Environmental regulation of

industry: Future challenges

and opportunities

Jo Nettleton Deputy Director of Radioactive

Substances and Installations Regulation

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Political Landscape

• New government

• EU Exit

• Government ambition

• Net zero

• Climate change

Short term - New Government

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Short / mid term - EU exit: challenges

Impacts on industry, medicine, transport, infrastructure

• Uncertainty

• No deal

Potential for increased environmental harm

• Reduced compliance

• More pollution events?

• More insolvency…..leading to unmanaged environmental liabilities?

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Pollution incidents – all causes

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EU exit: challenges: EA response

• Example…No deal planning: • Incident mode

• Scenario planning

• Regulatory position statements where necessary

• Engagement with industry / other operators

• Working with LRFs

• No Deal statutory incidents

• KEEP TALKING

• EA Resources!

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Mid term - Post EU exit: regulatory landscape

• Challenges and Opportunities

• IED / Brefs – UK BAT

• Environment Bill (and 25 Year Environment Plan)• Clean air strategy

• Nature

• Waste and resources

• Water

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Example - Clean Air strategy

• Great improvements since 2000 across industry (transport, domestic fuel burning increasing problems)

• But still….Poor air quality implicated in ~ 69000 UK deaths pa

• Population health impacts of not delivering emissions reduction targets• £1.7 billion 2020

• £5.3 billion 2030

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Industrial emissions since 2000

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Clean Air strategy – some challenges

• Industry road maps….continuing reduction• In an uncertain financial and political climate

• Agriculture – Ammonia

• Biomass fuel

• Low impact / high volume sectors

• Need to avoid unforeseen consequences• Local vs global – social inequality?

• Diesel generators

• Resources for policy development – SR19 and beyond

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Working together to improve air quality

CASE STUDY 1:

➢Situation: A CHP (Combined Heat and Power) plant provides energy for a number of businesses, and surplus electricity for the network

➢The cost of retrofitting part of the plant to meet new emission targets was disproportionate

➢ loss would have had a significant impact for the chemical manufacturing business.

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Working together to improve air quality

CASE STUDY 1:

EA Action:

• EA and operator worked together to identify a pragmatic solution

• bespoke environmental permit for the facility

• Helped the Company to unlock over £7m of investment in new boiler plant

• which will improve NOx emissions and meet tighter limits under the Industrial Emissions Directive.12

Mid / long term - CLIMATE CHANGE

• UK Climate Predictions (UKCP18) • (and EA climate adaptation report)

• Most accurate predictions of climate over 21st century

• Potential for:• Temperatures to rise by 4 deg by end of century

• UK sea levels to rise by 1m by end of century

• By up to 4m by 2300

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UKCP18

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Climate change impacts

• National Infrastructure and resilience

• Dryer summers / drought• More wild fires (remember last summer?)

• More air quality events

• Increased rainfall• Flood preparedness (eg COMAH DG and Nuclear stress tests / action

plans)

• Impact on major hazards sites and infrastructure

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Southport’s future?

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Fukushima

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Climate change impacts

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MITIGATION ADAPTATION

Case study 2: CDOIF - Sharing best practice

• “Strategic Topic” development with industry via COMAH Strategic Forum and CDOIF

• Review of good/best practice and signposting guidance

• Sharing best practice and lessons learned across industry sectors and gaining feedback

• Establish links with other flood based campaigns preventing additional burdens on industry.19

OPPORTUNITIES

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A voice for the environment and public health

• Very busy space

• Different government departments – different priorities / different lens

• Public views differ

• All energy / growth solutions have an environmental impact

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EA wants to…..

