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 the main regulator for environmental matters in England. The EA was created by the Environment Act 1995 and came in existence on 1 April 1996. Until 2013 the EA also had responsibility for Wales.

The EA's stated purpose is 'to protect or enhance the environment, taken as a whole' so as to promote '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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regulator of discharges to air, water and land—see Overview: Environmental permits and exemptions—overview
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air quality—see Practice Note: Air pollution—local air quality controls
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water quality and water resources—see Overview: 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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