Enforcing authorities and their powers

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is the central government department with responsibility in England for a wide range of matters including:

The Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Executive deal with policy making of such matters in their relevant areas, but DEFRA is responsible for negotiating on the UK’s behalf at European and International policy levels.

Many environmental policies are based on European initiatives. DEFRA and the UK’s devolved governments work closely together and so there are significant similarities in policy and legislation throughout the UK. DEFRA’s responsibilities of include:

• drafting and implementing legislation;
• negotiating national agreements;
• formulation of policy;
• provision of guidance to other regulatory bodies; and
• provision of scientific advice.

The Environment Agency

The Agency has eight regions, with its head office based in Bristol. Each region is further divided into areas, which can be seen as the first point of contact for regulated businesses. The head office is responsible for overall policy and relationships with national bodies including the government. It is responsible for enforcing most of the legislation and prosecuting individuals and companies that fail to comply. EA officers have a range of powers to enable them to carry out their duties:

• power of entry at any reasonable time to any premises which they believe it necessary to enter (in an emergency this is any time and by force if necessary);
• power to carry out investigations including taking measurements and photographs;
• power to take and remove samples and use them in evidence; and
• power to seize and render harmless any article or substance which appears to be the cause of imminent danger of pollution or harm to health.

See list of contacts in the Register Appendix 14

Local government

Local government consists of councils at different levels within an area, typically county councils and the district councils. In Scotland, Wales and many urban parts of England, these are combined as unitary authorities.

In areas where there are still two tiers of local authorities, county councils are responsible for larger scale planning consents and for the co-ordination of emergency plans for specified industrial activities.

District councils determine local planning applications, produce local development plans and must appoint an Agenda 21 Officer who is responsible for the promotion of sustainable development issues at a local level (see Agenda 21 above).

District councils also have environmental health departments with environmental health officers (EHOs) responsible for regulating the legislation within their remit and taking appropriate enforcement action. EHOs have similar powers to Environment Agency inspectors and are responsible for:

• emissions from businesses not falling under the remit of the EA;
• local air quality under statutory nuisance provisions;
• enforcement of noise legislation;
• limiting smoke, grit and dust emissions;
• designating smoke control areas;
• monitoring and reviewing ambient air quality;
• monitoring drinking water quality of private and public supplies; and
• identifying and assessing contaminated land.

Sewerage undertakers

Although these are now private companies in England and Wales, they still carry out a regulatory role in terms of licensing discharges to public/ municipal sewer systems.