Waste Law How can you keep up to date

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Waste LawHow can you keepup to date?

• Jacqui OKeeffe
• Partner,
• Denton Wilde Sapte

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Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005

• CNEA received Royal Assent April 2005
• 7 June
• nuisance vehicles,litter, graffiti and other
  defacements, transport of waste, removal of
  employer defence, and noise
• FPNs introduced and increased fines/penalties
• 18 October
• Abandoned vehicles, repeal of contracting out
  provisions, fly tipping and new powers given to
  waste collection authorities

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Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005

• 6 April 2006
• Remaining provisions in force
• October
• DEFRA published draft Guidance on CNEA (2 January
  2006)
• Interim guidance

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Abandoned Vehicles October 18

• Ss11-13 and 15-17 CNEA (Part 2)
• Ss2-5, Refuse Disposal (Amenity Act) 1978
• Ss99-103, Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984
• Removal and Disposal of Vehicles Regulations 1986
• LAs no longer required to give 15 day notice
  where vehicle is abandoned on a road (ss11(2)CNEA
  and 15)
• LAs can immediately remove all abandoned vehicles
  deemed fit for destruction (s11(3) CNEA)
• 15 days notice still required where vehicle is
  abandoned on occupied land

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Disposal of Abandoned Vehicles

• LA may dispose of an abandoned vehicle in such a
  manner as it thinks fit
• No obligation to trace or inform owner of
  disposal where
• Where LA of opinion vehicle ought to be destroyed
  due to its condition
• Or if not fall within (a) above
• No tax disc displayed and no registration mark
  displayed (s16 CNEA)

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Disposal of Abandoned Vehicles

• In all other cases LA must take prescribed steps
  to find owner of vehicle, unless
• Cannot find owner or
• Owner fails to comply to 7 day notice
• Will need to have regard to guidance when
  exercising powers (s15 and 17 CNEA)

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New Flytipping powers (1)

• 7 June
• Defence of acting on employers instructions in
  response to offence of unauthorised or harmful
  deposit of controlled waste repealed (s40 CNEA
  s33(7)(6)EPA)
• Maximum penalties in ss33(8) and (9) EPA relating
  to offence of unauthorised deposit of waste
  increased to
• 50,000 and/or 12 months imprisonment or both on
  summary conviction or
• Unlimited fine and/or 5 years imprisonment on
  conviction on indictment (s41 CNEA)

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New Flytipping powers (2)

• Court can order offender convicted of an offence
  under s33 EPA to pay investigation and
  enforcement costs, vehicle seizure and disposal
  of contents costs (s42 CNEA)
• Court can order offender to pay clean up costs
  incurred by EA/LA/owner or occupier of land in
  removing illegally deposited waste (s43 CNEA)

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New Flytipping powers (3)

• New powers to serve FPN for failing to produce
  documents in breach of s34 (Duty of Care) EPA
  (s45 CNEA)
• Powers to stop and seize vehicles involved in
  offences under s33 and 34 EPA (s46 CNEA)
• Powers of entry and investigation under s108 EPA
  now available to WCAs (s53 CNEA)

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The Waste (Household Waste Duty of Care) England
and Wales Regulations 2005

• Comes into force on 21 November 2005
• Amends s34 EPA (Duty of Care) to impose a duty of
  care on occupiers of domestic properties to take
  reasonable measures to ensure that the transfer
  of household waste is transferred to an
  authorised person

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Hazardous Waste Consultation

• DEFRA consultation paper describes proposals to
  revise waste management licensing regime
• Draft regulations
• Deadline for comments 16 December

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Current Position

• S33 EPA anyone who deposits, receives or
  disposes of controlled waste must do so in
  accordance with WML unless activities fall within
  exemptions in Schedule 3 of Waste Management
  Licensing Regulations 1994
• Consultation paper describes changes to sch. 3
  via draft Waste Management Licensing Exemptions
  (Amendment and Related Provisions) (England and
  Wales) Regulations 2005

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New Exemptions

• Paragraph 3 references to use of waste oil for
  fuel and storage removed
• Paragraph 6 repealed (burning of waste oil in
  specific engines)
• Paragraph 17 revision to conditions relating to
  storage of specific types of waste pending reuse
• Paragraph 18 amendment to provisions dealing
  with storage facilities

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New Exemptions

• Paragraph 28 repealed (storage of returned
  waste goods by manufacturer, distributor,
  retailer pending recovery or disposal)
• Paragraph 39 exemption will only apply to non
  hazardous clinical wastes, stored at pharmacies,
  medical, nursi0ng and veterinary practices
  pending disposal

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Recent Prosecutions

• September 2005 company director of paper
  recycling business received 12 month custodial
  sentence following fatality. Company also fined
  30,000 and costs of 55,000 awarded
• September 2005 Three men who ran an
  environmental body found guilty of landfill tax
  fraud involving misappropriation of over 1m in
  landfill tax monies and each sentenced to 2 ½
  years in prison

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• Jacqui OKeeffe
• Denton Wilde Sapte
• One Fleet Place, London, EC4M 7WS
• Tel [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email jacqui.okeeffe_at_dentonwildesapte.com