New publications this month:

DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS (DEFRA)

Updated Core Guidance for Environmental Permitting

This document has been updated. This includes revised guidance on operator competence.

Reservoirs: Owner and operator requirements

Additional guidance has been provided on the selection of engineers from which panel and for which risk class of reservoir.

Guidance on prioritising waste collection services during coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

This document provides recommendations for local authorities and other organisations collecting waste on collections that should be prioritised during the COVID-19 outbreak.

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

Environment Agency Fees and Charges

This document has been updated with details of how a payment plan can be set up for Environment Agency fees as a result of business disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Scheme of abstraction charges 2020 to 2021

The scheme of charges for water abstractions has been updated. An updated charging calculator has also been provided.

COVID-19 regulatory position statements

A series of temporary regulatory position statements have been issued. Each document aims to address the impact of COVID-19 restrictions and expiry dates applicable are listed in each statement.

The statements provide greater flexibility to reflect COVID-19 restrictions, including on the waste transfer and consignment note documentation. It is recommended applicable statements are reviewed.

Waste management

• Social distancing when signing and handing over waste transfer and consignment notes in person: RPS C8
• COVID-19 and delaying hazardous waste consignee returns: RPS C14
• COVID-19 and packaging waste: registering as a packaging producer: RPS C9
• PPE waste from home healthcare workers treating patients with COVID-19: RPS C5

Environmental Permits (including Waste Operations)

• Monitoring emissions from installations, radioactive substances and waste activities: RPS C7
• Reporting for installations, radioactive substances and waste permits: RPS C10
• Emissions to air from large combustion plant during black start events: RPS C11
• Exceeding waste storage limits at permitted sites because of COVID-19: RPS C2
• Storing or treating COVID-19 cleansing waste at a healthcare waste management facility: RPS C1
• Incinerating specified healthcare wastes at a municipal waste incinerator: RPS C4
• COVID-19 and temporary storage of incinerator bottom ash aggregate: RPS C16

Water industry

• Water and sewerage company Operator Self-Monitoring and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations sampling affected by COVID-19: RPS C3
• Storing treated sewage sludge you cannot move because of COVID-19 restrictions: RPS C6

Radioactive substances

• Accumulating radioactive waste that you cannot transfer because of COVID-19: RPS C13
• COVID-19 and exceeding permit limits for medical use of radioactive substances: RPS C15

Agriculture

• COVID-19 and spreading slurry or milk on land, or storing slurry: RPS C12

Regulatory Position Statements

In addition to the above, the Environment Agency updated the following regulatory position statements during April 2020:

• Temporary dewatering from excavations to surface water: this has been extended to April 2021
• Excavated waste from utilities installation and repair: RPS 211: this has been extended to 31 October 2020.

FORESTRY COMMISSION

UK Forestry Standard for Planners

This guidance document concerns planning decisions for development that may affect woodlands. This was updated during April 2020.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY (BEIS)

Changes to RHI Support and COVID-19 Response

This notice reflects announcements made during the 2020 budget in March 2020. Notably, the domestic renewable heat incentive (DRHI) scheme has been extended to new applications until 31 March 2022.

Commissioning deadlines for outstanding projects subject to a tariff guarantee have been extended until mid-March 2021.

The non-domestic renewable heat incentive scheme (RHI) will close to new applications on 31 March 2021 as originally scheduled.

MARINE MANAGEMENT ORGANISATION (MMO)

Marine licensing: fees

Applying for a marine licence

These documents have been updated with details of how assistance can be sought regarding payment schedules for Marine Licence fees as a result of business disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. These details may also be used to request invoices in electronic format.

MINISTRY OF HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)

Guidance is provided on the duty to prepare an EPC, which may be disrupted during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Application of the Building Regulations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

Guidance is provided on how obligations under the Building Regulations will apply during the COVID-19 outbreak. This also includes the regulation of temporary healthcare buildings and related facilities.

