New civil powers granted to environmental organisations
Date posted: 06 Feb 2010
Civil powers have been granted to the Environment Agency and Natural England, the government has confirmed.
Measures such as compliance notices and fines will now be made available to the organisations.
Hilary Benn, the government''s environment secretary, believes that the powers will prevent firms from being formally prosecuted if they have breached aspects of the law without meaning to.
"These new powers will help make the system fairer for the law-abiding majority of businesses and will give regulators a practical and effective alternative to prosecution," he commented.
The powers are being provided to the regulatory bodies under proposals which were originally outlined in the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act of 2008.
Responding to the government''s decision, the Environment Agency has noted that the new civil powers should help in its continuing efforts to improve aspects of the environment such as water quality, with the sanctions expected to be fairer on businesses.