Compliance during Brexit Transition and Beyond Presented by Richard Clarke EHS Consultant NO TEXT

How changes will happen Current position: EU Withdrawal Act passed (phew!) Trade Bill: Customs White Paper “Meaningful” vote in HoC in November Key date - 21 January 2019 no agreement: Before 21st within 14 days By 21st within 5 days Statement by ministers of how we proceed and motion in both houses

How changes will happen On the day of exit “direct EU law” will be converted into UK law: EU Regulations EU Decisions Conversion by adoption into statute book Amendments to converted law require UK primary legislation Any future dates in retained law will apply if in force on date of leaving, even if future date

How changes will happen DEFRA view – there’s lots to do: 1200 pieces of legislation (primary & secondary) affected Approximately 850 will need amendments 25-33% directly environmental Estimated 100 SIs will be tabled between passing of EUWA and March 2019 Correction of deficiencies

Keeping on top of changes Consultation documents Statutory Instrument drafts: Subject to affirmative procedure Check for news on draft changes: Tools such as Cedrec Legislation.gov.uk IEMA Transform Magazine legal section (provided by Cedrec)

DEFRA 25 Year Environment Plan Welcome intervention but… good on rhetoric, less so on action Possible legislation impact areas: Reduction in abstraction from river / groundwater Embedding principal of “net gain” into development planning (new NPPF) Doubling resource productivity by 2050 Zero avoidable waste by 2050 (plastic by 2042) Negligible emissions of POPs by 2030 “Climate change” occurs 66 times in document – the greatest focus that it’s had on gov’t agenda for perhaps a decade, which is really positive. The document is ambitious, and addresses lots of areas that NGOs and pressure groups have lobbied on – but, grand promises are not backed up by legislative proposals and solid policy commitments. For example, in the “Goals and Aims” for Enhancing Beauty, heritage and engagement with the natural environment, a stated aim is “Focusing on increasing action to improve the environment from all sectors of society”! resource productivity is a measure of the value (in terms of GDP) we generate per unit of raw materials we use in the economy Avoidable means what is Technically, Environmentally and Economically Practicable

What does the future hold? Clean, Green Brexit: New Independent Statutory Body REACH CEN & BSI New ETS Compliance Date ETS Consultation on bringing forward Phase3 compliance deadline to 11 Mar 2019 to report emissions and 15 Mar 2019 to surrender allowances To deal with withdrawal from scheme caused by leaving EU on 29 Mar 2019 when existing allowances would “lapse” Changes to Greenhouse Gas ETS Regs proposed for 1 Jan 2018 in force date now overdue Stat body: New independent, statutory body to advise and challenge government and potentially other public bodies on environmental legislation Although these principles are already central to government environmental policy, they are not set out in one place besides the EU treaties. The proposed consultation on the statutory body will therefore also explore the scope and content of a new policy statement to ensure environmental principles May be devolved, or approach different in different devolved administrations REACH “still at the stage of working up a variety of proposals’ for the future of chemicals regulation. REACH, the main EU regulation on chemicals, is a mechanism of the single market, so the eventual model for UK regulation depends on the final Brexit settlement” “I would be astonished if we do not provide the Environment Agency and HSE with the resource in order to continue to have a functioning chemicals regulatory regime.” Chemical Industries Assoc: “the costs of duplicating our investment to date runs into £000s of million, not to mention the ongoing costs of responding to the demands of two regulatory bodies, making a mockery of any regulatory simplification outcome through Brexit” “REACH is far from perfect but it is our belief that the best way of minimising any disruption to supply chains […] is by staying with the regime and our European Regulatory Body”

Thank you for your attention