Environmental damage

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Legislation

The Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) (England) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/810, and The Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) (Wales) Regulations 2009, SI 2009/995, implement the environmental damage regime in England and Wales which is for the prevention and remediation of environmental damage. They originally implemented the requirements of the Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/EC. See Practice Note: EU Environmental Liability Directive—snapshot.

What is environmental damage

Environmental damage is damage to:

  1. •

    a protected species or natural habitat that has a significant adverse effect on reaching or maintaining the favourable conservation status of the species or habitat

  2. •

    a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) that has an adverse effect on the integrity of the site

  3. •

    surface water or groundwater that triggers a drop in the status of the water body

  4. •

    land that results in a significant risk of adverse effects on human health

  5. •

    marine waters so as to significantly affect their environmental status

For further guidance, see Practice Note: Environmental damage—what does it cover?

Legal duty to immediately notify regulators and to prevent damage

If

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