IEMA Lead Environmental Auditor - RRC Training · 27-37 St George’s Road London SW19 4DS United...

RRC Training 27-37 St George’s Road London SW19 4DS United KingdomT +44 (0)20 8944 3100 F +44 (0)20 8944 7099 [email protected] www.rrc.co.uk Skype ID rrctraining

IEMA Lead Environmental Auditor ELEMENT 6: ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL AND OTHER

REQUIREMENTS

SAMPLE MATERIAL

(Material correct at 3/3/2014)

© RRC IEMA Lead Environmental Auditor– Element 6 | 6-1

Element 6: Environmental Legal and Other Requirements

• The Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 is a wide-ranging piece of environmental legislation covering issues such as waste, nuisance and litter.

• The Clean Air Act 1993 prohibits emissions of dark or black smoke.

• The duty of care for waste covers all persons involved in the generation, importation, handling, transporting and disposal of waste.

• Hazardous waste is defined as having properties that may render it harmful to health and/or the environment. Specific laws are in place that covers its management (e.g. not mixing and notification).

• Discharges to surface water are covered by the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. Discharges to the public sewer are covered by the Water Industry Act 1991.

• The COMAH Regulations are relevant to organisation storing specified amounts of dangerous substances.

• Developments that have a potential to cause a significant impact on the environment are covered by legislation requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to be undertaken.

• Examples of environmental labelling schemes include the European Ecolabel, Fuel Economy Label, EU Energy Efficiency Label and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

• Guidelines on environmental management are produced by NGOs such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Background to Law

Law can best be described as the set of rules that regulate and control the conduct of citizens; it is laid down by those in authority and enforced by its agencies.

The two main sources of UK law are statute law and common law.

• Statute Law

Statute law is law that is produced by the government. Examples of statute law include Acts, Regulations and Orders. Statute law is written down and states a legal and binding code of conduct.

• Common Law

Common law is based on case law (past cases) and it is dependent on the accumulation of decisions by courts hearing cases with similar issues. Case law is based on the principle that a lower court must follow the judgment of a higher court when applying the law. This is advantageous in that judgments are based on practical experiences; however, the law is uncertain until a case is heard in court.

The law in the UK is developed into two branches: criminal law and civil law.

• Criminal law is based on crimes which are classed as offences against the state. Criminal law is closely allied to statute law. It has the objectives of punishing, deterring or reforming - usually through the imposition of fines and/or prison sentences. Prosecutions are brought by the state. In the environmental case this would include the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Procurator Fiscal (Scotland only with assistance of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency) or local authorities. For a case in criminal law to be successful, evidence must be proved ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.

• Civil law is based around the duties and rights of individuals to each other. It was introduced into the UK in 1066 with the Norman Conquest. The main source of civil law is common law. In fact, civil law is a codified version of common law, based around torts (civil wrongs) or ‘delicts’ as they are known in Scotland. Breaches of civil law often involve financial compensation for harm that has occurred to an individual or group of individuals. This compensation is designed to return a person back to the position they were in before the damage occurred. Cases in the civil court have to be proved ‘on the balance of probabilities’ (a lower degree of proof than in criminal courts). RR

C SA

MPL

E M

ATER

IAL

IEMA Lead Environmental Auditor – Element 6 | 6-2 © RRC


Civil Criminal

Offences by individual Offences against society

Based mainly on common law

Based mainly on statute law

Individual brings action Action brought by state’s enforcement bodies

Mainly result in compensation

Result involves punishment (e.g. fine, prison sentence)

Tort (civil wrong) Crime

Can insure against civil actions

Cannot insure against criminal actions

Loss must be proved No loss can occur

Standard of proof - balance of probabilities

Standard of proof - beyond reasonable doubt

Differences Between Civil and Criminal Law

Key Pieces of Environmental LawWe are now going to consider some of the more important aspects of criminal environmental law that are applicable to many organisations.

