Enforcement of Legislation and building a culture of compliance

Enforcement of legislation and building a culture of compliance Ireland’s Environment 2008 Meeting the Main Environmental Challenges Kilmainham Friday 28 th November, 2008 All or part of this publication may be reproduced without further permission, provided the source is acknowledged. Mr. Dara Lynott BE, MSc, PE, Ceng, FEI Director

Talk Outline Snapshot of environmental issues Regulation Infrastructure Funding Responses and Conclusions

Back to the Future - NESC Strategy 2006 1 It is now necessary to factor the environment more fully into our understanding of the Irish economy and Irish society and into our medium-term goals and strategies. Two of the core ways in which Ireland now earns its living—advanced manufacturing and services—are not areas of poor environmental governance and need not be environmentally damaging ‘ upstream’ or ‘downstream’ from these core business activities Env. Policy is less effective (Upstream are activities—such as energy generation and raw food production Downstream are activities such as municipal services, housing construction and urban development) It is critical that Ireland achieve more effective conflict resolution and decision making in a number of areas of environmental policy. 1: National Economic and Social Council –Strategy 2006: people, productivity and purpose

Drinking Water - % of supplies detected with E-Coli

Wastewater treatment Level of treatment provided (9.9%, 5.1%, 1.7%, 70.7% and 12.6%)

Discharges to catchments of nutrient sensitive waters

Discharges upstream of drinking water abstractions

Waste - Biodegradable Municipal Waste Based on EPA-ESRI ISus projections Current Position

Waste - Gap to Landfill Directive Targets * Distance = BMW – recovery – max limit Year Maximum quantity of untreated BMW allowed to landfill BMW ‘Distance to Objective’ (Gap Analysis) ‘ Standstill’ position (gap) based on 2006 figures Position (gap) based on ISus 8 waste projections 2010 967,000t 455,000t 672,000t 2013 645,000t 777,000t 1,209,000t 2016 451,000t 971,000t 1,603,000t

Waste - Future generation and disposal of Municipal Solid Waste

Agriculture - Issues Significant Nutrient load on the environment -75.3% of n load and 33.4% of p load Nationally is from Agriculture Unavailability of spread lands – repeated application Intensive sources of nutrient are in areas of poor nutrient uptake capacity In Denmark since 1985 there has been a 81% reduction in P from point sources 65% reduction in use of P in artificial fertiliser, 6% reduction in P in animal manure, a 48% reduction in surplus P. However no general trend in diffuse p losses in Danish streams draining agricultural catchments 1989-2004 Time lag (Decades) between protection measures and responses indicating improvements.

Regulation Regulation is essential to the proper functioning of a society. Whether through primary or delegated legislation, or more informal arrangements, rules create order and the basis for stability and progress. They shape incentives and influence how people behave and interact. They also help societies deal with otherwise intractable economic, social and environmental problems. 1 1:Banks, G ‘Regulation Reform Management and Scrutiny of Legislation’ , Productivity Commission (Australia), 10 July 2001 .

Increasing regulation – Water Quality 2003 S.I. No. 722/2003 -- European Communities (Water Policy) Regulations 2003 S.I. No. 213/2003 -- (Protection of Waters Against Pollution From Agricultural Sources) Regulations, 2003 2005 S.I. 378/2005 European Union (Natural Habitats) Regulations, 2006 S.I 268/2006 European Communities (Quality of Shellfish Waters) Regulations, 2006 SI No. 378 of 2006 European Communities (Good agricultural practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations, 2006 Groundwater Daughter Directive (2006/118/EC) . 2007 SI No. 106 of 2007 European Communities (Drinking water) Regulations, 2007 Water Service Act 2007 SI No. 684 of 2007 waste water Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations 2007 2008 S.I. No. 79 of 2008 Bathing Water Quality Regulations 2008

