The Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024

This Statutory Instrument has been printed to correct errors in S.I. 2020/489 and is being issued free of charge to all known recipients of that instrument.

Statutory Instruments

2024 No. 354

Environmental Protection, England And Wales

The Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024

Made

12th March 2024

Laid before Parliament

13th March 2024

Laid before Senedd Cymru

13th March 2024

Coming into force

6th April 2024

The Secretary of State, in relation to England, and the Welsh Ministers, in relation to Wales, make these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(1) to (3) of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999(1).

In accordance with section 2(4) of that Act(2), before making these Regulations, the Secretary of State and the Welsh Ministers have consulted—

(a)

the Environment Agency;

(b)

the Natural Resources Body for Wales;

(c)

such bodies or persons appearing to them to be representative of the interests of local government, industry, agriculture and small businesses respectively as they have considered appropriate; and

(d)

such other bodies or persons as they have considered appropriate.

Citation, commencement, extent and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 6th April 2024.

(3) These Regulations—

(a) extend to England and Wales; and

(b) apply in England and Wales.

Amendment of the Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000

2.—(1) The Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000(3) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 4 (prohibition on holding irrespective of registration)—

(a) in paragraph (3A)—

(i) for “the fluids contain” substitute “it contains”;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (a), after “PCBs”, insert “within the fluids containing PCBs”;

(iii) in sub-paragraph (b), for “PCBs” substitute “fluids containing PCBs”;

(b) in paragraph (3C)—

(i) for “the fluids contain” substitute “it contains”;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (a), after “PCBs”, insert “within the fluids containing PCBs”;

(iii) in sub-paragraph (b), for “PCBs” substitute “fluids containing PCBs”;

(c) in paragraph (4)(a), for “a total volume of”, substitute “to reduce the total volume of fluids containing PCBs to”.

(3) In regulation 5 (labelling of contaminated equipment), in paragraph (3)—

(a) omit “the fluids contain”;

(b) in sub-paragraph (a), before “0.005%”, insert “within the equipment the fluids contain”;

(c) in sub-paragraph (b)—

(i) before “a total volume”, insert “the equipment contains”;

(ii) before “PCBs”, insert “fluids containing”;

(d) for “<0.05dm3” substitute “<0.05dm3””.

Robbie Moore

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

12th March 2024

Lesley Griffiths

Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd, one of the Welsh Ministers

12th March 2024

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/1043) (“the 2000 Regulations”) to correct errors in certain amendments made to those Regulations by the Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/489) (“the 2020 Regulations”).

Regulation 2(2) amends regulation 4 of the 2000 Regulations so that the references to PCBs in that regulation are to volumes of fluid containing PCBs and not to the volume of PCBs.

Regulation 2(3) makes a similar amendment to regulation 5(3) of the 2000 Regulations. Regulation 2(3)(d) makes a minor correction at the end of regulation 5(3).

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. A de minimis assessment has been produced for this instrument and is available from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ground Floor, Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF and is published with the Explanatory Memorandum alongside this instrument at www.legislation.gov.uk.

(1)

1999 c. 24. See paragraph 20 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to that Act which provides that Council Directive 96/59/EC is a “relevant directive” for the purposes of the Secretary of State making provision which corresponds or is similar to provision that might be made by an Act of Parliament in connection with that Directive. Paragraph 20 is amended by S.I. 2018/942 and 2019/458. S.I. 2019/458 is amended by S.I. 2020/603. Functions of the Secretary of State, so far as exercisable in relation to Wales, were transferred to the National Assembly for Wales, except in relation to offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation, by virtue of article 3(1) of the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1958). Functions of the National Assembly for Wales under this section were transferred to the Welsh Ministers by paragraph 30 of Schedule 11 to the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32).

(2)

Section 2(4) was amended by S.I. 2013/755.

(3)

S.I. 2000/1043, amended by S.I. 2020/489. There are other amending instruments, but none are relevant.