Episode 147 - Environment Act 2021

This week we will be talking about the Environment Act 2021. This episode content meets PC3 - Legal Framework & Processes of the Part 3 Criteria.

Resources from today's episode:

Websites:

• https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2021/30/contents
• https://www.gov.uk/government/news/world-leading-environment-act-becomes-law
• https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-legally-binding-environment-targets-set-out

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Transcript

Episode 147:

Hello and Welcome to the Part3 with me podcast. 

The show that helps part 3 students jump-start into their careers as qualified architects and also provides refresher episodes for practising architects. I am your host Maria Skoutari and this week I will be talking about the Environment Act 2021. Todays episode meets PC3 of the Part 3 Criteria.

Make sure to stay until the end for todays scenario.

So let’s start by looking at what the Environment Act is and why was it introduced by the UK Government:

The Act was first introduced to the House of Commons in the 2019-2020 parliamentary session and became law in 2021. Following the UK’s departure from the EU, new laws that relate to nature protection, water quality, clean air, as well as additional environmental protections that originally came from Brussels, needed to be established. The Environment Act was therefore introduced to act as the UK’s framework of environmental protection. 

The legislation aims to protect and enhance the UK’s environment for future generations and is split into 7 parts which aim to deliver:

• Parts 1 and 2: Environmental governance, principles, targets and improvement plans
• Part 3: Waste and resource efficiency
• Part 4: Air quality and environmental recall
• Part 5: Water
• Part 6: Nature and biodiversity
• Part 7: Conservation covenants

Looking at each part in more detail, under Part 1&2: Environmental governance, principles, targets and improvement plans, it covers:

• Long-term targets to improve air quality, biodiversity, water, and waste reduction and resource efficiency
• A target on ambient PM2.5 concentrations, the most harmful pollutant to human health
• A target to halt the decline of nature by 2030
• Environmental Improvement Plans, including interim targets
• A cycle of environmental monitoring and reporting
• Environmental Principles embedded in domestic policy making clean up the country’s air, restore natural habitats, increase biodiversity, reduce water and make better use of resources.

Under Part 3: Waste and resource efficiency, the Act aims to align with both the ambition to have more circular economy and the UK’s 25-year plan to improve the natural environment by eliminating avoidable plastic waste by the end of 2042. New powers were introduced, and existing legislation amended to ensure that the new commitments in the Resources and Waste Strategy are delivered.

Part 3, therefore, covers:

• Extended producer responsibility to make producers pay for 100% of cost of disposal of products, starting with plastic packaging
• A deposit Return Scheme for single use drinks containers
• Charges for single use plastics
• Greater consistency in recycling collections in England
• Electronic waste tracking to monitor waste movements and tackle fly-tipping
• Tackle waste crime
• Power to introduce new resource efficiency information (labelling on the recyclability and durability of products)
• Regulate shipment of hazardous waste
• Ban or restrict export of waste to non-OECD countries

It has not been confirmed what changes will be made and when they will take effect. The Act simply provides that national authorities may make regulations relating to these.

Under Part 4: Air Quality and Environmental Recall, the Act aims to deliver cleaner air by requiring the government to set targets on air quality and by updating its National Air Quality Strategy and the Act includes Amendments to the Clean Air Act (1993), which will seek a simpler regime for smoke control enforcement, allowing a possible decriminalised regime with a simplified structure for issuing penalty notices. The Act also sets a legally binding duty on the government to bring forward at least two new air quality targets by 31 October 2022. However, the government failed to meet that deadline. No targets have been set within the Act itself. 

This part, therefore, covers:

• Requirement from Local Authorities to tackle air quality as mentioned, and to
• Simplify enforcement within smoke control areas

Under Part 5: Water, the Act clamps down on water companies that discharge sewage into rivers, waterways and coastlines. It amends the Land Drainage Act 1991 to enable certain valuation calculations to be provided for in secondary legislation, so that necessary updates to the calculations including data sources can be readily made. 

This part, therefore, covers:

• Effective collaboration between water companies through statutory water management plans
• Drainage and sewerage management planning a statutory duty
• Minimise damage water abstraction may cause on environment
• Modernise the process for modifying water and sewerage company licence conditions

The Act imposed a requirement on government to publish a plan to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows by September 2022 and report to Parliament on the progress towards implementing that plan.

