The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) have launched a two month consultation on their guidance on the control of toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative substances set to protect the water environment and are inviting views and comments on the matter. In particular, comments are sought on the following matters:

• SEPA’s proposals for determining whether a discharge is liable to contain listed substances.
• The proposed thresholds for significant level or loading of listed substances and the application to both rivers and coastal waters.
• The method for establishing lower and upper tier numeric discharge quality licence conditions.
• The potential impact of these proposals upon your business.
• The level of protection provided for the water environment.

The guidance, taking into account responses to the consultation, is intended to be finalised and take effect from 01 April 2009.

The consultation will close on 18 July 2008.

Further information about the consultation is available from:

http://www.sepa.org.uk/pdf/consultation/current/dangerous_substances…

Source: http://www.sepa.org.uk/  (accessed 05/06/08)

The Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) has published a draft report on “Ozone in the United Kingdom” on which it is currently inviting views and technical comments. The AQEG provides advice on such things as the levels, sources and characteristics of air pollutants in the UK and considers current knowledge on air pollution. The Report aims to address the key policy-related questions put to AQEG by Defra and the Devolved Administrations including what the likely impact of climate change on future ozone levels in Europe over the next two decades will be.

The consultation will close on 6 August 2008.

Further information about the consultation is available from:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/ozone2008/index.htm

Source: http://www.defra.gov.uk/  (accessed 05/06/08)

The Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS) are inviting views and technical comments on two draft reports published in May. The first report, “guidelines for metals and metalloids in ambient air for the protection of human health” is the second report by the EPAQS as part of a new work programme in which the Panel is advising the Environment Agency on some of the priority substances that it is responsible for regulating. In this report EPAQS recommend guideline values for arsenic, beryllium, chromium and nickel; metals which are all human or suspected human carcinogens and have been shown to affect human health through the inhalation route.The second report, “Addendum to Guidelines for halogen and hydrogen halides in ambient air for protecting human health against acute irritancy effects”, is an addendum to a report published in February 2006 which recommended guideline values intended to represent a level of halogen and hydrogen halides at which no significant health effects would be expected to occur over the short-term. This addendum addresses the long-term (chronic) exposure effects and as such proposes additional provisional guideline values.

Both consultations will close on 6 August 2008.

Further information about the consultation concerning metals and metalloids is available from:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/metals-metalloids/index.htm

Further information about the consultation concerning halogen and hydrogen halides is available from:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/halogen-halides/index.htm

Source: http://www.defra.gov.uk/  (accessed 05/06/08)

Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 to fully come into force

On 20 May 2008, The Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 (Commencement No. 3) Order 2008 was made, bringing into force the final part of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004.

The Order brings into force Section 22 of the 2004 Act, relating to the SSSI register for Scotland. From 2 June 2008, the Scottish Ministers may by regulations make provisions regarding the register including how the register is to be kept, the information which the register is to contain, and any amendments to it. From 30 June 2008, the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, presently James Meldrum, Chief Executive of the Registers of Scotland, must keep a register containing information relating to SSSI notifications and ensure that the register is, at all reasonable times, available for public inspection.

The full text of the Order can be accessed from:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/ssi2008/ssi_20080193_en_1

The full text of the 2004 Act can be accessed from:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2004/asp_20040006_en_1

Source: http://www.opsi.co.uk/ (accessed 04/06/08)

The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) have designated June 9, 2008, the first International Accreditation Day.

What is International Accreditation Day?

International Accreditation Day provides an opportunity to celebrate accreditation and the benefits it provides to Regulators, businesses and consumers.

For more information visit the International Accreditation Day public area of the ILAC site

If you need training to help you achieve or retain your accreditation then check out our main website www.jpd.co.uk for further details on our wide range of courses. Book online and save £20.

Defra, with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Devolved Administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is consulting on the draft Regulations and administrative arrangements for the enforcement in the UK of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).The aim of the REACH Regulation is to ensure a high level of protection from hazardous substances for the environment and human health, whilst stimulating innovation and competitiveness in the chemical industry.

The focus of the consultation is on the draft REACH Regulations and the arrangements for their proposed enforcement in the UK. It sets out how the Government proposes to meet the enforcement requirement while ensuring that the burdens imposed on businesses and the regulators are no greater than is strictly necessary.