Environmental Protection Act (1990)The Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 is a wide-ranging piece of environmental legislation. It was designed to be a unifying and enabling piece of legislation. It brought together a number of environmental issues in a single framework act. Its principle theme is “preventing, minimising and rendering harmless” polluting releases.

The EPA 1990 consists of nine parts covering a wide range of activities:

Part I Integrated Pollution Control and Local Authority Air Pollution Control.

(Now replaced by the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 (PPC Act) and the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (EP Regulations), made under that Act).

Part II Waste on Land.

Part IIA Contaminated Land (inserted by the Environment Act 1995).

Part III Statutory Nuisances and Clean Air (includes noise, dust, smell, accumulations/deposits).

Part IV Litter.

Part V Radioactive Substances - now repealed and replaced by the EP Regulations 2010.

Part VI Genetically Modified Organisms.

Part VII Nature Conservation.

Part VIII Miscellaneous, including pollution at sea, control of dogs and straw burning.

Part IX General, including offences by bodies corporate, European Community and other international obligations, offences and application of the Act to the Crown.

Pollution Prevention and Control ActThe Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 (PPC Act) is a framework Act that contains little information on what is required for compliance. More specific law is made in the Regulations made under the PPC Act. In England and Wales, the key piece of law made under the Act is the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (EP Regulations).

These Regulations require industry operators of stated activities to apply for and comply with environmental permits.

A permit is required by an organisation if it operates one of the following regulated facilities:

• Mobile plant or installations undertaking a Part A(1), A(2) or Part B activity.

(Note: Part A permits provide control of a wide range of impacts on the environment such as air, land and water emissions, waste minimisation, raw materials consumption, noise, heat, vibration and preventing accidents. Part B permits only provide control of activities that produce emissions to air.)

• Waste operations and waste mobile plant.

• Mining waste operations.RRC

SAM

PLE

MAT

ERIA

L



• Water discharge activities polluting effluent to surface water (e.g. river) and groundwater.

• Radioactive substances activities.

• Small waste incineration plant (England only).

• Solvent emission activity (England only).

Installation PermitsInstallation permits cover numerous environmental areas such as:

• Emissions of pollutants to air, water and land.

• Energy efficiency; waste management.

• Consumption of raw materials.

• Noise and vibration.

• Site restoration and decommissioning.

• Accidents and incidents affecting the environment.

A common list of industries that require an installation permit under the EP Regulations 2010 includes:

• Energy industries.

• Production of metals.

• Chemicals manufacture.

• Recovery processes, e.g. waste oils and incinerators.

• Tanneries.

• Surface treatments, e.g. paint and printing using solvents.

• Slaughterhouses.

• Large food and drink manufacturers.

• Intensive rearing of poultry and pigs.

• Dyeing of fibres and textiles.

A more detailed list is provided in Schedule 1 of the EP Regulations 2010.

Regulators for Environmental PermitsThe regulators for the Environmental Permitting regime are:

• Environment Agency/Natural Resources Wales - Part A(1) installations or mobile plant, waste operations, waste mobile plant, mining waste operations, radioactive substances and discharges to surface water and groundwater.

• Local authorities - Part A(2) installations or mobile plant, Part B installations or mobile plant, small waste incineration plant (England only) and solvent emission activities (England only).

Note: In Scotland, under the IPPC permitting system, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency is the sole regulator.

The EA website provides more information on the Environmental Permitting Regulations at:

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/permitting/default.aspx

Air

Clean Air ActThe Clean Air Act 1993 prohibits emissions of dark or black smoke from chimneys which serve boiler plants and from other activities producing smoke (other than via a chimney). The Act covers all parts of the UK, except Northern Ireland. (Similar controls in Northern Ireland are provided in the Clean Air (Northern Ireland) Order 1981.) Parts I, II and III of the Act are exempt to organisations that are covered under the EP Regulations 2010.