Under Part 6: Nature and Biodiversity, it introduces the mandatory minimum 10% biodiversity net gain requirement for all new developments that are subject to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 which became mandatory from 12th February 2024. A biodiversity net gain plan must be established and approved at the planning application stage. Developers must establish that at least a 10% gain in biodiversity value will be achieved.

This part, therefore, covers:

• Strengthened biodiversity duty
• Biodiversity net gain to ensure developments deliver at least 10% increase in biodiversity
• Local Nature Recovery Strategies to support a Nature Recovery Network
• Duty upon Local Authorities to consult on street tree felling
• Strengthen woodland protection enforcement measures
• Conservation Covenants
• Protected Site Strategies and Species Conservation Strategies to support the design and delivery of strategic approaches to deliver better outcomes for nature
• Prohibit larger UK businesses from using commodities associated with wide-scale deforestation
• Requires regulated businesses to establish a system of due diligence for each regulated commodity used in their supply chain, requires regulated businesses to report on their due diligence, introduces a due diligence enforcement system

From 2025, it is also expected that biodiversity net gain requirements will begin to apply to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects

And Under Part 7: Conservation Covenants, which involves private, voluntary agreements between landowners and a responsible body such as a conservation agency or public body, are intended to provide conservation for the natural environment and assets for the public good.

The agreements can bind successors of the land so have the potential to deliver long-term benefits.

Conservation covenants came into existence as a legal structure on 30 September 2022.

Generally, the introduction of the Environment Act also means that the 25 Year Environment Plan can move from ambition to reality as the first statutory Environmental Improvement Plan. The inclusion of five Environmental Principles in the Act namely integration, prevention, rectification at source, polluter pays and precautionary, and the need for all Government Ministers to consider them when making policy, will help increase the opportunities for Nature recovery across Government.

Now, to ensure these measures mentioned are met and adhered to by all developments, a new environmental watchdog was introduced:

The Act will be enforced by a new, independent Office for Environmental Protection which will hold government and public bodies to account on their environmental obligations. It will have various environmental governance roles, including monitoring progress against environmental improvement plans and new environmental targets developed under the Act, and enforcement of breaches of environmental laws by public authorities.

In June 2022, the Office for Environmental Protection published its strategy and enforcement policy following a consultation in January 2022. The policy emphasises that OEP’s role is to investigate the most serious breaches where it can make the most difference as opposed to investigating every alleged breach.

The Office for Environmental Protection also has an enforcement role, as mentioned, which is required to plug the gap of governance in the UK following its exit from the EU and the consequent loss of the enforcement powers of the European Commission. However, the Office for Environmental Protection will not replace the Environment Agency, which will continue to regulate private actions.

The Act awards various powers on the Office for Environmental Protection against public authorities, including information notices, decision notices and the ability to apply to the Court for an “Environmental Review” or Judicial Review. Some businesses may even seize the opportunity to level the playing field by whistle-blowing to the Office for Environmental Protection on competitors that have previously secured market advantages by cutting corners.

The new body will work together with Natural England on certain aspects and they have developed an open, collaborative working relationship to help further their joint goals of environmental protection and improvement. The Act will also enable reform of the Habitats Regulations following public consultation which supports the restoration of Nature.

So, looking forward:

The government published the Environment Act 2021 (Commencement No.3) Regulations 2022 in May 2022 to bring into force provisions of the Environment Act 2021. This is the third set of commencement regulations issued under the Act.

The government are also expected to publish various plans and reports in the upcoming years covering topics such as air quality and the reduction of sewage discharges from storm overflows.

To sum up what I discussed today:

• The Environment Act was made law in 2021 and is the UK’s framework for environmental protection post-Brexit, covering governance, waste, air quality, water, nature, biodiversity, and conservation.
• The legislation is split into 7 parts which aim to deliver Environmental governance, principles, targets and improvement plans, Waste and resource efficiency, Air quality and environmental recall, Water, Nature and biodiversity, and Conservation covenants.
• The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) was also introduced as the new independent body which will hold government and public bodies to account on their environmental obligations.
• Future plans of the act involve additional regulations, such as air quality targets and collaboration between environmental bodies for nature recovery.