Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010

My Lords, the regulations are being made to streamline and simplify our environmental permitting arrangements while—this is important—continuing to safeguard the environment and human health. Noble Lords will know that many potentially polluting activities, such as incinerators, sewage treatment plants and radioactive waste discharges from nuclear power stations, need a permit. When the Environment Agency or the local authority grants an environment permit, they are permitting an activity, subject to conditions to control pollution. The regulations cut red tape and provide an easier and more flexible way of doing that. They are consistent with the Government’s policy on better regulation, allowing us to focus on protecting the environment at a lower cost. That is vital at a time when we must be mindful of the impacts of climate change, and must not be deflected by unnecessary bureaucratic processes. Back in 2005, the Better Regulation Task Force challenged my department, Defra, to improve our permitting regulations, saying that, ""various licensing requirements are set out in different pieces of legislation and may impose different administrative requirements on industry ... yet their objective, to protect the environment, is the same"." We responded with the environmental permitting regulations 2007, which came into force in April 2008. They, with guidance, were the key product from the first phase of a productive partnership between Defra, the Environment Agency, the Welsh Assembly Government and other stakeholders—a partnership now expanded to include the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The regulations we are debating today build on the sound base of the 2007 regulations, integrating the permitting systems for radioactive substance regulation, discharges into groundwater and water discharge concerns. Furthermore, we are taking this opportunity to consolidate into the regulations the permitting parts of the mining waste directive and the batteries directive, along with the outcome of the waste exemptions review. These have already been subject to parliamentary scrutiny. We estimate that these regulations will save £45 million, which when added to the savings of the first phase of the programme will mean a total saving of £121 million for business, regulators and others over the next 10 years. While we are still in the early days of implementation of the programme, savings from standard permits have already allowed the Environment Agency to lower its fees. I am sure that it will bring solace to the Committee when I say that the regulations are more than 170 pages shorter than previous law. They repeal and re-enact much of the Radioactive Substances Act which is basically 1950s legislation, part of the Water Resources Act 1991, the Groundwater Regulations 2009 and the 2007 regulations. They also replace a number of other statutory instruments that are now redundant. As I have already said, but which bears repeating because it is key, the regulations still deliver the environmental and human health protection we care about. For example, in the new EP regulations offence for water discharge and groundwater activities, the terms "cause" and "knowingly permit" have the same meaning as in previous legislation. The majority of businesses that are low-risk will face fewer forms, fewer inspections and simpler guidance. Speaking in the debate on the 2007 regulations, the Minister, my right honourable friend Joan Ruddock, the Member for Lewisham Deptford, said that, ""businesses will no longer be burning the midnight oil dealing with overly complex systems".—[Official Report, Commons, First Delegated Legislation Committee, 26/11/07; col. 9.]" That may add to an improvement in the environment as burning the midnight oil is not the most attractive of ministerial activities. Under these regulations and subject to national security considerations relating to radioactive substances, an operator requires only a single environmental permit for activities on the same site, thus making it cheaper, quicker and easier to apply for permits while continuing to protect the environment. Before I close, I must draw noble Lords’ attention to an error in the regulations, which was unfortunately spotted after they were laid and for which I apologise. It relates to the storage limits for waste oils that are allowed under a waste exemption. Where the current limit says 400 cubic metres, it should say three cubic metres. An amendment will be made to correct the error before the regulations come into force. In future, we intend to implement the results of the radioactive substances exemption orders review through the environmental permitting regulations. We will continue to look for other suitable regimes that could be integrated into the new permitting system, if the costs and benefits add up. For now, this new permitting system will make it easier for regulators to do their job of safeguarding the environment and easier for business to comply. This can only be a good thing, when we must focus our energies on combating the threat of climate change. These regulations have been widely supported and accordingly I commend them to the Committee.