Environment Agency
Encyclopedia
The Environment Agency is a British
non-departmental public body
of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government
that serves England and Wales
.
" (taken from the Environment Act 1995
, section 4). Protection of the environment relates to threats such as flood
and pollution
. The vision of the Agency is of "a rich, healthy and diverse environment for present and future generations".
and Wales
; about 15 million hectares of land, 22000 miles (35,405.5 km) of river and 3100 miles (4,989 km) of coastline seawards to the three mile limit which includes 2 million hectares of coastal waters. In a sharing arrangement with SEPA
, it also exercises some of its functions over parts of the catchments of the River Tweed
and the Border Esk which are, for the most part, in Scotland
There are two "policy and process" directorates. One deals with Flood and Coastal Risk Management and the other with Environment and Business. These are backed up by the Evidence directorate. The fourth directorate is a single Operations "delivery" unit, responsible for national services, and line management
of all the Regional and Area staff.
The remaining directorates are central shared service groups for Finance, Legal Services, Resources and Communications.
In support of its aims, the Agency acts as an operating authority
, a regulatory authority
and a licence authority.
(DEFRA) and the Welsh Assembly Government. Additional money is raised from the issuing of licences and permits such as abstraction licences, waste handler registrations, navigation rights and rod (fishing) licences and from licensing data for which the Agency is owner.
Funding for asset management
and improvement and acquisition of flood risk management assets has traditionally come from local authorities via Flood Defence Committees. This was then effectively repaid by central Government in later years as part of the Formula Spending Share. In 2005 this was simplified by making a direct transfer from Treasury to the Environment Agency in the form of Flood Defence Grant in Aid
.
The Environment Agency's total funding in 2007–08 was £1,025 million, an increase of £23 million on 2006–07. Of that total, £628 million (61 per cent) was provided in the form of 'flood defence grant-in-aid' from government (£578 million for England and £50 million for Wales). In addition, £347 million (34 per cent) was raised through statutory charging schemes and flood defence levies; and a further £50 million (5 per cent) came from other miscellaneous sources.
In 2007–08 had an operational budget of £1.025 billion, of which £628m was grant from the Agency's sponsoring Government Departments. Approximately half the Agency's expenditure is on flood risk management, and a third is spent on environment protection (pollution control). Of the remainder, 12% goes to water resources
, and 6% to other water functions including navigation and wildlife.
has the lead sponsorship responsibility for the Environment Agency as a whole and is responsible for the appointment of the Chairman and the Environment Agency Board (with the exception of one member appointed by the National Assembly for Wales).
In addition the Secretary of State is responsible for overall policy on the environment and sustainable development within which the Agency undertakes its work; the setting of objectives for the Agency's functions and its contribution to sustainable development; the approval of its budget and payment of Government grant to the Agency for its activities in England and approval of its regulatory and charging regimes. For policy, objectives, approval and activities in Wales, the Agency is accountable to the Minister for Sustainability and Rural Development in Wales (currently Jane Davidson
). The Agency's current chairman is Chris Smith
and its Chief Executive is Paul Leinster.
, and came into existence on 1 April 1996. It took over the roles and responsibilities of the National Rivers Authority
(NRA), Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution (HMIP) and the waste regulation authorities in England and Wales including the London Waste Regulation Authority (LWRA). All of the predecessor bodies were disbanded and the local authorities relinquished their waste regulatory
role. At the same time, the Agency took responsibility for issuing flood warnings to the public, a role previously held by the police.
The Environment Agency is the principal flood risk management operating authority
. It has the power (but not the legal obligation) to manage flood risk from designated main river
s and the sea. These functions in relation to other rivers (defined as ordinary watercourse
s) in England and Wales are undertaken by Local Authorities or internal drainage board
s. The Environment Agency is also responsible for increasing public awareness of flood risk, flood forecasting
and warning and has a general supervisory duty for flood risk management. the Environment Agency also has a strategic overview role for all flood
and coastal erosion
risk management. The term "Flood Risk Management" in place of "Flood Defence" recognises that managed flooding is essential to meet the requirements of a sustainable flood strategy. It is often not economically feasible or even desirable to prevent all forms of flooding in all locations, and so the Environment Agency uses its powers to reduce either the likelihood
or consequences of flooding.
, and recent examples of major inland flood prevention schemes include the Jubilee River
.
that must be submitted with most planning applications in flood risk areas. The Agency also runs public awareness campaigns to inform those at risk who may be unaware that they live in an area that is prone to flooding, as well as providing information about what the flood warning codes and symbols mean and how to respond in the event of a flood. The agency operates Floodline
, a 24-hour telephone helpline
on flooding. Floodline covers England, Wales and Scotland but not Northern Ireland, and provides information and advice including property flood-risk checks, flood warnings, and flood preparation advice.
In partnership with the Met Office
it runs the Flood Forecasting Centre
(FFC) which provides warnings of flooding which may affect England and Wales. Formed in 2009, the FFC is based in the Operations Centre at the Met Office headquarters in Exeter
.
can impose fines of up to £50,000 or 12 months imprisonment for each offence of causing or knowingly permitting pollution. If prosecuted in the Crown Court
, there is no limit on the amount of the fine and sentences of up to 5 years imprisonment may be imposed on those responsible for the pollution or on Directors of companies causing pollution.