• Influence policy decisions – so the environment is given sufficient priority

• Regulate in a way which enables sustainable growth and protects the environment

• Work with stakeholders – industry, public, NGOs

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Influence – some examples

• State of the Environment reports

• Regulating for People the Environment and Growth –annual report

• Nuclear sector deal

• Innovation

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Regulate…Making sure we deliver

• EA 5 year action plan

• Reflects the challenges and opportunities

• Outcome based

• Being developed

• RI 5 year plan

• What environmental outcomes we will deliver

• What we need to do to deliver those

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Regulated Industry’s Strategic Business Plan 2018-23

We support

healthier and safer

communities

Our work

protects and improves

the environment

We contribute to

economic

growth

People trust and

respect our

regulation

Environment & Business, National Operations and Areas working together

Creating a better place for people and wildlife through regulation and influence

26For External Use

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We support healthier and

safer communities

Our work protects and

improves the environment

We contribute to economic

growth

People trust and respect our regulation

In 5 yrs

time...

Communities are safe from industrial

accidents and improved air quality

means people live longer, healthier lives

Process Industry will use the Best

Available Techniques (BAT) to use

resources efficiently and minimise their

impact on the environment

Process Industries will be thriving,

benefiting from good regulation and

increased resilience to climate change

We will be recognised as key to ensuring that people, the environment

and process industry thrive together

We will… • regulate operators to minimise the

risk of major industrial accidents

• reduce emissions to air from

industrial processes

• prevent nuisance from regulated

sites e.g. odour and noise

• work with communities to ensure

they are safe and informed

• understand and reduce the

environmental risk posed by process

industries including:

• reduce emissions

• prevent pollution incidents

• ensure new technologies are

carefully controlled and monitored

• input to the spatial planning process

• ensure fit for purpose regulatory

framework after EU Exit, developing improvements where possible

• deliver clear, consistent and

unambiguous regulation

• consider costs and benefits in our

decisions

• promote resource efficiency for

regulated industries

• work to reduce the cost of regulation

• increase resilience to climate change

• be open and transparent in our decision making processes

• build strong collaborative relationships with communities and

industry

• have competent, professional and resilient staff

• work with other regulators to deliver effective coherent regulation

• publicise our successes

Our

priority

activities

are…

• regulate Control of Major Accident

Hazard (COMAH) sites with Health

Safety Executive (HSE) and Office

Nuclear Regulation (ONR)

• assessment of COMAH safety

reports

• exercise COMAH off-site plans

• complete Industrial Emissions

Directive (IED) permit reviews

• work with sectors to reduce amenity

issues

• report on emissions and air quality

• use pollution data to identify risk and

improve compliance

• implement IED and IED permit

reviews including the Oil and Gas

permitting programme

• support implementation of the

Medium Combustion Plant Directive

(MCPD)

• respond to and determine root cause

of pollution incidents

• determine permit applications and set

achievable improvement conditions

• complete business impact target (BIT)

assessments

• develop IT to enable electronic data

collection from Operators

• undertake climate change

assessments and delivery of

adaptation plans on installations sites

• use media to inform the public about our work publishing regulatory

decisions and compliance data

• work with other regulators and international bodies to build capability

and share knowledge

• work with industry and trade bodies to develop standards and

understand sector pressures

• implement the Installations workforce plan and officer development

programme

• implement the Strategic Review of Charges

• ensure confidence in emissions data through MCERTS

Success

will be…

• efficient and timely assessment of

COMAH safety reports and

exercised COMAH off-site plans

• improvements to health through

reduced emissions

• fewer amenity incidents at

permitted installations

• no Category 1 and 2 incidents from

regulated installations

• permit reviews completed within

sector timescales

• operator compliance with

improvement conditions

• rigorous determination of IED

derogations

• fewer permitted installations in

performance band D,E or F

• delivery of Sector strategy targets

• reduced costs of regulations

demonstrated through BIT

assessment

• reductions in water, energy and raw

material use per unit of production

• reduction in volume of wastes

produced by regulated process

industries per unit of production

• safe, continued operation of critical

national infrastructure

• more officers with PER / professional qualifications

• our data is open, accessible and influences better performance

• fewer installations classified as "Sites of High Public Interest" for

more than 12months

• customer survey results show we are trusted and respected

• fewer upheld complaints / appeals

• our charges reflect the work we need to do

INSTALLATIONSRI Vision - Creating a better place for people and wildlife through regulation and influence

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Final Thoughts

• We all have a role

• Show Leadership

• Seek Partnership

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FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION

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