Conclusions and recommendations
The respective roles of the Agency and the Department
1. The Department's
review of exemptions, waste licensing and guidance to the Agency,
which started in 1998, should now be completed promptly and a
system of regular review of the waste regime put in place to maintain
its effectiveness.
2. The Agency lacks
reliable data on fly-tipping incidents to enable trends to be
identified and addressed. The Agency and the Department need to
consult with the Local Government Association and other interested
parties to develop common reporting conventions and systems for
monitoring the frequency, type and significance of fly-tipping
incidents nationwide. The Agency should also work with the Department
and local authorities to develop plans to combat the increase
in fly-tipping predicted by the Agency in the next few years.
The licensing of waste sites and activities
3. The Agency's target
for processing licence applications within four months of receipt
may not be achievable in complex or controversial cases, but the
Agency should deal with more straightforward applications within
this timescale. To better assess its performance the Agency should
set separate targets for processing different types of applications.
4. The Agency should
review its relationship with planning authorities, clarifying
for the public the extent to which it will, when considering applications
for waste licences, take into account factors also considered
by planning authorities, such as the proximity of proposed waste
sites to housing.
5. The Department
should consult with the Agency and the Food Standards Agency on
the need for research into the potential for fungal spores from
licensed composting sites to contaminate nearby crops.
The number and value of the Agency's inspections
of waste sites and activities
6. The Agency should
review the risks inherent in exempt sites, and implement a programme
of inspection of the riskiest sites, particularly when illegal
waste disposal at exempt sites has been reported to the Agency.
It should encourage members of the public to report problems at
all waste sites, for example through a special telephone line.
Enforcement and prosecution
7. The Agency should
be transparent with operators and the general public about the
enforcement action it will take in response to different types
of licence breaches and offences.
8. The Department
should consider whether the introduction of spot fines for less
serious breaches of licence conditions and minor offences should
be recommended, to allow the Agency to take action where offences
are not serious enough to warrant the cost of a full prosecution.
9. Where an operator
is convicted for deliberately or persistently breaching licence
conditions or environmental legislation, the Agency should consider
revoking or suspending all the operator's existing waste licences.
Judicious use of the threat of revocation or suspension might
enable the Agency to secure improvements in the operators' management
practices, and if necessary to bring about a change of operator.
10. The Department
should discuss with the Department of Trade and Industry whether
the Agency should be given preferential creditor status so that
if an operator becomes bankrupt, funds remain available for future
maintenance of closed waste sites.
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