The integrated permitting process of the EP Regulations 2010 takes a number of environmental impacts into account for installation-regulated facilities, including emissions of pollutants to air. It also covers emissions to water and land, energy efficiency, consumption of raw materials, noise, and site restoration. This is with the objective of achieving a high level of protection for the overall environment. Limits and conditions of emissions to air are therefore often included in environmental installation permits.

Fluorinated Greenhouse GasesFluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) are a number of fluorine-containing chemicals that have a high potential to contribute to climate change. Common uses for F-gases are refrigeration, air- conditioning equipment, aerosols, solvents, fire-fighting liquids and high voltage switchgear.

There are three main varieties of F-gases:

• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

• Perfluorocarbons (PFCs).

• Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

Stationary refrigeration, heat pumps and air-conditioning systems are the largest sources of F-gas emissions in the UK. F-gases are present in substances such as:

• HFCs - HFC-23, HFC-134a, HFC-152a.

• PFCs - PFC-218 and R218.

Almost all responsibilities lie with the operator under EU Regulation 842/2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases and the Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2009. RR

C SA

MPL

E M

ATER

IAL



Key requirements of the Regulations are:

• Leakage prevention - where it is technically possible and does not involve disproportionate cost, leakage must be prevented and leaks repaired as soon as possible.

• Check for leaks - the frequency of checks is dependent on the system and amounts of F-gases used, as can be seen in the table below:

Frequency Normal system (kilograms)

Labelled as hermetically sealed (kilograms)

None Less than 3 Less than 6

Annual 3 to 29 6 to 29

Six-monthly* 30 to 299 30 to 299

Quarterly 300 or more 300 or more

*Half this frequency if fitted with automatic leak detection.

• Inspection - the system is required to be inspected within a month following detection and repair of a leak to ensure successful repair.

• Automatic leak detection - a leak detection system must be fitted to equipment that contains 300kg or more of F-gas refrigerant. This system must be checked annually.

• Maintaining records - records must be retained for systems with 3kg of F-gases, such as amount and type of F-gas in the system and amount of refrigerant added to the system.

• Recovery of gas - if F-gases are removed from a system, they are required to be appropriately recovered by certified persons during decommissioning and servicing. All F-gases reclaimed must be correctly disposed of if they are not being recycled.

Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODSs)Use and Supply

Controlled Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODSs) include hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons and substances such as carbon tetrachloride and 1,1,1-trichloroethane. These substances are used mainly in refrigeration (including air-conditioning), as solvents, in dry cleaning and in fire extinguishing (halons).

EU Regulation 1005/2009 (which consolidates and replaces previous provisions) implements within the EU commitments agreed by the parties to the Montreal Protocol. Except in certain cases/applications, the production, placing on the market and use of controlled ODSs is prohibited. Essential laboratory and analytical uses are exempt (subject to registration and licensing

requirements), in addition to other critical uses such as military and aerospace (although these will be phased out for specific halons by 2040). ODSs are prohibited from use in new refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment and strict controls are placed on existing equipment which contains ODSs in order to prevent release to the atmosphere.

In particular, key controls include the following:

• The supply and use of CFCs and halons is banned in the EU.

• Virgin HCFCs cannot be used in any new refrigeration equipment or for maintenance of existing equipment.

• Reclaimed or recycled HCFCs may be used for plant maintenance until 31 December 2015.

• Leak testing for ODSs must be carried out (as identified in the table above).

• If a repair to a leak has occurred then the system should be checked within a month to ensure the repair has been successful.

• Minimum qualifications must be held if specific tasks are undertaken with the list of qualifications identified in Schedule 1 of the Ozone-Depleting Substances (Qualifications) Regulations 2009.

• Disposal of equipment containing ODSs must be carried out in compliance with the Duty of Care and other relevant waste legislation.

There are also other controls in place under the Regulations that cover ODSs for other uses, some of the key points being:

• ODS use for fire-fighting equipment is now banned, apart from for essential uses.

