Meeting with An Bord Pleanla Review Group By Laura Burke Dara - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Meeting with An Bord Pleanála Review Group

By Laura Burke Dara Lynott Frank Clinton 9th December 2015

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

 EPA Established in 1993  Sponsor in Government – Department of the Environment  Powers derived from EPA Act 1992, Waste Management Act 1996, Protection of the Environment Act 2003  Since 1993 over 60 further statutory instruments and regulations assigning additional responsibilities

 Drinking Water, Waste Water, Septic Tanks, EIA

 Radiological Protection (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014

 Merger of RPII and EPA  Office of Radiological Protection within EPA

A clean productive and well protected environment supporting a sustainable society and economy VISION

‘To protect and improve the environment as a valuable asset for the people of Ireland. To protect

• ur people and the environment from the harmful

effects of radiation and pollution.’

Mission

Environmental Protection Agency

 Section 52(2): In carrying out its functions the Agency shall:- “ensure, in so far as is practicable, that a proper balance is achieved between the need to protect the environment (and the cost of such protection) and the need for infrastructural, economic and social progress and development.”

EPA Essential Characteristics

Three priorities or essential characteristics for the EPA were set

• ut when the Bill to establish the Agency was introduced:

“independence from Government, public authorities or any

• ther interested bodies;

power to carry out their functions effectively; and transparency in all their decisions” and also that its scientific integrity should be beyond reproach Ref: 127 Seanad Debates Col 684 (23 January 1991).

EPA Review

 The Independent Review of the Environmental Protection Agency, 2011 Key Finding:

 “The Agency has grown and matured, providing considerable benefit for Ireland’s environment, and for the health and well-being of its people.”

 “the EPA has the independence to arrive at informed and objective

decisions, based on the facts (scientific integrity), and to undertake

• bjective assessment and reporting on the state of the environment.

This independence is one of its key strengths and is well provided for in existing legislation.”

Governance

 Board

 Director General and five directors form Board of Agency  Executive Board fulfils both governance and management roles  Lead and approve Strategic Policy, Monitor and review implementation  Board acts in quasi-judicial role in licensing function

 Director General

 Accounting Officer and Chair of the Board  Chief Executive of the EPA  Accountable to Oireachtas through PAC

Directors

 Appointment

 Open competition  Appointed by Government  Selection Committee

 Established under the EPA Act (as amended)  Committee Members include:  Secretary to the Government  Secretary of the Department of the Environment  Chairperson of the Council of An Taisce – the National Trust for Ireland  MD of the IDA  Chief Executive of the Council for the Status of Women

 Term of Office

 Director General – 7yrs  Directors- 5 yrs

Advisory/ Consultative Committees

• EPA Advisory Committee
• Health Advisory Committee
• Radiological Protection Advisory Committee
• GMO Advisory Committee
• Dumping at Sea Advisory Committee
• National Waste Prevention Committee
• Internal Audit Committee
• Meitheal Partnership Committee

Organisational Structure

EPA Offices (from MK presentation 2011)

Regional Inspectorates

• Dublin
• Cork
• Castlebar
• Monaghan
• Kilkenny

Regional Offices

• Athlone
• Limerick

Headquarters in Wexford 366 Staff in 8 Locations in 2015

Staff

 Highly qualified, dedicated and professional staff  49 PhDs and 143 Masters Degrees  Broad range of technical administrative and scientific disciplines  Strong commitment to continuous learning  EPA Review 2011: “The environmental expertise within the EPA is a significant national resource”

Staff Skill-set

• In the EPA for example we employ a whole range of

professionals:-

• Chemists
• Geologists
• Ecologists
• Microbiologists
• Hydrogeologists
• Hydrologists
• Marine Biologists
• Zoologists
• Accountants
• Economists
• Physicists
• Sociologists
• Biochemists
• Botanists
• Environmental Scientists
• Agricultural Scientists
• Information Systems Scientists
• Computer Scientists
• Engineers (Chemical, Civil

& Process)

• Lawyers
• Administrators
• Managers

Budget

• Exchequer funding
• Core Government Funding
• Water Framework Funding
• Environment Fund
• Enforcement
• NWPP
• Research
• Earned Income
• Licence fees
• Enforcement charges
• Auction of ET allowances

