vessel within the limits of the Port of London and under the
" jurisdiction of the Port Sanitary Authority thereof."
The powers (if any) of the Port Sanitary Authority are conveyed in Clause 2 (b)
of the Nuisance Clauses of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891 :—
"Any pool ditch gutter watercourse so foul or in such a
"state as to be a nuisance or injurious or dangerous to health
" shall be nuisances liable to be dealt with summarily under this Act."
Spread oil is not a nuisance or injurious or dangerous to health in the biological
sense which underlies the provisions against nuisance in the Public Health Act; the
spreading of crude oil on pools and ditches is adopted in the district of the Port
Sanitary Authority as a remedy against mosquitoes.
The regulation of conditions affecting the river water is specifically placed in the
jurisdiction of the Port of London Authority, with the one proviso quoted, by the
Thames Conservancy Act, 1894, and the Port of London Act, 1908.
The matter of diffused oil as a nuisance is one regarding the amenities of the
River rather than public health, and is comparable with that of excessive or irregular
whistling by steamers.
The nature of the nuisance does not, in my opinion, bring the vessel responsible
"under the jurisdiction of the Port Sanitary Authority" within the terms of the
proviso, and the complainants were informed accordingly.