Plans to boost waste site enforcement

摘要

The Environment Agency (EA) and Natural Resources Wales may be in line for additional enforcement powers in England and Wales. The powers are proposed in the first main part of a DEFRA and Welsh government consultation and involve: suspending an environmental 'permit to operate' if the operator fails to meet the conditions of an enforcement notice (at present this is only an option if there is a "risk of serious pollution"); preventing or remedying pollution even if an environmental permit is not in place; and clarifying that enforcement notices can include the steps an operator must take to prevent a breach of a permit getting worse, and that regulators can prevent further breaches (e.g. by barring more waste coming onto a non-compliant site).