§ Lord Swinfenasked Her Majesty's Government:
What consultation is proposed when the guidance notes issued by the Department of the Environment to local authorities under Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 are reviewed.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment (The Earl of Arran)The local authority air pollution control system which we established under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 is one of the key elements in tackling industrial air pollution. In the three years since the system came into being, local authorities have received applications under the Act for some 13,500 processes and evidence is that in general they are generally discharging their new responsibilities effectively [Official Report, House of Commons, Volume 232, col. 207].
We are today issuing a consultation paper about standards of emissions monitoring and dispersion. This forms part of our planned four-year revision of the guidance notes on air pollution standards issued to local authorities between February 1991 and June 1992. It is important that the guidance remains clear, up to date and imposes no greater burden on industry than is necessary to secure an appropriate level of air pollution control.
Further detailed consultation will be undertaken in reviewing each of the individual published guidance notes.
The consultation paper is being circulated widely to relevant industry and trade associations, local authorities and environmental groups, with a request for comments by 7 September. I am placing a copy of the paper in the Libraries of both Houses.