Food manufacturer fined £1.866 million.
25th March 2019
SI 2019/672
28th March 2019
0

March news letter

Dear Simplifi User,

 

New legislation

Radiation and radioactive substances

SI 2019/571.  The Shipments of Radioactive Substances (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.  Comes into force on Brexit day.  These Regulations revoke Council Regulation (Euratom) 1493/93. Following that revocation the Regulations provide for a similar regime in relation to the import of sealed sources into the UK from European Union Member States.

 Amending legislation

 Dangerous goods.

SI 2019/598. The Carriage of Dangerous Goods (Amendment) Regulations 2019. Comes into force 22nd April. These Regulations amend regulation 3 of the Transfrontier Shipment of Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Regulations 2008 in order to update the reference to Council Directive 96/29/Euratom laying down basic standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation.  They also amend the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2009 in order to implement in provisions of Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation.

 Energy

 SI 2019/421. The Alternative Fuel Labelling and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019. Regulations come into force over the period 22nd March to 1st September. Parts 1 to 3 of this instrument implement requirements of EU Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure on the standardisation of labelling of types of motor vehicle fuel.  Part 2 requires fuel retailers to label refuelling points in order to provide clear information to users about the alternative fuel they dispense.  Part 4 amends the Motor Fuel (Road Vehicle and Mobile Machinery) Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Regulations 2012 (S.I 2012/3030). The amendment allows certain energy suppliers to claim GHG credits arising out of reductions in upstream emissions generated in 2019.

SI 2019/528. The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2019.  Comes into force 26th March.  Amends The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2012 by substituting 26th March 2019 for the 15th of March 2019 in three places.

SI 2019/530. The Electricity and Gas etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Comes into force on Brexit day. Amends:

  • Energy Act 1976
  • Gas Act 1986
  • Electricity Act 1989
  • Utilities Act 2000
  • Energy Act 2004
  • The Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002
  • The Electricity (Applications for Licences, Modifications of an Area and Extensions and Restrictions of Licences) Regulations 2010
  • The Gas (Applications for Licences and Extensions and Restrictions of Licences) Regulations 2010
  • The Electricity and Gas (Internal Markets) Regulations 2011
  • The Energy Supply Company Administration Rules 2013
  • The Electricity Capacity Regulations 2014

SI 2019/539.  The Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Comes into force on Brexit day. Amends:

  • Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products Regulations 2010
  • Energy Information Regulations 2011

SI 2019/544.  The Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Amendment and Power to Modify) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.  Comes into force on Brexit day. Amends:

  • Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Licensing etc.) Regulations 2010
  • Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Termination of Licences) Regulations 2011
  • Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Access to Infrastructure) Regulations 2011

Environmental permitting and pollution

SI 2019/458.  The Environment (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Comes into force on Brexit day. Amends:

  • The Environmental Protection Act 1990
  • The Environment Act 1995
  • The Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999
  • The Contaminated Land (England) Regulations 2006
  • The Environmental Noise (England) Regulations 2006
  • The Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) (England) Regulations 2015

SI 2019/526. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Miscellaneous Amendments etc.) Regulations 2019.  Comes into force 29th March.  Amends twenty-seven items of legislation covering the environment, agriculture, animals and plants, fisheries and food.  Amended environmental legislation includes the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015 and the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016.

SI 2019/599. The Environment (Miscellaneous Amendments and Revocations) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Makes very minor amendment’s to:

  • The Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018
  • The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
  • The Control of Mercury (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
  • The Floods and Water (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
  • The Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
  • The Plant Protection Products (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

SI 2019/583.  The Ozone-Depleting Substances and Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.   Comes into force on Brexit day.  Revokes Regulation 3 of Ozone-Depleting Substances Regulations 2015.  Makes minor amendments to the text of The Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2015. Also makes amendments to retained direct EU legislation; Regulation (EC) No 1005/2009 and Regulation (EU) No 517/2014.

SI 2019/644. The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2019. Comes into force 29th March. These regulations amend the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2012.  The amendments cover interpretations and changes the deadline for aircraft operators to surrender sufficient allowances to cover their annual reportable emissions for the 2018 scheme year.

