About Environment Law
Have you been instructed at short notice to advise on transactions or new environmental legislation outside your comfort zone? Are you up-to-date with the latest changes in environmental regulation – and have a sense of what’s on the horizon?
Current awareness, horizon scanning and trackers
Our curated daily news alerts, environmental law podcast and dedicated environmental law trackers, split according to topic and covering consultations and legislation, alongside our cases tracker, will save you time.
Air emissions and climate change
We show where climate change targets come from at national, European and international levels, plus we detail climate reporting and disclosure frameworks, track litigation and provide practical guidance for your business
Brexit and divergence
We detail the environmental law regimes that have been impacted by Brexit and track EU/UK/GB divergence.
Transactional support
We’ll give you transactional support guides and precedents for the environmental and health and safety (EHS) issues that environmental lawyers need to consider when supporting corporate and property deals.
Topics We Cover
Latest Environment News
The Environment Agency (EA) has published a summary report, detailing the findings of the Air Quality Inequalities Project, conducted by the EA, with...
A round-up of the latest environmental enforcement, including a farming business fined after polluting a watercourse and breaching slurry regulations....
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) have published new guidance documents that describe good practice and provide technical and scientific advice for...
The European Commission has published a new independent study offering a comprehensive overview of the net-zero manufacturing industry across EU...
Planning analysis: This analysis sets out comments from Jennifer Eng on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)....
Latest Environment Practice Notes
Works to trees, tree preservation orders and trees in conservation areasWorks to treesGenerally, work to trees does not constitute development under...
Protected hedges and hedgerowsWhat hedgerows are protected?Certain hedgerows are protected by the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 (HR 1997), SI 1997/1160,...
Litter enforcement, fly-tipping offences and abandoned vehiclesWhat is littering?Litter can be anything from a crisp packet to a bag of rubbish. All...
Environmental law divergence trackerThis tracker monitors relevant EU-UK environmental law divergence and will be of interest to environmental...
Landfills—key waste issuesTypes of wasteIn England and Wales, apart from public health legislation, there was no regulation of landfilling activities...
Latest Environment Precedents
Environmental Information Regulations 2004, Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information Act 2000—provision for disclosure by a local authority...
Environmental Information Regulations 2004—request for environmental information[Insert name of public authority][Insert public authority's address,...
Notice of appeal pursuant to section 80(3) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 against an abatement notice for a statutory nuisance[name, address...
Private action for a statutory nuisance—complaint to the magistrates’ court—section 82 of Environmental Protection Act 1990In the [insert name]...
Abatement notice for a statutory nuisance made under the section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990[name] [District] [Borough] [City]...
Latest Environment Q&As
Featured Environment content
Nuisance and the rule in Rylands v Fletcher—common law liability for pollution
Nuisance and the rule in Rylands v Fletcher—common law liability for pollutionPrivate nuisancePrivate nuisance is an unlawful interference with a...
Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSE)—environmental and health and safety enquiries
Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSE)—environmental and health and safety enquiriesCommercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSEs) are industry...
Sewers and drains—sewerage undertakers’ core duties and powers
Sewers and drains—sewerage undertakers’ core duties and powersA sewerage undertaker is the company appointed by the Secretary of State or Ofwat to be...
BREEAM key requirements
BREEAM key requirementsWhat is BREEAM?The Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM) is a method for evaluating...
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)—snapshot
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)—snapshotTitleUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)Parties168Adopted10...
Contaminated land—meaning of remediation
Contaminated land—meaning of remediationMeaning of remediation'Remediation' is given a relatively wide definition in the Environmental Protection Act...
Control of asbestos—asbestos surveys
Control of asbestos—asbestos surveysLegal requirementsThere is a legal presumption that any non-domestic buildings (and the common parts of domestic...
Sustainable procurement—private sector
Sustainable procurement—private sectorWhat is sustainable procurement?According to the UN Global Marketplace definition: procurement is sustainable...
Lease transactions toolkit (environmental issues)—Commercial Property Standard Enquiries and additional environmental enquiries
Lease transactions toolkit (environmental issues)—Commercial Property Standard Enquiries and additional environmental enquiriesCommercial Property...
Control of asbestos—duty to manage
Control of asbestos—duty to manageThe Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012) place various duties on employers to protect employees from...
Riparian ownership—rights and responsibilities
Riparian ownership—rights and responsibilitiesWhat does riparian ownership mean and who does it affect?‘If you own land or property next to a river,...
Highway drains and culverts
Highway drains and culvertsFor the purposes of s 100 of the Highways Act 1980, a ‘highway drain’ is defined as including a ditch, gutter, watercourse,...
Environment Agency (EA)—powers of entry
Environment Agency (EA)—powers of entryThe Environment Agency (EA), Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have...
Environmental management—environmental management systems (EMS)
Environmental management—environmental management systems (EMS)What is an environmental management system (EMS)?An environmental management system...
Transporting dangerous goods
Transporting dangerous goodsBrexit11 pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 marked the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period entered into following...
Waste types and control—asbestos waste
Waste types and control—asbestos wasteIdentifying asbestos wasteAsbestos exists in a number of forms—the three most common are chrysotile (white),...
Harbour authorities—duties and powers
Harbour authorities—duties and powersDuties and powersHarbour authoritiesA harbour authority is an independent self-governing body that is responsible...
Energy Company Obligation (ECO)—key features of ECO1 and ECO2 [Archived]
Energy Company Obligation (ECO)—key features of ECO1 and ECO2 [Archived]Energy Company Obligation (ECO) replaces Carbon Emissions Reduction Target...
Associated legal terms
Caution
A simple caution, formerly known as a formal caution, is an interview with an enforcing authority such as the Environment Agency that can be an alternative to prosecution where the authority wishes to deal quickly with an environmental offence that it considers to be less serious.
European waste catalogue
The waste classification scheme that categorises waste types according to what they are and how they were produced.
Land contamination
Land contamination is a general term used to describe any land that may be contaminated in some way, but not necessarily at levels that attract contaminated land regime liability.
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