In April 1996, two new government agencies were formed which aim to provide a comprehensive approach to the protection and management of the environment by combining the regulation of land, air and water.
The new agency for England and Wales is the Environment Agency (EA), formed by merging the expertise of the National Rivers Authority, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Pollution, the Waste Regulation Authorities and several smaller units from the Department of the Environment.
The new agency for Scotland is the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
In Northern Ireland, the Environment Service (formed in 1990) of the Department of the Environment has a wide range of responsibilities in developing and implementing environmental policy. These include the control of pollution of air, water and land, the conservation of the natural environment and the protection of monuments and historic buildings.
Responsibilities
EA’s responsibilities with regard to the water environment include the following:
- Preserving and improving the quality of rivers, estuaries and coastal waters through its pollution control powers, including 100,000 water discharge consents and regulation of more than 6000 sewage works.
- Action to conserve and secure proper use of water resources, including 50,000 licensed water abstractions.
- Supervising all flood defence matters, involving over 43,000km of defence works.
- Maintenance and improvement of salmon, trout, freshwater and eel fisheries, including issue of about one million angling licences.
- Conserving the water environment, including areas of outstanding natural beauty or environmental sensitivity extending to nearly 4 million hectares, and promoting its use for recreation.
- Maintaining and improving non-marine navigation, including licensing some 40,000 boats.
In addition, EA has responsibility for regulating many industrial processes, regulating waste disposal and advising on air quality.
EA has eight regional offices covering England and Wales, who should be contacted for further advice. A 24-hour emergency hotline is available for reporting all environmental incidents relating to air, land and water.
SEPA has similar responsibilities in Scotland, administered through a network of three regional and 17 local offices.
In Northern Ireland, the Environment Service of the Department of the Environment (DoE (NI)) has similar responsibilities.
