IMPEL’s contribution to ECA Action Plan

Environmental Compliance Assurance Forum

07 December 2018

Date of report: 29 November 2018

Introduction to IMPEL

The European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of

Environmental Law (IMPEL) is an international non-profit association of the

environmental authorities of the EU Member States, acceding and candidate countries

of the European Union and EEA countries. The association is registered in Belgium and

its legal seat is in Brussels, Belgium.

IMPEL was set up in 1992 as an informal Network of European regulators and

authorities concerned with the implementation and enforcement of environmental law.

The Network’s objective is to create the necessary impetus in the European Community

to make progress on ensuring a more effective application of environmental legislation.

The core of the IMPEL activities concerns awareness raising, capacity building and

exchange of information and experiences on implementation, enforcement and

international enforcement collaboration as well as promoting and supporting the

practicability and enforceability of European environmental legislation.

During the previous years IMPEL has developed into a considerable, widely known

organisation, being mentioned in a number of EU legislative and policy documents, e.g.

the 7th Environment Action Programme and the Recommendation on Minimum Criteria

for Environmental Inspections.

The expertise and experience of the participants within IMPEL make the network

uniquely qualified to work on both technical and regulatory aspects of EU

environmental legislation.

Information on the IMPEL Network is also available through its website at:

www.impel.eu

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. IMPEL REVIEW INITIATIVE (IRI) 4

1.1. What is new? 4

1.2. What support do we need from the ECA Forum? 4

2. ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS 6

2.1. What is new? 6

2.2. What support do we need from the ECA forum? 6

3. CAPACITY BUILDING & TRAINING 8

3.1. What is new? 8

3.2. What support do we need from the ECA forum? 9

1. IMPEL Review Initiative (IRI)

The IMPEL Review Initiative (IRI) is IMPEL’s flagship peer review product that has been in use since

2001. The IRI brings together a team of technical experts that review the processes and procedures

of a host organisation to identify good and best practice as well as ‘opportunities for development’;

areas that the review team would recommend improvements based on developments and

experiences elsewhere in Europe. These results are then presented back to the host in the form of a

presentation to senior management and in a final report. The final reports are placed on IMPEL’s

website (https://www.impel.eu/tools/impel-review-initiative-tool/).

Since the original trial in Denmark, 28 full IRIs have been completed covering a wide range of topics

(e.g. industry, SEVESO, nature) and diverse range of environmental regulators including

inspectorates, permitting authorities and enforcement agencies have been involved. IRIs have been

carried out on national, regional and local authorities and in some member states there has been

multiple IRIs performed, yet there are still some member states that have not taken part.

The IRI takes three days and follows a standardised process and template questionnaire format that

has been reviewed several times to ensure it remains current and practicable. IMPEL has historically

aimed to carry out two to three IRI’s per year.

1.1. What is new?

IMPEL has developed plans to reinvigorate the IRI over the next two years (2019/20) with the aim of

having a further step change in delivery from 2021 onwards. IMPEL proposes to:

Carry out four IRIs per year over the next two years before increasing that number again in

2021

Provide direct support to host organisations to help implement ‘opportunities for

development’ and this will be in the form of direct one-to-one peer based assistance

To carry out peer reviews on other ‘non-traditional’ regulatory regime covering water and

nature

To promote and help support IMPEL member countries develop ‘national’ peer review

schemes where applicable

Where relevant, incorporate other actors in the compliance chain e.g. judges, prosecutors

and environmental police in the review process

Develop and run a training programme to increase the number of team leaders and

rapporteurs

Review the IRI template to make it more applicable to policy and permitting functions and

to ensure it remains valid for inspectorates; and

Launch the new IRI template at an IRI conference in 2020, which will also showcase what,

has already been achieved by the IRI programme.

1.2. What support do we need from the ECA Forum?

IMPEL seeks assistance from the forum members by:

Nominating their regulatory agencies (inspectorates, permitting agencies, enforcement

authorities at national, regional and/or local levels) to have an IRI

To nominate experienced experts to take part in review teams either in a leadership role or

as a review team member.

2. Enforcement Actions

IMPEL’s Enforcement Actions (EA) programme1 was set up several years ago as a practical way to

help member countries implement the Waste Shipment Regulation. IMPEL’s leadership in the area

of trans-frontier shipment of waste has influenced and shaped legislation2.

