New publications this month:
ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
Guidance on Land Contamination
Managing and reducing land contamination: guiding principles (GPLC)
The GPLC2 guidance on land contamination has been updated with new references to other documents. Updates reflect the withdrawal of the GPLC1 (guiding principles for land contamination: introduction) and GPLC3 (reporting checklists).
Model procedures for the management of land contamination (CLR11)
Contaminated land report 11 (CLR 11) has been withdrawn, but may still be accessed from the Environment Agency’s archived website.
Land contamination: risk management
This document provides information and guidance on the principles that should be used to manage risks from land contamination if you’re a land owner or developer.
The Transfer of flood risk activities into the Environmental Permitting framework.
The following four guidance documents relate to the transfer of flood risk activities into the Environmental Permitting framework.
1. Riverside ownership: rights and responsibilities
What has been updated?
The website in which you can access the guidance document ‘living on the edge’, a document that explains the rights and responsibilities of a riverside owner, has been updated to reflect changes in the law.
Changes to the law
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2016 require that environmental permits are obtained for non-exempt flood risk activities. The 2016 regulations replace the prior flood defence consent regime in England and Wales under the Water Resources Act 1991.
Background
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2016 amend the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 to transfer the regulation of flood risk activities into the Environmental Permitting framework. This replaces the current flood defence consent scheme under the Water Resources Act 1991.
2. Dredging as a flood risk activity under the Environmental Permitting Regulations
This document provides guidance on dredging and the removal of silt and sand from main rivers as a flood risk activity under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010. This guide will help you comply with the Regulations and maintain your watercourses in an environmentally sensitive way .
3. Environmental Permitting Regulations: exempt flood risk activities
This guidance concerns the 27 exempt flood risk activities that are exempt from the requirement to obtain an environmental permit. These activities must be registered with the regulator and carried out in accordance with the conditions applied.
explains which flood risk activities are exempt from needing an environmental permit
4. Water Framework Directive: how to assess the risk of your activity
This guidance explains how to assess the risk of a flood risk activity and how to decide whether it supports the objectives of the local River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) or meets sustainability criteria.
This is relevant to operations requiring flood risk activity permits under the new flood risk activities regime.
You need to show The Environment Agency that your activity supports the objectives of your local River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) or meets strict sustainability criteria.
Standard Rules: Flood Risk Activity Permits
The Environment Agency has issued a series of standard rules permits. These concern certain operations under the flood risk activity permitting regime, which commenced in England and Wales on 6 April 2016.
SR2015 No.26: Temporary dewatering affecting up to 20 metres of a main river
SR2015 No.27: Constructing an outfall pipe of 300mm to 500mm diameter through a headwall into a main river
SR2015 No.28: Installing a clear span bridge on a main river of up to 8 metres span and 4.2 metres width
SR2015 No.29: Temporary storage within the flood plain of a main river
SR2015 No.30: Temporary diversion of a main river
SR2015 No.31: Channel habitat structure made of natural materials occupying up to 100 metres of a main river
SR2015 No.32: Installing a access culvert of no more than 5 metres length on a main river
SR2015 No.33: Repairing and protecting up to 20 metres of the bank of a main river using natural materials
SR2015 No.34: Temporary scaffolding affecting up to 20 metres length of a main river
SR2015 No.35: Excavating a wetland or pond in a main river floodplain
Removing a total of 100 metres of exposed gravel from bars and shoals
This document provides guidance on removing a total of 100 metres of exposed gravel from bars and shoals over a 1 kilometre length of main river.
When referred to in an environmental permit, these rules will allow the operator to remove up to 100 metres of exposed gravel from bars and shoals over 1000 metres of watercourse length on a main river.
Installing and using site investigation boreholes and temporary trial pits within a main river floodplain for a period of up to 4 weeks.
When referred to in an environmental permit, these rules will allow the operator to install and use trial pits and boreholes within the flood plain, for a period of no more than 4 weeks.
These rules do not allow the making of boreholes or pits on or within 5 metres of the bank of a main river, culvert or remote defence, or within 8 metres of a flood defence or river control work.
Adapting to climate change: guidance for risk management authorities
A new version of this guidance has been published. This document provides information to risk management authorities on how to account for climate change within their flood and coastal erosion risk management investment decisions.
Risk management authorities must apply this guidance to projects or strategies seeking government flood and coastal erosion risk management grant in aid (FCRM GiA) funding.
By following the guidance, risk management authorities will carry out a credible economical appraisal that takes account of the uncertainties associated with climate change.
Industrial Emissions Directive derogation: cost-benefit analysis toolWhat has been updated?
The Environment Agency has issued guidance on how to use the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) cost-benefit analysis tool to inform IED derogation requests. Sections of this guidance document have been removed. The documents that have been removed are:
This document provides guidance to people who cause contamination, affected land owners and developers.
Electric company to pay £21,000 for release of F-gas
Schneider Electric Ltd released of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) gas from high voltage switchgear (HVSG) (a circuit breaker).
Following installation, part of the system, busbars (a metallic strip or bar that conducts electricity and joins two circuit breakers together), were found to be faulty and needed to be removed from within the circuit breaker.
During that operation to remove the busbars up to 15kg of SF6 was released.
Penalty
Schneider Electric Ltd has been fined £3,000 Basildon Magistrates’ Court and ordered the company to pay £18,368 costs.
Waste firm ordered to pay more than £1.2m for waste offences
Powerday Plc was sentenced for offences relating to historical operations in relation to 2 separate cases, which saw more than 17,000 tonnes of waste deposited and stored illegally.
The first case was for a number of offences involving the receipt and storage of large quantities of hazardous waste at the company’s main operating site at Willesden.
The second case related to offences which occurred at a site operated by Aylesbury Mushroom Farms Ltd at Elmwood Farm, Black Bourton, Bampton, Oxfordshire in 2012 and involved the deposit of approximately 3,000 tonnes of non-hazardous trommel fines originating from the Willesden site.
Fines were imposed amounting to £1 million and the company agreed to pay the Environment Agency’s costs of £243,955.35 for the investigation and prosecution of the offences.
Steaming waste and fly infestations lead to £370,000 bill
Between March 2012 and June 2013 the company failed to operate its permitted sites at Griffon Road and Hallam Fields properly in that they failed to adequately control the amount of waste on site.
In addition, the company operated an illegal waste operation on nearby land at Old Stanton Iron works from February to July 2013. Waste including redox fines and fragmentiser fluff generated from the permitted sites was stored in significant quantities on land without any appropriate permits or in accordance with exemptions
Breach
Breaches include:
Failing to comply with an environmental permit condition contrary to regulation 38(2) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.
Operating a regulated facility outside the extent authorised by an environmental permit contrary to regulations 12(1) and 38 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.
Donald Ward Limited was fined £270,000 for serious and persistent breaches of its environmental permits at two sites in Derbyshire; Griffon Road and Hallam Fields, and for illegally operating at Old Stanton Ironworks in Derbyshire. In addition, prosecution costs of £100,000 were ordered, bringing the total fines and costs to £370,000. The fines included costs avoided by the company of £40,000.
