New publications this month:

DEFRA AND ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

Hazardous waste in England: changes to producer registration from 1 April

From 1 April 2016 English organisations likely to produce more than 500kg of hazardous waste in any 12 month period will not be required to register as hazardous waste producers. The duty to register will remain until this date.

The consignment note format under these regulations is revised from 1 April 2016 as a result of this change. In the place of the former six digit premises code on consignment notes, hazardous waste producers will be required to include the first six characters of their name.

SIC Codes

Additionally, from 1 April 2016 consignment notes will be required to include the SIC code from the 2007 list or respective NACE code, in the place of the SIC 2003 code previously required.

Movements between Countries

If the waste is moved from England into Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland from 1 April 2016 the consignment note code will need to use the new format.

Welsh producers will continue to be required to register.

Transitional National Plan (TNP): guidance on the trading scheme

Guidance and forms supporting the TNP trading scheme have been published. The mandatory forms are for use by regulatory staff and operators of large combustion plants within the scheme.

Ship recycling facility plan

This guidance concerns the completion of ship recycling facility plans to support ship recycling authorisation applications.

Ship recycling authorisation

This document provides guidance on how to apply to become an authorised ship recycling facility and operate under the approval.

Flood risk assessments: climate change allowances

This document provides guidance on when and how to use climate change allowances in flood risk assessments and strategic flood risk assessments.

New hydropower scheme: apply to build one

This document provides guidance on how to apply to build a hydropower scheme, what licenses and consents you need and the documents that must be prepared for the application.

Storage and handling of crude oil

This document publishes standard rules and generic risk assessments for the storage and handling of crude oil arising from onshore oil and gas production.

Waste Management Guidance

SR2015 No39: use of waste in a deposit for recovery operation

This standard rules permit allows the operators to store and use certain wastes for recovery activities involving construction, reclamation, restoration and/or improvement of land.

Waste: environmental permits

This document publishes information on how to apply for standard rules and bespoke permits for using, treating, storing and disposing of waste, and check when you don't need a permit.

Register your waste exemptions: environmental permits  

Instructions are provided on the registration of waste management exemptions under the environmental permitting regime. Exempt activities must be registered, but do not require a full permit.

Landfill developments: groundwater risk assessment for leachate

This guidance concerns the preparation of assessments when applying for a new landfill permit or extending the area of a landfill.

Permitting Guidance

A range of guidance has been published on the environmental permitting regime.

• SR2015 No1: Onshore oil exploration
  A standard rules permit has been published for onshore oil exploration activities. This is supported by generic risk assessments and a waste management plan for these operations.

• A1 installations: environmental permits
  This document publishes information on how to apply for standard rules and bespoke permits for A1 installations including low impact installations.

• Select a waste recovery or disposal method for your environmental permit
  Guidance is provided on the selection of waste recovery or disposal methods and how to assess respective risks when applying for or varying a bespoke environmental permit.

• Energy efficiency standards for industrial plants to get environmental permits
  Guidance is provided on energy efficiency requirements that must be met to obtain and comply with a Part A(1) environmental permit.

• Prevent groundwater pollution from solvents
  The document provides a code of practice on the prevention of pollution from solvent use and storage.

• Infiltration systems: groundwater risk assessments
  This guidance document explains how to assess the risks to groundwater for treated effluent discharges.

• Noise impact assessment: information requirements
  The Environment Agency has updated its guidance on noise impact assessments, where these are required to be submitted for an environmental permit application. This guidance supports the H3 horizontal guidance on noise.

• MCERTS: performance standard for continuous ambient air quality monitoring systems
  This document sets out the performance standard for equipment monitoring pollution in the ambient air.

• Values for groundwater risk assessments
  Minimum reporting values and typical contaminant concentrations in sewage tanks and package treatment plants have been published, supporting applicants for environmental permits in carrying out a groundwater risk assessment. These assessments are required where the proposed activity could directly or indirectly pollute groundwater.

• Groundwater risk assessment for your environmental permit
  This document publishes how to carry out a groundwater risk assessment as part of an application for an environmental permit.

• Surface water pollution risk assessment for your environmental permit
  This document publishes how to carry out a risk assessment if you're applying for a bespoke permit that includes discharging hazardous pollutants to surface water.

• Air emissions risk assessment for your environmental permit
  This document provides guidance on completing an air emissions risk assessment, including how to calculate the impact of your emissions and the standards you must meet.

• Best available techniques: environmental permits
  This document publishes what best available techniques are, when you must follow them, how to propose alternatives and how to refer to them in your application.

• Risk assessments for your environmental permit
  This document publishes information on when you need to do an environmental risk assessment, when the Environment Agency will do it for you, and how to do a risk assessment.

WELSH GOVERNMENT

Energy Efficiency Strategy for Wales

The Welsh Government has published its energy efficiency strategy, which covers the period through to 2026. The strategy sets out proposed actions to promote efficiency.

Waste recycling firm given highest confiscation order for environmental offences in Scotland

Oran Environmental Solutions (OES) Ltd has been issued a confiscation order of £345,558.43 for waste management licence breaches. These breaches resulted in SEPA receiving a string of complaints from local residents during 2013.

The confiscation order is the largest under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) to date for environmental offences in Scotland. Further fines of £12,000 were imposed for waste related offences.

Charges concerned the company’s failure to remove waste materials from their Kilbagie Mill site following enforcement action by SEPA, storing controlled waste on land not covered by a Waste Management Licence and failing to put in place adequate pest control measures.

Breach

Oran Environmental Solutions (OES) Ltd were found to have breached the following sections of the Environmental Protection Act 1990:

• Section 33(1)(b), which states that a person shall not submit controlled waste, or knowingly cause or knowingly permit controlled waste to be submitted, to any listed operation other than in operation with a waste management licence.
• Section 33(6) states that it is an offence to breach conditions under a waste management licence.
• Section 59(1)(a), which states that If any controlled waste is deposited in or on any land in breach of section 33(1), the regulator may issue a notice requiring the occupier to remove the waste from the land within a specified period. It is an offence not to comply with this notice under section Section 59(5). 

South West Water fined £40,000 for sewage spill

South West Water has been fined £40,000 by Exeter Crown Court for polluting a Devon watercourse.

It is the largest fine imposed on the water company, which was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £3,200.

The main cause of the sewage spill was due to a combination of plant break down, telemetry failures and poor management on the part of South West Water. Subsequently they Environment Agency found that the conditions of their permit had been breached because of these failings.

This failings resulted in Woodbury’s Polly Brook becoming contaminated with poor quality sewage, which subsequently led to the death of a number of fish.

Breach

South West Water admitted to two charges,

• allowing sewage effluent that had not been fully treated to pollute the stream and
• failing to notify the Environment Agency of the problems with the treatment process at the Woodbury based sewage treatment works.