The Agency has an important role in conservation and ecology specifically along rivers and in wetlands. More general responsibility for the countryside and natural environment in England falls to the organisation Natural England
. The Environment Agency's activities support users of the rivers and wetlands, including anglers and boaters.
into the atmosphere from large, complex industrial processes. This will soon include emissions from some large-scale agricultural activities, but air pollutant releases from many agricultural activities will continue to be unregulated.
Major sources of air pollution, such as transport, are subject to various measures at the European, national and local level. Local authorities regulate air pollution from smaller industrial processes. The Agency works with local authorities, the Highways Agency
and others to implement the UK government's air quality strategy in England and Wales as mandated in the Environment Act 1995
. The Environment Agency has an Air Quality Modelling and Assessment Unit (AQMAU) that aims to ensure that air quality assessments for permit applications, enforcement and air pollution incident investigations are consistent, of a high standard and based on sound science.
activities including the licensing of sites such as landfill
, incineration
and recycling facilities. It also regulates the movement of hazardous wastes such as fibrous asbestos
, infectious clinical wastes
and harmful chemicals. The Agency issues Environmental Permits to waste management sites and any individuals or companies found to have caused pollution or have infringed their licence conditions can be prosecuted. In serious cases the Environment Agency has the power to revoke the Environmental Permits issued to sites that contravene the conditions of their permits stopping all waste handling activities.
exceed 30 years of consistent data collection.
Monitoring is also carried out of many discharges to the aquatic environment including sewage effluents and trade and agricultural discharges.
licences for activities such as drinking water supply, artificial irrigation
and hydro-electricity generation. The Agency is in charge of inland rivers, estuaries and harbours in England and Wales. Its remit also extends into Scotland in the River Tweed
and River Solway
catchments where special arrangements exist with SEPA to avoid duplication but retain management on a catchment basis.
Complex arrangements exist for the management of river regulation reservoirs, which are used to store winter water in the wetter parts of England and Wales in order to maintain levels in the summer time so that there is sufficient water to supply the drier parts of the country with drinking water.
and sells over a million rod
licences a year. It uses the proceeds (approx £20M per annum) to maintain and improve the quality of fisheries in England and Wales by improving habitat
. The Agency also regulates the commercial exploitation of shellfish
.
The Environment Agency is the second largest navigation authority
in the United Kingdom managing navigation for 634 miles (1,020.3 km) of Britain's rivers. The Agency's lock-keeper
s maintain and operate systems of sluice
s, weir
s and lock
s in order to manage water-levels for navigation, and where necessary to control flooding. Annual spending to maintain these installations, with an estimated replacement value of £700M, is around £22M per annum. The Agency uses the registration fees of some 31,000 craft on the waterways to provide some of the income. The Agency's responsibilities include the non-tidal River Thames, the Medway Navigation
, River Wye
and River Lugg
, the Royal Military Canal
and the Fens and Anglian system
s. The Environment Agency is organising the Fens Waterways Link
a major construction project to link rivers in the Fens and Anglian Systems for navigation. The first stage is the South Forty-Foot Drain
.
Functions in relation to most canals are undertaken by the British Waterways Board.
and the Conservancy Authority for the Dee Estuary
. The Environment Agency also publishes information about tidal bore
s, these being the Trent Aegir
and the Severn Bore
.
In local government
planning processes, the Environment Agency is a statutory consultee on all planning matters from County Strategic plans down to individual planning applications. In reality only those applications judged to pose special risks to the environment are commented on in any detail. For many years the Agency has been offering strong advice against the development of land in flood-plains because of the risk of flooding. Whilst in some instances, this advice may not have been appreciated in its entirety, in a large number of cases this advice has been used to reach decisions on planning applications.
and Environment Agency Wales
, all of which report to the Director of Operations.
under George Fleming. The review was to consider methods of estimating and reducing flood risk and look at whether flood risk management could make more use of natural processes. Other terms of reference included the possible impact of climate change
and experience of other countries. The resulting report entitled Learning to Live with Rivers specifically criticised a reluctance to use computer models and inadequate representation of the dynamic effects of land use, catchment processes and climatic variability. More broadly, the report noted that sustainable flood risk management could only be achieved by working with the natural response of the river basin and by providing the necessary storage, flow reduction and discharge capacity. It concluded that floods can only be managed, not prevented, and the community must learn to live with rivers.
produced a report on the performance of the Environment Agency with respect to its administrative targets and information systems. The report highlighted that the Environment Agency had not reached its targets for maintaintaining flood defence systems and producing Catchment area plans, and that since 2001 the general conditions of assets had not improved significantly. It concluded the agency could reduce the need for extra funding by improving cost effectiveness.
On the basis of the report, and to the background of the Summer 2007 floods, on 27 June 2007 the Committee of Public Accounts under Edward Leigh
subjected the Environment Agency management to severe interrogation and concluded that the agency had "not delivered protection for the British people". Issuing a strong response, the Chief Executive rejected the charge that the Environment Agency has massively failed, as alleged in the commons public accounts committee, noting that in the last seven years, defences had been created to protect 100,000 homes in floodplains, numbers receiving flood warning had dramatically increased and greatly improved flood mapping and forecasting had been implemented.
, which left 13 people dead, 44,600 homes flooded and caused £3bn damage, Defra announced an independent review by Sir Michael Pitt
.
