New publications this month:

UK GOVERNMENT, SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT, WELSH GOVERNMENT AND DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONEMNT AND RURAL AFFAIRS (DAERA)

Developing the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS): Main Response

This consultation response states intended policy changes to the UK ETS to bring it into line with the net zero target. Supporting measures include expanding the scheme to include domestic maritime from 2026 and energy from waste and waste incineration in 2028. Revisions will also phase out free allocations for the aviation sector from 2026, meaning all allowances will be auctioned.

DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS (DEFRA) AND ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

Extended producer responsibility for packaging: Full scheme delayed to 2025

The introduction of fees under the extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging has been delayed by a year. This means that the fees will now apply from 2025, rather than 2024.

Otherwise the rules of the scheme will remain unchanged: data collection and reporting obligations for organisations will apply as previously planned. Large organisations will be provided with an indication of fees applicable in 2024.

DEFRA, WELSH GOVERNMENT, ENVIRONMENT AGENCY AND NATURAL RESOURCES WALES

Materials facilities: waste sampling and reporting from October 2024

A wider range of materials facilities will be required to sample and report the waste they receive. More detailed and more frequent sampling and reporting will also be required.

These changes will be delivered by the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2023.

DEFRA

The Windsor Framework - Notification of New Guidance for Movement of Goods, Great Britain to Northern Ireland

This document gathers information on the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme, which forms part of the Windsor Framework and facilitates the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Waste prevention programme for England: Maximising Resources, Minimising Waste

This new plan sets out actions to be taken to minimise waste and maximise resource utilisation in England.

A table summarises policy within the plan, including actions to design out waste and to improve systems and services. Sector-specific actions are also stated, including on construction, electrical and electronic products and food and drink. A host of consultations are due to be carried out on proposed actions.

Actions include revising the waste hierarchy guidance by 2024, providing best practice guidance on reuse for local authorities by 2023 and to operate a digital waste tracking system by 2024, subject to IT development and transition time needed by businesses.

Statutory biodiversity credit prices (England)

Where on-site or off-site units are not possible to deliver biodiversity net gain and as a last resort, developers may purchase statutory biodiversity credits. A table states the cost of credits for each tier.

Biodiversity net gain requirements on larger developments requiring planning permission are expected to be introduced in November 2023. The requirements will be extended to small sites from April 2024.

Conservation covenants: apply to become a responsible body (England)

Organisations may apply to become responsible bodies where they plan to create a conservation covenant with a landowner. Guidance is provided on the criteria, application requirements and annual returns required for responsible bodies.

Third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3)

This report collects planned actions by the government and other parties to address the impacts of climate change between 2023 and 2028.

25 Year Environment Plan progress report: April 2022 to March 2023

A further progress report has been published against the 25 year environment plan, which was published in 2018.

HM TREASURY

TCFD-aligned disclosure application guidance for central government and the public sector

Guidance has been provided on the delivery of Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) recommendations by central government and the wider public sector, as applicable. This guidance concerns the 2023/24 reporting period.

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

Land contamination risk management (LCRM)

This guidance on assessing and managing contamination risk has been updated. Updates provide further instructions on spill response, when LCRM should be used for new pollution and the importance of taking climate change into account.

Check if you need a licence to abstract water

Revisions aim to improve clarity on which activities require an abstraction licence and what is exempt.

Get advice before you apply for a water abstraction or impounding licence

Extended guidance is provided on preparing to make a pre-application advice request, the assistance available and where support is available on hydropower, heat pump and groundwater abstractions.

Relevant convictions for waste and installations environmental permits

This document lists relevant convictions that must be declared when applying for a waste activity or installation environmental permit. The list of relevant convictions has been updated.

Report the amount of EEE you place on the market

This new guidance provides a definition of ‘place on the market’ for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and how data should be recorded and reported under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regime.

SR2021 No 4: composting in closed systems – installations

An error in this standard rule permit has been corrected.

Regulatory Position Statements (RPSs):

The following RPSs were published or updated during July 2023:

• Retaining shock absorbers and airbags in end of life vehicles (ELVs): RPS 195 (extended to 1 July 2026)
• Bioaerosol monitoring at regulated facilities: RPS 209 (extended to 1 December 2024)
• Incinerating wild animal carcasses: RPS 218 (extended to 14 June 2026)
• Storing and treating hazardous waste cable: RPS 276 (guidance updated)

FORESTRY COMMISSION

Tree felling: getting permission

This leaflet has been updated.

WELSH GOVERNMENT

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) Schedule 3 Post Implementation Review

This review concerns the performance of SuDS policy in Wales and opportunities for improvement. Recommendations raised include to amend the national SuDS standards for amenity and biodiversity and aligning SuDS policy with other policies, including on planning. The Welsh Government has also committed to consolidate all SuDS guidance documents into a single document to improve accessibility.

