New civil sanctions available to the Environment Agency from 1 December 2023

New environmental regulations made on 26 September 2023 will come into force on 1 December 2023 and implement two major changes to the powers of the Environment Agency.

The Environmental Civil Sanctions (England) (Amendment) Order 2023 and the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Amendment) (England) (No 2) Regulations 2023 provide for:

• Unlimited penalties

The cap on Variable Monetary Penalties (previously £250,000) will be removed making all penalties unlimited.

• Increased scope

Variable Monetary Penalties can be issued by the Environment Agency for breaches of the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

In our previous article, we discussed how these changes could result in a less rigorous investigation process and ultimately lead to these penalties being a rough and ready form of justice.

If you would like any support on dealing with the challenges posed by the new civil sanctions, please get in touch with Nathan Peacey or Christian Silk.