The Environment Agency Directors attracted criticism when it emerged that shortly before the floods they had received five-figure "performance bonuses", with numerous calls for the bonuses to be donated to flood relief funds. An opposition spokesperson raised a question over the timing of the release of the information—"just as MPs left for their 11-week summer recess—guaranteeing minimum parliamentary scrutiny".
Pitt's review, published in full in June 2008 contained 92 recommendations looking at all aspects of the "biggest civil emergency in British history". Of these, thirteen were directed at the Environment Agency, the first of which stated that the Environment Agency should take on a national overview of all flood risk (2). It recommended the Environment Agency should further develop its modelling tools and techniques working with its partners on such (4)(5), and also make flood visualisation data more accessible (36)(37). It recommended closer working with the Meteorological Office (6)(34)(35)(65). The Agency should provide a more specific flood warning system for infrastructure operators (33), work with local responders to raise awareness in flood risk areas (61) and work with telecoms companies to roll out telephone flood warning schemes. Other recommendations were that the Environment Agency should continue its existing processes (8)(25).
The review also argued that the Government's £800 million-a-year flood defence budget for 2010 to 2011 was "about right" but stated that money should be spent more wisely. Sir Michael said: "What we are arguing is that we were not well prepared last summer for the scale of flooding that took place."
After the 2007 floods, the present organisation of flood management in England and Wales, with a large number of separate bodies responsible for different components, was called into question. George Fleming, who chaired the committee which produced the Learning to Live with Rivers report argued that the Environment Agency had too many roles and faced too great a conflict between its roles as habitat protector and planning regulator and suggested it was time to break it up and create a dedicated Flood Management Agency. On leaving her post as CEO in June 2008 Barbara Young responded to these suggestions, predicting that the Pitt report was unlikely to recommend the breakup of the Environment Agency.
Chief Executive:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
non-departmental public body
Non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body —often referred to as a quango—is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to certain types of public bodies...
of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government
Welsh Assembly Government
The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the people of Wales and makes laws for Wales...
that serves England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
.
Purpose
The Environment Agency's stated purpose is, "to protect or enhance the environment, taken as a whole" so as to promote "the objective of achieving sustainable developmentSustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
" (taken from the Environment Act 1995
Environment Act 1995
The Environment Act 1995 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which created a number of new agencies and set new standards for environmental management...
, section 4). Protection of the environment relates to threats such as flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
and pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
. The vision of the Agency is of "a rich, healthy and diverse environment for present and future generations".
Scope
The Environment Agency's remit covers the whole of EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
; about 15 million hectares of land, 22000 miles (35,405.5 km) of river and 3100 miles (4,989 km) of coastline seawards to the three mile limit which includes 2 million hectares of coastal waters. In a sharing arrangement with SEPA
Scottish Environment Protection Agency
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is Scotland’s environmental regulator. Its main role is to protect and improve Scotland's environment...
, it also exercises some of its functions over parts of the catchments of the River Tweed
River Tweed
The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is long and flows primarily through the Borders region of Great Britain. It rises on Tweedsmuir at Tweed's Well near where the Clyde, draining northwest, and the Annan draining south also rise. "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside" as the Border saying...
and the Border Esk which are, for the most part, in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Structure
The Environment Agency employs around 13,000 staff. It is organised into eight directorates that report to the Chief Executive.There are two "policy and process" directorates. One deals with Flood and Coastal Risk Management and the other with Environment and Business. These are backed up by the Evidence directorate. The fourth directorate is a single Operations "delivery" unit, responsible for national services, and line management
Line management
Line management is a business term to describe the administration of activities that contribute directly to the output of products or services. In a corporate hierarchy a "line manager" holds authority in a vertical 'line' , and/or over a particular product line...
of all the Regional and Area staff.
The remaining directorates are central shared service groups for Finance, Legal Services, Resources and Communications.
In support of its aims, the Agency acts as an operating authority
Operating authority
An operating authority is a body empowered under the Land Drainage Act 1991 or Water Resources Act 1991 to undertake land drainage or flood protection work in England and Wales. Operating authorities include internal drainage boards, the Environment Agency and local authorities....
, a regulatory authority
Regulatory Authority
A regulatory agency is a public authority or government agency responsible for exercising autonomous authority over some area of human activity in a regulatory or supervisory capacity...
and a licence authority.
Finance
The agency is funded in part from the UK government Department for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...
(DEFRA) and the Welsh Assembly Government. Additional money is raised from the issuing of licences and permits such as abstraction licences, waste handler registrations, navigation rights and rod (fishing) licences and from licensing data for which the Agency is owner.
Funding for asset management
Infrastructure asset management
Infrastructure asset management is the integrated, multi-disciplinary set of strategies in sustaining public infrastructure assets such as water treatment facilities, sewer lines, roads, utility grids, bridges, and railways. Generally, the process focuses on the later stages of a facility’s life...
and improvement and acquisition of flood risk management assets has traditionally come from local authorities via Flood Defence Committees. This was then effectively repaid by central Government in later years as part of the Formula Spending Share. In 2005 this was simplified by making a direct transfer from Treasury to the Environment Agency in the form of Flood Defence Grant in Aid
Grant-in-aid
A grant-in-aid is money coming from central government for a specific project. This kind of funding is usually used when the government and parliament have decided that the recipient should be publicly funded but operate with reasonable independence from the state.In the United Kingdom, most bodies...
.
