Environmental law updateSummer 2014

John Mitchell,Partner, Regulatory Risk & Compliance

Queen’s speech

Plastic bag tax– (but not SMEs…)

Infrastructure Bill– Drilling under land that is not yours– Reforms to planning system for major infrastructure– Control of invasive species– Community electricity right

End to zero carbon homes aspirations– Exempt “small” developments– Allowable solutions

Deregulation

Queen’s speech vaguely promises yet more deregulation

The Business Perceptions Survey 2014: environmental laws are the most burdensome

The Balance of Competencies Review on the environment suggests there is almost appetite for restricting EU competence

Defra publishes Phase 2 of the Smarter Environmental Regulation review

Enforcement and civil sanctions

Enforcement undertakings– A way of pre-empting formal enforcement action– Highest monetary contribution was over £400,000– Not available for all types of offence– Packaging is the most common offence– Not usually used for water pollution

Now the EA has accepted one from Wessex Water under SAFFA– Sewage pollution– £25,500 monetary contribution

Small sewage discharges

Backstory:– 2010 – EA introduces new registration scheme for

domestic septic tanks– 2011 – EA suspends the scheme in the face of a PR

storm

2014 – EA consults on new scheme which does not involve registration:– “General binding rules” have been developed– No registration required if the rules are respected

For septic tanks this means <2m3 per day

NMO lifts the lid on ovens

NMO’s job is to monitor energy performance claims Energy Information Regulations 2011 require energy

rating to be affixed to a new oven Energy rating is calculated according to a formula Enforcement authorities work to a tolerance NMO found that some manufacturers had added the

tolerance to their formula

ASA -v- Green Deal Finance Company

The GDFC is an industry consortium part financed by the Green Investment Bank

Its role is to finance the green deal energy efficiency programme

It claimed that “its payment plans are typically the cheapest on the market for medium sized loans”

Whilst the APR was lower, the ad failed to mention that:– The minimum length of loan was twice that of a

personal loan– Therefore the total cost of the loan was dearer