Trend of increasing regulation to continue… Revision to European Communities (Water Policy) Regulations - focus on implementation Revision to European Communities (Good agricultural practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations, 2006 – focus on compliance checking Revision to Water Service Act and possibly European Communities (Drinking water) Regulations – tightening up of provisions New European Communities Environmental Objectives (Water Policy) Regulations 2008 – implement dangerous substances requirements Revision to requirements for Single House treatment systems and maybe a regulation of replacement/maintenance of septic tanks – deal with dangerous substance discharge Groundwater, classification systems will be brought into regulation during 2008/2009. New regulatory controls for other issues (e.g. abstractions and physical modifications to surface waters). Regulations for the provision of source protection Amendment to the Planning and Development Act, 2000, to require explicit consideration of environmental objectives established for waters in river basin management

NCC –Competitiveness report 2007

Complexity of Regulation - Water Quality - Water Framework Multi - authority POMS Catchment Population Spacial Strategy Drinking Water Water Safety Plans Water service strategic plans UWWTP Licensing Pressures Good water by 2015 Compliant wwtp by 2012 Abstractions Assimilative capacity Available water supplies Water quality Water dependant SAC’s Multi - authority Multi - authority Multi - authority Multi-authority Shellfish Groundwater Public Health Reputation Tourism Bathing water Control of inputs Fisheries Dangerous Substances Nitrates Safe guard zones € Resources € Resources € Resources € Resources Buffer Zones Industry

Complexity of Regulation – Water quality Significant number of Plans and programmes have to align with river basin management plans, these include; 1) Regional Planning Guidelines, County Development Plans and related Local Area Plans 2) Conservation measures for Natura 2000 sites 3) Water Services Strategic Plans – Drinking Water Safety Plans 3) Pollution reduction plans and programmes; a. National pollution reduction programmes for surface water b. Nitrates National Action Plan d. Licensing of Discharges f. Pollution reduction programmes for groundwater g. Shellfish waters pollution reduction programmes h. Bathing waters management plans, 4) Sludge management plans 5) Flood risk management plans 6) Major accident emergency plans 7) Forest management plans

Complexity of Regulation – Water Quality “ Different plans and strategies have different planning cycles, most of which will not be synchronised with the river basin planning timetable. Similarly, different plans and strategies operate to different geographical boundaries, most of which will not fit with the river basin district boundaries.” Extract from River Basin Management planning guidance River Basin Management planning guidance

NCC –Competitiveness report 2007 - Infrastructure

Infrastructure In view of Ireland’s heavy reliance on landfill, the availability of alternative waste infrastructure is critical. Ireland’s comparatively poor performance on key benchmarking indicators such as costs and capacity can be traced back to the continued lack of key waste management infrastructure in recent years 1 . 1: Waste Management Benchmarking Analysis and Policy Priorities - 28 May 2008 - FORFAS

Funding Significant infrastructure required for environmental Protection Each Regulator/Local Authority to its own Resources sporadically spread depending on financial health of the Regulator/Local Authority Risk of duplication of resources (personnel, facilities inspection, analysis, reporting,) Contradicting plans and programmes Lack of accountability for achievement of outcome

Funding Waste Shrinking waste market Significant landfill/mrf/composting infrastructure investment required Uneven playing field private/public Drinking water/ wastewater Increased operational costs high tech plants and DBO’s Increased specialisation of operators ( “…The more knowledgeable the operator, the greater the public’s protection” – Walkerton inquiry) Increased sampling, analysis and reporting costs Increased liabilities associated with failure (loss of drinking water supply, bathing areas)

Funding - NESC Strategy 2006 “ where there are adverse environmental effects from economic activity, a system of markets will not maximise social welfare. This is because individual firms (or other actors) will not take adequate account of the costs of pollution where these costs do not fall directly on them . The effect of these ‘externalities’ is that there is more pollution than society’s preferences really want. Overall welfare can be increased by government policies that alter the allocation of resources in a way that reflects the value people place on the environment. This creates a complex distribution of costs and benefits for resource owners, firms and households” 1 1: NESC Strategy 2006

