10-May-2006 - The Environment
Agency announced on May 8 2006 that it is considering
an application from Rolls Royce Power Venture,
based in Exeter, for a power station licence as
part of a pilot project that will allow local
people to see licence applications online for
the first time.
This simple online access to
applications marks the first step towards providing
a more accessible service that gives local people
a say in the decision making process.
Rolls Royce Power Ventures,
based Marsh Green Road, Marsh Barton, Exeter,
has applied for an integrated pollution prevention
and control permit (IPPC) to operate an open cycle
gas turbine power station.
It is designed to provide electricity
at times of high demand and also during periods
of instability in the electricity distribution
and transmission system.
If the pilot is successful,
it will enable people to find out whether other
local industries, businesses or individuals are
carrying out activities, such as waste disposal,
chemical production or waste water treatment,
that may have the potential to pollute the environment,
and to comment on the applications.
Licence application documents
were previously only held at Environment Agency
offices, which proved inaccessible to many people.
Now, anyone with web access
can see them at a convenient time and place, and
let us know, online, whether they think the activities
should be allowed and, if so, how they should
be carried out.
This application is one of a
number of similar applications across England
and Wales from companies who have agreed to take
part in the pilot project because they take their
impact on the environment seriously.
Speaking for the Environment
Agency, Freedom of Information Advisor, Lorna
Roxburgh, says: 'The global environment has become
a high priority on the political agenda, but it
is equally important in our local area. People
want to know whether their local industry, businesses
or individuals are carrying out activities, such
as waste disposal, chemical production or waste
water treatment, that might pollute their environment.'
'We hope local people will welcome
this opportunity to have a say on whether they
think these activities should be allowed and if
so, how they should be done.'
Further information:
The Environment Agency licenses
industry, business and individuals to carry out
certain activities that have the potential to
pollute the environment. When it receives an application
for such a licence, the application and other
relevant information is made available to the
public. This is done before a decision on whether
to issue the licence, or what conditions will
be attached.
After any licence is issued,
further information is also made available on
the Registers. This can typically include monitoring
information, details of any breaches of the terms
of the licence, any enforcement actions that has
been carried out and any applications to vary
the terms of the licence.
Public registers also cover
some of the other aspects of the Environment Agency
responsibilities and are useful sources of environmental
information.
The following Public Register
information is available online:
Waste Carriers & brokers
Water Quality and Pollution
Control Integrated Pollution
Prevention and Control (IPPC)
Integrated Pollution Control
(IPC)
Radioactive Substances
Information Water Abstraction and Impounding Waste
Management Licensing