Budget 2015 €62 million

Working Arrangements

 Service Level Agreement with DECLG

 Available on EPA website

 Memoranda of Understanding

 11 MOUs currently in place  Available on EPA website  ABP, CSO, CER, DAFM, UK Drinking Water Reulators, HSA, HSE, Marine Institute, Met Eireann, FSAI

Licensing

 Transparent and accessible licensing process

 Our licensing work is done in keeping with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention

 All application information is posted on our web pages  All decisions are posted on our web pages  Confidential information is the exception rather than the rule  All licence decisions are accompanied by the Reasons for the Decisions made  We are fully compliant with the requirements of the FoI and the AIE legislation  EPA is accountable to the Oireachtas and its Committees  EPA appears regularly at Dail Committees  Decisions can be scrutinised by the Courts, e.g., under Section 85

• f EPA Acts, judicial reviews can be taken.

Licensing

 Purpose of licensing regimes

 To comply with the relevant EU Directives

 IPPC (former), IED, Waste Framework Directives, Water Framework Directive, etc.

 To comply with National legislation

 EPA Acts, Waste Management Acts, National Regulations such as the Wastewater Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations S.I. 684 of 2007, etc.

 To provide operators with a effective regulatory framework to ensure that the environment is protected from harm associated with emissions to air, water, land, etc.

Licensing

 Types of industry

 Large scale industries, including:

 Power Generation  Mining & metals  Chemicals & pharmaceuticals  Food & Drink  Cement & lime  Timber processing  Fossil Fuels  Surface Coaters  Intensive Agriculture

 Higher risk activities, including:

 GMO activities  Waste Incineration & hazardous waste incineration  Waste disposal activities (landfills & waste recovery activities)

 Activities posing a threat to water quality, including:

 Municipal wastewater discharges

Licensing

 Issued over 3,000 Licences

 IED & IPC  1,100  Waste (licences)  320  UWW (licence)  500  UWW (Certifications)  700  GMO  600 All of which require a full, detailed environmental assessment of impact before the decision can be made Approximately 200 licensing decisions, involving extensive environmental assessments, are made each year Also, approximately 1,800 Radiological Protection Licences have been issued, most of which are reviewed annually.

Licensing

 Industrial Emissions Licensing

 Embraces the Best Available Techniques (BAT) concept which is enshrined in the Industrial Emissions Directive, i.e., an EU mandatory requirement  BAT interpreted through the BAT Reference Documents (for each sector) - the BREFs  BAT now mandatory by way of the BAT Conclusions Chapter of the BREF  BAT Conclusions must be reflected in the permits / licences.

Licensing

 Environmental Impact Assessment must be carried out for many IED, Waste and WWDL activities  EIA is done in light of C50/09 judgement  EIA involves close and effective collaboration with local Planning Authorities and / or An Bord Pleanála  Appropriate Assessment screening required for all applications  Full appropriate assessment required for many applications  AA work tracks the Habitats Directive, EU Guidance, National legislation and case law  Staying ahead of EU and National case law is a full time job

Integrated Decision Making

 Parallel systems for planning and environment  EPA decision making facilitated by integrated licensing systems  EPA required to consult other regulators (planning authorities, DCENR, DoE (foreshore), HSE, HSA, fisheries, etc.)  EPA also a statutory consultee for others  MoUs with ABP and others to facilitate integration

Decision Making

 Decisions

 Board  Director  Authorised Person Legislation carries many stipulations to be met in decision making, e.g. Section 82 of the EPA Acts mandates that: “The Agency shall not grant a licence unless it is satisfied that any emissions from the activity will not cause environmental pollution” Similar provisions in all of the other relevant pieces of legislation governing licensing & permitting

Licensing

 Delegation of decision making, where appropriate:

 Board of the Agency reserves to itself the role of decisions where the proposal is High Profile, Contentious, Complex, Precedent creating, Greenfield sites, larger investments  A Director of the Board may make decisions where the general approach is agreed by the Board, the decision is of a routine nature, the environmental issues are well understood  Simple decisions and decisions of a bureaucratic nature may be delegated to an Authorised Person.

 The Licensing Inspector who carried out the assessment of an application presents the work to the Board of the Agency

• r to the decision-making Director