Increasing trust with National Authorities through Responsible Care

1
Increasing trust with National Authorities
through Responsible Care
Alan Stephens Inspector Office of Environmental
Enforcement Environmental Protection
Agency Dublin Regional Inspectorate
25th October 2007 CEFIC Conference, Paris
2
Scope of talk

• Overview of European Environmental Legislation
• EPA and the Irish context
• Trust and Regulation
• Building Trust, how its done
• Engagement with stakeholders
• Incident notification and management
• Advantages of Responsible Care approach
• Summary and Recommendation

3
European Legislation

• IPPC Directive 96/61/EC
• Minimising pollution from various industrial
  sources. Operators of industrial installations
  covered by Annex I of the IPPC Directive are
  required to obtain an authorisation
  (environmental permit) from the authorities in
  the EU countries. About 50,000 installations are
  covered by the IPPC Directive in the EU.
• The IPPC Directive is based on several
  principles, namely
• An integrated approach
• Best available techniques
• Flexibility
• Public participation.

4
European Legislation

• Waste Incineration Directive 2000/76/EC
• Large Combustion Plants Directive 2001/80/EC
• VOC Solvents Directive 1999/13/EC
• Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC
• Facilities which are also covered by by IPPC
  Directive may have more stringent limits applied.

5
EPA and Irish Context

• Environmental Regulation of Industry in Ireland
• Local Authority for small scale operations
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for larger
  scale operations
• EPA Act 1992 and Waste Management Act 1996
• Protection of Environment Act 2003
• gt700 IPPC licences issued by EPA
• Office of Environmental Enforcement (OEE) ensures
  compliance with licences.

6
EPA Locations
Headquarters
Regional office/Laboratory
Hydrometric
7
Office of Environmental Enforcement (OEE)

• Aim is to improve compliance with environmental
  legislation in Ireland.
• Ensure that those who flout the law and cause
  environmental pollution are held to account.
• OEE have
• Directly responsible for enforcing EPA licences
  issued to waste, industrial and other activities
• Supervises the environmental protection
  activities of local authorities.

8
Trust ?Regulation

• Legislation and Control results from poor
  management and a lack of trust.
• Trust needs to be built with all stakeholders and
  in particular with public.
• Building and manitaining trust is always a work
  in progress.
• Responsible Care is an initive that improves
  management, develops trust and helps ensure
  legislative compliance.

9
IPPC licencing Responsible Care

• Licencing process provides for public
  consultation and IPPC Licences require
• Continual improvement
• Efficient use of resources
• Self assessment and reporting
• Communications programme
• Freedom of access to information

10
Licence Enforcement Responsible Care

• Encourage licensees to integrate good
  environmental practices into their working
  methods and to have appropriate management
  structures in place
• Development of Environmental Management Systems
• Prevention of environmental pollution
• Promote continual improvements in environmental
  performance.
• Respond to incidents
• Investigate complaints
• EPA need to be in a position to answer questions
  if asked

11
Building Trust - Examples

• Self assessment and monitoring
• Addressing Climate Change issues
• REACH
• Notification and response to non-routine events
  (e.g. TO bypasses, fire drills)
• Engagement/Dialog with stakeholders
• Incident notification and management

12
Engagement with Stakeholders

• Why?
• You are part of the community
• You have an impact on the community
• You need to consider the views and interests of
  the community
• Trust in site management will reduce concern
• Who?
• Senior site management, staff and
  neighbours/local group/NGOs

13
Employees/Staff

• Employees are part of the local community.
• The better you informed your staff are the better
  they will
• communicate to their and your neighbours.
• Perceived problems or risks and misinformation
  communicated to
• the local community is very difficult to
  correct.
• Qualified/Technically proficient competent and
  well informed

14
Engagement

• About What?
• Keep your neighbours informed Significance
  information is already available
• New developments on site - planning notices
• Licence changes - reviews / new licences
• Inform neighbours before undertaking an activity
  that may impact on them.
• What are their concerns and why?
• Little interest if there is confidence in the
  management and regulation and there is no concern
• People will get very technically proficient if
  they are concerned and are not
• confident in the management or the EPA and will
  require significant and
• on-going interaction to address their concerns.

15
Engagement

• How?
• Establish engagement and maintain a two way
  process
• Take a proactive versus a reactive approach
• Provide clear and understandable information
• Provide information through trusted independent
  experts
• Provide for feedback
• Listen and address concerns
• real issues, there are also many perceived
  issues.

