Additional Guidance From The Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs
AQ3(04)
ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE FROM THE DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS, AND FROM THE WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (EMS)
- All the revised process guidance notes (PGs) being issued this year will contain advice on the desirability of operators having some form of structured environmental management approach. The two standard paragraphs are replicated at the end of this note.
- Defra has been asked how local authorities should give effect to this in authorisations and permits once the PGs are published.
- The advice specifies that regulators should consult with operators to agree an appropriate level of environmental management. Where no EMS is being used, Defra and WAG suggest that local authorities make use of the annual discussion on the risk based methodology http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/lapc/risk/index.htm which in section 7 includes a score for an appropriate environmental management system being in place. Authorities can explain the principles underlying EMS, as outlined in the standard paragraphs in the PGs, and ask the operator to consider what steps he/she is taking, or plans to take, which amount to an EMS tailored to the particular size and nature of the installation. Authorities can, if they see fit, reinforce this by using a variation notice to require EMS proposals to be submitted within a given timescale.
- Once agreement has been reached on what is a proportionate EMS for the particular installation, it will normally be desirable to include key elements of it as an authorisation/permit condition. (The revised PG notes all contain a standard line in the tabled headed 'compliance timetable': "all other provisions - to be complied with as soon as practicable, which in most cases should be within 12 months of the publication of this note".)
Standard paragraphs included in revised PG notes
Appropriate management systems
Effective management is central to environmental performance; It is an important component of BAT and of achieving compliance with permit conditions. It requires a commitment to establishing objectives, setting targets, measuring progress and revising the objectives according to results. This includes managing risks under normal operating conditions and in accidents and emergencies. It is therefore desirable that processes put in place some form of structured environmental management system (EMS), whether by adopting published standards (ISO 14001 or the EU Eco Management and Audit Scheme [EMAS]) or by setting up an EMS tailored to the nature and size of the particular process. Process operators may also find that EMS will help identify business savings.
Regulators should use their discretion, in consultation with individual process operators, in agreeing the appropriate level of environmental management. Simple systems which ensure that LAPC considerations are taken account of in the day-to-day running of a process may well suffice, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. While authorities may wish to encourage wider adoption of EMS, it is outside the legal scope of an LAPC authorisation/LAPPC permit to require an EMS for purposes other than LAPC/LAPPC compliance. For further information/advice on EMS refer to EMS Additional Information in Section 9.
AEQ/Defra
04.03.04
Page published: 30 March 2004