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT

Coronavirus (COVID-19): building standards - special measures to enable the erection of temporary care assistance buildings: letter to local authorities

This letter concerns the erection and use of certain temporary buildings during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): building standards - special measures to enable the occupation of new buildings: letter to local authorities

This letter states how building standards verifiers should work to take measures to allow occupation of new domestic and non-domestic buildings during the COVID-19 outbreak.

SCOTTISH ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AGENCY (SEPA)

Temporary Regulatory Position Statements and Guidance due to COVID-19

The following temporary regulatory position statements have been published by SEPA. These are introduced to address pressures arising from the COVID-19 outbreak.

• Waste management (including the duty of care, transfer notes, consignment notes, arrangements at waste management facilities and transfrontier shipment of waste);
• Producer responsibility (packaging): payment of late registration fees
• Management of high-activity sealed radioactive sources;
• Management of radioactive substances at nuclear sites;
• Production of hand sanitiser; and
• Implications for reservoir managers and panel engineers.

WELSH GOVERNMENT

Building regulations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: guidance

Guidance is provided on how the building control regime will operate during the COVID-19 outbreak.

NATURAL RESOURCES WALES

Our Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic

This document sets out Natural Resources Wales’ position regarding various regulatory regimes during the COVID-19 outbreak. Topics covered include the following:

• How to process application forms
• Environmental permitting consultations
• Waste permitting
• Water abstraction returns
• Species licensing
• Our forestry operations
• Felling licence applications and Environment Impact Screening
• Spreading waste milk on agricultural land

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENT & RURAL AFFAIRS (DAERA) AND NORTHERN IRELAND ENVIRONMENT AGENCY (NIA)

Temporary Covid-19 Regulatory Position Statements

The following temporary regulatory position statements have been published by DAERA and NIEA. These are introduced to address pressures and revised approaches arising from the COVID-19 outbreak:

Permitting

• Emissions Monitoring for PPC permit (Installations & Waste) and Radioactive Substances Certificate holders
• Compliance with Water Order Discharge Consents

Waste

• Guidance on temporary Covid-19 measures put in place regarding waste shipments to and from Northern Ireland
• Guidance for temporary arrangements for movements of hazardous waste during COVID-19 pandemic
• Authorised Waste Facilities – temporary variation of licence/permit conditions
• Waste Storage – temporary storage and/or treatment of waste at a site that does not hold a waste management licence or permit
• NIEA Temporary Covid 19 Position on Operator Competence For Authorised Waste Facilities
• The Producer Responsibility (Packaging Waste) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 and amendments

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, much fewer press releases regarding prosecutions by environmental regulators are being published.

Fines for operator of waste management facility in Stoke-on-Trent

The sole director of A Morrey Distribution Limited (AMDL) has been fined for failing to comply with an enforcement notice. This notice required the submission of a fire prevention plan.

ADML was previously granted an environmental permit to store Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) on a temporary basis at the site.

During 11 inspections between 2014 and 2016 Environment Agency officers identified that bales of RDF were stockpiled in excess of the permitted limits. In total, approximately 18,000 tonnes of waste was deposited and stored in three different buildings across the site. Some of the RDF bales were degrading, leaching a black liquid and giving off a foul odour.

The RDF bales presented a risk of self-combustion, with potentially very serious consequences given the site’s proximity to the A500 D-road and the west coast main railway line.

The Environment Agency raised concerns with the operator. However, the company failed to take remedial action to reduce fire risk at the site, even after a permit suspension notice was issued.

The environmental permit was later revoked.

Breach

The Director had previously pleaded guilty to four offences in June 2017.

ADML also entered guilty pleas to four similar charges of breaching permit conditions, contrary to the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2010 between November 2014 and April 2016.

Penalty

The Director was fined £1,000 for failing to comply with the notice and ordered to pay £50,000 in prosecution costs. The Director is also required to pay a confiscation order of £33,000, which will contribute towards action to make the site safe.

If the Director fails to pay, a default prison sentence of 12 to 18 months could be triggered.