Nuisance, negligence and other civil liability

Environmental issues are predominantly regulated and subject to enforcement by means of:

•
criminal sanctions
•
civil sanctions created by and imposed in accordance with statute
•
guidance, advice and warnings by regulators

Nevertheless, civil court actions based on common law and equity do have a continuing part to play in the enforcement and development of environmental law. Injunctions (whether mandatory or prohibitory) remain a potentially useful element among regulators' enforcement options. Failure to comply with an injunction is treated as contempt of court and is punishable by an unlimited fine and/or up to two years' imprisonment. In practice, injunctions are rarely sought, partly because the person seeking an injunction may be required to provide a cross-undertaking in damages, but mainly because regulators now have access to a range of sanctions created by statute, the effect of which is similar to an injunction, eg:

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court orders under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, SI 2016/1154 (the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010, SI 2010/675—revoked from 9 May 2024—applied for any offences committed prior to 1 January 2017)
•
stop notices
•
suspension

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