Proposed environmental regulation reforms to give regulators more control over permits
The UK and Welsh Governments have unveiled proposals to amend environmental permitting regulations in a bid to simplify and speed up the process for lead regulators the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales "to create, amend and remove types of exempt facilities and activities which are not required to hold an environmental permit".
The consultation, which was launched today (8 April), proposes changes to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.
The 2016 regulations require regulators in England and Wales to supervise activities which could harm the environment.
Under the regime, regulated facilities are grouped into 12 classes to which environmental controls apply, and operators of these facilities must hold a permit.
The scheme also designates a list of exempt facilities which are considered to pose a lower risk and do not require a permit.
At present, lead regulators have powers to issue, amend or change rules attached to permits following a public consultation in order to respond to new environmental risks, technologies or management techniques that require attention.
No amendments to legislation are required to make these changes, allowing regulators to rapidly adjust the level of control for facilities that require a permit, the Government said in its consultation document.
"However, exempt facilities, and the conditions that apply to them, are specified in the regulations, which can only be changed by means of legislative amendment", the document added.
It said: "In summary, where the regulations define certain types of facility as exempt, regulators' powers to make changes are limited and ineffective."
The twp governments said that efforts to amend the regulations are often "lengthy and subject to disruption", and previous delays in implementing changes have, in some cases, "allowed illegal practices to continue".
To address this, the consultation is proposing to hand lead regulators new powers to define types of regulated facilities that are exempt from the need to hold a permit and to set the conditions that apply to them.
The proposed powers would only be available for classes that can already include exempt facilities as defined by regulation 5 of the regulations (currently flood risk activities, waste operations, water discharges, and groundwater activities, and, following any changes in England only, waste controlling and transporting activities).
For the classes of facilities in scope, the new powers would allow lead regulators to:
- Designate types of facility, subject to the safeguards outlined in section 5 [of the consultation], as exempt from the need to hold a permit;
- Specify or modify conditions that operators of each type of exempt facility must comply with. This would allow them to specify whether or not operators of each type of exempt facility must register with regulators and what conditions they must comply with;
- Remove 'exempt' status from any type of facility, and therefore require operators of those facilities to obtain a permit.
Environment Minister Emma Hardy said the proposals are part of a “rewiring” of Defra and its arms-length bodies to “boost economic growth and unleash an era of building, while also supporting stringent environmental safeguards”.
Jo Nettleton, Chief Regulator at the Environment Agency, meanwhile said: “We welcome the proposed reforms to environmental permitting, which will empower us to carry out our role as a fair and proportionate regulator for people and the environment while supporting business and sustainable economic growth.”
The consultation closes on 3 June 2025.
Adam Carey