WSI 2019/460. The Flood and Water (Amendments) (England and Wales) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Comes into force on Brexit day. Amends:

  • The Contaminated Land (Wales) Regulations 2006
  • The Water Resources (Control of Pollution) (Silage, Slurry and Agriculture Fuel Oil) (Wales) Regulations 2010
  • The Incidental Flooding and Coastal Erosion (Wales) Order 2011
  • The Nitrate Pollution Prevention (Wales) Regulations 2013
  • The Private Water Supplies (Wales) Regulations 2017
  • The Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2018

Merchant shipping

SI 2019/470.  The Merchant Shipping (Marine Equipment) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Comes into force on Brexit day. Amends Merchant Shipping (Marine Equipment) Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/1025). This instrument establishes a United Kingdom conformity assessment procedure for marine equipment placed or to be placed on board a United Kingdom ship. It provides for the application of international standards for equipment placed on United Kingdom ships and for the enforcement of those standards. This is achieved by requiring marine equipment to comply with the international design, construction and performance standards contained in the International Maritime Organisation (“IMO”) International Conventions, and that equipment be approved as such by a United Kingdom approved body. The instrument also provides for the acceptance of marine equipment which has been approved in the EU by an EU Notified Body for marine equipment.

Planning

WSI 2019/456. The Town and Country Planning (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Comes into force on Brexit day. Amends:

  • Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992
  • Town and Country Planning (Local Development Plan) (Wales) Regulations 2005
  • The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Wales) Order 2012
  • The Planning (Hazardous Substances) (Wales) Regulations 2015

Waste

SI 2019/590. The International Waste Shipments (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Comes into force on Brexit day. These regulations amend legislation on international waste shipments; The Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007 and Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on shipments of waste.

SI 2019/620.  The Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Comes into force on Brexit day. These Regulations make amendments to:

  • Control of Pollution Act 1989
  • Environmental Protection Act 1990
  • Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003

They also amend EU Regulations and Decisions relating to waste batteries and accumulators, end of waste criteria, packaging waste, end-of-life vehicle destruction certification, landfill acceptance criteria, the management of waste from extractive industries, and calculation methods for verifying recycling target compliance.

 

Consultations

 DEFRA is consulting on various proposals for a new business energy efficiency scheme focused on small and medium sized enterprises.  Consultation closes 8th May.   https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/energy-efficiency-scheme-for-small-and-medium-sized-businesses-call-for-evidence

DEFRA is also consulting on a Producer Compliance Scheme (PCS) Balancing System to implement requirements of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations. Consultation closes 15th April. https://consult.defra.gov.uk/environmental-quality/approvalofpbsproposal/

  

Prosecutions of note.

A Teesside chemical manufacturing company has been fined £224,000 and ordered to pay costs of £17,098 after failing to manage the risk of exposure to chemicals harmful to health.  Workers regularly exposed to the chemicals, which can cause sensitisation of the skin, from October 2013 to December 2016. They suffered rashes and in some cases were unable to continue working at the site.  An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to conduct a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, failed to prevent the release of hazardous substances, failed to prevent spread of contamination, failed to properly decontaminate and failed to have in place an effective system of health surveillance.

A car manufacturer has been fined £200,000 ordered to pay costs of £17,217 after it was found to have repeatedly failed to ensure that vehicle lifting equipment at two of its sites were maintained in an efficient working order and in good repair.

A civil engineering contractor has been fined £600,000 after an employee of a sub-contractor was fatally injured when he was struck on the body by a wheeled excavator.  An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that refuelling of plant and equipment was identified as a high-risk activity by the principal contractor, who had created a task briefing document detailing a safe system of work and had risk assessed the said activity. However, it is evident that although these procedures existed in documentary format the safe system of work and its control measures had not been fully implemented at the construction site.

A North Yorkshire food manufacturing company has been fined £1,866,000 and ordered to pay £8,019 in costs after two workers suffered serious injuries when they fell over four metres through a rooflight.  An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the roof was made of asbestos cement and had several rooflights situated along it but they were not visible due to the build-up of moss and dirt which had accumulated over the years. Employees had also not been made aware of them.

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