ENVIRONMENT AGENCY REGULATORY POSITION STATEMENT - REPORTING DURING COVID-19
Please be aware that a Regulatory Position Statement (RPS) titled ‘Monitoring emissions from installations, radioactive substances and waste sites’ has been published on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/covid-19-regulatory-position-statements.
This COVID-19 RPS explains when you can delay and reschedule some emissions to air and water monitoring and other environmental monitoring because of Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions. This RPS only applies where Coronavirus (COVID-19) prevents monitoring or sampling being carried out to the extent required by your environmental permit. This COVID-19 RPS will be withdrawn on 30 June 2020 unless we extend it. After this date you must comply with your permit.
This Regulatory Position Statement includes strict conditions which must be followed to continue protecting people and the environment during this period. We expect all operators to abide by the law and the terms of their environmental permits, unless covered by this or another RPS.
You must get written agreement from the Environment Agency before you use this COVID-19 RPS. For further information or to get our written agreement to use this COVID-19 RPS, contact your Environment Agency regulatory officer or site inspector.
Please note our independent monitoring contractor (Public Health England) will be in contact with relevant sites to discuss implications of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the Environment Agency’s independent effluent monitoring programme.
We will be publishing further COVID-19 RPSs over the next few weeks to support industry by being as flexible as possible in relation to permit requirements during the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak whilst still providing a high standard of protection for the environment and human health.
You can find out more information about the Environment Agency’s operational response to Coronavirus (COVID-19) here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/environment-agency-operational-update-3-april-2020
Anne-Marie Gawronski
SULG Technical Secretary
Regulatory Officer RSR
Hertfordshire and North London
Environment Agency
Alchemy, Bessemer Road, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 1HE
