New publications this month:

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY (BEIS)

CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme: conversion factors

Updated conversion factors have been published for the 2018/19 year (the final year) of the CRC.

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

MCERTS: performance standard for handheld emission monitoring systems

This performance standard has been updated

Medium Combustion Plant

M5: Monitoring of stack gas emissions from medium combustion plants and specified generators

This new document details how stack gas emissions from medium combustion plant and specified generators are to be monitored.

Following a consultation earlier this year, the Environment Agency has published the following standard rules permits and generic risk assessments for medium combustion plant and specified generators. These rules will apply in England.

• SR2018 No 1: Specified Generator, Tranche B low risk, base load operation between 0 – 5 MWth
• SR2018 No 2: Specified Generator, Tranche B low risk, base load operation 0 – 2 MWth with high background NOx
• SR2018 No 4: Specified Generator, Tranche B low risk, 0 – 20 MWth of gas or abated diesel engines operated less than 500 hours a year
• SR2018 No 5: Specified Generator, Tranche B low risk, 0 – 20 MWth of gas or abated diesel engines operated less than 1,500 hours a year
• SR2018 No 6: Specified Generator, Tranche B low risk, base load operation 0 – 1.3 MWth with high background NOx
• SR2018 No 7: New, low risk, stationary Medium Combustion Plant 1 < 20MWth (in operation after 20/12/2018)
• SR2018 No 8: mobile plant Specified Generator, Tranche B low risk, base load operation <1 – 2 MWth
• SR2018 No 9: Specified Generator, Tranche B low risk, base load operation between 0 – 0.9 MWth

Regulatory Position Statements (RPSs)

RPS207: Classifying waste wood from mixed waste wood sources

The validity of this RPS has been extended until 30 September 2019.

RPS208: Waste carrier, broker and dealer registration renewals due after 25 March 2018

This RPS has been extended until the end of October 2018. The RPS extends the renewal date of carrier, broker and/or dealer licences due on 25 March 2018 due to delays in launching the Environment Agency’s online registration system.

RPS215: Land contamination pilot trials and small scale remediation schemes

This new RPS permits the operation of certain treatment systems for waste contaminated soils and groundwater where the associated conditions are met. This RPS concerns pilot trials and small scale remediation schemes.

Decommissioning onshore oil and gas wells drilled before 1 October 2013

The validity of this RPS has been extended until 31 December 2019.

MARINE MANAGEMENT ORGANISATION

Marine licensing exempted activities

Details of activities exempt from the marine licensing regime have been updated within this statutory guidance.

Marine Pollution Contingency Plan

This plan has been updated.

BREXIT UPDATE

In September 2018 a series of documents were published providing guidance on how various regimes would be affected should the UK leave the EU without a deal on 29 March 2019.

Upholding environmental standards if there’s no Brexit deal

Guidance is provided on a Brexit no deal scenario with respect to environmental standards derived from EU legislation. The document states that all EU environmental law in place prior to exit day will continue to operate as UK law, through retention on the UK statute book.

Initially amendments to environmental legislation will only be undertaken to transfer powers to UK institutions and correct references to EU law. However, this document states that the UK government will have the opportunity to revise the English and non-devolved environmental legislative framework over time and subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

Existing environmental permits and licences will continue to apply as now.

Other than a commitment to introducing a forthcoming Environment Bill to discharge commitments under the 25-year environment plan, the guidance document provides limited details of future policy.

Industrial emissions standards (‘best available techniques’) if there’s no Brexit deal

Guidance is provided on how Best Available Techniques (BAT) under the industrial emission control regime will be managed should the UK leave the EU without a deal. BAT are applied through permits under the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) and set out minimum environmental standards for installations within each sector. BAT are determined by the European Commission through BAT reference (BREF) documents and BAT conclusions. BAT are required to be addressed by permits for the respective sector.

This document states that powers under the Industrial Emissions Directive will be transferred to UK institutions.

BAT conclusions published prior to exit day will be applicable to UK installations. This includes those with a transposition deadline after exit day. UK institutions will also be provided with powers to adopt future European BAT conclusions published after exit day.

The UK government is to adopt a process to determine UK BAT conclusions in the future.

Using and trading in fluorinated gases and ozone depleting substances if there’s no Brexit deal

In the event of no deal, the majority of the requirements of the Fluorinated Greenhouse Gas Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 and Ozone-depleting Substances Regulation (EC) No 1005/2009 will continue to apply as at present.

New UK IT systems would be established to manage quotas in support of the phase down of fluorinated greenhouse gases placed on the UK market. These would be administered by the Environment Agency.

Businesses that produce, import, or export fluorinated greenhouse gases or ozone-depleting substances or products and equipment pre-charged with these gases would need to apply for UK quota to place them on the UK market.

Regulating chemicals (REACH) if there’s no Brexit deal

As an EU Regulation, the REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 is directly in force in the UK. This document states that in the event of no deal, the Regulation will be transferred to the UK statute book, preserving it so far as is possible. Functions currently undertaken by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) would be transferred to the HSE.

A UK registration and evaluation system would be developed, reflecting the existing ECHA IT system. The document states that resources would be made available to provide adequate enforcement and regulation of the UK-specific chemical registration, evaluation authorisation and restriction regime.

