European Commission Acts to Simplify Implementation of Environmental Regulation
By Michel Catinat and Martin Whitworth, DG Environment

The European Commission’s Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry published a report entitled ‘Streamlining and Simplification of Environment-Related Regulatory Requirements For Companies,’ on 22 June 2006, presenting the results of a study of the actions taken by Member States, Candidate Countries and other non-EU countries to simplify and streamline the requirements of environmental regulation, and thereby reduce burdens on businesses.

A group of national experts drawn from ministries of industry, trade, economics and environment, industry, trade associations, regulators of NGOs, supported by the consultancy services of the Institute of European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and Ecologic, carried out the study under the auspices of the European Commission’s ‘Business Environment Simplification Task Force (BEST) Procedure’. The report:

• describes 76 examples of concrete actions taken to streamline and simplify environmental regulation across 24 countries;
• identifies the elements of each action which represents best or good practice;
• elaborates on 26 examples of best practice actions which are particularly innovative in reducing administrative burdens; and
• makes a series of recommendations to the Member States and Commission on how the results of the report can be used in national simplification programmes to reduce administrative burdens on businesses subject to environmental regulation.

As part of the practical implementation of the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs agreed in March 2003, the Member States and Candidate Countries have been developing their national simplification programmes. These programmes aim at reducing administrative burdens on industry by simplifying legislation and the framework for its implementation. This BEST project started in 2004 to identify practical examples of actions that countries had successfully taken to reduce burdens.

The BEST Expert Group and the Commission gathered information on concrete actions that countries had taken, initially by questionnaires. In order to determine if a case qualified as an action that could be regarded as good practice it had to pass a series of criteria such as the action had or would lead to actual reduction of burden on enterprises, and that it had lead to no overall net reduction in environmental protection. 76 concrete actions passed the criteria. They were grouped into the following seven categories developed by the BEST Expert Group for further analysis:

• organisation/institutional framework (20 examples);
• simplification of permit schemes (25 examples);
• simplification of monitoring/reporting (7 examples);
• simplification of inspection (5 examples);
• use of IT tools/electronic systems (28 examples);
• risk-based/incentive-driven approach (6 examples); and
• compliance assistance/support (15 examples).

Actions featuring in each category were further evaluated to identify those which were clearly innovative approaches to simplification. These actions were classified as best practice, of which there were 26 examples. The report highlights examples of actions considered to be best practice throughout the report. Annexes provide detailed information on all of the actions with contact details of the national expert.

Based on the results of the study, the BEST Expert Group has made 33 recommendations to the Member States and Commission on taking forward the simplification actions. The recommendations are grouped together according to the categories within which they fit best. Overall, the BEST Group has recommended that concrete actions be taken in all of the categories identified during the study. The selected best practice examples form the basis for a series of recommendations for policy makers and relevant stakeholders to help improve the development and implementation of simplification initiatives. They are addressed primarily at the Member States who should use them in their national simplification programmes. Some are addressed jointly to them and the Commission, or the Commission alone. The recommendations are set out at the front of the report.

Around 200 delegates attended a conference in Brussels on 22 June 2006 to launch the report. They represented a wide range of industries, ministries, NGOs and regulators. In total they heard twelve presentations covering the wider political setting for simplification and streamlining, through organisational and regulatory framework changes, to compliance assistance tools for businesses.

Click here for more information, including copy of the report, conference presentations and copies of the questionnaires forming the initial information for the report.

IMPEL-TFS Project Reports that Half of All Waste Shipments Are Illegal
By Nancy Isarin, fmr IMPEL project manager

Half of all waste shipments inspected by the IMPEL-TFS Seaport Project were found to contain illegally transported waste, according to the project’s final report, published in June 2006.

The project concluded that more cross-border cooperation is essential in order to enforce waste shipment regulations. The report is available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/impel/pdf/seaport_2_report2.pdf.

The IMPEL-TFS Seaport Project II focused on law enforcement for waste shipments exported via seaports. Thirteen European countries participated in the project, which was executed under the direction of the Department of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) of the Netherlands. The project is the successor of the first IMPEL-TFS Seaport project, which was carried out from June 2003 to May 2004.

