HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Environmental Liability Directive''
2004/35/EC
is a European Union law Directive on enforcement of claims against occupational activities which damage the
environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
. Its objective is to create "a more uniform regime for the prevention and remediation of environmental damage" across the EU.


Backgrounds

The Directive came into force across Europe during 2009 and in the UK it became law on 1 March 2009, converting the various national Pollution Prevention Guidelines (PPGs) such as the UK's
Planning Policy Guidance Notes In the United Kingdom, Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPG) were statements of the Government's national policy and principles towards certain aspects of the town planning framework. These national policy documents were originally known as PPGs an ...
PPG11, PPG18 and PPG21 into requirements where failure to comply can result in fines and remediation or reinstatement costs. Unlike the
Seveso II Directive Council Directive 96/82/EC of 9 December 1996 on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances (as amended) is a European Union law aimed at improving the safety of sites containing large quantities of dangerous substances. ...
, Directive 96/82/EC, which applied to large high risk businesses, the Environmental Liability Directive applies to all businesses large and small alike. Two of the most important considerations within the Directive are the containment of spills (such as milk, cooking oil or diesel) and firewater, the runoff from fire fighting, which is likely to consist of water, foam and site-based materials. It can be deadly and have a major impact to the environment should it escape from your site. Hence, key in the Directive is an Environmental Management System MSthat to contain spills and firewater on their site for safe disposal later.


Contents

Article 2 defines unlawful damage as in respect of "protected species" and "natural habitats", which in turn are defined by the
Birds Directive The Birds Directive (formally known as Council Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds) is the oldest piece of EU legislation on the environment and one of its cornerstones which was unanimously adopted in April 1979 as the Dire ...
and Habitats Directive.92/43/EC
/ref> Article 4 requires that "it is possible to establish a causal link between the damage and the activities of individual operators." Articles 6 to 8 require that a polluter takes remedial action for any damage and pays the costs.


Amendments

The ELD has been amended three times through Directive 2006/21/EC on the management of waste from extractive industries, through Directive 2009/31/EC on the geological storage of carbon dioxide, and through the Offshore Safety Directive 2013/30/EU, on safety of offshore oil and gas operations. The amendments broadened the scope of strict liability by adding the "management of extractive waste" and the "operation of storage sites pursuant to Directive 2009/31/EC" to the list of dangerous occupational activities in Annex III of the ELD.


See also

* EU law *
Polluter pays principle In environmental law, the polluter pays principle is enacted to make the party responsible for producing pollution responsible for paying for the damage done to the natural environment. It is regarded as a regional custom because of the strong sup ...


References


External links

* * {{cite web, url=http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/netregs/legislation/future/63682.aspx , title=Environmental Liability Directive , work=NetRegs , publisher=UK Environment Agency , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309105333/http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/netregs/legislation/future/63682.aspx , archive-date=9 March 2009 , url-status=dead 2004 in law 2004 in the European Union European Union directives Public liability Environmental law in the European Union