The consultation will close on 25 August 2008.

Further information about the consultation is available from:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/reach-enforce/index.htm

Source: http://www.defra.gov.uk/  (accessed 04/06/08)

DEFRA are inviting views and comments on the EU Commission’s proposed amendments to the EU Emissions Trading System, published as a package on 23 January 2008 with proposals for ways of tackling climate change and delivering a low carbon economy in Europe. The proposals include the ability for smaller combustion installations to be able to opt out of the scheme and expanding the scheme to with new sectors and gasses to be covered.The EU Emissions Trading Scheme is a Europe wide scheme which puts a price on the carbon that businesses use and creates a market for carbon. It has been in place since 2005 and is the first scheme of its kind in the world.

The consultation will close on 30 July 2008.

Further information about the consultation is available from:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/euets-2013amendments/

Source: http://www.defra.gov.uk/  (accessed 05/06/08)

JPD have a wide range of courses throughout June with venues across the UK, why not resolve your training requirements before the summer holidays hit? 

JPD have courses in Quality Management (ISO 9001, AS 9100, ISO/TS 16949), Environmental Management (ISO 14001, WEEE Regulations, Managing Your Carbon Footprint) and Health & Safety (OHSAS 18001), to find out more about dates and venues click on the links below or visit our website at http://www.jpd.co.uk

Quality Management Courses:

ISO 9001:2000

Internal Quality Auditing

The New Quality Manager

ISO/TS 16949

IRCA Internal QMS Auditor

IRCA QMS Auditor/Lead Auditor

Simplyfy Your Small Business Quality System

Environmental Management Systems

IEMA Foundation Course in Environmental Auditing

Managing Your Carbon Footprint

Health & Safety:

IOSH Managing Safely

Risk Assessment

COSHH

CDM 2007 for Duty Holders

 Food Industry Courses

RSPH Certificate in the Fundamentals of HACCP

CIEH Food Safety Courses - Level 3 and Level 4

You can book online at www.jpd.co.uk and receive £20 discount too!

For more information please contact our friendly team on 01565 724200.

On 6 April 2008, the Environmental Permitting Regulations came into force, aiming to make it quicker and easier for businesses to apply for or change a permit.

These Regulations replaced the system of waste management licensing in Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 (as amended), and the system of permitting in the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 (as amended), with a new system of environmental permitting in England and Wales.

If you’ve got a Waste Management licence or PPC permit, it automatically became an environmental permit on the 6 April 2008. You don’t need to reapply, and the Environment Agency won’t send you a new one. The conditions and subsistence fees stay the same.

If you hold an exemption from WML, then from 6 April 2008, you will instead be exempt from environmental permitting. There are some changes, for example to paragraph numbers and to the regulation of hazardous wastes.

The other changes include:
-You will be able to apply for and pay for an environmental permit online, later in the year. 
-You will have a dedicated team to deal with all environmental permit applications.
-The EA will launch 27 standard permits for low to medium-risk waste activities. These permits will be cheaper to apply for (the EA will issue them within three months).
-A single permit could cover all the relevant activities on your site.
-If you’re a waste operator, you will soon be able to choose how you prove your technical competence.

The full text of the Regulations can be accessed from:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/uksi_20073538_en_1

Further information is available from:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/1745440/1745496/1906135/?lang=_e

Source: www.environment-agency.gov.uk  (accessed 29/04/08)

On 7 April a twelve week consultation started to make organic waste easier for industry to reprocess into other products so as to divert it from landfill. Encouraging technology that reduces the amount of organic waste sent to landfill is the driving force behind this consultation by the Waste Protocols Project, a joint Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and Environment Agency initiative.

The Quality Protocol for the production and use of quality outputs from Anaerobic Digestion (AD), could make it easier to turn biodegradable waste into valuable products such as fertilisers and soil conditioners. It could also ease the regulatory burden by defining when the matter produced – digestate - stops being waste and therefore no longer needs to be subject to regulatory control.

The Consultation documents can be accessed from:
http://qp.dialoguebydesign.net/bgo/documents.asp

Source: http://www.wrap.org.uk/ (accessed 29/04/08)