The first seaport project was conducted with six participating countries. During this first project, 20% of the inspected waste shipments turned out to be illegal. As a result it was decided to organize a follow-up project. Seaports in the following thirteen countries participated in the second project: Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Apart from the inspection of waste shipments, the project also focused on the exchange of information and experiences between frontline inspectors. The project demonstrated that there are large differences between countries in methods of enforcement and in powers of inspection. It is recommended that similar European initiatives should continue and that a structured approach within the EU should be adopted. 

Inspections

In the period between September 2004 and March 2006, a total of 175 inspections were conducted in the seaports of the participating countries. More than 24,000 administrative inspections and 4,198 ‘physical’ inspections were carried out. 1103 shipments turned out to contain waste, of which 564 were designated as illegal.

The illegal exports concerned included electronic waste, car wrecks, cable waste, plastics and CFC-containing refrigerators from Europe to Asia and Africa. During the project, exchanges between inspectors of the various Member States were organized so that they could discuss experiences and best practices. Assessments were also made of the enforcement structures in place in the participating seaports.

These showed that there are major differences in available capacity for enforcement as well as in the number of organizations involved and in cooperation with other services. Particularly the lack of necessary powers for the execution of inspections and the prosecution of illegal waste shipments proved problematic. There are also considerable differences between countries in the methods of enforcement and interpretation of waste regulations.

Enforcement and International cooperation necessary

The amount of intercepted illegal shipments and detected breaches shows that there is a need for joint enforcement of European and International waste shipment regulations. The European Commission is also being asked to become more involved in such projects. The separate Member States are being advised to allow greater capacity for the enforcement of waste shipment regulations and to build cooperation structures with other services such as the police and customs. New European legislation concerning international waste shipments will come into force in 2007 (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/shipments/index.htm).

During the implementation of this new legislation, EU Member States will be able to adjust the powers of their inspectors and their legislation, enabling effective enforcement and prosecution. Finally it is important to be able to verify the final destination and treatment of the waste in order to conclude whether the export was in compliance with the rules or not. Contacts with countries of destination are therefore essential.

European Seaport Project

The European Seaport Project’s objective was to improve and unify enforcement of EU legislation by Member States in the area of (dangerous) waste exports. During the project, vehicles, ships and containers in which (waste) substances are transported were inspected, as well as storage locations in port areas. In particular, attention was paid to exports of waste products from European to non-OECD countries, including a number of African and Asian countries. Exports of waste products to such countries is often prohibited or permitted only by permission of the public authorities involved. During the inspections, local environmental inspectors collaborated with a large number of enforcement agencies, including Customs services, the police and port authorities. An important project goal was the exchange of information and experiences between the participating countries. As a result, a number of countries improved their enforcement methods and implemented new inspection techniques. In addition, three European inspection weeks were organized, during which simultaneous inspection took place in the participating seaports.

The IMPEL-TFS network (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/impel/impel_tfs.htm) will continue its cross-border collaboration projects. Cooperation with other countries outside the EU to improve the quality of the enforcement activities will become one of the priorities.

8th Annual Meeting of the EECCA Regulatory Environmental Programme Implementation Network

The eighth annual meeting of the Regulatory Environmental Programme Implementation Network (REPIN) in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on 12-13th June 2006.

The meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Georgia, and organised by the OECD/EAP Task Force Secretariat. The meeting gathered about 60 participants, including high and mid level officials representing the Ministries of Environment and their implementation branches from the EECCA region, officials and experts from the OECD countries, the European Commission, EBRD, the Regional Environmental Centres (RECs) for CEE, the Caucasus, Moldova, and the Russian Federation, and non-governmental organizations.

Some of the key decisions taken included:

• Endorsement of the Guiding Principles of the Effective Environmental Permitting Systems;
• Agreement to refine the Environmental Policy Implementation Rating and conduct self-assessments;
• Endorsement of the outline for a regional report on trends in modernising environmental regulation and compliance assurance in EECCA;
• Support for the development of the Guidelines on Performance Measurement for Environmental Enforcement Authorities of EECCA;
• Support for the idea and the preliminary list of issues for a High-Level Environmental Policy Event to be held in 2007.
• Support for using the recommendations of the Environment Chapter of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises to promote higher environmental performance by enterprises in EECCA.

