Planned changes to the way that fees for compliance with environmental permitting regulations are assessed have been pushed back to 2018, the Environment Agency has confirmed.
The Agency has been considering changes to its Operator Risk Appraisal (OPRA) scheme after launching an ‘informal’ consultation on the system in April this year.
The EA has been using ‘risk-based’ appraisals to help it target resources at sites thought to pose the greatest threat to the environment for a number of years.
Under the system the fees and charges a site pays for environmental regulation are linked to its risk, performance and complexity.
However, recent data has suggested that business compliance with environmental permit conditions has improved significantly, and therefore the Agency has considered moving to a ‘performance-based’ method of regulation.
A formal consultation setting out firmer details on the proposed changes had then been expected in the summer, however, the Agency has now confirmed that this has been pushed back to 2018 in order not to clash with another consultation on environmental fees due late in 2017.
An Agency spokesperson said: “In November and subject to Ministerial approval, the Environment Agency is planning to consult on changes to charges which would take effect in 2018.
Proposed regulatory changes
“Therefore, in order to avoid any possible confusion, we have temporarily halted our engagement exploring a potential longer term change to Performance Based Regulation. We intend to resume our engagement with the industry on this in the New Year.”
Consultation
In the informal consultation which ended in May 2017, the Agency explained that the new approach will provide “an opportunity to take a holistic view of operator performance and to introduce opportunities for incentive-based or market based regulation”.
By focusing on behaviours of an operator, the Agency explained that it can better “identify early indicators of poor performance, allowing us to intervene and focus our resources where they will achieve the most benefit”.
The Agency is proposing to replace its A-F compliance bands with four descriptive bands: Exemplary, Expected, Improvement Needed and Significant Improvement Needed.
‘Exemplary’ will be for those sites going above and beyond compliance and ‘expected’ will be for those meeting expected levels of performance. But if operators show they are unwilling to comply they will be placed in one of the two improvement-needed bands.
The EA said: “When we evaluate the risks posed by a site in Opra, we think in terms of the hazards, which relate to the nature and scale of activity, and its proximity to sensitive receptors.
“However, risk also includes likelihood. We know from evidence that likelihood is most strongly influenced by the attitude and behaviour of the operator.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com General
