Water

This note provides a summary of the Environmental Permitting (EP) regime, which came into force on 6 April 2008.

The Industrial Emissions Directive 2010 (IED) amends, consolidates and replaces seven Directives on pollution from industrial installations, covering the regimes for integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC), large combustion plants (LCPs), waste incineration, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and organic solvents, and production of titanium dioxide (Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (Recast)). This practice note summarises the key provisions of the Industrial Emissions Directive, and explains the most important changes that it makes.

This practice note pulls together information on the various initiatives intended to help manage flood risk in England and Wales. It includes information on Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS 25), flood risk maps, building to be flood resistant and flood resilient, and information on the Statement of Principles, issued by the Association of British Insurers, which provides guidance on when insurers will continue to provide insurance cover for flood damage in relation to properties in areas at particular risk from flooding. The note also covers the Pitt Review, which examined the issues arising from flood-related emergencies in the summer of 2007, the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) and the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. Note: On 27 March 2012, PPS 25 was replaced by the National Planning Policy Framework. We will shortly be updating this note to reflect these changes.

This note explains the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MACAA 2009) insofar as it relates to the marine environment. It explains how the MACAA 2009 provides for creation of the marine regulator, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), introduces a new marine planning process (including a Marine Policy Statement and marine plans) and changes the licensing of marine activities. For information on: Marine Conservation Zones, see Practice note, Habitats and wildlife: designations in England and Wales: Marine Conservation Zones.   The coastal access provisions of the MACAA 2009, see Practice note, Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009: coastal access.

The government's National Infrastructure Plans of 2010 and 2011 (NIP 2010 and NIP 2011) set out a vision for the ongoing delivery of infrastructure improvements in the UK.

This note summarises the Nitrates Directive (Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources) and explains how it is implemented in England and Wales by nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZs).

A practice note on sustainable drainage systems (also known as sustainable urban drainage systems, SUDS or SuDS) and their implications for developers and landowners.

This practice note provides a summary of the water abstraction regime in England and Wales.

This note provides an overview of the main requirements of the Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy) and how it has been implemented in England and Wales. The Water Framework Directive introduced a new approach to water management and is the most substantial piece of EU water legislation to date.

This note explains the registration and environmental permitting requirements for small domestic septic tanks and small domestic package sewage treatment plants, under the  Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/ 675).This note also highlights some of the conveyancing issues to consider for residential properties that have septic tanks.