16
IMPEL
17
IMPEL
Final recommendations Application of dialogue
processes as voluntary instruments in the
implementation and enforcement of environmental
law. using dialogue as an option within
complaint procedures. using dialogue before
permit procedures (e.g. within IPPC permits)
encouraging companies to use the dialogue process
as part of operating their site. Toolkit in
development (finalised by end 2007)
Establishing Neighbourhood Dialogue Self-evalu
ation guideline (to be developed) To asses the
quality of dialogues.
18
Stakeholder Engagement/Dialog
LA, HSE and other public bodies
Press
OEE
Public Reps
Local Community
Licensee
NGOs
Staff
19
EPA - Incident NotificationLicence requires
notification and update of

• Any release of environmental significance to
  atmosphere from any potential emission point
  including bypasses
• Any emission which does not comply with the
  requirements of this licence
• Any malfunction or breakdown of key control
  equipment or monitoring equipment set out in
  Schedule C Control Monitoring, of this
  licence, which is likely to lead to loss of
  control of the abatement system
• Any incident with the potential for environmental
  contamination of surface water or groundwater, or
  posing an environmental threat to air or land, or
  requiring an emergency response by the Local
  Authority.

20
EPA - Incident NotificationLicence requirements

• The licensee shall include as part of the
  notification, date and time
• of the incident, summary details of the
  occurrence, and where
• available, the steps taken to minimise any
  emissions.
• Incident that relates to discharges to sewer
• - notify the Local and Water Services Authority
• Incidents that relates to discharges to water
• -notify the Local Authority and the
• -notify the Regional Fisheries Board

21
EPA - Incident NotificationGuidance

• Guidance to licensees on the Notification,
  Management and
• Communication of Environmental Incidents
  http//www.epa.ie/downloads/
• Licensees should strive to build a good
  relationship with their local community and keep
  local residences informed of the activities
  carried out within their area. The licensee
  should ensure that the local community is kept
  informed of any incidents or issues that may
  affect them.

22
EPA - Incident NotificationGuidance

• Classification of Environmental Incidents
• Category 1 Significant environmental damage or
  Significant environmental risk or
• hazard to the public or to the general
  environment.
• Category 2 A minor environmental incident -
  Local limited impact, Public warnings not
  required.
• Category 3 Minor on site issues that may effect
  control of backup systems

23
EPA - Incident NotificationGuidance

• Notification of the incident to the EPA and other
  Bodies
• 2. Emergency Response Procedure
• 3. Policy on publication to the EPA website.

24
EPA - Incident Notification

• EPA should be able to answer if questioned.
• Builds confidence in the system, in the licensee
  and in the EPA
• Information to EPA can provide for
• Advise on corrective action
• Advise and agreement on mitigating measures
• Accurate and up-to-date information to other
  stakeholders
• (Local community, Health Services, etc.)

25
EPA - Incident Notification

• Information on an incident should contain enough
  detail to allow the EPA
• to determine the impact to the greatest extent
  possible.
• Insufficient information will cause concern and
  result in an over estimate of an incident and its
  impact and a subsequent over reaction.

26
Media/Press

27
Media/Press

EPA has moved to reassure residents are not in
any danger Release of toxic and flammable
chemical The precise quantity of the emission
has not been calculated yet No injuries of
medical complaint reported In high concentration
Methanol can be flammable Also toxic if
swallowed inhaled or absorbed through the
shin EPA official said .. Didnt present a
danger to the public..
28
Media/Press

• Incident/ issues on a site are part of the bigger
  picture
• Reports on incidents can feed into other stories
• Follow up stories on
• The Site,
• Industrial Sector,
• The EPA,
• The Local Authority
• Specific activity (eg Incineration)

29
Media/Press

30
Media/Press

• Call for more proactive approach to incident
  notification
• Mr Dan Boyle (Green Party MP) concerned that the
  EPA was not posting incidents in recent months
• He was expressly critical of the EPAs policy of
  notifying the public
• ..Fully accepts the EPA report and accept that
  it does not present any dangers to the public
  but..
• ..Very disappointed in the manner in which
  people learned about this through the newspapers
  two days later
• EPA needs to improve trust

31
Advantages to Responsible Care

• Building relationships and trust by information
  sharing and engaging with stakeholders
• All parties solutions are more robust and more
  sustainable
• Participants get additional access to information
  
• Companies become more understanding of
  neighborhood concerns
• Sites become more accepted by neighbours
• Good relationships can be built and trust rises
  between parties
• Parties are aware of and deal with complaints and
  conflicts early and openly

32
Advantages

• Improving environmental performance without
  judicial pressure
• Environmental performance
• Results can achieve more than is required by the
  law.
• Dialogues support sustainable management
  approaches
• Improvements can be based on voluntary efforts.
• Companies get a positive image because of
  voluntary improvements without judicial pressure
• spend less time on complaints and can avoid
  judicial confrontations
• Permission procedures can be more efficient for
  companies and authorities

33
Recommendations

• Engage with and address your stakeholders
  concerns
• Be aware of your licence requirements and comply
  
• Keep the Regulator informed
• Build confidence within the EPA, and other stake
  holders, of the site management and of the
  industry
• This will reduce the EPAs and others concerns
  about your activity.
• The trust established is often only as strong as
  the weakest part for your organisation

34
http//www.epa.ie/