Funding – Domestic Charges The average combined charge for water and wastewater services in Ireland’s gateways and hubs is €2.03 per m3. Average water costs in the largest five Irish cities is €1.67 per m3 and are competitive with those of other countries -€3.24 per m3 in Europe The full cost of providing water services for domestic users needs to be clearly identified. Having established the cost of delivering water services to domestic users, an analysis of the merits of retaining the current EU derogation on domestic water charges needs to be undertaken to determine how best to fund water provision between user and Exchequer sources. Assessment of Water and Waste Water Services for Enterprise - 02 September 2008 -Forfás

Funding - Modulation CAP health check – Commission proposal to emphasis significant modulation of funding with increased concentration on water and biodiversity protection, climate change and renewable energy 1 . Extending financial incentives (Business Expansion Scheme) towards the capital cost of critical waste Infrastructure 2 Subsidise or levy activities to encourage or discourage behaviours 2 1: Sustainable grassland systems in Europe and the EU Water Framwork Directive - Michael Hamell EU DG-Env – Teagasc Conference November 2008 2: Hitting the Targets for biodegradable Waste – ten options for change, John Curtis, StrategicPolicy Unit, EPA, January 2008

Infrastucture – Greater integration Move to a river basin district basis of provision of water services to maximise potential economies of scale, both in the building of infrastructure and the operation and delivery of services; “ Moving to a river basin district provision of services would maximise the potential for economies of scale and enable greater strategic planning and prioritisation of capital investment projects” - Martin Cronin, Chief Executive, Forfás 1 The need for local authorities, county councils and relevant stakeholders to take a regional view, rather than a county level view, to developing the potential of the regions 2 . 1: Assessment of Water and Waste Water Services for Enterprise - 02 September 2008 -Forfás 2: Overview of the Main Infrastructure Issues for Enterprise 28 May 2008 - Forfas

Better Regulation Strategy - strategic, rather than piecemeal, Definitions - clear and unambiguous consistent between laws Requirements - requirements of the law are clear, and achieve aims Timeframes - practical fit realistically across different laws. Proportionality - proportionate to the risks Reporting - Only essential reporting, harmonise across different laws Revision - Allow for quick revision if enforcement issues arise IMPEL Principles for Better Legislation

Better Regulation The European Council in March 2007 set a target to reduce the administrative burdens arising from EU legislation by 25 percent by 2012 and invited Member States to set their own national targets of comparable ambition by 2008. Sixty percent of firms said that the cost of dealing with regulations had increased in the past two years, primarily due to the introduction of new regulations in their view 1 . 1: REPORT OF THE BUSINESS REGULATION FORUM – March 2007

Better Regulation A number of key messages emerged during the review of the international experience of measuring and reducing administrative burdens 1 : There can be significant potential for reducing administrative burdens without compromising the integrity of regulation; Benefits accrue to business from a reduction in administrative burdens and to the public sector from increased process efficiency; European Commission estimates suggest a possible benefit to Ireland’s GDP of between € 1.5 billion and € 2.1 billion based on the assumption of adopting a 25 percent reduction target 2 1: Report Of The Business Regulation Forum – March 2007 2;Measuring administrative costs and reducing administrative burdens in the European Union , European Commission, November 2006.

In Conclusion Better regulation (Streamline legislative and reporting requirements, Use risk based approaches to enforcement; a new Water protection Act?) Increased Integration (Align plans, maximise shared resources; Use Networks, regional authorties?) Strategic approach to infrastucture (Set the National infrastructural priorities; A national waste management plan, An National Environmental Infrastucture Agency?) Creative use of existing funding mechanisms (modulation of grant aid; incentivise environmentally friendly behaviours?) Significant additional funding required (payment for environmental footprint: waste, drinking water, septic tank; Domestic Charges?)

Enforcement of Legislation and building a culture of compliance

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