Consultation on Environment Agency’s enforcement and sanctions policy
The Environment Act 2021 introduced a new form of civil sanction for use in various new or amended regulatory regimes being addressed by the Act. These include regimes for which the Environment Agency is or will be the regulator, including:
- Extended producer responsibility
- The deposit return scheme
- Digital waste tracking
- Hazardous waste
- International waste shipments.
The consultation describes how the Environment Agency proposes to apply Environment Act 2021 civil sanctions when they become available in future waste regimes for example the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024.
The new civil sanction powers introduced through the Environment Act 2021 are separate to the civil sanctions they impose and enforcement undertakings they accept or reject under the RES Act.
This consultation focuses on the amendments they need to make to their Environment and Sanctions Policy (ESP) in relation to new civil sanction powers available to them following their introduction through the Environment Act 2021.
The EA want to add a new Annex (Annex 4) to explain their approach to using these new civil sanction powers, particularly in relation to the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, which came into force on 1 January 2025. They will outline the new powers available and their proposed approach to using these powers. This includes an explanation of how the EA determine the most appropriate enforcement response where the breach is also a criminal offence; as well as their methodology for calculating Environment Act 2021 variable monetary penalties where applicable, and their approach to accepting or rejecting Environment Act 2021 enforcement undertakings. They will also outline the appeal process.
The EA have made minor amendments to their main enforcement and sanctions policy to enable the new Annex 4 to fit within it. They are consulting to seek your views on their proposals.
Read the full consultation here. The deadline for responses is 5th March. Please forward and comments or feedback to inform the REA response to Megan ([email protected]) by 21st February.