The Environmental Protection Law refers to the structure and authority for waste management and aims to strengthen pollution controls and support enforcement with stronger penalties. Previously there was separate environmental regulation for air, water and soil pollution, however, this law considers all three. It applies to England, Wales and Scotland and is divided into 7 parts. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Sustainable resources = “Resources harvested in such a way that they are not depleted or permanently damaged,” such as agriculture. Carbon footprint = “The amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organization or community”. Controlled waste = Refers to domestic, industrial and commercial waste. Household/household waste = Solid waste from private homes.Commercial waste = Waste from premises used primarily for commercial or business activities, but may also come from premises used for sporting, recreational, educational or entertainment activities. Industrial waste = waste material generated by factories and industrial plants = essentially a fine with the option for the recipient to opt to have the matter dealt with in court rather than pay the fine. However, if the recipient does not pay the fine or opt for a court hearing within the specified period, the fine may increase by 50% This system was originally introduced to tackle minor parking offenses and was designed to reduce paperwork for police and council offices by enabling anti-social behavior to be dealt with on the spot. Contaminated land = any land which appears to local authorities to be in a condition that causes significant harm (or there is a possibility that such harm will be caused), or significant pollution of the aquatic environment (or there is a possibility that such harm will be caused ). something that affects a person's health or causes a disturbance to their property. Examples include smoke, fumes, gas, dust, steam, odor or noise emitted from premises considered injurious to health or a nuisance. Any accumulation or deposit considered harmful to health or a nuisance. Any animal kept in a place or manner considered injurious to health or a nuisance. There are some exclusions; including contaminated land, armed forces activities, certain fumes and dark fumes, traffic and demonstrations.Part I - Prescribed processes and substances:In this Part:The Secretary of State may authorize and set limits on processes and substances in relation to emissions in the environment. Carrying out a prescribed process is prohibited without approval, and criminal sanctions are implemented against violators. Requests for the execution of a prescribed procedure must be submitted to the enforcement authority. The application must be in writing and must contain details of the applicant, information on the location of the trial and/or release and full details of the trial and/or release of the prescribed substance(s). The executive authority can refuse authorization or grant it under certain conditions. Once granted, the authorization can be transferred (e.g. to someone who handles the process) upon notification to the enforcement authority. The enforcement authority can revoke an authorization or change its conditions or issue an enforcement/prohibition notice to a non-compliant operator, violations of which may lead to criminal sanctions such as fines or imprisonment. The operator may request that the conditions be changedand may appeal a decision on the issue of authorization, conditions, enforcement or prohibition to the Secretary of State, who may hold a hearing or investigation. Permitting was originally in the hands of HM Pollution Inspectorate and local authorities, but since 1996 it has become the responsibility of the Environment Agency (EA) and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). Enforcement authorities must provide public information on requests, authorizations and enforcement as long as confidentiality and national security are protected. Part II - Disposal of controlled waste in the territory: Under this Part: No person shall "treat, store or dispose of controlled waste in a manner that causes pollution of the environment or harm to human health". Specifically; with the exception of case of domestic waste being treated/stored/disposed of on the premises, no person shall deposit (or knowingly permit the deposit of) controlled waste in or on any land or use any mobile facility without a waste management licence, to operate a landfill a waste management license is required. Store other people's waste. Use a mobile plant. Carry out final waste disposal. Waste management licenses and may be subject to conditions, which may be decided by the Secretary of State. Licenses are transferable and decisions to refuse a license or conditions granted on it may be appealed to the Secretary of State. A duty of care is given to “any person who imports, produces, transports, stores, processes or disposes of controlled waste, or as an intermediary has control of such waste” to ensure that: All rules and regulations relating to waste are complied with. No waste escapes their control. Any transfer of waste is only made to an authorized person and a written description of the waste is also transferred to ensure that any rules or regulations relating to the waste are complied with. All transfers must also be accompanied by a transfer note, copies of which must be kept for a period of two years and must be made available to the supervisory authorities. In terms of household waste, the occupier must take reasonable steps to ensure that any transfer of waste is only handed over to an authorized authority; however, they are not responsible for any of the other tasks listed above. Waste collection authorities are required to collect household waste; unless it is in an isolated location where it can reasonably be expected that alternative arrangements may be made. Waste collection authorities can collect commercial waste upon request, however they are not obliged to provide this service. Industrial waste will only be collected with the consent of the competent waste disposal authority. There is no charge for household waste collection (unless the Secretary of State makes regulations specifying specific collections for which you must pay), whereas a reasonable fee may be charged for commercial waste collection. Waste collection authorities are responsible for emptying latrines and cesspits and have the power to lay pipes, sewers and other waste collection infrastructure. Waste collected by a waste collection authority is the property of the authority. It is a crime to disturb or sort (unless with consent) waste deposited for collection by the authorityresponsible for waste collection, and this can be punished with a fine. Waste collection authorities may advise the householder that the waste must be disposed of in a specific container and in a specific way. It is a criminal offense to fail to comply (without a reasonable excuse) with this notice and if you do so, you may receive a fine or fixed penalty. Waste collection authorities also have power over commercial and industrial waste containers. If waste is deposited on the land, the authorities can order the occupier to remove it. Waste collection authorities must hand over the waste to waste disposal authorities (unless they intend to recycle it themselves), and waste disposal authorities must dispose of the waste and also provide facilities for households to deposit their waste . A disposal authority can: Make arrangements to recycle waste. Make arrangements for the use of waste to produce heat or electricity. Purchase or otherwise acquire waste with the aim of recycling it. Use, sell or otherwise dispose of waste or anything produced from such waste. A collection authority may: Purchase or otherwise acquire waste for recycling. Use or dispose of by sale waste belonging to the authority or anything produced from such waste. Violation of any of the above is a criminal offense and penalties for serious crime by businesses may extend to unlimited fines, imprisonment, vehicle seizure and clean-up costs. Part IIA - Contaminated Land The law does not apply to contamination by radioactivity. Under this Part: local authorities have a duty to periodically inspect their local area and (using guidelines set out by the Secretary of State) to identify contaminated land and advise EA or SEPA of this, who will then issue a warning remediation to the appropriate person. The appropriate person responsible for remediation work is any person(s) who caused or knowingly allowed the substance(s) to contaminate the land. If such a person cannot be identified, then the current owner/occupier of the land is the appropriate person. The appropriate person is held responsible for remediating other land where the substance(s) has leaked. The appropriate person can appeal the notification within 21 days of receiving it, but it is ultimately an offense to fail to comply with a notification. Local authorities, EA or SEPA can carry out the repair work themselves if the appropriate person cannot be found or requests it; the authority then has the discretion to make the appropriate person responsible for the costs. Local authorities, the EA and SEPA must maintain a register of notifications available to the public; provided that confidentiality and national security are protected. Part III - Statutory Disturbances In this Part: Local authorities have a duty to carry out periodic inspections (or in response to a complaint from the public) of their area for statutory problems. If an offending occupier is found, the local authority must serve them with an abatement notice to stop the nuisance. The occupier can challenge the notice within 21 days of receipt, but ultimately failure to comply with the notice is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine increased by 10% for each day the nuisance continues. If the offense is committed by an occupier of commercial premises, the maximum fine is £40,000. If the notice is not complied with, the local authority may take reasonable steps to reduce the inconvenience and recover costs from the occupier. Any person aggrieved by a legal nuisance can file a complaint with the court. The court may order the occupier to.