Conclusions and recommendations
1. with
just one exception, all of the companies on the Agency's list
of top ten highest fines in 2003 were waste and water companies.
(Paragraph 8)
2. We look forward
to seeing the outcome of the waste sector related enforcement
cases currently being put together by the Environment Agency.
We remain concerned, however, that there appears to be a discrepancy
between what organisations like ESA and SITA are telling us they
believe is happening with waste following the co-disposal ban,
and the position described by DEFRA. (Paragraph 11)
3. Irrespective of
any mitigating factors which pertain to some of the pollution
incidents resulting from Thames Water's activities, and regardless
of the apparent legality of the discharges into the Thames, we
are compelled to express our abhorrence of this legitimised pollution
and the depressing attitude with which it is accepted. (Paragraph
15)
4. Many of the sewerage
systems around the UK are old and dilapidated and would be enormously
expensive to upgrade. If the water company also has what is tantamount
to a 'get-out' clause because the system is operating as it was
designed to do, even when this means sewage entering water-courses,
what results is an environmental threat sufficiently intractable
that no-one will tackle it head on. This is clearly unsatisfactory.
(Paragraph 16)
5. We welcome the
news that Thames Water, working with Ofwat, have developed a business
plan to upgrade not just the sewage works at Mogden but also the
other three major works identified as significant contributors
to the problem of sewage overflow into the River Thames.
(Paragraph 18)
6. . There is no doubt
that agreeing and then implementing a long-term solution to the
overflow and pollution problems afflicting the River Thames is
going to involve making some tough decisions and significant investment.
What is also clear is that, whether the decision is for a tunnel
under London, or something else, the status quo cannot be allowed
to remain. The likely timeframe for action set out by Thames,
which appeared to be confirmed by Elliot Morley during the debate
on the 18th January, means that a decision with regard to the
proposed plans for a tunnel under London to alleviate the threat
of continued and increasing sewage and waste overflows into the
Thames must be made as a matter of some urgency and we would expect
the Government to be able to let us know the outcome of their
deliberations by the time it responds to this report.
(Paragraph 21)
7. a significant and
unacceptable number of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises are
responsible for an unacceptable level of environmental crime.
It is incumbent upon all businesses, whatever their size, to insure
that they operate within legal parameters. (Paragraph 25)
8. In this respect,
the idea that the Ministry of Sound, and companies like it, are
somehow compelled to fly-post in order to reach its customer base
is nonsense. (Paragraph 28)
9. We are pleased
to see the stronger tools proposed to be given to local authorities
in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill, especially those
which allow local authorities to recover the costs of removing
fly-posting (and graffiti—increasingly being used for commercial
advertising) and which extend the graffiti removal scheme currently
in place to fly-posting. (Paragraph 28)
10. Given that, according
to Environment Agency figures, the number of substantiated environmental
incidents is holding steady at around 29,000 a year, and that
the vast majority of these incidents related to unregulated, un-permitted
sites, it seems incredible that DEFRA would cut so dramatically
the Grant in Aid funding to the Environment Agency. This decision
must be reviewed quickly if the Agency is to continue to deal
effectively with this important area of its work. (Paragraph 33)
11. We commend the
Environment Agency and the local authorities for continuing to
work together and for developing a partnership which, if successful,
may go some way to effectively handling incidents of illegal waste
disposal and fly-tipping and look forward to seeing a review of
the initiative in due course. (Paragraph 34)
12. We commend Anglian
Water, Wessex Water and Dwr Cymru for reducing pollution incidents
in 2003 and look for a similar commitment and achievement from
all other water companies. (Paragraph 36)
13. Time and again
over the course of our inquiries into environmental crime, it
has been brought home to us that unless there is a real threat
of being detected, the offender will continue to offend. We cannot
stress strongly enough the importance of the threat of detection
as a deterrent. (Paragraph 38)
14. The fact that
there is a perceived inconsistency of approach employed by the
Environment Agency in prosecuting environmental crime around the
country is unhelpful and worrying and must be addressed by the
Environment Agency as a matter of urgency. (Paragraph 39)
15. We do not agree
with the argument that certain sectors are in some way being
singled out for harsher treatment than others simply because it
is easier to do so; if an environmental regulation is being infringed
then the Agency has every right and indeed a duty to act against
the offender. Where we do have some concern is with regard to
the fact that the majority of incidents are, by the Agency's own
reckoning, committed by those in the unregulated sector. This
is not adequately policed and this imbalance must be addressed
by the Agency and DEFRA. (Paragraph 40)
16. For those companies
and organisations who are not dissuaded from their illegal activity
by the threat of detection, prosecution and sentencing, whether
that be a financial penalty or, in a very few and extreme cases,
a custodial sentence, other means have to be found to ensure their
compliance with environmental laws and regulations. (Paragraph
45)
17. We are reassured
to see that DEFRA clearly recognises that the status quo with
regard to how environmental crime is dealt with cannot be allowed
to continue. (Paragraph 47)
18. The creation of
a robust civil penalty regime as an alternative means with which
to deal with environmental crime is something we considered in
our earlier reports and which, subject to learning more of the
detail of the proposal, we would support. (Paragraph 48)
19. Given cuts in
Grant in Aid funding for the Agency in the region of £4 million,
and the additional requirement to make efficiency savings of over
£75 million, any suggestion that it can assume responsibility
for a civil penalty regime without a significant increase in funding
will doom this initiative to failure. (Paragraph 49)
20. Whilst no one
would wish to see a business fail, if the civil penalty is effectively
without teeth then it is likely to fall at the first hurdle.