The Enforcement Actions ‘model’ has been developed and improved over time but essentially

consists of several key components:

Stimulates cross border cooperation between member states as well as inter-agency

collaboration within member states (e.g. inspectors, customs and police)

Stimulates the conduct of inspections in countries

Harmonises the approach / methods of planning, targeting, conduct and reporting of

inspections

To build an EU wide picture (coordinating inspections of an industry on a given day(s)) on the

state of compliance across the bloc which helps to tackle and build a level playing field for

industry in Europe, identifying root and common causes for non-compliances

Facilitating exchanges of inspectors (to build expertise and experiences), and thereby

building a platform of dialogue between practitioners from different countries (which is

particularly important given the need to cooperate on issues such as ‘take back’

procedures).

The network of inspectors on the trans frontier shipment of waste in IMPEL has grown to over 30

countries. Exchanging experiences and information between our network of frontline officers has

been a crucial factor in identifying growing and changing patterns of waste crime. Indeed, our work

in the area of trans frontier shipment of waste has recently led to a successful application for LIFE

funding to go further in this area.

2.1. What is new?

IMPEL would like to replicate the approach we use for trans frontier shipment of waste to other

thematic areas of the acquis e.g. on industry, water and land regulation and nature protection.

Over the coming two years, IMPEL will use the framework set out by colleagues working on trans

frontier shipment of waste to develop a programme for the other thematic areas of the acquis. It will

mirror, where relevant and possible, the activities and key parts of our EA approach to activities such

as the illegal trafficking and trade of wildlife and on intensive agriculture. To an extent, IMPEL’s

community of frontline practitioners in the field of Industrial Emissions Directive is already mature

and wide ranging but further collaboration with partners can be improved upon.

2.2. What support do we need from the ECA forum?

1 https://www.impel.eu/projects/enforcement-actions/ 2 For example, the 2014 amendments to the Waste Shipments Regulation: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2014.189.01.0135.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2014:189:TOC

IMPEL seeks assistance from the forum members through:

Involvement of senior management of the responsible implementing authorities in the Member

States

Commitment of member organisations and key players in the ‘compliance and enforcement

chain’ to join the programme

Being actively involved in IMPEL Expert Teams to further develop the expanded EA programme

and its projects and activities in their specific areas.

3. Capacity building & training

IMPEL’s raison d’être has always been to help support member organisations build capacity so that

they can implement and enforce EU environmental law. As such, many of our programmes, projects

and activities already incorporate elements of training and/or capacity building within them and are

designed to share knowledge and information. Going forward, IMPEL would like to develop a

structured and consistent programme of support based on identified needs and knowledge gaps.

So far in 2018, IMPEL has been supported by ‘Milieu’, a Belgian based consultancy and funded by DG

Environment, who will:

Carry out a desk study and analysis of the professional skills and training needs for

practitioners (mainly, bit not exclusively, permitters and inspectors) in IMPEL member

countries

Prepare an inventory of key tools methodologies and guidance materials available for

practitioners working in the filed of implementation and enforcement

Analyse, propose and present options and recommendations for preparing and delivering

training materials.

The results from Milieu’s study will feed into IMPEL’s programme going forward.

3.1. What is new?

In 2019, IMPEL will develop a programme consisting of three main pillars / working groups:

i. A multi annual strategy

ii. Knowledge & Innovation Centre

iii. Toolkit for Training.

The development of a multi annual strategy (which examines needs, priorities, resources,

methodologies and themes) will be aided by the work of Milieu, but will guide the work of pillar ii,

which is tasked with developing a structure for the Knowledge & Innovation Centre. This working

group will describe the role, tasks and responsibilities of such a centre as well as the financial and

technical means of delivery to our members. Pillar iii is tasked with describing and developing a

detailed plan for the tools that will be used by the Knowledge and Innovation Centre.

During the course of 2019, IMPEL will appoint a programme management team, defined working

group teams and conduct two mini-conferences to gain input and feedback on the development of

plans related to each of the three pillars.

It is anticipated that towards the end of 2019, IMPEL will be ready to implement the programme.

3.2. What support do we need from the ECA forum?

IMPEL seeks assistance from the forum members through:

Involvement of senior management in implementing authorities in the Member States. Ideally,

senior management would provide input to IMPEL on the key training and capacity building gaps

they see in implementing the environmental acquis, as well as releasing their staff to be involved

in either working groups (the three pillars) or the mini-conferences planned for 2019.