Transcript Developments in Environmental Regulation

Developments in
Environmental Regulation
Professor Paul Leinster CBE
Chief Executive
Environment Agency for England and Wales
What do we do?
Historical setting
18th and 19th
Centuries
Industrial revolution. Rivers
became effluent carriers.
Severe river pollution.
Mid 19th
Century
Cholera epidemics. 35,000 died
in London alone. High infant mortality
and emphysema from air pollution.
1845
Public Health Act
1863
Alkali etc Works Act
1876
Rivers Pollution Prevention Act
1952
Great London Smog
By 2006
• 73 Directives
• 37 UK Acts
• 161 UK Statutory Instruments
Regulatory progression
Emissions to air - air pollution
Clean air regulations
Discharges to water - water pollution
Clean water regulations
Discharges to ground - ground pollution
Waste site and contaminated land regulations
Emissions to all media
Integrated regulations
Purpose of regulation
Ensures industry operates in a way that minimises
adverse effects on people and the environment
Establishes minimum requirements
Promotes innovation
Provides a level playing field
Gives confidence to the public
Provides intervention to correct market failure
Regulatory guiding principles
Focus on environmental benefits and outcomes
Target processes and operators presenting the greatest
environmental risks
Match the Environment Agency’s approach to the
operator’s performance and attitude
Prevention at source through waste minimisation and
pollution prevention
Use influence and advice to deliver outcomes, wherever
possible – underpinned by regulation
Incentives for better performers
Regulatory guiding principles
Minimum possible administration and bureaucracy
Regulations, guidance and advice must be clear and
easy to understand
Must be as easy as possible for people and businesses
to do the right thing
Standardise and simplify where possible
Transition periods for the introduction of new regulations
Information on potential impacts and operator
performance readily available
Retain firm and proportionate prosecution and
enforcement
Emissions to air from the industrial
sites we regulate
Air emissions
Since 2000 regulation of
industry has resulted in:
a 73% reduction in
emissions of SOx
a 37% reduction in NOx
a 38% reduction in fine
particles
The benefit to health since
2005 is estimated to be
£634 million
Water discharges
Ammonia and
phosphorus loads
discharged from sewage
works have been
reduced by more than
half between 1995 and
2010.
Biological Oxygen
Demand (BOD) and
suspended solids have
been reduced by a third
between 1995 and 2010
Waste recovery and disposal
Since 2000, the
amount of material
recovered from
waste produced by
the industrial sites
we regulate has
increased from 37%
to 63%
Pollution incidents
Since 2000, serious
pollution incidents
have fallen by 52%
Serious pollution
incidents from
industry are
reducing – from 884
to 343 between
2000 and 2010
Operator performance
Good environmental performance is
good business
Waste minimisation could yield £3 billion
Energy efficiency could save £6.4 billion
Water efficiency could cut bills by 30 per cent
Estimated 1.34 million jobs connected with
management of the environment
Better regulation in practice
National Permitting Service
National Customer Contact Centre
Reduced routine inspections of good performers
Increased use of audits
Sector based approaches
Company account managers
Use of third party assurance schemes
Working with police and other enforcement agencies
Intelligence led enforcement including waste stream
approach
Civil Sanctions – enforceable undertakings
Better regulation in practice
Environmental Permitting Regulations - £120 million
benefit over 10 years
Standard Rules Permits
OPRA
Compliance classification system
Removed low risk activities from need for permit
On-line systems for applications and operator returns
Simplified guidance and forms
Incentives for good performers
Fees and charges
Quality protocols - £13m saving per annum
Annualised saving target of £45m by 2015
Government agenda
Red Tape Challenge
Focus on Enforcement
Penfold
Growth and Infrastructure Bill
spatial planning and environmental permitting
Heseltine Review
appeals on regulators decisions
European agenda
7th Environmental Action Programme (draft)
Better implementation of EU law
Protecting nature and ecological resilience
Greater protection of the environment
Greater confidence of citizens in environmental
performance
Availability and transparency of data
More prescription on inspection and implementation
issues
Future agenda
Simplifying advice and guidance – clear what to do
Reliance that can be placed on advice and guidance
Data requirements
Targeting best place in value chain to intervene – site,
company or issue led approach
Earned autonomy
Director sign-off of compliance statements
Role of environmental management systems
Tackling ‘bad neighbours’ and poor performers
Tackling environmental crime
The role of business
Organisations to take full
responsibility for their activities
Earn autonomy – mind the gap
Engage openly with local
communities
Provide transparent and
accessible data
The regulators’ challenge
Regulators, under unprecedented pressure, face a
range of demands, often contradictory in nature:
be less intrusive – but more effective
be kinder and gentler – but don’t let them get away
with anything
focus your efforts – but be consistent
process things quicker – and be more careful next
time
deal with important issues – but do not stray outside
your statutory authority
be more responsive to the regulated community –
but do not get captured by industry
The Regulatory Craft, Malcolm Sparrow (2000)