Corporate report

Environment Agency regulatory statement

Published 31 May 2022

Applies to England

Our regulation

Regulation has contributed to major environmental and public health improvements over the past century, but we face new pressures and urgent challenges in the rapidly changing world around us. We need to continue and accelerate improvements in the environment for people and nature.

The Environment Agency regulates a wide range of activities and operators – from nuclear industries to reservoir safety, from farmers to fishermen. We are working as one team to strengthen and improve how we currently regulate whilst anticipating and adapting to future change. We are identifying more innovative and effective ways to secure better environmental outcomes.

If we seize emerging opportunities and make the changes we need, we can make a better world – literally.

We shouldn’t be aiming for a planet which is in a marginally less bad state than it would be if we didn’t act. We should be aiming for a planet which is better than it was and better than it is now. A planet where the climate stabilises, biodiversity increases and sustainable growth goes forward, lifting billions of people out of poverty. A planet which is blue and green, not grey and brown.

Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency

Our strategic goals

Our strategic goals are to achieve:

• a nation resilient to climate change

• healthy air, land and water

• green growth and a sustainable future

Our regulation will protect and improve the environment and nature, public health and national prosperity. We will be a trusted and high performing regulator, respected by the public, government, those we regulate and other partners.

Continuing to improve our regulation

We have an ambitious programme of improvements to the way we deliver regulation:

• ensuring our staff have the right skills and support to regulate as effectively as possible and improve capacity, capability and professionalism

• improving our permitting system and compliance processes so they are efficient and provide value for money

• making full use of additional resources and our legal powers in, for example, tackling waste crime and carrying out a significant programme of farm visits

• making major investment in digital systems and technology making it quicker and easier for businesses to deal with us and making it easier for the public to find out about their local environment

• getting the basics right, improving our own efficiency and effectiveness

And we will:

• be tough on activities that drive the climate emergency and make sure those we regulate are properly prepared for the unavoidable consequences of climate change and the transition to net zero

• work with government to shape future environmental regulation outside the EU to ensure we have the flexibility we need to adapt and respond to future environmental challenges

• make sure our regulation encourages and supports sustainable business and technologies and that all businesses take responsibility for the impact they have on the environment and the health and wellbeing of all communities

• work with those we regulate to help them embrace eco-design, circular economy approaches and implement innovative technologies

• develop our use of management systems at permitted sites, giving operators greater flexibility to manage risks, whilst maintaining appropriate controls to prevent and minimise harm to the environment

• increase our use of data and intelligence led approaches to support our compliance and enforcement activities

• support the development of mechanisms to recognise those going beyond compliance

• improve how we measure and evaluate our regulatory performance

• make sure our regulatory work is sustainably funded

We will continue to:

• operate in an open and transparent way so those we regulate understand what is expected of them and the public can see the results of our regulation

• engage with those we regulate including through our Regulated Business Forum

• meet government requirements of regulators including the Regulators’ Code and the Growth Duty

• foster effective collaboration between regulators, like the strong collaboration which exists between the Environment Agency, Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate

• publish reports on the state of the environment and the impact of our regulation

Overview of our regulatory activities

This diagram shows the wide range of activities we regulate.

The Environment Agency's regulatory activity covers fisheries, flood risk, radioactive substances, agriculture and intensive farming, water resources, water quality, industrial products and processes, waste management, power generation, climate change, emissions trading, waterway navigation, control of major accident hazards, and much more.

Contact us

General enquiries

National Customer Contact Centre
PO Box 544
Rotherham
S60 1BY

Email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk

Telephone 03708 506 506

Telephone from outside the UK (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm GMT) +44 (0) 114 282 5312

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.