Policy paper

Offence Response Options: Environment Agency

The Offence Response Options (ORO) documents set out the options available to every offence we regulate.

From:: Environment Agency
Published: 20 December 2019
Last updated: 28 February 2023 — See all updates

Applies to England

Documents

Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) offences

HTML

Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) offences

HTML

Extant water quality provisions offences

HTML

Flood risk management offences

HTML

Details

These documents incorporate the provisions of the Regulator’s Code. We will review them on a regular basis to reflect changes in legislation, government policy or ways of working.

These documents do not explain legislation or legal process. See our enforcement and sanctions policy documents.

Sometimes we provide specific regulatory position statements that outline where we stand on important issues.

Published 20 December 2019
Last updated 28 February 2023 + show all updates

28 February 2023
Added the offence response options for the Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) Regulations 2023 to the Waste offences document.
31 December 2020
We have updated the documents for chemicals sector offences, climate change offences and waste offences. The specific changes are listed in each document.
14 October 2020
Amended an error in the 'Waste' offence response options document. Under 'Failure to comply with a Section 34(5) notice to furnish transfer notes' we omitted the response 'fixed penalty notice'. We have now added this.
20 December 2019
First published.

Update history

2025-03-31 09:00
Updated the ‘Waste offences’ offence response options document. In section ‘Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA)’, added a subsection on ‘Section 45AZF(4)’ offences. Added a new section on ‘Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024’ offences.

2024-06-28 14:13
‘Waste offences’ document. Section 5. The Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) Regulations 2023 – changed Regulation 28(6) as it is now split into ‘Regulation 28(6)(a)’ and ‘Regulation 28(6)(b)’. Section 7.2 Shipment of waste within the community – corrected an error under ‘Regulation 20(2)(c)’ changed Article 20 to 19.

2024-02-21 12:59
For ‘Extant water quality provisions offences’ – updated all of section ‘3. Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015’. Updated section ‘4. Water Industry Act 1991’ to clarify the regulations and add ‘compliance notice’ as a civil sanction we can impose for Section 120(9) and Section 130(7) offences. For ‘Land quality offences’ – updated section ‘3. The Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018’. For ‘Waste offences’ – added Section 59ZB(6), Section 158. Added fixed penalty notice as an option for Section 5(7)(a). Added Regulation 19 and 89(2)(a)(i). For ‘Environmental damage offences’ – added Regulation 34(2).

2023-12-11 09:00
Updated the ‘Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) offences’ document to say we will use variable monetary penalties for some EPR offences committed on or after 11 December 2023.

2023-09-05 10:23
Removed text under regulation 10 in the chemicals sector offences document which related to guidance for internal use only.

2023-08-21 12:46
‘Fisheries offences’ – section 1. Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975, clarified in Section 4(1): cause or knowingly permit any liquid or solid matter that is poisonous or injurious to fish, spawn, spawning areas or food of fish to enter waters containing fish.’Flood risk management offences’ – section 5. Flood Water Management Act 2010, Section 30 and Schedule 1 13(5) – removed ‘The civil sanction we can impose is: variable monetary penalty’.

2023-02-28 10:00
Added the offence response options for the Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) Regulations 2023 to the Waste offences document.

Offence Response Options: Environment Agency

Applies to England

Documents

Chemicals sector offences

Climate change offences

Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) offences

Environmental damage offences

Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) offences

Extant water quality provisions offences

Fisheries offences

Flood risk management offences

Land quality offences

Navigation offences

Obstruction: common offences

Reservoir offences

Waste offences

Water resources offences

Details

Update history