Memorandum from the Environment Agency
SUMMARY
— The Environment Agency fully supports
the commitment by Government to deliver a new strategic management
framework for the marine environment.
— We believe that the current consultation
by Defra on the Marine Bill addresses all the key policy areas.
We feel it is a missed opportunity to exclude fisheries from this
consultation, given the links between this and the other workstreams.
— The consultation recognises the many
varied and often competing demands placed on the marine environment.
However, until there is clarity about which options identified
in the consultation document will be taken forward, and the basis
under which they will operate, it would be premature to state
whether these are being adequately addressed in the developing
Bill.
— Two other critical crosscutting issues
that need to be addressed in the development of the Bill to ensure
its success, are devolved issues and delivering integrated management
across land and sea.
— Given the breadth of our current
responsibilities we want to be included in any further discussions
on the development of the Bill.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 As the Government's principal advisor
on the environment, we welcome this opportunity to give evidence
to the Environmental Audit Committee about Defra's Marine Bill
consultation. We will be formally responding to Defra on the consultation.
1.2 The Environment Agency is one of several
organisations with responsibility for coastal and marine issues
in England and Wales. Most of our responsibilities for the marine
environment lie in the zone where the land meets the sea. This
is the zone of maximum impact. We therefore have a major role
to play in the sustainable management of the coasts, seas and
estuaries in England and Wales and our wide remit means we have
an important role in the protection of the marine environment.
1.3 Our responsibilities include regulating
activities in controlled waters (generally to three nautical miles
from territorial baselines); setting and enforcing environmental
standards; monitoring to check standards are being met; reporting
on the state of the environment; and flood risk management. We
also have statutory responsibilities for the management of migratory
fish and, in many estuarine and some coastal waters, have powers
for the management of sea fisheries.
1.4 We are a competent authority for several
EC Directives, including the Water Framework Directive, Habitats
Directive, Bathing Waters Directive, Shellfish Waters Directive
and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive in England and Wales.
Further details of our responsibilities are given in Annex 1.
1.5 New legislation is needed to address
the current state of the marine environment, to achieve strategic
marine planning and to streamline licensing. We want the Bill
to deliver an improved strategic management framework, with strengthened
protection for the marine environment. Measures introduced by
the Bill must take account of the links between land and sea,
so that we and other bodies with responsibilities in the coastal
zone can continue to operate effectively.
2. OUR VIEWS
ON THE
ISSUES RAISED
BY THIS
INQUIRY
2.1 Areas focused on by the Bill
2.1.1 We are pleased that the Government
is developing a Marine Bill that introduces a framework to balance
conservation, energy and resource needs and delivers the Government's
vision of "clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically
diverse oceans and seas". This is in line with the objectives
of our own Marine Strategy for 2005-11.
2.1.2 We believe the five Marine Bill workstreams
identified in the consultation are the key areas to focus on.
We consider the most important aspect to be a statutory marine
spatial planning framework covering all activities, as this forms
the foundation for better marine management. The planning body
would need to have appropriate accountabilities and a co-ordinating
role, working with other regulators and deliverers in the marine
environment.
2.1.3 The licensing of marine activities
is confused and fragmented and we support the streamlining of
the consenting process.
2.1.4 There has already been extensive consultation
as part of recent reviews with a focus on fisheries management.
This consultation provides the first real opportunity to comment
on the complete package of options for the Marine Bill. We believe
new arrangements for fisheries management should have been consulted
on as part of the package of measures to be introduced by the
Bill. We have therefore submitted comments relating to marine
fisheries management in our response.
2.1.5 One question that needs to be addressed
fully in relation to these five workstream areas is how potential
measures to be introduced through the Marine Bill take into account:
(ii) the need for integrated management across
land and sea boundaries (ie the coastal zone).
These points are both referred to in the consultation
document. However, at this stage it is unclear what mechanisms
will be in place to address them. As an organisation that operates
across England and Wales with responsibilities focused on the
coastal zone, it is crucial for our effective operation that mechanisms
are put in place to address these issues.
2.1.6 Devolved issues: It will be
crucial to ensure that a consistent and joined up approach to
marine spatial planning and licensing is taken across devolved
boundaries and for activities controlled by UK Government within
devolved waters. Mechanisms to deliver an integrated approach
across boundaries are essential in order to minimise complexity.
2.1.5 Integrated Coastal Zone Management:
Marine spatial planning must link closely to integrated coastal
zone management (ICZM). ICZM allows for the integrated planning
and management of the coast, including how the environment is
used and exploited for industrial, commercial and recreational
purposes. Effective measures will need to be put in place to ensure
that the body with responsibility for marine spatial planning,
Local Authorities, the Environment Agency and others responsible
for planning and licensing issues within this area, work together
and take account of each other's plans and objectives.
2.2 Consideration of demands placed on the
marine environment
2.2.1 The consultation does acknowledge
the range of demands placed on the marine environment, some in
more detail than others. At this stage, it is difficult to identify
whether the new Bill needs strengthening in places to cover certain
uses or activities, since we don't know which of the options identified
by the consultation will be carried forward. The main weakness
of the current proposals is that oil and gas is excluded from
considerations for a new licensing regime. If this is the case,
it will be essential that DTI work within the objectives of the
marine spatial plans.
2.2.2 It is important that the eventual
Bill does include mechanisms to manage the whole range of potentially
conflicting demands placed on the marine environment. We believe
that this can only be achieved through the introduction of a statutory
marine spatial planning framework that takes account of all marine
interests and activities. The plan-making body would need clear
accountability and a duty to deliver sustainable development.
It would also need to have a clear set of environmental and socio-economic
objectives to work towards in developing the plan.
2.2.3 Likewise, any new licensing regime
would also need to operate within the framework of the marine
spatial plan to be effective.
2.3 Other issues
2.3.1 Because of the breadth of our responsibilities,
we would like to be fully involved as the Bill develops, particularly
in those issues concerning where the land meets the sea.
2.3.2 We are currently developing a full
response to the consultation by Defra. We are happy to supply
any further information or give oral evidence to this inquiry
if required.
May 2006
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