Local Authority Environmental Enforcement Performance Report 2023

Asbestos waste is hazardous and must be disposed of properly. Before any demolition work, identify which waste facility is licensed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for disposal of asbestos waste.

Hazardous waste transfer stations can accept asbestos waste and then arrange to have it disposed of at an appropriate facility here or abroad.

Yes.  Grants are available from your local authority where improvement works are necessary to address a serious deficiency in the quality of water.  The grant can cover the drilling of a new well, rehabilitating an existing well, construction of pumps house and associated works or the provision of treatment. You should go to your local authority website for more details on the application process.

In simple terms, each site is given a score based on its licence compliance in the previous six months. The system has four key scoring components: Compliance Investigations, Complaints, Incidents and Non-Compliances.  These are described in more detail below.  The higher the score the poorer the compliance is at a site.

Compliance Investigations

A Compliance Investigation (CI) is opened by the EPA when there is an issue on a site that is causing, or has the potential to cause an environmental impact and which requires action by the licensee.  The EPA monitors progress to ensure that the actions required are completed.

Compliance Investigations are categorised as High, Medium, or Low based on the risk to the environment.  Points are assigned based on the category of the CI and whether it is ‘Open’ or ‘Closed’.

* CIs can only be scored as medium/high for odour/noise if a non-compliant odour or noise related issue has been recorded by the OEE during the previous 12 weeks and/or if an action in the CI has not been addressed to the satisfaction of the Agency.

Complaints

The National Priority Sites system takes account of the number of complaints from the public which are linked to either a Medium or High compliance investigation.

* Complaints must be linked to a Medium or High CI to count towards the score; the maximum score for complaints is 20.

Incidents

Operators of licensed facilities are required to notify the EPA on any occasion where there is a breach of a licence condition.  The EPA receives a large number of incidents each year and these are categorised as Minor, Limited, Serious, Very Serious or Catastrophic.  The vast majority of incidents reported to the EPA are minor.

Points are assigned based on the category of the incident.     

Non Compliances

The EPA issues a notification of non-compliance (NC) to a facility when a licence condition is breached. Points are assigned based on the number of non-compliances recorded by the EPA.  A greater weighting is applied if a non-compliance is issued for not notifying the EPA of an incident.

Wells should be sited upgradient if possible and as far away as possible from wastewater treatment systems. The minimum recommended distance between a wastewater treatment system and well varies from 15m to 60m depending on the slope and soil type and is set out in the Code of Practice for new builds - Site suitability assessment.

Single-use plastic products include a wide range of commonly used plastic items that are expected to be used just once, or for a short time, before being thrown away. They are rarely recycled and are prone to becoming litter. Single-use plastic products include: beverage containers and cups, lightweight plastic carrier bags, food containers, plastic cutlery and plates, plastic straws, beverage stirrers, packets and wrappers made from flexible material containing food intended for immediate consumption, cotton bud sticks, tobacco products with filters, wet wipes, balloons, sticks to support balloons and sanitary products.