The Environment Agency consults the public on certain applications for waste operations, mining waste operations, installations, water discharge and groundwater activities. The arrangements are explained in its Public Participation Statement

These notices explain:

• what the application is about
• how to view the application documents
• when you need to comment by

The Environment Agency will decide:

• whether to grant or refuse the application
• what conditions to include in the permit (if granted)

Requirement R020

Requirement detail

To better understand how activities including but not limited to fishing, transport, energy, and recreation influence the ongoing functioning of the marine environment by exerting physical or chemical pressures.

Evidence on how activities influence the ongoing functioning and capacity of the marine environment is limited. It is important that this knowledge is improved to support the development of policies for the English marine plans, and to better assess licencing applications to ensure they maximise the sustainability of the environment.

At present, marine licensing is undertaken on a first come, first served basis except where marine plan policies provide a steer. In order to deliver sustainable development, consideration of environmental carrying capacities is required to allow effective prioritisation of projects within the limited capacity.

This work would seek to establish a methodology to identify areas most likely to be at risk from exceeding environmental capacity.

This work should focus on a case study area and include:

• analysis of activities currently taking place including any likely increase or decrease in activity which will influence the pressure they put on the environment’s carrying capacity and any associated thresholds
• identify and test approaches that can be used to measure environmental sustainability and support the marine planning and marine licensing process

Sellafield Ltd has to monitor beaches close to the Sellafield site to check for radioactivity. This beach monitoring programme is a condition the Environment Agency imposed on Sellafield Ltd when it issued them with an environmental permit.

The Environment Agency has developed this intervention plan with other organisations involved in protecting the public from radioactive objects.

This is a summary of how the different organisations will work together to:

• protect the public and environment from any harm caused by radioactive objects on west Cumbria beaches
• respond to a discovery of radioactive objects near the Sellafield site – a single find or an overall change in the find rate, activity or trends

Requirement R57

Requirement detail

Currently dredge material is usually disposed of at sea. The MMO wish to encourage and enable both the alternative use and re-cycling of dredged material. This will help maintain coastlines, ecosystem services and sustainable development.

Re-used dredged materials conserve primary resources, especially in capital projects where dredged materials can provide fill for allied construction works. However to be able to ensure that these opportunities are maximised the MMO would like to better understand the barriers to the reuse of dredged materials.

This requirement includes increasing the understanding of:

• which spatial and temporal circumstances enable successful re-use
• where and how dredged material could be reused, and other projects that could incorporate alternative use
• the costs to developers to carry out re-use/recycling projects
• the potential to develop a marine alternative use regulatory toolbox for England to support better regulation
• the legal classification of the designation of dredged sediment as waste and the relevant Environment Agency quality protocols