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EPA - Focus on Enforcement.
November 2009.
‘Focus on Environmental Enforcement in Ireland’ report covering the years 2006 – 2008. This is the second such report from the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement. It assesses Ireland’s enforcement of environmental standards.
Enforcement Actions:
The EPA and local authorities carried out over 130,000 inspections leading to 10,000 enforcement actions and 750 prosecutions in 2008.
Industry:
Complaints associated with large industrial activities regulated by the EPA dropped from over 1,000 in 1998 to over 400 in 2008.
WASTE
Enforcement figures:
Increase in inspections from 35,406 to 46,036 from 2007 to 2008
Prosecutions:
700 prosecutions for 2008; six prosecutions in relation to landfill odours. Prosecutions taken by local authorities grew from over 400 in 2007 to almost 700 in 2008.
The future:
Significant increases needed in separate waste collection / outlets for organic waste.
There have been great steps forward made in relation to waste inspections and these are reflected in the figures. Routine local authority inspections increased from 26,000 in 2007 to 33,000 in 2008. Over the same period, the number of enforcement notices went from 5,618 to 8,151 and this included a rise in warning letters issued from 2,986 to 3,768. Vehicle checkpoints rose from 194 to 252. Overall, these figures show a strong commitment by local authorities in the area of waste management.
LARGE INDUSTRY
Enforcement figures:
Risk based enforcement has been implemented across all industrial activities. Over 1,300 EPA inspections were undertaken each year across this entire sector.
Successes:
Complaints received in 2008 relating to large industrial activities were down by ~ 60% on 1998.
Challenges:
The prevention and remediation of land and groundwater contamination.
Prosecutions:
The EPA took 30 prosecutions against IPPC facilities during the period 2006 – 2008.
The future:
Continued improvement in resource use and minimisation of waste.
The EPA has been licensing large industry in Ireland for 15 years now and much of this work is conducted through the auditing and monitoring of 550 ‘Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control’ (IPPC) licences. Complaints relating to large industrial activities have reduced by 60% since 1998. The pharma-chem sector in particular managed a 59% reduction in emissions since 1995.
To Download the report from the EPA - click here.
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“Environmental legislation has increased dramatically in recent years, and it is being matched by a significant level of enforcement activity,”said Dara Lynott, Director of the Office of Environmental Enforcement.
“We now use risk-based approaches to enforcement,”Dara Lynott continued. “This means that we align our resources to where they are needed most. And the statistics in this report show that this approach is working.”
“Almost 70,000 complaints came to local authorities last year across the spectrum of environmental issues. This shows the level of public awareness of environmental issues, and a willingness to take action on the environment.”
The EPA’s drive for higher standards and better use of enforcement resources has resulted in Ireland becoming the first EU member state to have comprehensive inspection plans across all local authority areas. |
If you want to discuss the EPA report in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact our office