The Environment Agency's total funding in 2007–08 was £1,025 million, an increase of £23 million on 2006–07. Of that total, £628 million (61 per cent) was provided in the form of 'flood defence grant-in-aid' from government (£578 million for England and £50 million for Wales). In addition, £347 million (34 per cent) was raised through statutory charging schemes and flood defence levies; and a further £50 million (5 per cent) came from other miscellaneous sources.
In 2007–08 had an operational budget of £1.025 billion, of which £628m was grant from the Agency's sponsoring Government Departments. Approximately half the Agency's expenditure is on flood risk management, and a third is spent on environment protection (pollution control). Of the remainder, 12% goes to water resources
Water resources
Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful. Uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities. Virtually all of these human uses require fresh water....
, and 6% to other water functions including navigation and wildlife.
Overall governance
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsSecretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is a UK cabinet-level position in charge of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the successor to the positions of Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport...
has the lead sponsorship responsibility for the Environment Agency as a whole and is responsible for the appointment of the Chairman and the Environment Agency Board (with the exception of one member appointed by the National Assembly for Wales).
In addition the Secretary of State is responsible for overall policy on the environment and sustainable development within which the Agency undertakes its work; the setting of objectives for the Agency's functions and its contribution to sustainable development; the approval of its budget and payment of Government grant to the Agency for its activities in England and approval of its regulatory and charging regimes. For policy, objectives, approval and activities in Wales, the Agency is accountable to the Minister for Sustainability and Rural Development in Wales (currently Jane Davidson
Jane Davidson
Jane Davidson, AM was the Labour Assembly Member for Pontypridd and the Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in the Welsh Assembly Government. She lives in Gwaelod-y-Garth with her husband and three children...
). The Agency's current chairman is Chris Smith
Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury
Christopher "Chris" Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury PC is a British Labour Party politician, and a former Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister...
and its Chief Executive is Paul Leinster.
History
The Environment Agency was created by the Environment Act 1995Environment Act 1995
The Environment Act 1995 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which created a number of new agencies and set new standards for environmental management...
, and came into existence on 1 April 1996. It took over the roles and responsibilities of the National Rivers Authority
National Rivers Authority
The National Rivers Authority was one of the forerunners of the Environment Agency of England and Wales, existing between 1989 and 1996. Before 1989 the regulation of the aquatic environment had largely been carried out by the ten Regional Water Authorities...
(NRA), Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution (HMIP) and the waste regulation authorities in England and Wales including the London Waste Regulation Authority (LWRA). All of the predecessor bodies were disbanded and the local authorities relinquished their waste regulatory
Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
role. At the same time, the Agency took responsibility for issuing flood warnings to the public, a role previously held by the police.
Flood and coastal risk management
Operating authority
An operating authority is a body empowered under the Land Drainage Act 1991 or Water Resources Act 1991 to undertake land drainage or flood protection work in England and Wales. Operating authorities include internal drainage boards, the Environment Agency and local authorities....
. It has the power (but not the legal obligation) to manage flood risk from designated main river
Main river
Main rivers are a statutory type of watercourse in England and Wales, usually larger streams and rivers, but also include some smaller watercourses. A main river is defined as a watercourse marked as such on a main river map, and can include any structure or appliance for controlling or regulating...
s and the sea. These functions in relation to other rivers (defined as ordinary watercourse
Ordinary watercourse
Ordinary watercourses are a statutory type of watercourse in England and Wales. Ordinary watercourses include every river, stream, ditch, drain, cut, dyke, sluice, sewer and passage through which water flows and which does not form part of a main river...
s) in England and Wales are undertaken by Local Authorities or internal drainage board
Internal Drainage Board
An internal drainage board is a type of operating authority which is established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales with permissive powers to undertake work to secure clean water drainage and water level management within drainage districts...
s. The Environment Agency is also responsible for increasing public awareness of flood risk, flood forecasting
Flood forecasting
Flood forecasting is the use of real-time precipitation and streamflow data in rainfall-runoff and streamflow routing models to forecast flow rates and water levels for periods ranging from a few hours to days ahead, depending on the size of the watershed or river basin. Flood forecasting can also...
and warning and has a general supervisory duty for flood risk management. the Environment Agency also has a strategic overview role for all flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
and coastal erosion
Coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage...
risk management. The term "Flood Risk Management" in place of "Flood Defence" recognises that managed flooding is essential to meet the requirements of a sustainable flood strategy. It is often not economically feasible or even desirable to prevent all forms of flooding in all locations, and so the Environment Agency uses its powers to reduce either the likelihood
Probability
Probability is ordinarily used to describe an attitude of mind towards some proposition of whose truth we arenot certain. The proposition of interest is usually of the form "Will a specific event occur?" The attitude of mind is of the form "How certain are we that the event will occur?" The...
or consequences of flooding.
Activities to reduce likelihood of flooding
The Environment Agency is responsible for operating, maintaining and replacing an estimated £20 billion worth of flood risk management (FRM) installations. According to a report by consultants in 2001, these are estimated to prevent annual average damage costs of approximately £3.5 billion. The Agency also invests in improving or providing new installations in areas where there remains a high risk of flooding, particularly where, because of the possible consequences, the damage risk is the highest. Recent examples of major defences against coastal flooding include the Thames BarrierThames Barrier
The Thames Barrier is the world's second-largest movable flood barrier and is located downstream of central London. Its purpose is to prevent London from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the sea...
