The Environment Agency has revoked permits for two waste sites in Greater Manchester and Derbyshire after repeated breaches of permit conditions. The sites must cease authorised activities and remove waste, with the revocations taking effect unless successfully appealed to the Planning Inspector.
Southern Water has pleaded guilty to environmental permit breaches after the Environment Agency found polluted discharges from its Fullerton wastewater treatment works entered the River Test in Hampshire. The incident involved elevated suspended solids and iron, with the company also failing to notify the regulator promptly when problems were identified.
The Environment Agency has told South West Water to pursue appropriate sewage treatment for the Isles of Scilly and confirmed that any proposed outfall and screening solution will be assessed through the permitting process. The company remains responsible for bringing the inherited wastewater system up to legal standards by 30 September 2027, with public consultation to follow once the application is duly made.
The Environment Agency has updated its WEEE evidence and national protocols guidance, including changes to evidence issuance, reporting templates, and contract requirements between approved authorised treatment facilities and producer compliance schemes. The update also introduces new provisions for vape waste, including a national protocol for battery deductions and revised recovery and recycling targets for Category 15.
The Environment Agency has updated its regulatory position statement on collecting and treating non-hazardous waste from different businesses within the same premises. It confirms that an environmental permit is still legally required for the waste operation, but enforcement action is unlikely if the stated conditions are met, and the review date has been extended to 30 April 2029.
The Environment Agency led a multi-agency operation in Cumbria targeting waste carriers and permitted waste sites, with checks on vehicle movements, licences, paperwork and permit compliance. Several breaches were identified and further investigation and enforcement action may follow under the agency’s wider 10 Point Plan to tackle waste crime.
The Environment Agency has updated its low risk waste positions for construction, demolition and related waste activities. It has replaced one position on treating concrete and silt washings with a regulatory position statement and withdrawn another relating to waste clay used to make cob blocks.
The Environment Agency marks five years since the July 2021 flash floods in London, which affected 24 boroughs and more than 2,000 properties. The article highlights the continuing high risk of surface water flooding in the capital, the vulnerability of basement homes, and ongoing partnership work to improve resilience through strategy, community action and sustainable drainage schemes.
The Environment Agency is investigating an illegal waste site in Bradford and has seized a heavy goods vehicle linked to suspected waste movements. Officers estimate several thousand tonnes of mixed household and commercial waste have been dumped, and the agency is working with local partners to gather evidence and secure the site.
The Environment Agency has moved parts of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight into prolonged dry weather status from 10 July, following an exceptionally warm spring and dry conditions affecting water resources. The designation is intended to help the agency manage water use requests and respond to environmental impacts while protecting sensitive chalk stream systems such as the River Test.
The Environment Agency will host a community drop-in in Calne with UKHSA, Wiltshire Council and Hills to discuss a public health risk assessment linked to odour issues near the Lower Compton landfill site. Monitoring data indicates a source of hydrogen sulphide and methane in the direction of the site, and the regulator says capping and odour-management works are nearing completion.
The Environment Agency has reviewed and extended Regulatory Position Statement (RPS) 183, which sets out its enforcement approach to storing waste samples for regulation or investigation at sites other than where they are tested or analysed. The position statement now runs to 30 June 2029 and indicates the Agency will not normally take enforcement action where the stated conditions are met.
