1. The role of IMPEL in promoting the implementation and enforcement of European environmental law
Giuseppe Sgorbati
& Michael Nicholson
IMPEL

2. Outline Who we are and what we do Developments and challenges
Better implementation for the future: IMPEL’s role and future strategy

3. IMPEL: an international non-profit association of 48 environmental authorities in 34 countries

4. Mission
“To contribute to protecting the environment by promoting the effective implementation and enforcement of EU environmental law.”

5. IMPEL - a network of practitioners
Facilitating exchange of knowledge, expertise and information
Peer reviews of country practice e.g. IMPEL Review Initiative (IRI)
Carrying out joint enforcement actions
Developing new methods, tools and guidance

6. Structure & organisation
Decision making via:
General Assembly
Board
Thematic expert groups
Secretariat
Funding from members (membership fees) and EU LIFE+ (experts time given for free!)
fEuropean Commission
DGs: Environment, Climate, Enterprise & Industry
European Parliament
e.g. ENVI & Petitions
Multilateral organisations
OECD, World Customs Organisation, Basel Convention
Other enforcement authorities
Police, customs, port authorities, INTERPOL
Networks of environmental authorities
INECE, RENA, REPIN

7. Some challenges...
Increasing recognition of the ‘implementation gap’ and the costs of non-implementation.
7th EU Environment Action Programme – policy focus on strengthening implementation across the whole environmental acquis.
Our Members - facing increasing implementation challenges with fewer resources.

8. Better implementation for the future: how can IMPEL help?
Informing policy with practical experience and expertise
Helping countries to build capacity and get to compliance more quickly
Helping organisations make more effective use of their resources
Coordinating action between countries
Facilitating communication between different actors
Developing innovative approaches and methods

9. IMPEL’s work on WFD issues
Linking the Water Framework Directive and IPPC/IED Directive
Development of checklist for Competent Authorities for WFD implementation (Water Managers) structured around the cycle of river basin planning:
Understanding significant water pressures
Establishing and implementing measures
Monitoring
Achieving better compliance in the agricultural sector: facilitating partnership between envi & agri inspectorates
Targeting – planning, evidence & prioritisation (including specific risk criteria);
Partnership working
The development of compliance assurance mechanisms to help gain environmental benefit.
In the past, IMPEL alredy developed projects taking into care water and land issues, as an environmental compartement impacted by human activities, in the framework of EU or national laws implementation, in permitting and inspection fields, but also with the aim of fostering sustainable developmet through developing of good exchanghe and communication between inspectors and operators, both in industrial and agricoltural field.
Multiple organizations carrying out compliance inspections on sites within the agricultural sector. Although the agencies are usually different there is often a common overlapping goal to achieve compliance and protect the environment.
 The project bring regulatory experts from both environmental inspectorates and agricultural inspectorates together with the explicit aim of improving compliance levels in the agricultural sector and most notably in the areas of diffuse pollution (WFD) and the control of nitrates.
Mention here the work regarding DECO and Pig farming projects

10. IMPEL’s steer from European Commission
Meeting with EC DG ENV C1 (June 2014): Suggested instruments for IMPEL to work on:
Regulation in the agriculture sector - WFD implementation & links with CAP:
Integrated checklist of the rules and commitments that inspections and related activities
Guidance on an integrated inspection/compliance assurance cycle
Best practices on compliance promotion
Monitoring of Water Framework Directive (WFD) priority chemicals in water
Over-abstraction of water - illegal activities and permits that over allocate in relation to available resource
Integrated checklist of the rules and commitments that inspections and related activities
Guidance on an integrated inspection/compliance assurance cycle for the rules and commitments concerned:
Coordination between the different authorities concerned
Role of land parcel information
Inspection planning
Risk criteria to ensure that farm inspections are environmentally well targeted
Techniques and methodologies to ensure the effectiveness of inspections Follow-up to inspections
Best practices on compliance promotion

11. IMPEL’s 2015 water projects
Over-abstraction and illegal abstraction: Detection and Assessment using state of the art EO methods
EO Monitoring to detect local soil subsidence caused by water over-abstraction from specific industrial plants
Risk analysis tool and Prioritisation of Environmental Inspections
Extending IMPEL’s risk based tool for inspection prioritisation to agricultural sector
Sharing experiences about risk criteria and their use

12. IMPEL & WFD CIS - Cooperation
How could IMPEL and the CIS cooperate in future?
Streamlining IMPEL’s water activities according to CIS priorities
IMPEL projects on CIS priorities e.g. developing new methods, tools and guidance, joint actions between CA’s
IMPEL participation, as observer, in selected CIS WG activities
IMPEL peer reviews of CAs
Further develop capacity & membership in IMPEL
IMPEL STRENGTHS ORIGINATE MAINLY FROM THE VERY PRACTICAL AND EXPERIENCED APPROACH TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU LAWS AND FROM DIRECT INTERCHANGE AMONG PRACTITIONEERS AT EU LEVEL.
UNTIL NOW THIS APPROACH HAS BEEN EVALUATED BY THE COMM AS USEFUL FOR:
DIRECT TRANSMISSION OF IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY TOWARD KEY ENFORCEMENTS BODIES, MEMBERS OF IMPEL
SETTING OF PRIORITIES IN PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES
OBTAIN FEEDBACK ABOUT EU LAWS AND BILLS
THE ROLE OF IMPEL IS RECOGNIZED IN 7 th EAP