, and recent examples of major inland flood prevention schemes include the Jubilee River
Jubilee River
The Jubilee River is a hydraulic channel in southern England. It is 11.6 km in length and is on average 45 metres wide. It was constructed in the late 1990s and early 2000s to take overflow from the River Thames and so alleviate flooding to areas in and around the towns of Maidenhead,...
.
Activities to reduce consequences of flooding
The Environment Agency provides flood forecasting and warning systems and maintains maps of areas liable to flood, as well as preparing emergency plans and responding when an event occurs. The Environment Agency carries out a regulatory function in development control - monitoring planning applications within flood risk areas, making sure that any development is carried out in line with legislation (PPS25). The agency checks the flood risk assessmentFlood risk assessment
A flood risk assessment is an assessment of the risk of flooding, particularly in relation to residential, commercial and industrial land use.-England and Wales:...
that must be submitted with most planning applications in flood risk areas. The Agency also runs public awareness campaigns to inform those at risk who may be unaware that they live in an area that is prone to flooding, as well as providing information about what the flood warning codes and symbols mean and how to respond in the event of a flood. The agency operates Floodline
Floodline
Floodline is a flood warning system in the United Kingdom. It is operated by:*The Environment Agency, in England and Wales*The Scottish Environment Protection Agency, in Scotland...
, a 24-hour telephone helpline
Helpline
A helpline was originally a telephone service which offers help to those who call. Many helpline services now offer more than telephone support - offering access to information, advice or customer service via telephone, email, web or SMS....
on flooding. Floodline covers England, Wales and Scotland but not Northern Ireland, and provides information and advice including property flood-risk checks, flood warnings, and flood preparation advice.
In partnership with the Met Office
Met Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
it runs the Flood Forecasting Centre
Flood Forecasting Centre
The Flood Forecasting Centre is a joint venture between the Environment Agency and the Met Office to provide warnings of flooding which may affect England and Wales...
(FFC) which provides warnings of flooding which may affect England and Wales. Formed in 2009, the FFC is based in the Operations Centre at the Met Office headquarters in Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
.
Environment and business
The Agency is the main regulator of discharges to air, water, and land - under the provisions of a series of Acts of Parliament. It does this through the issue of formal consents to discharge or, in the case of large, complex or potentially damaging industries by means of a permit. Failure to comply with such a consent or permit or making a discharge without the benefit of a consent can lead to criminal prosecution. Magistrates' CourtMagistrates' Court
A magistrates' court or court of petty sessions, formerly known as a police court, is the lowest level of court in England and Wales and many other common law jurisdictions...
can impose fines of up to £50,000 or 12 months imprisonment for each offence of causing or knowingly permitting pollution. If prosecuted in the Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
, there is no limit on the amount of the fine and sentences of up to 5 years imprisonment may be imposed on those responsible for the pollution or on Directors of companies causing pollution.
The Agency has an important role in conservation and ecology specifically along rivers and in wetlands. More general responsibility for the countryside and natural environment in England falls to the organisation Natural England
Natural England
Natural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...
. The Environment Agency's activities support users of the rivers and wetlands, including anglers and boaters.
Climate change
The Agency states that they take a "leading role in limiting and preparing for the impacts of climate change."Air quality
The Agency is a regulator for the release of air pollutantsAir pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
into the atmosphere from large, complex industrial processes. This will soon include emissions from some large-scale agricultural activities, but air pollutant releases from many agricultural activities will continue to be unregulated.
Major sources of air pollution, such as transport, are subject to various measures at the European, national and local level. Local authorities regulate air pollution from smaller industrial processes. The Agency works with local authorities, the Highways Agency
Highways Agency
The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in England. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England...
and others to implement the UK government's air quality strategy in England and Wales as mandated in the Environment Act 1995
Environment Act 1995
The Environment Act 1995 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which created a number of new agencies and set new standards for environmental management...
. The Environment Agency has an Air Quality Modelling and Assessment Unit (AQMAU) that aims to ensure that air quality assessments for permit applications, enforcement and air pollution incident investigations are consistent, of a high standard and based on sound science.
Land quality
The Agency is the regulatory authority for all waste managementWaste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
activities including the licensing of sites such as landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
, incineration
Incineration
Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials. Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment systems are described as "thermal treatment". Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas, and...
and recycling facilities. It also regulates the movement of hazardous wastes such as fibrous asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
, infectious clinical wastes
Biomedical waste
Biomedical waste, , consists of solids, liquids, sharps, and laboratory waste that are potentially infectious or dangerous and are considered biowaste...
and harmful chemicals. The Agency issues Environmental Permits to waste management sites and any individuals or companies found to have caused pollution or have infringed their licence conditions can be prosecuted. In serious cases the Environment Agency has the power to revoke the Environmental Permits issued to sites that contravene the conditions of their permits stopping all waste handling activities.
Water quality
The Agency has a duty to maintain and improve the quality of surface waters and ground-waters and, as part of the duty, it monitors the quality of rivers, lakes, the sea and groundwater on a regular basis. Much of this information is required by law under the provisions of a number of European Directives to be reported both to Parliament and to Europe and to be made public. Some of these duties have been in force through predecessor agencies and as a consequence the Agency maintains some long term data sets which in some cases such as the Harmonised monitoring schemeHarmonised monitoring scheme
The Harmonised monitoring scheme is a long term river water quality monitoring scheme in the United Kingdom. The term is also used to refer to the long term data sets produced by the scheme.-Establishment:...
exceed 30 years of consistent data collection.
