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The UK Environment Agency has been given new powers to punish
polluters without applying to the Courts first.
The powers will provide more flexibility and make the agency
"better value" for businesses, it claims.
The agency will be able to force companies to clean up any
environmental damage they cause, order the cessation of environmentally
damaging operations and impose fines on miscreants. Offending
organisations will also be given a formal opportunity to restore
- voluntarily - any damage they cause.
The new civil sanctions are granted under the Regulatory
Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 (Part 3) and are in
addition to the agency's existing regulatory powers to launch
criminal prosecution against individuals and organisations
for environmental crimes.
The powers are not intended to replace the agency's usual
modus operandi - of advice and guidance and "are expected
to be used sparingly", according to a statement from the agency.
"Businesses appreciate the benefits of a regulatory approach
that makes it easier for them to protect people and the environment,"
said Paul Leinster, chief executive of the Environment Agency.
"However, we recognise there is still more we can do to become
the best regulator we can be and to clamp down quickly and
effectively on the few businesses that cause significant damage
to the environment and harm to people."
In using the new civil sanctions, regulators must apply a
criminal standard of proof and be satisfied beyond reasonable
doubt that an offence has been committed.
The agency will be consulting with businesses from 15 February
2010 to help shape how the new powers will be implemented.
The consultation contains a number of proposals, including
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- a methodology for calculating variable monetary penalties[1]
(VMP);
- a revised approach to enforcement and sanctioning - and
- proposals for governance structures and monitoring requirements
for the use of civil sanctions.
[1] A VMP can be no higher than £250,000.
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