Buying and selling timber if there’s no Brexit deal

Should the UK leave the EU without a deal, due diligence requirements on timber imports currently applicable on non-EU nations will become applicable to timber from EU Member States. The UK will introduce its own CITES Regulation, which will recognise CITES permits as evidence that the EU Timber Regulation is met and further due diligence is not necessary.

The UK intends to continue to recognise Forestry Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) licences in a no deal scenario.

UK-based exporters of timber will need to provide documentation to evidence the source of legality of timber material for supply to the European Economic Area.

Timber traders within the UK will continue to be required to maintain a record of who they buy timber from and sell it to.

Running an oil or gas business if there’s no Brexit deal

This document states that the existing hydrocarbon licensing regime will continue to apply should the UK leave the EU without a deal. Environmental protection requirements (e.g. on offshore combustion plant and environmental impact assessment) will also be maintained.

Oil stocking: the lower obligations under the International Energy Agency International Energy Programme will apply (90 days of net imports to the members of this programme). BEIS will communicate revised levels of stocking to obligated organisations.

Generating low-carbon electricity if there’s no Brexit deal

The UK Government will continue to recognise guarantees of origin for electricity generated via cogeneration or renewables from Northern Ireland and the EU should the UK leave the EU without a deal. As guarantees from the UK will no longer be recognised in the EU, generators are advised to consider how they market exports.

The UK will continue to recognise microgeneration installer certificates issued within the European Economic Area. UK-issued certifications will no longer be recognised in the European Economic Area. UK installers are recommended to seek advice on recognition under the microgeneration certification scheme.

Fines after waste material leads to watercourse pollution in Norfolk

Fines have been issued to a company that was found to have stored too much highly polluting waste in a lagoon and spread too much organic waste onto land, leading to run off and pollution.

DEM (King’s Lynn) Ltd stored and spread waste vegetable washing on 3.99 hectares of land at Poplar Farm in Outwell. Although an exemption was registered, this did not cover the scale of activities carried out and therefore associated conditions were breached. The exemption permitted waste produced only on the farm to be spread, but waste and washings were brought in from elsewhere. An estimated 7,700 tonnes of waste was taken to the farm and deposited or spread over a 20 month period.

The Environment Agency attended the site in April 2015 following reports from the Internal Drainage Board that a slurry pit was polluting nearby watercourses. The investigation found that a lagoon, used to store some of the waste, over-spilled and was too close to a ditch and there was too much spread on the land. Officers found heaps of waste potatoes stored in the field, straw bale walls of the lagoon decomposing and effluent leaking from the lagoon into the ditch.

The owner the land, Trevor William Sieley, had received a warning letter and previous offences for similar actions. Although the landowner denied knowingly allowing the illegal waste operation, the court found him guilty, deciding that his actions were reckless.

DEM (King’s Lynn) Ltd pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to spreading the waste illegally.

Breaches

Trevor William Sieley and DEM (King’s Lynn) Ltd were guilty to breaching Regulation 12(1)(a) and Regulation 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

• Regulation 12(1)(a) prohibits persons from operating regulated facilities except under and to the extent authorised by an environmental permit.
• Regulation 38(1)(a) makes it an offence to contravene Regulation 12(1).

Penalties

Trevor William Sieley and DEM (King’s Lynn) Ltd was fined £1,920 and ordered to pay costs of £10,041 as well as a victim surcharge of £170.

DEM (King’s Lynn) Ltd was fined £3,667, ordered to pay £7,666 and a victim surcharge of £170.

Director and company fined for breaches of environmental permit

A company director and his company have been fined for dust and odour breaches at a waste management facility in Nottingham.

Colson Transport Ltd took over the site from the previous operators, following which the volume of waste passing through the site increased significantly. Increased activity at the site led to dust escaping and odour problems. Odour and dust issues impacted on local residents, businesses and a primary school, which were the subject of complaints to the Environment Agency.

An Environment Agency investigation identified that waste was being stored inappropriately. Additionally, the regulator found that combustible waste was stored, posing a fire risk to persons nearby.

A written warning was submitted to the operator, but Colson Transport Ltd and its director failed to operate the site in accordance with the permit.

However, the director and Colson Transport Ltd cooperated with the investigation and showed evidence remedial action to address the previous problems. Approximately £350,000 was invested into the site and there was acceptance of responsibility.

Penalties

Ryan Colson and Colson Transport Limited were fined £38,000 with costs of £33,000.

Jail term for persistent Worcestershire waste criminal

John Bruce, who was prosecuted earlier in 2018 and sentenced to 26 months in prison, has been handed a further custodial sentence of 22 weeks to run concurrently with the existing sentence.

The earlier prosecution concerned dumping of around 26,000 tonnes of waste at Ridgeway Park Farm, Throckmorton Airfield in Worcestershire. The Environment Agency also found that Mr Bruce had been burying and burning hazardous waste.

The Environment Agency identified that more than 60 tonnes of redundant kitchen and bathroom materials had been received between January and February 2016. Flat pack furniture and packaging were also found to be being burned at the site.