Environmental agencies could be given a range of new enforcement powers under Defra plans announced today
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has opened a consultation to canvass opinion on proposals to give the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Countyside Council for Wales the authority to issue fines and use other deterrents for people who damage the environment.
The proposals build on the 2006 recommendations of Professor Richard Macrory’s report on regulatory sanctions generally, and the conclusions of the Government’s Review of Enforcement in Environmental Regulation.
The proposals would introduce the following civil sanctions for regulators to use:
* A range of enforcement notices such as a compliance notice could be issued.
* Fixed monetary penalties for lesser examples of non-compliance.
* Enforcement undertakings, by which an operator could offer voluntary commitments to comply, and to fully make amends for the effects of their non-compliance. The regulator may decide to accept an undertaking instead of imposing other sanctions.
* Variable monetary penalties - including fines for individuals and companies who are caught fly tipping.
The proposals are designed to give regulators better tools to protect the environment and communities, and to level the playing field for businesses that do not break the law.
The consultation, run jointly with the Welsh Assembly Government, will last for 12 weeks and will close on 14th October 2009.
The consultation documents can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/env-enforcement
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