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT

Scotland's Heat Network Fund: application guidance

Guidance is provided on applications under the heat network fund. This fund makes £300 million available to develop and roll out heat networks in Scotland.

Recycling company fined for illegal waste activities

Whites Recycling Limited, an organic liquid waste recycling company, has been fined for illegally spreading of waste at a farm near Brecon in Powys

A Natural Resources Wales (NRW) investigation between July and August 2021 found that liquid waste containing a mix of food and brewery waste with poultry washings had been spread on a farm in significant quantities. The volume exceeded the rates set out in the respective environmental permit and posed a significant risk of pollution to surface and groundwater.

NRW officers also found that waste had been spread in an identified ‘no spread zone’. These zones are an area designated to ensure locations of particularly high risk or vulnerability are not exposed to spreading.

Whites Recycling Limited has an environmental permit, which means they can lawfully spread waste to farmland in circumstances where it can be demonstrated that land spreading will result in agricultural or ecological benefit. Before the waste can be spread, the permit requires the company to notify NRW using a deployment form and NRW must agree to the spreading. Notification ensures that waste is only permitted to be spread when it benefits either the soil or the crop being grown in it and where it will not pose a risk of harm to the environment.

Breaches

Whites Recycling Limited pleaded guilty for two offences, including the breach of environmental permit conditions related to the spreading of waste to farmland, contrary to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

Penalty

Whites Recycling Limited was fined £14,000 per offence, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £190 and NRW’s legal costs of £13,120, bringing the total to £41,310.

Penalties for Scunthorpe-based waste company and a director

SBR Group Developments Limited and its company director have been fined after their site in Scunthorpe was operated as a waste facility without an environmental permit.

The company director had purchased the site in late 2017/18 from Thompsons Waste Management Limited. Thompsons Waste Management, which had gone into liquidation, had previously been prosecuted for keeping waste in excess of the limits set by its environmental permit.

In an effort to reduce the waste his company had inherited, the company director contacted the Environment Agency in August 2018 to discuss how to clear the site. The director was told that he needed an environmental permit or a registered exemption to carry out waste activities on the site.

The Environment Agency undertook site visits in June and December 2019, when waste was still found to be present. Officers from the Environment Agency also found a heap of fines from a trommel machine, which is used to break up waste.

The company director attended a formal interview in January 2020 when he said that nearly all the waste had been removed to landfill. But during a further visit in June 2021, officers noted that large piles of shredded waste were still on the site. It was finally cleared in November 2021.

Environment Agency officers estimated that the operator had avoided £19,189.50 in permitting charges. The site was also assessed to have stored 726.31 tonnes of waste.

Breaches

SBR Group Developments Limited breached Regulation 12(1)(a) and Regulation 38(1)(a) to Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016:

• Regulation 12(1)(a) prohibits persons from operating regulated facilities except under and in accordance with an environmental permit.
• Regulation 38(1)(a) makes it an offence to contravene Regulation 12(1).

The company director also pleaded guilty to the same charge.

Penalty

SBR Group Developments Limited was fined £25,640 and ordered to pay costs of £17,000.

The company director was fined £3,330 and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs.

Tyre and battery company fined for breaching their waste management exemptions

Exhaust Tyres and Batteries (Worcester) Limited has been fined for exceeding the number of tyres they were legally allowed to deposit at Synergy Tyres Limited’s site in Daventry.

The Daventry site held two exemptions to store waste and mechanically treat end-of-life tyres. However, it did not have an environmental permit to store or treat large numbers of tyres and therefore was required to keep these to a minimum in line with the exemptions held (maximum of 40 tonnes over seven days).

Exhaust Tyres and Batteries Limited’s records showed that they had deposited around 250,000 tyres between January 2020 and late February 2021. The company did this without checking that the site was authorised to accept those tyres.

Environment Agency officers also found Exhaust Tyres and Batteries (Worcester) Limited’s records of the delivery and transfer of the waste tyres were incomplete, breaching statutory regulations.

Breaches

Exhaust Tyres and Batteries (Worcester) Limited breached Section 33, Section 34(1)(a) and Section 34(6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990:

• Section 33 prohibits unauthorised deposit, treatment or disposal of waste.
• Section 34(1)(a) applies the duty of care on persons who import, produce, carry, keep, treat or dispose of controlled waste (or as a dealer or broker have control of this waste) and requires that all reasonable measures are taken.
• Section 34(6) applies penalties for breaches of the duties under Section 34(1).

Penalty

Exhaust Tyres and Batteries (Worcester) Limited was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,463.