New publications this month:
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY (BEIS)
Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs): Guidance for applicants seeking a certificate for an exemption from the indirect costs of funding Contracts for Difference (CfD)
EIIs holding certificates of exemption are exempt from the indirect cost of the CfD scheme. This document provides guidance on eligibility for certificates and obtaining one.
Determination of the 2018 carbon price under the EU European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS)
This document determines the carbon price for the EU ETS scheme year commencing on 1 January 2018 as £4.86.
HM TREASURY
Public sector annual reports: sustainability reporting guidance 2017 to 2018
Guidance on the completion of sustainability reports is provided to the public sector.
ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
RPS 71: Disposing of trees and plants infected with disease
This Regulatory Position Statement (RPS) sets out how infected trees and plants may be disposed of without requiring an environmental permit for a waste operation.
RPS 207: Classifying waste wood from mixed waste wood sources
This temporary RPS sets conditions that must be met for an operator to classify waste wood from mixed waste wood sources as non-hazardous.
RPS 207 will be withdrawn on 1 November 2018. The temporary RPS aims to allow time for the industry to develop a compliant code of practice for the assessment and classification of waste wood.
Groundwater protection position statements
These statements set out the Environment Agency’s approach to managing and protecting groundwater. They have been updated to include a new position statement: ‘J9: National quality mark scheme for land contamination management’.
Designation of ‘main rivers’: guidance to the Environment Agency
This statutory guidance document sets out how the Environment Agency is to determine whether a river or watercourse constitutes a ‘main river’. A map of main rivers is available online.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND RURAL AFFAIRS (DAERA)
DAERA environmental advice for planning: Standing advice on development that may have an effect on the water environment
DAERA has updated the following planning guidance documents:
Surface water alterations handbook
Guidance is provided on activities that may affect watercourses or other bodies of water.
A guide to importation and export of wood and wood products for Northern Ireland
Guidance is provided on importing and exporting controlled wood material.
BREXIT UPDATE
During November 2017 the European Parliament released two Brexit impact studies regarding energy.
Brexit and the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)
This document assesses the impact on the EU ETS and sets out proposals to mitigate this. As the Brexit date falls on 29 March 2019, in advance of the 30 April 2019 deadline to surrender emissions under the 2018 compliance year, a draft Regulation has been published to address this issue.
Under a previous consultation on the 2018 compliance deadline for the EU ETS, the UK government proposed bringing the 2018 deadline forward, with legislation to support this planned to come into force by 1 January 2018.
The European Parliament concludes that Brexit is likely to impact carbon markets.
Impact of Brexit on the EU Energy System
This document examines the impact of Brexit on energy markets and regulation across the EU.
The impact on the EU ETS is considered, alongside the effect of Brexit on energy and climate targets. The consequences of the UK leaving Euratom and potential disruption of energy markets are reviewed.
Construction firm fined for polluting watercourse in Huddersfield.
Harron Homes Limited has admitted to causing illegal discharges in 2015. A prosecution was made after reports of contaminated run-off entering Grimescar Dyke were investigated by the Environment Agency.
An Environment Agency visit identified that silt contaminated water pumped out of site excavations had entered the watercourse.
Settlement tanks were set up following the regulator’s visit to address silt burdened waters, however subsequent pollution incidents were reported and the system was found to be inadequate, resulting in significant impacts on the water quality up to three kilometres downstream.
Healthy watercourses are expected to have concentrations of suspended solids below 30 milligrams per litre; whereas as a result of the pollution incidents, nearly 35,000 milligrams per litre was recorded.
Penalty
Harron Homes Limited was fined for one charge of causing illegal discharges. The fine applied was £120,000, plus £8,706 in legal costs and a £120 victim surcharge.
Farmer fined for burning controlled waste
A farmer in Cleveland who illegally stored and set fire to controlled waste on his premises has been fined. An investigation by the Environment Agency found that the farmer had unlawfully accepted controlled waste onto his farm, putting the health of the local community and environment in danger.
A blaze at the farm on December 2016 was observed by a helicopter. Footage taken by the helicopter identified that the unattended fire extended over an area of 50 square metres and material burnt included uPVC doors and window frames, wheelie bins, a fridge, televisions, carpets and mattresses. The fire was within 200m of a housing estate, a prison and a busy road.
The farmer was interviewed under caution, at which point he provided waste transfer notes showing that some of the waste had been removed at his expense.
The farmer, Charles Roderick Pickering, was charged with two waste offences and ordered to pay a fine of £3,000 plus £1,729.44 in legal costs and a £170 victim surcharge.
Digestate discharge leads to in significant fish mortality.
A couple have been charged after they were found guilty of allowing digestate fertiliser to enter a brook, ultimately affecting the River Leadon.
On July 2016 an employee was instructed to transfer digestate fertiliser to one of the orchards at Rose Hill Farm in Dymock. The employee then activated the irrigation system to remove digestate from a lagoon.
The employee had failed to physically inspect the pipework. Therefore a partly open valve linked to a standpipe discharged the fertiliser to a field, where it flowed across the field and into the Preston Brook.
The discharge pump operates at 100 tonnes an hour, leading to significant losses to the watercourse. An Environment Agency investigation identified that more than 15,200 fish had been killed as a result of the pollution incident.
After liaising with the Environment Agency, the farmers agreed to dredge the brook to remove contaminated material. This was completed in 12 August 2016.
Subsequent surveys found that fish populations remain significantly affected. The Leadon is an important habitat for eels and a significant number of adult eels were lost due to the incident.
The couple were each fined £5,500 and ordered to pay £25,796 in costs with a victim surcharge of £170. The fines reflect the absence of a conviction history for either defendant and action taken to cooperate with the Environment Agency.