Several of these outcomes will contribute directly to the next “Environment for Europe” Ministerial meeting to be held in Belgrade in October 2007.

In addition, this event provided an opportunity to review progress with implementation of the REPIN work programme, share information about relevant in-country activities carried out by the environmental authorities in EECCA countries and directly communicate with their colleagues from OECD and Central European countries, and with non-governmental stakeholders.

A side event on the reform of compliance assurance in Georgia was held on 14th June. The Network, which is part of the OECD/EAP Task Force, was formally established in 1999 and has operated in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) since late 2000. REPIN work has helped to revise policies and legislation, to reform environmental institutions and to upgrade the knowledge and skills of environmental officials and experts in EECCA countries. The Network has substantially enlarged its scope of work after the Kiev “Environment for Europe” Ministerial meeting in 2003. Its multi-annual programme covers three main areas: (i) environmental policy instruments; (ii) environmental compliance assurance strategies; and (iii) institutional aspects of compliance assurance.

For more information on the REPIN Network please visit the dedicated web page.

UK Launches National Wildlife Crime Unit

The National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), a police-led Unit to target and disrupt serious wildlife crime on a regional, national and international level, was launched in the United Kingdom on October 18th, 2006.

A multi-agency operation, the NWCU will gather, analyse and co-ordinate wildlife crime intelligence and support the enforcement activities of police and HM Revenue and Customs officers in the UK. A new proactive arm staffed by Investigative Support Officers will further increase the impact of the Unit’s efforts and directly support Police Wildlife Crime Officers across the constabularies of the UK.

The NWCU’s structure and operations have been developed over the last four years and have been internationally commended and implemented as a model world wide. Launching the Unit, Biodiversity Minister, Barry Gardiner, said: "Stepping up the Unit’s remit will facilitate greater numbers of prosecutions and go a long way in the fight to stamp out wildlife crime, but this is not something we can do alone."

"Working with partners both inside and outside of government we are now in a prime position to tackle the perpetrators head-on. This Unit sends a clear message: we will not tolerate wildlife crime in the UK."

"I am pleased that Defra was able to commit a further £200,000 in February this year, which has enabled the expansion and broadening of the Unit’s remit. I look forward to its continuing success."

Lothian and Borders Police announced in April that it would host the Unit from a new base in Edinburgh. Paddy Tomkins, Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police who are hosting the Unit said: "We pay tribute to the work that the Unit has done up until now as part of a larger intelligence agency, all of which has been exceptionally important. We look forward to establishing a close working relationship with this highly dedicated team of people using our combined knowledge and skills to combat all types and levels of wildlife crime"

Mark Fuchter, Head of Prohibitions & Restrictions Group at HMRC says: "We share a common interest in tackling the international trafficking in CITES-listed endangered species. The pilot unit has quickly established itself as an effective partner alongside police wildlife crime officers and customs officers. We have a close and effective working relationship with the unit and the changes announced today will enhance law enforcement capability against wildlife crime even further."

The pilot for the NWCU was set up in 2002, and originally functioned from within the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) as a focal point to gather, analyse and disseminate actionable intelligence both nationally and internationally. Initial support was provided by Defra, the Scottish Executive, the Association of Chief Police Officers, HM Revenue and Customs, and the Home Office.

For more information, contact ukwildlifecrime@nwcu.pnn.police.uk.

Ireland's EPA Publishes "Focus on Environmental Enforcement" Report

The Irish EPA's Office of Environmental Enforcement published its first "Focus on Environmental Enforcement" report in July 2006, which reflected the overall increase in enforcement effort by public bodies during the period since the establishment of the Office of Environmental Enforcement and highlights the emerging issues that need to be tackled.

Findings include: 

• Industries in some sectors continue to encounter difficulty in operating according to their license conditions;
• Poor waste management practices were identified in eight out of twelve classes of industry;
• Odour at waste transfer stations is causing nuisance and provoking increased complaints;
• Organized fly tipping and backyard burning of waste are now significant problems; and
• 18% of wastewater generated in Ireland receives no treatment before discharge.