New publications this month:

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY  

Values for groundwater risk assessments

This guidance document advises on how to carry out a groundwater risk assessment.

What has been updated?

This document has been updated to add a new list of hazardous substances. Minimum reporting values have also been updated.

SR2010 No6: mobile plant for land-spreading of sewage sludge

This document provides guidance on the standard rules to operate mobile plant for land-spreading of sewage sludge.

What has been updated?

The standard rule SR2010 no6 and associated risk assessments have been updated.

SR2010 No17: storage of digestate from anaerobic digestion plants

This document provides guidance on the standard rules to operate storage of digestate from anaerobic digestion plants.

What has been updated?

The standard rule SR2010 no17 and associated risk assessments have been updated.

SR2010 No 4: mobile plant for land-spreading

This document provides guidance on the standard rules to operate mobile plant for land spreading.

What has been updated?

The standard rule SR2010 no4 and associated risk assessments have been updated.

SR2010 No5: mobile plant for reclamation, restoration or improvement of land

This document provides guidance on the standard rules to operate mobile plant for reclamation, restoration or land improvement.

What has been updated?

The standard rule SR2010 no5 and associated risk assessments have been updated.

LPG flaring at end-of-life vehicle sites: RPS 202

This document provides guidance on when you can flare liquid petroleum gas (LPG) removed from vehicles at end-of-life vehicle (ELV) sites.

Regulatory guidance for installations: the greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme

This document provides guidance on regulating activities that are covered by the greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme regulations 2012.

What has been updated?

This guidance was updated in January 2017 to reflect amendments made to the 2012 regulations.

SCOTTISH ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AGENCY (SEPA)

Guidance on the shipment of wastes which contain Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM)

This guidance sets out the regulatory controls and associated policy framework that apply to the import and export of wastes which contain NORM (naturally occurring radioactive material).

WST-G-051: Reuse Activities and Waste Regulation

The guidance aims to provide clarity on when waste legislation applies to reuse activities and what you have to do to comply. 

Guidance for mitigation flow compliance checks

This document provides guidance for mitigating flow and compliance checks.

CAR Licences for Deep Boreholes - Information Requirements  

This guidance is directed at anybody planning to both drill and operate a deep borehole in Scotland.

Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Report on the Draft Climate Change Plan and Draft Scottish Energy Strategy

The SEA Environmental Report sets out the findings of the assessment undertaken on the Draft Climate Change Plan.

Draft Climate Change Plan - the draft Third Report on Policies and Proposals 2017-2032

This document is a draft of the Climate Change Plan, the third report on proposals and policies (RPP3) for meeting Scotland’s annual greenhouse gas emissions targets.

Evidence Review of the potential Wider Impacts of Climate Change Mitigation Options: Agriculture, Forestry, Land Use and Waste sectors

This review summarises the evidence of potential wider impacts arising from Climate Change mitigation measures in the Agriculture, Forestry, Land Use and Waste sectors.

Evidence Review of the Potential Wider Impacts of Climate Change Mitigation Options: Built Environment Sector

This review summarises the evidence of potential wider impacts arising from Climate Change mitigation measures in the Built Environment sector.

Evidence Review of the Potential Wider Impacts of Climate Change Mitigation Options: Transport sector

This review summarises the evidence of potential wider impacts arising from climate change mitigation measures in the Transport sector.

Dairy farm fined for pollution offence

The Environment Agency visited Clandown Farm, Pows Hill near Radstock on 4 April 2016. Dirty water and slurry was discovered leaking from the base of a lagoon used to store milking parlour washings. The source of the pollution was not found.

Dirty water from the farm yard was also contained in the lagoons earth banks and clay linings. The Brunt Brothers did not however repair the lagoon, but instead installed a drain to carry the leaking liquid away to a soakaway in a nearby field where it could cause pollution and possibly contaminate groundwater.

With this, the Brunt Brothers deliberately illegally discharged dirty water resulting in contamination.

Breach

The Brunt Brothers were found guilty to an offence under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 of causing or knowingly permitting an illegal discharge of dirty water.

Penalty

The Brunt Brothers were fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £4,245 costs. This penalty reflected the fact that the discharge to the soakaway was deliberate and the pollution had continued over a prolonged period of time.

Guilty for mattress mountain

The operator of a waste mattress and bed recycling site has been found guilty of:

1. breaching the company’s waste exemption conditions
2. failing to comply with enforcement notices issued by the Environment Agency.

It was found by the Environment Agency that as a result of the firm operating outside the terms of their registered waste exemption, they posed a pollution and fire risk to the surrounding environment, neighboring units and residential properties.

Environment Agency officers informed Mr Bertram that he was committing an offence by operating the site outside of the terms of these waste exemptions and gave Mr Bertram the opportunity to comply with the specific conditions and relevant objectives in the first instance.

Further visits indicated that the site continued to operate outside the waste exemption conditions.

The Environment Agency de-registered the waste exemptions and Enforcement Notices were issued on Mr Bertram in March 2015 instructing that all waste be removed from Unit E2 and the volume of waste at Unit Y to be reduced to the 1,000 tonne limit of textiles permitted for storage under the waste exemptions by 29 May 2015.

No further waste had been brought to site by Mr Bertram since the de-registration of the exemptions but the Enforcement Notice was not complied with.

The operator, Mr Bertram, pleaded not guilty to the charges to only result in the jury returning guilty pleas to the charges before the Crown Court.

Sentencing is due on 3 February 2017.

Kent couple fined for breaching environmental permit

The owners of S&P Motor Services were found guilty of breaching their environment permit after a site visit by the Environment Agency. The charges were brought against Mr Gary Pilcher and Mrs Valerie Pilcher, the operators of the site located in Sittingbourne, Kent.

The Environment Agency found that the site hardstanding was in a poor state of repair, containing ruts, holding water and suffering from significant oil contamination caused by an accumulation of small spills. This therefore breached the environmental permit.

The Environment Agency issued a Regulation 36 notice to Mr and Mrs Pilcher requiring repairs to the hardstanding and to clear up the oil spills in order to comply with their permit and minimise the potential risk to the surrounding environment.

At the next site visit in January 2015, the Environment Agency found no progress had been made to comply with the Regulation 36 notice. It was explained by the couple that weather conditions prevented them from complying.

A second notice was then issued after the couple stated to the Environment Agency when they expected to be able to complete the required works. They gave assurances that they could complete the work by summer 2015.

This second notice expired on 31 August 2015 and during a following site visit to check compliance with the notice, it was confirmed that no action had been taken by Mr and Mrs Pilcher.

Penalty

The owners of S&P Motor Services were each fined £1,350 and each told to pay £1,122 in costs, with a victim’s surcharge of £135.