Monitoring is also carried out of many discharges to the aquatic environment including sewage effluents and trade and agricultural discharges.
Water resources
The Agency manages the use and conservation of water through the issue of water abstractionWater abstraction
Water abstraction, water extraction, or groundwater abstraction is the process of taking water from any source, either temporarily or permanently. Most water is used for irrigation or treatment to produce drinking water....
licences for activities such as drinking water supply, artificial irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
and hydro-electricity generation. The Agency is in charge of inland rivers, estuaries and harbours in England and Wales. Its remit also extends into Scotland in the River Tweed
River Tweed
The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is long and flows primarily through the Borders region of Great Britain. It rises on Tweedsmuir at Tweed's Well near where the Clyde, draining northwest, and the Annan draining south also rise. "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside" as the Border saying...
and River Solway
Solway Firth
The Solway Firth is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in Cumbria, to the Mull of Galloway, on the western end of Dumfries and Galloway. The Isle of Man is also very...
catchments where special arrangements exist with SEPA to avoid duplication but retain management on a catchment basis.
Complex arrangements exist for the management of river regulation reservoirs, which are used to store winter water in the wetter parts of England and Wales in order to maintain levels in the summer time so that there is sufficient water to supply the drier parts of the country with drinking water.
Fishing
The Agency is a regulator of anglingAngling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
and sells over a million rod
Fishing rod
A fishing rod or a fishing pole is a tool used to catch fish, usually in conjunction with the pastime of angling, and can also be used in competition casting. . A length of fishing line is attached to a long, flexible rod or pole: one end terminates in a hook for catching the fish...
licences a year. It uses the proceeds (approx £20M per annum) to maintain and improve the quality of fisheries in England and Wales by improving habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
. The Agency also regulates the commercial exploitation of shellfish
Shellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...
.
Navigation
Navigation authority
A navigation authority is a company or statutory body which is concerned with the management of a navigable canal or river.-Rights of a navigation authority:...
in the United Kingdom managing navigation for 634 miles (1,020.3 km) of Britain's rivers. The Agency's lock-keeper
Lock-Keeper
Lock-Keeper is a high-level security solution based on the idea of "Physical Separation". It is a hardware-based device and works like a sluice to provide secure data exchange between the physically separated networks...
s maintain and operate systems of sluice
Sluice
A sluice is a water channel that is controlled at its head by a gate . For example, a millrace is a sluice that channels water toward a water mill...
s, weir
Weir
A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...
s and lock
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
s in order to manage water-levels for navigation, and where necessary to control flooding. Annual spending to maintain these installations, with an estimated replacement value of £700M, is around £22M per annum. The Agency uses the registration fees of some 31,000 craft on the waterways to provide some of the income. The Agency's responsibilities include the non-tidal River Thames, the Medway Navigation
Medway Navigation
The River Medway in England flows for from Turners Hill, in West Sussex, through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway Towns conurbation in Kent, to the River Thames at Sheerness, where it shares the latter's estuary. The Medway Navigation runs from the Leigh Barrier south of Tonbridge to Allington...
, River Wye
River Wye
The River Wye is the fifth-longest river in the UK and for parts of its length forms part of the border between England and Wales. It is important for nature conservation and recreation.-Description:...
and River Lugg
River Lugg
The River Lugg , rises near Llangynllo, Powys. It flows through the border town of Presteigne, Wales then through Herefordshire, England, including the town of Leominster, south of which it is met by a tributary, the River Arrow, then to a confluence with the River Wye, which it joins at Mordiford,...
, the Royal Military Canal
Royal Military Canal
The Royal Military Canal is a canal running for 28 miles between Seabrook near Folkestone and Cliff End near Hastings, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh.-Construction:...
and the Fens and Anglian system
Fens and Anglian system
The Fens and Anglian system is a collection of rivers in East Anglia in England that are navigable and for which the Environment Agency is the navigation authority....
s. The Environment Agency is organising the Fens Waterways Link
Fens Waterways Link
The Fens Waterways Link is a project to improve recreational boating opportunities in the counties of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, England. By a combination of improvements to existing waterways and the construction of new links a circular route between Lincoln, Peterborough, Ely and Boston is...
a major construction project to link rivers in the Fens and Anglian Systems for navigation. The first stage is the South Forty-Foot Drain
South Forty-foot drain
The South Forty-Foot Drain is the main channel for the land-drainage of the Black Sluice Level in the Lincolnshire Fens. It lies in eastern England between Guthram Gowt and the Black Sluice pumping station on The Haven, at Boston...
.
Functions in relation to most canals are undertaken by the British Waterways Board.
Other marine responsibilities
The Environment Agency is the harbour authority for RyeRye, East Sussex
Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...
and the Conservancy Authority for the Dee Estuary
Dee Estuary
The Dee Estuary is a large estuary by means of which the River Dee flows into Liverpool Bay. The estuary starts near Shotton after a five miles 'canalised' section and the river soon swells to be several miles wide forming the boundary between the Wirral Peninsula in north-west England and...
