The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 were passed as secondary legislation last week, paving the way for them to be introduced, despite concerns that have been aired by metals recyclers (see letsrecycle.com) and the organics sector (see letsrecycle.com story) over the cost impact of the changes.
They also include the amendments to the system of exemptions from permitting which were separately consulted on by Defra and which were passed as a separate statutory instrument – 'The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations' – in December 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).
The purpose of the changes was outlined by Defra in an explanatory memorandum which accompanied the draft regulations when they were published earlier this year.
It said the regulations “reduce the administrative burden of regulation on industry and regulators without compromising the environmental and human health standards previously delivered by the separate regimes and create an extended permitting and compliance system that brings increased clarity and certainty for everyone on how the regulations protect the environment.”
Guidance
Defra has also updated its guidance on the environmental permitting system to accompany the changes, with core guidance detailing which facilities require a permit, how permits and exemptions can be applied for, and how the system will be monitored.
However, a final version of the detailed guidance for exempt waste operations – which was published for consultation in October 2009 – has not yet been issued by the department.
The final Permitting Regulations (labelled SI 2010 No. 675) are yet to be published on the government's OPSI site, but the draft document is available at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2010/draft/ukdsi_9780111491423_en_1