• The use of solvents containing ODSs is banned for any solvent-cleaning activities such as electronic circuit boards and metal component degreasing.

WasteWaste is classed in the EPA 1990 as:

• Any substance which constitutes a scrap material or an effluent or other unwanted surplus substance arising from the application of any process.

• Any substance or article which requires to be disposed of as being broken, worn out, contaminated or otherwise spoilt.

• Anything which is discarded or otherwise dealt with as if it were waste.

RRC

SAM

PLE

MAT

ERIA

L



The EPA 1990 Schedule 2B goes further and gives examples of waste, including:

• Production or consumption residues not otherwise specified below.

• Off-specification products.

• Products whose date for appropriate use has expired.

• Material spilt, lost or having undergone any other mishap, including any materials, equipment, etc. contaminated as a result of the mishap.

• Materials contaminated or soiled because of planned actions (e.g. residues from cleaning operations, packing materials, containers, etc.).

• Unusable parts (e.g. reject batteries, exhausted catalysts, etc.).

• Substances which no longer perform satisfactorily (e.g. contaminated acids, contaminated solvents, exhausted tempering salts, etc.).

• Residues of industrial processes (e.g. slags, still bottoms, etc.).

• Residues from pollution abatement processes (e.g. scrubber sludges, baghouse dusts, spent filters, etc.).

• Matching or finishing residues (e.g. lathe turnings, mill scales, etc.).

• Residues from raw materials extraction and processing (e.g. mining residues, oil field slops, etc.).

Example of Waste

Environmental Permitting for Waste SitesPart II Section 33 of the EPA 1990 states that a person should not:

• Knowingly cause or knowingly permit controlled waste to be deposited in or on any land unless an environmental permit is in force and the deposit is in compliance with the permit.

• Treat, keep or dispose of controlled waste or knowingly cause or permit controlled waste to be treated, kept or disposed except under, and in compliance with, an environmental permit.

• Treat, keep or dispose of controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health. Although there are exemptions, it can be clearly seen that sites who undertake waste operations must have an environmental permit.

Duty of CareProbably the most important provision of Part II of the EPA 1990, as far as industry and commerce is concerned, is the introduction of the “Duty of Care” for all persons involved in the generation, importation, handling, transporting and disposal of waste. It states that the person who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste has a duty to:

• Prevent the escape of the waste.

• Ensure that waste is transferred only to an authorised person.

• Ensure a written description of the waste is provided when it is transferred.

• Prevent any contravention by any other person of Section 33.

We shall now consider the way in which organisations can comply with the “Duty of Care”.

• Containment of Waste

Waste should be placed in containers which are adequate to prevent its escape during storage, transport and up to, and often including, disposal. It is necessary for producers of waste to know how their waste will be treated, stored and transported to ensure that the containers are adequate for the purpose. The containers must, where appropriate, be safe against corrosion or wear, accidental spills, leaking, breaking open by falling, poor weather conditions, or damage by vandals, thieves, children, trespassers or animals.

Waste must be stored securely and kept in suitable labelled containers at all times in order to prevent any escape and ensure the correct segregation of waste types. Where practicable, wastes should be kept under cover while awaiting collection.

Liquid wastes should be stored on impervious surfaces that are bunded or drained to a sealed pit capable of containing the contents of the storage containers. Storage facilities should be secure against vandalism or other outside interference.

RRC

SAM

PLE

MAT

ERIA

L



• Waste Transfer Notes (WTNs)

Whenever waste is removed from a site or premises, a transfer note must be completed. The transfer note must describe the waste in sufficient detail to all the transporters and disposers of the waste to enable them to handle and dispose of the waste safely. If there are special considerations or precautions which must be followed, then they must be included in the description of the waste given in the transfer note.

All transfer notes should contain enough information for the wastes to be handled safely and within the law. Failure to do so can result in prosecution. Copies of WTNs should be retained for two years.

