Regulation and Enforcement environmental law

UK Environmental Law and Policy Lecture 2 Summary. These flashcards cover key concepts and mechanisms discussed in the UK Environmental Law and Policy lecture.

What are values in the context of UK Environmental Law according to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (1998)?

Values are beliefs, either individual or social, about what is important in life and thus about the ends or objectives that should govern and shape public policies.

What does BATNEEC stand for?

Best Available Technique Not Entailing Excessive Costs.

What is the life cycle of regulation composed of?

Initial policy framework, implementation/enforcement, and feedback mechanisms.

Legal control mechanisms (there’s 4)

Regulatory controls, criminal sanctions, civil liability, and market mechanism

where should control standards be directed (two)

Source oriented strategy and target oriented strategy.

Name two types of standards that can be established in environmental law.

Emissions standards and product standards.

What roles do executive agencies play in environmental law?

administer environmental laws and policies, setting and enforcing standards.

What are economic instruments in the context of environmental regulation?

Admin charges for operation of direct regulation, charges reflecting the full environmental cost, pollution control charges, subsidies, and markets in pollution credits.

What is the moral dimension of environmental crime?

It refers to the consideration of ethics and social responsibility regarding actions that harm the environment.

What does the Polluter Pays Principle entail?

It requires that those who produce pollution should bear the costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or the environment.

What is corporate liability in environmental law?

Legal responsibility of corporations for environmental offenses, which can include penalties for negligence or violations of environmental regulations.

6 responsive regulation techniques

Revocation of license, suspension of license, criminal penalties, enforcement notices, warning letters, and persuasion.

determining if a law works depends on

social beliefs on what is important

name 6 regulatory / administrative controls

command and control, anticipatory or preventative controls, continuing controls and enforcement, adaptive management, supplemental powers and duties,

what is source oriented strategy?

use restrictions, emission standards, processes controls and product standards

examples of target orientated strategy

environmental emission standard, receptor exposure limits, residue thresholds

what’s the difference between source and target orientated strategy

source regulates the behavior of the polluter directly, target focuses on the quality of the receiving environment, asks: "what level of pollution can this specific ecosystem handle?

4 ways to administrate environmental law

locally or centrally set standards, domestic policy making bodies (government departments), international bodies, advisory bodies

give 2 examples of executive agencies

natural england, local authorities

what is strict liability

a party responsible for damages or losses without the need to prove fault, negligence, or bad intent.

3 defences to Civil Strict Liability

An Act of God (An unprecedented natural disaster), Act of War, Third-Party Intervention (A criminal or stranger intentionally caused the leak (though the owner must still have had reasonable security in place).

what did Durham CC V peter O’Connor 1993 establish?

The case established that "disposal" includes the continued presence of leaking waste on a site, meaning a landowner can be held financially liable for cleanup costs even if they weren't the one who originally dumped the material.

3 defences to PPP

emergency situations, exercising due diligence ("took all reasonable precautions) and having a reasonable excuse

what did polychrenakis v richard & Jerrom establish

strict liability applies to "causing" water pollution regardless of the defendant's knowledge or negligence, even if the actual leak was caused by a mechanical failure or a latent defect in equipment.

what did national rivers authority v alfred McAlpine homes east 1994 establish (corporate liability) (case concerns pollutionduring construction)

a company is liable for the polluting acts of its employees even if those employees are not senior members or part of the company's controlling mind

what did shanks and McEwan v Environmental agency 1997 establish?

It established that for a "causing" offense, the prosecution only needs to prove that the defendant’s operations provided the "active operation" that led to the pollution, even if the immediate trigger was the act of a third party.

what happened in Shanks?

Shanks & McEwan operated a landfill site. A third party (someone not employed by the company) brought waste to the site that contained a hazardous chemical. When that waste was deposited, it reacted with other substances already on-site, causing a chemical reaction and a subsequent discharge of polluting matter into controlled waters.

The company argued they didn't "cause" the pollution because:

1. They didn't know the hazardous chemical was in the load.

2. The pollution was triggered by the act of a third party (the person who brought the waste).

what did Woodhouse v Walsall Met 1994 establish?

a local authority can be held criminally liable for environmental offenses even if the management of the site has been delegated to a specific department or "directing mind" that failed to act.

what happened in Woodhouse?

Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council (the local authority) owned and operated a landfill site. The site was managed by a specific department within the council. During their operations, leachate (contaminated liquid from the waste) escaped and polluted a nearby brook.

The National Rivers Authority (now the Environment Agency) prosecuted the Council under the Water Resources Act 1991.