New powers for Environment Agency

The UK Environment Agency has been given new powers to punish polluters without applying to the Courts first.

The powers will provide more flexibility and make the agency "better value" for businesses, it claims.

The agency will be able to force companies to clean up any environmental damage they cause, order the cessation of environmentally damaging operations, and impose fines on miscreants.

Offending organisations will also be given a formal opportunity to restore voluntarily any damage they cause.

The new civil sanctions are granted under the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 (part 3) and are in addition to the agency's existing regulatory powers to launch criminal prosecution against individuals and organisations for heinous environmental crimes.

The powers are not intended to replace the agency's usual modus operandi of advice and guidance and "are expected to be used sparingly", according to a statement from the agency.

"Businesses appreciate the benefits of a regulatory approach that makes it easier for them to protect people and the environment," said Paul Leinster, chief executive of the Environment Agency. "However, we recognise there is still more we can do to become the best regulator we can be and to clamp down quickly and effectively on the few businesses that cause significant damage to the environment and harm to people."

In using the new civil sanctions, regulators must apply a criminal standard of proof and be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that an offence has been committed.

The agency will be consulting with businesses from 15 February 2010 to help shape how the new powers will be implemented. The consultation contains a number of proposals, including: a methodology for calculating variable monetary penalties (VMP); a revised approach to enforcement and sanctioning; and proposals for governance structures and monitoring requirements for the use of civil sanctions.

A VMP can be no higher than £250,000.