. The Environment Agency also publishes information about tidal bore
Tidal bore
A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay's current...
s, these being the Trent Aegir
Trent Aegir
The Trent Aegir is a tidal bore on the River Trent in England. At certain times of the year, the lower tidal reaches of the Trent experience a moderately large bore . It takes its name from Ægir, the Norse god of the ocean....
and the Severn Bore
Severn bore
The Severn bore is a tidal bore seen on the tidal reaches of the River Severn in England. It forms somewhat upstream of Sharpness, and can be seen as far upstream as Maisemore.- Formation :...
.
Consultation and influencing
The Agency uses its influence and provides education in order to change attitudes and behaviour towards the environment. Action, in several policy areas, is directed towards business and commerce at all levels, children in education, the general public and Government and local government. This last area is quite distinct from the Agency's statutory role to advise Government.In local government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
planning processes, the Environment Agency is a statutory consultee on all planning matters from County Strategic plans down to individual planning applications. In reality only those applications judged to pose special risks to the environment are commented on in any detail. For many years the Agency has been offering strong advice against the development of land in flood-plains because of the risk of flooding. Whilst in some instances, this advice may not have been appreciated in its entirety, in a large number of cases this advice has been used to reach decisions on planning applications.
Advice to Government
Until the formation of the Environment Agency, the Government took specialist advice on the management of the environment from civil servants employed in appropriate ministries. This led to considerable duplication of effort and frequent disagreements between Government and the regulatory agencies. The Environment Agency now advises Government directly about those issues within its purview.Regional organisation
The operational arm of the Environment Agency consists of 20 areas grouped into seven regions, six in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Environment Agency Wales
Environment Agency Wales
Environment Agency Wales is an Assembly Sponsored Public Body. It is that part of the Environment Agency that covers Wales. The Regional divisions of the Environment Agency are based on the concept of catchment management and administrative boundaries therefore follow the watersheds of major rivers...
, all of which report to the Director of Operations.
- Anglian Region — Central Area, Eastern Area and Northern Area
- Midlands Region — East Area, Central Area, and West Area
- North West Region — North Area and South Area
- South East Region — Kent & South London Area, Solent & South Downs Area, North East Thames Area and West Thames Area
- South West Region — Devon & Cornwall Area and Wessex Area
- Yorkshire & North East Region — Northeast Area and Yorkshire Area
- Environment Agency WalesEnvironment Agency WalesEnvironment Agency Wales is an Assembly Sponsored Public Body. It is that part of the Environment Agency that covers Wales. The Regional divisions of the Environment Agency are based on the concept of catchment management and administrative boundaries therefore follow the watersheds of major rivers...
— Northern Area, Southeast Area and Southwest Area
Criticism
Since the establishment of the Environment Agency several major flood events have occurred and the Agency has been the target of criticism. A number of reports have been produced which chart various developments in flood management.Easter 1998 Floods and Bye report
At Easter 1998, the equivalent of one months rain fell in the Midlands in 24 hours and flooding caused £400m damage and five deaths. In the light of criticism, the Agency commissioned a report from a review team under the Chairmanship of Peter Bye, a former chief executive of Suffolk CC. The report concluded that in many respects, the Environment Agency's policies, plans and operational arrangements were sound, and that staff did their best in extreme circumstances, but there were instances of unsatisfactory planning, inadequate warnings for the public, incomplete defences and poor co-ordination with emergency services. Specifically the report highlighted the flood warning system and said the scale of the damage could have been avoided if the agency had issued more advice to those living in the worst affected areas and noted "People who do not understand what they can do to protect themselves when they are warned are not protected."Autumn 2000 Floods and Learning to Live with Rivers
In the Autumn 2000 floods, damage was reduced by flood defences and by timely warnings and evacuations where the defences could not hold back the water. As a result 280,000 properties were protected from the floods, but over 10,000 properties were still flooded at an estimated cost of £1 billion. Defra commissioned an independent review by the Institution of Civil EngineersInstitution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
under George Fleming. The review was to consider methods of estimating and reducing flood risk and look at whether flood risk management could make more use of natural processes. Other terms of reference included the possible impact of climate change
Effects of global warming
This article is about the effects of global warming and climate change. The effects, or impacts, of climate change may be physical, ecological, social or economic. Evidence of observed climate change includes the instrumental temperature record, rising sea levels, and decreased snow cover in the...
and experience of other countries. The resulting report entitled Learning to Live with Rivers specifically criticised a reluctance to use computer models and inadequate representation of the dynamic effects of land use, catchment processes and climatic variability. More broadly, the report noted that sustainable flood risk management could only be achieved by working with the natural response of the river basin and by providing the necessary storage, flow reduction and discharge capacity. It concluded that floods can only be managed, not prevented, and the community must learn to live with rivers.
June 2007 National Audit Office report
On 15 June 2007 the National Audit OfficeNational Audit Office
National Audit Office can refer to:* Australian National Audit Office* National Audit Office * National Audit Office of the People's Republic of China* Swedish National Audit Office...
produced a report on the performance of the Environment Agency with respect to its administrative targets and information systems. The report highlighted that the Environment Agency had not reached its targets for maintaintaining flood defence systems and producing Catchment area plans, and that since 2001 the general conditions of assets had not improved significantly. It concluded the agency could reduce the need for extra funding by improving cost effectiveness.
