The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has issued a consultation on proposals to introduce a "more effective" approach to enforcing environmental regulations in England and Wales. The three-month consultation launched on 21 July, entitled "Proposals for fairer and better environmental enforcement", outlines moves which would see the the Environment Agency impose civil sanctions, including fixed penalty notices for offences where prosecution may not be the most effective remedy.
This would alter the way waste management and recycling companies are reprimanded for offences such as failing to submit monitoring data, and comes as part of plans to allow regulators more flexibility to respond in ways that are "proportionate to the seriousness of non-compliance." Changes to the way environment crime is enforced would affect businesses in the sector, as well as landowners, occupiers, public sector groups and also regulators and the justice system.
The proposals would build on existing, limited civil sanctions being used by the Agency under the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008, and will allow them to impose sanctions in accordance with their own enforcement policy and detailed guidance. The consultation will close on 14 October 2009, and seeks views on a number of approaches based around the application of different sanctions, from monetary fines to a range of enforcement notices.
