Environmental regulators

The roles of the main environmental regulators and enforcing authorities for England and Wales are summarised below.

Environment Agency

The Environment Agency (EA) is one of the main regulators for environmental matters in England. It was created by the Environment Act 1995 (EA 1995) and came into existence on 1 April 1996. It also had responsibility for Wales until 2013.

The EA's principal aim is 'to protect or enhance the environment, taken as a whole' so as to contribute towards attaining 'the objective of achieving sustainable development'.

The EA's remit includes:

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flood and coastal risk management—see Practice Note: Flood management and drainage—responsible bodies
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regulating discharges to air, water and land—see: Environmental permits and exemptions—overview
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water quality and water resources—see: Water quality—overview
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water abstraction and impounding—see Practice Note: Water abstraction and impounding
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packaging waste—see Practice Note: Packaging waste—enforcement and offences
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waste electrical and electronic equipment—see Practice Note: WEEE—enforcement and offences
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batteries—see Practice Note: Batteries—enforcement and offences
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waste carriers—see Practice Note: Transporting waste—overview
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land quality
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contaminated land—see Practice Note: Special sites of contaminated land
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Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH)—see Practice Note:

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