Environmental Permitting Programme: Consultation on Government Guidance

Mr Nigel Atkinson
Head of Environment Regulation Policy
Defra
Area 5B
Ergon House
Horseferry Road
London SW1P 2AL

Email: eppadministrator@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Website: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/epp

6 May 2009

Dear Consultee,

Environmental Permitting Programme: Consultation on Government Guidance (1)

I am writing to invite your views on the structure and content of several pieces of draft Government Guidance for the Environmental Permitting Regulations (‘the Regulations’)(2).

The draft guidance documents on which we are consulting are:

  • Core Guidance for the draft Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations [2010]
  • Radioactive Substance Regulation (RSR)
  • Water Discharge Activities
  • The Mining Waste Directive
  • The Batteries Directive

This guidance is aimed at the Regulator, the regulated community and any others who may be interested. The Environment Agency will produce supporting technical guidance.

This letter and the draft guidance documents, as well as the list of consultees, can be downloaded from the Defra website: www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/env-permitting-guidance and the DECC website: www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/cons_epp/cons_epp.aspx.

This consultation runs for 12 weeks and closes on 29 July 2009.

Please note that the separate consultation on the draft Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations [2010] will close on 11 May 2009.

The Environmental Permitting Programme (EPP) is a Better Regulation initiative designed to reduce costs for business and regulators by cutting unnecessary red tape, without changing levels of protection for the environment and human health.

You can find more information on the form and content of current EPP guidance in Annex B to this letter.  As this format has been supported in previous public consultations, we propose to continue to use it for the draft guidance above. You should note that the consultation draft of each piece of guidance is not final in all details.  Changes may be made as a result both of this consultation and the consultation on the draft Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations [2010] which will widen the EPP regime by incorporating Discharge Consenting, Groundwater Authorisations and Radioactive Substances Regulation(3)..

The Government intends to consult separately on guidance on

  • the Environmental Permitting Waste Exemptions, and
  • the Groundwater Regulations, which will transpose the new Groundwater Directive (2006/118/EC) before April 2010.

The Local Authorities’ General Guidance Manual will take account of any changes to the Environmental Permitting Core Guidance.

Questions for consultation

The Government welcomes your views on the form and content of the guidance. It would be particularly helpful if you could address the questions in Annex A.

How to respond

Please send your response to the relevant addresses below – preferably by email.

England

By email:        eppadministrator@defra.gsi.gov.uk
By post:          Defra, Environmental Permitting Consultation,
Zone 5B Ergon House, Horseferry Road, London  SW1P 2AL
Enquiries:      Maria Moynihan: 020 7238 5097

Wales

By email:        rppmailbox@wales.gsi.gov.uk
By post:          EPP Consultations, Radioactivity and Pollution Prevention Branch,
Welsh Assembly Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NG
Enquiries:      Russell Lang: 029 2082 1588
Consultees should note that it may not be possible to consider responses that arrive after the deadline of 29 July 2009.

Yours faithfully,

signiture

Nigel Atkinson
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

 
Further information

 

Footnotes

(1) At this stage, the guidance has been written to cover England and Wales.

(2) The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007 No 3538), as amended by the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009 no [XXXX]) and the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 (SI 2009 No 890); the draft Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

(3) www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/env-permitting/index.htm

Page published: 6 May 2009