New EPA Online Portal provides full and open access to environmental enforcement information

Date released: November 01, 2023

  • From today the EPA’s new LEAP Online portal enables easy access to environmental enforcement information providing full public access to our enforcement activities.
  • Through LEAP Online the public will be able to see
  • information on site inspections, monitoring, incidents, non-compliances, complaint summaries and also compliance investigations into issues detected at EPA licensed sites.
  • LEAP Online will allow the public to learn about nearby licensed operations and how they are performing in their obligations to protect their local environment.

The EPA has today launched the second phase of a major new Online service, the Licensing and Enforcement Access Portal or LEAP Online, following on from the release of Phase 1 in May of this year. Phase 1 provided access to Site Visit Reports, monitoring reports and responses by licensees to those reports, as well as monitoring returns, requests for information and approval. Today’s release delivers the further enforcement information, including details of incidents, non-compliances, complaint summaries and also compliance investigations into issues detected at licensed sites.

The LEAP Online portal is now complete and provides access to the full set of enforcement information describing the enforcement activities, actions and communications between the EPA and holders of EPA licences and permits.  The information can be viewed on desktop, tablet and mobile phone.

Commenting on the launch of LEAP Online, Darragh Page, EPA Programme Manager said:

“The EPA want the public to have full access to our environmental enforcement activities.  The detailed compliance and enforcement information we make available through the LEAP Online portal allows the public to learn about nearby licensed operations and how they are performing in their obligations to protect their local environment.  It also enables operators themselves to communicate directly with their neighbours about their environmental performance as they conduct their business, including how they address compliance issues when they occur."

Further information on the various categories of regulatory correspondence is available on the EPA website.

ENDS

For further information: EPA Media Relations Office 053-9170770 (24 hours) or media@epa.ie 

Notes to Editor
The release of LEAP Online is part of the EPA’s ongoing work to continuously improve public access to the information we hold.  Over the years, the EPA has progressively delivered improved access to information about its licensing and enforcement activities.

The EPA has delivered LEAP Online in two phases:

  • Phase 1: launched on 25 May 2023, Phase 1 provided access to EPA site inspection and monitoring reports as well as “Licensee Returns” submitted by operators. These are the main types of notifications that operators must send to demonstrate ongoing compliance with licence conditions, and include monitoring reports, site updates, requests for approval and responses to EPA instructions and Corrective Actions. It also included Licensee Public Responses to EPA Site Visit Reports – the operators’ Right to Reply to EPA findings, and the Annual Environmental Report which summarises the operators’ compliance each year.
  • Phase 2: launching today, Phase 2 includes information on the rest of our regulatory correspondence, including details of incidents, complaints summaries, non-compliances and details of Compliance Investigations (our interventions into non-compliant operations).