It is important that the Agency is prepared to use a sufficient
level of fine to ensure that the penalty regime works effectively
both as a means of prevention as well as a cure. (Paragraph 50)
21. We support the
Agency in its intention to make greater use of the lifestyle provisions
of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. We cannot consider that the
survival of a business which is a serial offender in environmental
terms and shows no signs of wanting to improve its lamentable
environmental performance should rank higher in terms of importance
than the protection of the environment which that business desecrates.
(Paragraph 51)
22. We would urge
DEFRA and the Environment Agency to consider how best to harness
this tactic of "naming and shaming" corporate environmental
offenders in the interests of environmental protection. (Paragraph
53)
23. We do not think
it is unreasonable to expect businesses which are subject to environmental
laws and regulations to complete an annual check-up of how they
are performing against requirements; we see this simply as a natural
progression which follows, if not accompanies, the introduction
of a civil penalty regime. We would urge DEFRA to consider mandating
such an assessment. (Paragraph 54)
24. prevention is
always going to be better than cure and a robust programme of
education and publicity led by the Government is crucial to this
being achieved. What we have seen in this inquiry has echoed
our earlier findings in that successful communication of policy,
new legislation and regulation is patchy. (Paragraph 55)
25. It cannot be acceptable
for businesses to be left waiting an improbably long time for
guidance on what for many were fundamental changes to their practices
and procedures which could not be put into place in the time left
to them. The debacle surrounding the implementation and publication
of the ban on co-disposal of hazardous waste demonstrates all
too clearly the failure of the Government adequately to engage
with industry in a timely fashion. This must be addressed as
a matter of urgency. (Paragraph 59)
26. It is clear to
us that until we have successfully embedded learning about the
environment, and the impact of our actions on it, into our formal
and informal education systems, we will continue to see both the
business and the individual commit environmental crimes. (Paragraph
60)
27. Without doubt,
one of the greatest challenges facing the Government is to make
businesses fully understand that they are as duty bound to comply
with environmental regulations as they are, for example, with
Health and Safety regulations. (Paragraph 62)
28. Whilst we accept
that it is early days yet with respect to the development and
introduction of a civil penalty regime, we assume that an effective
method of communicating with all businesses to whom the penalty
might be applied must be a fundamental pillar of the structure
of the regime. Failure to include an effective communication
strategy into the system at the outset may lead to unforeseen
rights of appeal being granted to those companies who might seek
to demonstrate ignorance . (Paragraph 63)
29. We cannot condone
fly-posting under any circumstances, but we accept that some businesses
do fall outside of the more traditional and accepted parameters
for advertising. The Ministry of Sound did express some interest
in some of the initiatives we saw when we visited Leeds during
our inquiry into Fly-tipping, Fly-posting, Litter, Graffiti and
Noise; we would encourage them to work with others in their
industry, and the local authorities, to find alternative and authorised
sites for poster-based advertising. (Paragraph 65)
30. The Ministry of
Sound has told us that it is already exploring the concept of
text messaging as a method of publicising its club nights and
we would encourage it and like businesses to pursue this and other
innovative methods as viable alternatives to fly-posting. (Paragraph
66)
31. Without doubt,
the one issue that links all four of our inquiries on environmental
crime is that it is by and large not an issue which comes high
enough on anyone's agenda to rate any real attention or make
any significant impact on behaviour. (Paragraph 67)
32. It is incumbent
on every business to ensure that, as a matter of course, and not
as an additional extra if there is the time and money, it and
its employees not only know what its environmental obligations
are but also comply with them. (Paragraph 69)
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