Environment Agency extends environmental permit regime to existing oil and gas facilities

The new regulatory position (2-page / 175KB PDF) is an extension to the agency's current policy which requires operators of new onshore oil and gas exploration and appraisal facilities to have environmental permits if they are carrying out certain activities. These include water discharge, management of radioactive waste or the management of extractive waste.

The agency has begun to put the policy into effect, updating permits granted to existing facilities in a manner consistent with its approach for new operators. It has also invited applications for new permits from operators that did not previously require them.

The agency said it would not take enforcement action against operators of existing facilities for not having environmental permits, provided the operators make the necessary applications, operate in a way which does not pose a threat to the environment or harm to health, and are not carrying out fracking for shale gas.

Energy and environment expert Helen Peters of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: "This regulatory position statement is welcomed. It provides clarity on the Environment Agency’s enforcement approach during this time of transition; after which we should see consistency in the environmental permitting of facilities operating since October 2013 existing facilities operating from before October 2013."

The regime is covered by the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

The Environment Agency's enforcement options under the regulations range from providing advice or changing permit conditions to prosecution.

In 2016 Thames Water was fined £1 million for pollution offences. Pinsent Masons experts said at the time that the fine showed that organisations needed to take action against breaches of the regulations rapidly to avoid penalties.