Changes to Environmental Permitting in England and Wales
Environmental update 07/11/2011
The environmental permitting system in England and Wales changed
dramatically in 2007 when the Pollution Prevention and Control and
Waste Management Licensing systems were merged into The
Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007.
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations
2010 then expanded the scope of environmental permitting to include
the water discharges consent system, the groundwater permitting
system and the radioactive substances regulation system.
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales)
(Amendment) Regulations 2011 now make further changes to
how 'low risk' radioactive substances are managed and to implement
several amendments to EC Directives relating to carbon capture and
storage.
Radioactive substances
Various changes have been made to alter the situation in which
an environmental permit is required for activities involving
radioactive substances which pose a low risk. The changes
include:
- Technical amendments have been made to the definitions of
radioactive material and radioactive waste.
- Previous exemptions contained in the Radioactive Substances Act
(RSA) 1993 have been revoked. The amending regulations have
consolidated these exemptions. NB. The RSA 1993 will remain
in force in Scotland and Northern Ireland. To ensure consistency,
exemptions to the RSA 1993 will be amended and existing exemption
orders will be replaced by a single order.
- The radioactivity of certain substances is to be disregarded in
the exercise of certain powers or in the performance of certain
duties contained in other legislation.
- The definition of 'exempt groundwater activity' has been
extended to include where the activity is a groundwater tracer test
involving radioactive substances.
A transitional period has been set until April 2012 to allow
operators affected by the amendments to apply for a permit or
ensure compliance with any new exemption.
Carbon capture and storage
The capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from an
installation for the purposes of geological storage is now a
regulated activity under the Environmental Permitting regime, as is
the injection of carbon dioxide streams for storage purposes into
geological formations. This means that such activities will require
an environmental permit and will be regulated by the Environment
Agency.
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