§ Ms Roseanna CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the responsibilities of the Environment Agency. [4226]
§ Angela EagleThe Agency's main statutory responsibilities are to
regulate industrial processes with the greatest pollution potential;regulate the disposal of radioactive waste and (except on nuclear licensed sites) the keeping and use of radioactive material and accumulation of radioactive waste:regulate the treating, keeping, movement and disposal of controlled waste;preserve or improve the quality of rivers, estuaries and coastal waters;take any necessary action to conserve, redistribute, augment and secure proper use of water resources;exercise a general supervision over all matters relating to flood defence;maintain, improve and develop salmon, trout, freshwater and eel fisheries;promote the conservation and enhancement of inland and coastal waters, and their use for recreation;maintain or improve non-marine navigation;regulate the remediation of contaminated land designated as special sites; andadminister, in accordance with regulations on producer responsibility, registration of businesses and exemption schemes.
§ Ms CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what responsibilities the Environment Agency has in Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [4228]
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§ Angela EagleThe Secretary of State is the competent authority of transit for the whole of the United Kingdom for transfrontier shipments of waste under Council Regulation (EEC) No. 259/93. He has delegated the day-to-day administration of this function to the Environment Agency. Also, section 84(2)(b) of the Water Resources Act 1991 places a statutory duty on the Environment Agency to consult, in such cases as it may consider appropriate, with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency over water quality objectives. This relates to parts of the rivers Esk, Sark and Tweed.
§ Ms CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for The Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the organisations replaced by the Environment Agency in 1996, indicating in each case whether they had been operating under an exemption in terms of the Value Added Tax Act 1994, section 33. [4225]
§ Angela EagleThe Environment Agency was formed from:
- (a) National Rivers Authority: Exempt from VAT
- (b Waste Regulation Authorities: Exempt from VAT
- (c) Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution and other sections of the Department of the Environment: Not exempt from VAT