§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to require companies storing oil to undertake environmental risk assessments. [148916]
§ Mr Morley[holding answer 19 January 2004]: There are no plans to require this. However, a full assessment of a company's site to identify potential sources of pollution and the development of a plan to minimise these risks is a central recommendation in the Environment Agency's Pollution Prevention Guidance on Industrial Sites (PPG11).
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to place the Environment Agency's pollution prevention guidelines on a statutory footing; and if she will make a statement. [148917]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 19 January 2004]: There are currently 27 Pollution Prevention Guidelines jointly published by the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Environment & Heritage Service for Northern Ireland. These establish best practice for the prevention of pollution for a wide range of sectors and activities. Where appropriate, statutory codes of practice may refer to the standards set in the Pollution Prevention Guidelines. There are no plans at present to change the status of the Guidelines themselves.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to extend the Oil Storage Regulations to cover(a) domestic and agricultural waste oil and (b) underground oil storage tanks. [148918]
§ Mr Morley[holding answer 19 January 2004]: There are no current plans to extend the regulations. Separate regulations are already in place for agricultural fuel oil, waste oil storage is subject to waste regulation controls and statutory guidance is in place for underground oil storage. Large domestic storage tanks are already included in the Oil Storage Regulations and all new domestic installations are now subject to control under building regulations.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to establish a targeted inspection and enforcement regime in connection with the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) (England) 2001 Regulations; and if she will make a statement. [148919]
§ Mr Morley[holding answer 19 January 2004]: The Regulations are enforced by the Environment Agency and apply minimum prescriptive standards on a blanket basis to all premises storing oil in above ground fixed or mobile tanks or facilities. There are no plans to change the Agency's approach to enforcement which is explained in the Defra guidance note which accompanied 1374W the Regulations. The Legislative background in that Guidance states that the Environment Agency will not need to make a special visit to individual sites to assess risks, but will enforce the regulations during routine visits and thus reduce resource burdens.