ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF BUILDINGS (ENGLAND AND WALES) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) REGULATIONS 2016
The Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2016 amends the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012.
What has been updated?
The Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2016 permits disclosure of bulk energy performance certificate data by the public register. Data may be disclosed for the following purposes:
Data may be disclosed to green deal providers or assessor certification bodies, Secretary of State (for purposes under the Gas Act 1986) or Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (in relation to the energy company obligation (ECO) scheme).
These regulations come into force on 1 October 2016.
FINANCE ACT 2016: CLIMATE CHANGE LEVY
The Finance Act 2016 set the climate change levy (CCL) rates through to 2019.
The Act also prevents the use of previously issued outstanding renewable source electricity certificates (for electricity generated before 1 August 2015) to exempt consumption from the CCL from 31 March 2018.
The following rates apply from 1 April 2017 and 2018 respectively:
. .
April 2017 April 2018. April 2019
Units
Electricity
0.00568
0.00583
0.00847
p/kWh
Natural Gas
0.00198
0.00203
0.0039
LPG
0.01272
0.01304
0.02175
p/kg
Any other taxable commodity
0.01551
0.01591
0.02653
The Act also closes the CCL exemption for outstanding renewable source electricity certificates (for electricity generated before 1 August 2015) on 31 March 2018. The CCL exemption has not been available for electricity generated since 1 August 2015, following the 2015 budget.
New publications this month:
DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT
Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) guidance: year 9
This guidance document updates the list of voluntary schemes to remove schemes that have now closed.
This document is targeted towards fuel suppliers, independent verifiers and others involved in the supply of biofuels for road transport.
ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
Storing catalytic converters at metal recycling sites: RPS 200
This guidance document provides details of when you can accept and store catalytic converters at metal recycling sites.
Quality protocols (QPs): rules for all QPs
A new paragraph has been added to this guidance document regarding ‘how to assess if your material is waste’.
This guidance document details when waste rules apply or do not apply to certain material and the corresponding import and export implications.
Relevant conviction guidance for permit applications for waste activities and installations only
The table of offences to be considered in relation to permit applications has been updated within this guidance.
A person applying for an environmental permit for a Schedule 1 activity must state whether they have been convicted of an offence listed in this guidance document.
DEFRA
Water efficient enhanced capital allowances
The list of water-efficient products eligible for enhanced first year capital allowances have been updated.
HIGHWAYS ENGLAND
Carbon emissions calculation tool: Highways England
This guidance document has been updated to include the updated version of the Carbon Tool spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet is provided for suppliers to calculate carbon emissions for operational, construction and maintenance activities undertaken on behalf of Highways England.
New offences this month:
Southern Water fined after waste water treatment permit breaches
Southern Water has been fined after it exceeded emissions limits on discharges between July 2013 and July 2014.
The court heard that Southern Water had failed to remain within emissions limits in its environmental permit for Tunbridge Wells North waste water treatment works. The site discharges to the Somerhill Stream.
Breach
Southern Water pleaded guilty to breaching the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010.
Penalty
Southern Water has been fined £24,000 and agreed to pay costs of £33,218.
In mitigation, Southern Water stated that they had already spent £360,000 on improvement to the treatment works and a further £6 million was planned.
Hampshire waste criminal receives prison sentence
A repeat offender with previous waste crime convictions has been sentenced after he pleaded guilty to five offences. Marcus Bairstow’s offences include:
The offender was also exposed by the BBC’s Rogue Traders programme which bugged and tracked waste and filmed Bairstow dumping it.
Mr Bairstow was sentenced to 30 weeks imprisonment and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £150.
Composting site operator fined £50,000 after breaching its permit
A court has fined AmeyCespa after it was found the company had failed to appropriately manage a Cambridge-based compositing facility to prevent the release of odours.
An employee working at premises nearby was suddenly sick at work in July 2014. The court heard that the employer nearby suffered an increased rate of sickness absence and eventually relocated.
The company admitted to breaching its permit, in that they failed to ensure emissions from the facility were free from odours at levels likely to cause annoyance outside the site. The company also admitted it had failed to use appropriate measures to prevent or where that is not practicable, to minimise, the odour.
AmeyCespa subsequently received three enforcement notices, requiring that action was taken to comply with the site’s permit. Two notices were discharged by June 2015 and the final notice was completed in December 2015.
The site operator was found guilty of breaching Regulation 38(2) Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.
Regulation 38(2) makes it an offence for a person to fail to comply with or to contravene an environmental permit condition.
The site operator was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £13,336 costs.
