The Environment Agency has updated guidance for requesting an ammonia screening assessment as part of intensive farming permit applications. The notice confirms that the existing ammonia screening tool is being replaced by SCAIL Agriculture, with updated screening distances and revised spreadsheet forms for pigs and poultry.
The Environment Agency is seeking information about a deliberate waste dumping incident in Nelson, Lancashire, where around 75 tonnes of mixed commercial and household waste were deposited at a mill yard. The agency says the dumping involved cloned vehicle registration plates and has left the landowner facing significant clean-up costs.
The Environment Agency has opened consultation on its draft decision to grant an environmental permit to Fornax (North East) Ltd for an energy-from-waste facility at Merchant Park, Newton Aycliffe. The draft decision follows a previous public consultation and indicates the Agency is minded to approve the permit, subject to final review of responses and legal requirements.
The Environment Agency has updated its guidance on registering waste exemptions, including revised charges, new digital registration processes and clearer instructions for multiple-site and linear network registrations. It also flags that waste exemption rules are due to change from January 2027, subject to Parliamentary approval, and clarifies renewal requirements and charity eligibility.
The Environment Agency reports that water company chief executives have updated the National Drought Group on measures being taken to protect public supplies during severe drought conditions in parts of England. Actions include daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels, reduced overnight water pressure where appropriate, accelerated leak detection, and transferring water within networks to support low reservoirs.
Anglian Water has been fined £1.6m after repeated sewage pollution incidents affected the River Brain in Essex over a six-week period in 2022. The Environment Agency said the pollution resulted from organisational failure, a faulty valve and missed warning signs, with untreated sewage discharged outside the company’s environmental permit.
The Environment Agency has updated guidance on licences and permissions for introducing, keeping or farming non-native fish, lobsters and crayfish. The page clarifies when Fish Health Inspectorate, Natural England and Natural Resources Wales permissions are needed, and notes that new digital application forms now replace older PDF versions.
The Environment Agency has updated guidance on pet cemeteries, setting out where they can be built, how they must be constructed, and the registration process with APHA. The guidance also clarifies planning permission requirements, burial depth and site conditions, and the rules for burying or spreading ash under a regulatory position statement in England and Wales.
The Environment Agency has partially suspended an environmental permit at a waste site in Little Hulton, Salford, after a rise in complaints about foul odours. The operator must stop certain waste activities in the affected area, remove waste by 13 November, and implement odour monitoring and control measures.
The Environment Agency has reviewed and extended Regulatory Position Statement RPS 91, which covers the use of waste clay in constructing slurry lagoons or water storage reservoirs, until 14 October 2027. The statement has also been updated to the latest template, while confirming that it does not remove the need for an environmental permit where one is otherwise required.
The Environment Agency says a further arrest has been made as part of an ongoing investigation into illegal waste dumping at multiple sites in the North East, including Callerton, Peterlee and Hartlepool. The agency says the sites involved thousands of tonnes of waste and have now been shut down or cleared, with enforcement action continuing under its waste crime crackdown.
The Environment Agency has updated its policy guidance on how it assesses and scores compliance with environmental permits and licences across several activity types, including waste, water, radioactive substances, abstraction and impounding. The changes clarify compliance assessment outcomes, appeal timeframes, publication of CAR forms, and how certain non-compliances are recorded.
