Environmental Issues - Environment Agency

The Environment Agency was formed by merging the expertise of the former National Rivers Authority (NRA), Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution. (HMIP) and the local Waste Regulation Authorities (WRAs)

Environment Agency Interests
The Environment Agency should be notified of Incidents and Emergencies of the following types or having the following implications:
a Spillage of oils, chemicals or contaminated fire-fighting waters, or other contamination which may enter any body of water either directly or via public sewers; from industrial or commercial sites, pipelines, transport accidents, containers washed ashore, etc.
b Incidents involving releases of hazardous gases or vapours from industrial or commercial sites, transport or other accidents, etc.
c Releases of gas or other emissions from any waste management sites
d Spillage or discovery of hazardous wastes or other potentially hazardous materials in public places
e Contaminated mine water discharges and contaminated land
f Accidents involving radioactive materials and accidents at nuclear establishments
g Discovery of large numbers of dead or distressed fish, poaching, the use of illegal nets or fishing methods, fishing without a rod licence
h The occurrence or likely occurrence of flooding, obstructions to the flow of rivers or damage to river/flood defence structures
i Suspected illegal water abstractions, sudden changes in levels or flows of bodies of water

Operational Resources
With regard to pollution events: limited operational resources and expertise are retained to; contain and remove oil in rivers, re-oxygenate polluted or oxygen starved waters, rescue or recover dead or distressed fish stocks, remove obstructions in main rivers, undertake emergency sandbagging and earthworks, provide rapid sample analysis laboratory services.
With regard to flood events: the Environment Agency retains an in-house emergency work force, for flood defence maintenance and flood emergency response and some anti-pollution emergency works. The emergency work force is equipped with a range of 4 wheel drive vehicles, mobile plant, pollution response trailers, equipped with private mobile radios.
The Environment Agency also has small river and coastal patrol and sampling vessels.