For repetitive transfers, where the parties involved in each transfer and the description of the waste transferred remain the same, a season ticket can be used which will cover multiple transfers over a given period of time of up to 12 months.

• Transportation of Waste

There are specific duties on producers of waste to ensure that wastes are only transferred to persons who are registered with the Environment Agency/Natural Resources Wales/SEPA to accept or transport the particular types and quantities of waste involved. To fulfil this duty, it is not sufficient simply to ask the transporter if he is registered to transport and dispose of that type and quantity of waste.

The Duty of Care and Code of Practice recommend that producers should require to see the actual registration held by the transporters and disposers of the waste. Registrations to transport waste last indefinitely for lower-tier registrations and for three years for upper-tier registrations, so regular checking should be part of the waste producer’s duties.

Similarly, some industrial waste producers arrange to follow the trucks of the waste transporters to the disposal site once a year.

RRC

SAM

PLE

MAT

ERIA

L



Example of a Waste Transfer NoteRRC

SAM

PLE

MAT

ERIA

L



Hazardous WasteThe main requirements of the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 are the:

• Definition of hazardous waste (see below).

• Restriction of the mixing of wastes.

• Notification of premises producing hazardous waste.

• Consignment note arrangements.

• Returns and records.

We shall now consider in more detail how compliance with the Hazardous Waste Regulations can be achieved.

Definition of Hazardous Waste

Hazardous Waste

Defined as having properties that may render it harmful to health and/or the environment.

Examples of hazardous waste include:

• Asbestos.

• Lead-acid batteries.

• Televisions.

• Oily sludges.

• Fluorescent light tubes.

• Chemical wastes.

• Some, but not all, prescription-only medicines.

Restriction of the Mixing of WastesIt is an offence to mix hazardous wastes unless it is permitted as part of a disposal or recovery operation. The mixing of hazardous wastes includes:

• Mixing different categories of hazardous waste.

• Mixing with a non-hazardous waste.

• Mixing with any other substance or material.

There is an additional requirement that, where such mixing has occurred, the holder of the waste must separate the wastes where it is technically and economically feasible. The duty to separate may not necessarily be on the person who initially mixed the waste, but on whoever now holds the waste.

Notification of Premises Producing Hazardous WasteWhere hazardous waste is produced at or removed from premises, the premises must notify the Environment Agency or Natural Resources Wales. Once the EA or NRW has been duly notified, the premises become ‘notified premises’ for a period of 12 months. Premises are exempt if they produce less than 500kg of hazardous waste in a year.

Consignment Note ArrangementsThe movement of hazardous waste requires consignment notes to be completed whenever hazardous waste is removed from premises.

Producers, holders, carriers, consignors and consignees are all required to complete various parts of the forms. If the consignee rejects the waste, suitable alternative arrangements must be made. Where more than one carrier transports the consignment, a schedule of carriers must also be completed. Where a single carrier collects more than one consignment of waste in the course of a journey, if each consignment is collected from different premises and is being transported to the same consignee promptly, ‘multiple collection’ provisions are available.

Consignee

Person who receives hazardous waste.

Consignor

Person producing the hazardous waste.

Returns and RecordsProducers, holders, carriers, consignors and consignees are required to keep records. These must be kept for a minimum of three years, except in the case of carriers where the period is 12 months. Consignees are required to provide the EA with a quarterly return, setting out the consignments they have received during that period. Consignees may be required to pay a fee to the EA, but are given a right to recover the payment from consignors who sent the waste to them. They are also required to send a return to producers or holders who sent waste to them.

RRC

SAM

PLE

MAT

ERIA

L

IEMA Lead Environmental Auditor - RRC Training · 27-37 St George’s Road London SW19 4DS United...

Documents

Transcript of IEMA Lead Environmental Auditor - RRC Training · 27-37 St George’s Road London SW19 4DS United...