News

From 1 January 2012, the transitional provisions for exempt groundwater activities under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations SI 2010/675 ended.

If you are going to make a discharge to surface water (for example a river, stream, estuary or the sea), or to groundwater (including via an infiltration system) then you may need to apply for an environmental permit to make that discharge.

Important new legislation has been published, in the form of the:

• Control of Volatile Organic Compounds (Petrol Vapour Recovery) (Scotland) Regulations SSI 2011/418;
• Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations SI 2011/2933.

They amend certain legislation in order to implement Directive 2009/126/EC, on Stage 2 petrol vapour recovery during refuelling of motor vehicles at service stations, insofar as it relates to a permit or authorisation under the:

• Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations SSI 2000/323;
• Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations SI 2010/675.

Volatile organic compounds can cause a number of environmental and health problems and are emitted into the atmosphere at different stages during the storage and distribution of petrol.

On 18 January 2012, the provisions of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment (Northern Ireland) Act 2011 relating to powers to produce secondary legislation, guidance and Codes of Practice came into force.

The remainder of the Act will come into force on 1 April 2012.

The objective of this Act is to improve the quality of the local environment by giving district councils additional powers to deal with litter, nuisance alleys, graffiti and fly posting, abandoned and nuisance vehicles, dogs, noise and statutory nuisance.

On 1 January 2012, new UK recovery and recycling targets were introduced under the:

• Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations SI 2007/871;
• Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 2007/198.

These are as follows:

• recovery target - 74%;
• recycling targets for:
  • glass - 81%;
  • aluminium - 40%;
  • steel - 71%;
  • paper/board - 69.5%;
  • plastic - 32%;
  • wood - 22%.

The Energy Act 2011 has been published and provides for a change in the provision of energy efficiency measures to homes and businesses. In doing so, it introduces the "green deal", which is a new financing framework to improve the energy efficiency of households and non-domestic properties. This will be funded by a charge on the property's energy bills which means the consumer will not have to pay for costs upfront.

It also contains provisions regarding the private rented sector, which means that from April 2016, private residential landlords cannot refuse a tenant's request for consent to energy efficiency improvements where a finance package, such as the green deal, is available. In addition, from April 2018, it will be illegal to rent out residential or business premises that do not reach a minimum energy efficiency standard.

In addition, the Act establishes an Energy Company Obligation. This will work with the green deal in order to offer more assistance to those who need additional support, such as the elderly or disabled.

The Pollution Prevention and Control (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 2011/402 make various amendments to the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 2003/46 by:

• allowing a permit to temporarily remain in force in the event of a permit holder's death;
• removing the burning of waste from the list of combustion activities;
• implementing Directive 2009/126/EC on Stage 2 Petrol Vapour Recovery during refuelling of motor vehicles at service stations.

Volatile organic compounds can cause a number of environmental and health problems and are emitted into the atmosphere at different stages during the storage and distribution of petrol.