Regulatory bodies are best placed to secure environmental protection Essay

Regulatory bodies are best placed to secure environmental protection Discuss - Essay Example The compliance assurance features of better regulation include initiating time limits for regulatory decision making, minimising the onus of paperwork by substituting to self-reporting and enhanced overseeing of compliance monitoring activities so that business assigns minimum resources and time to inspection by government authorities. The UK government so as to overhaul its industrial pollution control system has introduced a new Integrated Pollution Control system (IPC) as early as 1990 through the Environmental Protection Act. The Environmental Act 1995 established the Environmental Agency. (Bohne: 435). Further, the UK government had combined the additional policy objective with its regulatory reform with an aim to regain more influence on European Environmental Regulations. In UK, the Hampton Principles was adopted which outline a regulatory system perused in tune with the requirements of the 21st century where risk assessment will be the foundation for all environmental program mes. Further, the UK government has made public a regulatory code of practice to compel both the local and national regulators to adhere the Hampton Principles. In April 2008, the Regulators’ Compliance Code came into force. Further, UK has also adopted a common framework for evaluating administrative burdens namely the Standard Cost Model. Moreover, the Impact Assessment Guidance issued by the UK Better Regulations Executive needs an evaluation of the â€Å"aggregate annual cost of enforcement of the regulatory proposal. Further, UK government is contemplating to introduce a system of regulatory budgets to minimise the aggregate costs of its new regulations’ adherence cost on the economy. (OECD2009:45). 2. What are the main characteristics of the British system of regulation? What processes are involved? What are its strengths and weaknesses? The UK government so as to overhaul its industrial pollution control system has introduced a new Integrated Pollution Control system (IPC) as early as 1990 through the Environmental Protection Act. UK can be said to be the leader of an integrated pollution control system not only in the Europe but in the whole world. Section 7 (4) & (7) was successfully exported to Europe from UK. As per Emmot and Haigh (1996:305), the IPC concept of â€Å"Best Available Techniques Not Entailing Excessive Cost† (BATNEEC) which was employed to evaluate the emission limit values which reappeared in the BAT specification of the IPPC directive. As per farthing et al (2003:75), the holistic IPC doctrine of â€Å"Best Practicable Environment Option† (BPEO), though not overtly emphasised in the IPPC directive, is mirrored in the regulations of the IPPC directive to accomplish a greater level of safeguard for environment as a whole, and not to shift the pollution from one medium to another i.e. air, water and land through the Art. 9(1) and (3) of the IPPC directive. (Bohne2006:435). UK assumed the leadership role in EU industrial pollution control legislation by exporting the IPC system to Europe. As per Bell and McGillivray (2006:770), UK kept the administrative and legislative upheaval for the transposition of the IPPC directive to a bare minimum. (Bohne 2006:435). EIA – Environment Impact Assessment It is a technique to make us to understand the probable environmental impacts of major projects both the existing and in the development stages also. The regulations and