On the basis of the report, and to the background of the Summer 2007 floods, on 27 June 2007 the Committee of Public Accounts under Edward Leigh
Edward Leigh
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh is a British Conservative politician. He has sat in the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Gainsborough in Lincolnshire since 1997, and for its predecessor constituency of Gainsborough and Horncastle between 1983 and 1997...
subjected the Environment Agency management to severe interrogation and concluded that the agency had "not delivered protection for the British people". Issuing a strong response, the Chief Executive rejected the charge that the Environment Agency has massively failed, as alleged in the commons public accounts committee, noting that in the last seven years, defences had been created to protect 100,000 homes in floodplains, numbers receiving flood warning had dramatically increased and greatly improved flood mapping and forecasting had been implemented.
Summer 2007 Floods and the Pitt Review
Following the 2007 United Kingdom floods2007 United Kingdom floods
The 2007 United Kingdom floods were a series of destructive floods that occurred in various areas across the country during the summer of 2007. The most severe floods occurred across Northern Ireland on 12 June; East Yorkshire and The Midlands on 15 June; Yorkshire, The Midlands, Gloucestershire,...
, which left 13 people dead, 44,600 homes flooded and caused £3bn damage, Defra announced an independent review by Sir Michael Pitt
Michael Pitt (British civil servant)
Sir Michael Edward Pitt DL is chair of the Infrastructure Planning Commission, which has the role of considering planning applications for national infrastructure projects under the Planning Act 2008, and was appointed Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate from 1 April 2011.Pitt graduated...
.
The Environment Agency Directors attracted criticism when it emerged that shortly before the floods they had received five-figure "performance bonuses", with numerous calls for the bonuses to be donated to flood relief funds. An opposition spokesperson raised a question over the timing of the release of the information—"just as MPs left for their 11-week summer recess—guaranteeing minimum parliamentary scrutiny".
Pitt's review, published in full in June 2008 contained 92 recommendations looking at all aspects of the "biggest civil emergency in British history". Of these, thirteen were directed at the Environment Agency, the first of which stated that the Environment Agency should take on a national overview of all flood risk (2). It recommended the Environment Agency should further develop its modelling tools and techniques working with its partners on such (4)(5), and also make flood visualisation data more accessible (36)(37). It recommended closer working with the Meteorological Office (6)(34)(35)(65). The Agency should provide a more specific flood warning system for infrastructure operators (33), work with local responders to raise awareness in flood risk areas (61) and work with telecoms companies to roll out telephone flood warning schemes. Other recommendations were that the Environment Agency should continue its existing processes (8)(25).
The review also argued that the Government's £800 million-a-year flood defence budget for 2010 to 2011 was "about right" but stated that money should be spent more wisely. Sir Michael said: "What we are arguing is that we were not well prepared last summer for the scale of flooding that took place."
After the 2007 floods, the present organisation of flood management in England and Wales, with a large number of separate bodies responsible for different components, was called into question. George Fleming, who chaired the committee which produced the Learning to Live with Rivers report argued that the Environment Agency had too many roles and faced too great a conflict between its roles as habitat protector and planning regulator and suggested it was time to break it up and create a dedicated Flood Management Agency. On leaving her post as CEO in June 2008 Barbara Young responded to these suggestions, predicting that the Pitt report was unlikely to recommend the breakup of the Environment Agency.
Past and present officers
Chairman:- Lord John Ailwyn Fellowes, 4th Baron de RamseyBaron de RamseyBaron de Ramsey, of Ramsey Abbey in the County of Huntingdon, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1887 for Edward Fellowes, who had previously represented Huntingdonshire in the House of Commons as a Conservative for 43 years...
(1996–2000) - Sir John Harman (2000–2008)
- Chris SmithChris Smith, Baron Smith of FinsburyChristopher "Chris" Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury PC is a British Labour Party politician, and a former Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister...
(July 2008–present)
Chief Executive:
- Professor Ed GallagherEd Gallagher (scientist)Professor Ed Gallagher is a British scientist. He is a council member of English Nature and chair of the Pesticides Forum which is part of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ....
(1995–2000) - Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old SconeBarbara Young, Baroness Young of Old SconeBarbara Scott Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone sits on the cross benches in the House of Lords. She was created a life peer in 1997 as Baroness Young of Old Scone, of Old Scone in Perth and Kinross....
(2000–2008) - Paul Leinster (June 2008–present)
See also
- List of rivers of England
- List of rivers of Wales
- List of estuaries in England
- List of environmental organizations
- UK Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling Liaison CommitteeUK Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling Liaison CommitteeThe UK Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling Liaison Committee is composed of representatives from UK governmental departments, agencies and research organizations as well as from non-governmental organizations and groups...
- UK Dispersion Modelling BureauUK Dispersion Modelling BureauThe UK Dispersion Modelling Bureau is part of the Met Office which is the UK's national weather and meteorological service...
- Infrastructure asset managementInfrastructure asset managementInfrastructure asset management is the integrated, multi-disciplinary set of strategies in sustaining public infrastructure assets such as water treatment facilities, sewer lines, roads, utility grids, bridges, and railways. Generally, the process focuses on the later stages of a facility’s life...
- Scottish Environment Protection AgencyScottish Environment Protection AgencyThe Scottish Environment Protection Agency is Scotland’s environmental regulator. Its main role is to protect and improve Scotland's environment...
External links
- Environment Agency
- Scottish Environment Protection Agency
- NetRegs
- Environment agency warns government over climate change damage.
- Map of waterways in Great Britain showing the responsible navigation authorities