The OEP has welcomed Government's response to its recent report on the Environment Agency's inspection regime for waste sites and installations, which accepts the recommendations made.
Helen Venn, OEP’s Chief Regulatory Officer, said: “Inspections have an important part to play in ensuring that environmental regulation delivers the right outcomes for nature and protects communities from possible harms. Our report on the Environment Agency’s inspection regime for waste operations and installations raised a number of significant concerns.
“Defra has now published a formal response to the report, as required by law, which says that the department and the EA accept the recommendations we made. When we published our report we acknowledged improvements that the EA was already making, and we are encouraged that this work will continue and that our constructive approach to providing independent scrutiny is working as intended here. We also welcome recent comments by the EA’s Chief Regulator Jo Nettleton that the work of the OEP acts as a catalyst for change.
“We will now consider the response in detail as we decide how best to continue to monitor progress in this important area. On initial read, while there is much to welcome, we would like to see more of a focus on the quality of inspections, as well as on the frequency.”
Our report on the EA’s inspection regime for waste sites and installations in England and a link to the Defra response can be found here: A review of Environment Agency inspections in the waste operations and installations sector in England | Office for Environmental Protection
