The Environment Agency, a crucial regulator of waste sites, has been implicated in a controversy. The agency allegedly instructed its staff to postpone inspections of the poorest performing waste sites until January last year to meet corporate compliance targets.

An insider accused the agency of essentially “massaging the figures,” claiming that due to resource shortages, the Environment Agency is “failing to do its statutory duty in a timely manner”. This revelation came to light through a report by the Ends Report and the Guardian.

The Environment Agency’s corporate goals include ensuring 97% of all regulated sites, such as landfills, comply with their permits. In an email circulated on 20 September last year, a senior installations manager warned the staff about the risk of not meeting this target.

The email stated that the key performance indicator (KPI) required 97% of sites to be in compliance bands A, B, or C, which effectively meant no more than 3% could be in D, E, or F.

The Environment Agency uses a points system to determine compliance ratings, placing each site into one of six compliance bands from A to F. Sites in bands A and B have demonstrated expected permit compliance, while those in bands C to F need improvement. The score determines the level of annual subsistence fees regulated firms must pay to the Environment Agency.

However, the email further directed the officers to “PAUSE UNTIL JAN work which is not absolutely necessary to do now.” This directive raised concerns among the staff, particularly considering existing environmental issues with waste sites in the east Midlands region.

One Environment Agency insider, speaking anonymously, expressed dissatisfaction, stating that this move disregarded professional judgment in the pursuit of numbers. The team leader reiterated the importance of maintaining the KPI, citing heavy external scrutiny.

This controversy raises questions about the efficacy and integrity of the Environment Agency’s regulation of waste management sites. As the agency continues to face scrutiny, it remains to be seen what actions will be taken to rectify this situation and ensure consistent, unbiased inspections of all waste sites.

Source: The guardian