Environment Agency charging scheme proposals from October 2021

Results updated 17 Dec 2021

We wanted to hear your views on our charging scheme proposals from October 2021. We ran our consultation for 8 weeks from 16 July until 10 September 2021. You were able to respond via our online consultation tool, Citizen Space, or by post. We also provided contact details for additional enquiries.

We received a total of 23 responses to the consultation:

16 responses in relation to extending the regulatory charges to the Isles of Scilly
8 responses in relation to the new specified fusion activity

You can find a summary of your responses at the link to the response document.

Our consultation proposed changes for implementation on 1 October 2021. However, we have revised this date and now intend to apply any changes from 1 April 2022 as:

it aligns with our charging cycle
it will allow more time for those on the Isles of Scilly to better understand the new regulation and charges
it will allow more time for you to ask further questions about the range of exemptions that will apply

We have considered all your feedback. Whilst there were some suggestions about limiting the scale of charges, none of you suggested alternative options that we could implement to fully recover the cost of regulation in this location.

For extending the regulatory charges to the Isles of Scilly we plan to implement the proposed extension of our existing Environmental Permitting Charge Scheme and the Scheme of Abstraction Charges from 1 April 2022.

We also consulted on changes to the Scheme of Abstraction charges, which will take effect from 1 April 2022, subject to the outcome of that consultation, the charges in the revised Abstraction charges scheme will apply to the Isles of Scilly.

For a new specified fusion activity your overall response was positive, and supported the introduction of the new specified radioactive substances activity definition (c) in section 2(1) of the Environmental Permitting Charging Scheme. We propose to implement the change as of 1 April 2022.

Thank you for completing the consultation.

Overview

We are consulting on proposed changes to our charging schemes for the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 and the Water Resources Act 1991.

These changes are proposed to make sure we cover our costs in relation to regulatory activities on the Isles of Scilly (IoS) and the regulation of fusion activities anywhere in England.

Isles of Scilly

Customers on the IoS were previously exempt from charges under the Environmental Permitting Charging Scheme and Scheme of Abstraction Charges. However, the government made an order in 2020 that enables us to recover the costs of regulation in this location. We therefore propose to apply the existing charging schemes to customers on the IoS. This will provide consistency for our customers now that the exemption no longer applies.

Regulation ensures everyone complies with permit and licence conditions, whilst supporting economic growth. More Information

Failure to regulate can result in:

significant environmental damage
unacceptable impacts on communities
significant costs from, for example, dealing with pollution incidents or managing over abstracted catchments

Specified radioactive substances activity - fusion

We propose to include fusion activities in the Environmental Permitting Charging Scheme by extending the definition of a ‘specified radioactive substances activity’. The proposed change will enable us to fully recover the costs of regulating the emerging fusion industry.

Fusion energy research aims to bring the power source of the stars down to earth to give us low-carbon electricity for millennia to come. More Information

When light nuclei fuse to form a heavier nucleus, they release bursts of energy. This is the opposite of nuclear fission – the reaction that is used in nuclear power stations today – in which energy is released when a nucleus splits apart to form smaller nuclei. For additional detail on fusion energy please consult the UKAEA’s Fusion in brief guide.

We will publish a consultation response document which will summarise key themes on the GOV.UK website. If you respond on-line and provide an email address, your response will be automatically acknowledged.

Why your views matter

Our aim is to make the environment a better place for people and wildlife while facilitating sustainable development and supporting economic growth.

We have powers under legislation to recover the cost of some of our regulatory activities from people and organisations that require environmental regulation. This is to ensure that these activities are not funded by the taxpayer.

We have considered our charges against the need to deliver our regulatory duties. We know our charges can affect those we regulate so we have considered our proposals carefully. We invite you to comment on our proposals and whether you think they might be improved or made fairer.

Responding to the consultation

Please click on the 'online survey' link below to answer the consultation questions.

Supporting information for the consultation includes the following:

To submit your response by email please send your completed response form for Environment Agency charging scheme proposals from October 2021 with the subject header of EA Charges Consultation – IoS and fusion to enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk before close of business on Friday 10 September.

We encourage you to contact us through the online portal or by email. However, if you would prefer you can submit your response by post by downloading the response form for Environment Agency charging scheme proposals from October 2021 and sending it before close of business on Friday 10 September to:

Environment Agency
EA Charges Consultation – IoS and fusion
National Customer Contact Centre
PO Box 544
Rotherham
S60 1BY

To request a hard copy of the consultation document or the response form, please contact us on 03708 506 506 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm).

What happens next

Our consultation on ‘Environment Agency charging scheme proposals from October 2021' is now closed. The last day for responding to this consultation was 10 September 2021.

We will analyse the responses to help develop the final charging scheme. Our response to the consultation will be published within three months of the closing date and will be available on this web page and on GOV.UK.

Thank you for your interest in this consultation, please use the the contact details on this page if you would like to get in touch with us.

Audiences

Businesses
Members of the public
The nuclear industry
Environment Agency customers

Interests

Business and industry
Water resources
Water quality
Waste
Permits
Nuclear
Environmental permitting
Radioactive substances regulations

Contact