^{Date:              04 November 2008
Embargo:       None}

Revised Waste Exemptions from Environmental Permitting

ESA’s response to Defra’s consultation on exemptions on environmental permitting noted that, for regulation to work effectively, regulated industry needed to know that the rules were being adequately and consistently enforced to ensure a level playing field for all operators.

ESA stressed that it was important that the Environment Agency was properly resourced to enforce the rules effectively and to provide high quality and good value regulatory services to industry on a nationally consistent basis.

ESA supported a risk based, proportionate approach to exempt activities, which would complement the Environmental Permitting Programme (EPP) regime and argued that any extension of the scope of exempt activities must be matched by improved regulation of the exemption regime. It was vital that the review did not lead to exemptions which became a front for illegal operations or undermining of compliant businesses.

The success of the proposed revisions would depend on the Environment Agency devoting sufficient resources to regulation and enforcement of exempt activities with operators benefiting from an exemption being subject to appropriate transparency.

ESA supported proposals to replace certain high risk exemptions with standard permits and agreed that only “low risk” activities should benefit from an exemption. Exemptions should only be applicable for operations which were small enough to pose no risk to the environment and not to impact on competitiveness. ESA noted that environmental risk should be the principal criterion for determining whether an exemption was appropriate for a particular activity.

ENDS