REGULATORY OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT: THE FUNCTIONS OF THE PROPOSED ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
| Published date | 01 January 1992 |
| Pages | 82-92 |
| Date | 01 January 1992 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb024754 |
| Author | WILLIAM HOWARTH |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance |
REGULATORY
OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT: THE
FUNCTIONS
OF THE PROPOSED ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
Received (in revised form): 28th August, 1992.
WILLIAM
HOWARTH
WILLIAM
HOWARTH
IS
CRIPPS HARRIES HALL/SAUR (UK)
PROFESSOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF RENT AT CANTERBURY. A
MEMBER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ASSOCIATION, A
MEMBER OF THE ADVISORY COUNCIL TO THE
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW FOUNDATION. A
MEMBER OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY
BOARD TO SHANKS AND MCEWAN (WASTE
SERVICES) LTD AND HONORARY LEGAL
ADVISER TO THE INSTITUTE OF FISHERIES
MANAGEMENT. HE IS EDITOR OF THE
JOURNAL, WATER LAW, AND AUTHOR OF
SEVERAL
BOOKS
AND
NUMEROUS
ARTICLES
ON
ENVIRONMENTAL
LAW.
ABSTRACT
The paper starts by considering the history
of environmental legislation and the need
for integrated pollution control. After
describing the establishment of Her
Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution
(HMIP) and the difficulty caused by
HMIP's relationship with other environ-
mental agencies, the paper notes the
Government's intention to
create
a unified
Agency for environmental protection.
The author examines the debate over
the form the new Agency should take and
the disagreement regarding what powers
currently held by the National Rivers
Authority (NRA) should be devolved on
the Agency. In the
course
of
this,
the author
notes distinctions made
between
regulatory,
operational and management functions of
the NRA and proposed for the Agency.
'Our preference remains for
responsibility for pollution con-
trol to be integrated within one
body.'
'We remain of the view that only
predominantly regulatory func-
tions should be devolved onto the
new Agency.'1
THE BACKGROUND
The history of environmental legisla-
tion in England and Wales is a
haphazard progression of frag-
mented concerns over problems
which have been traditionally
characterised as having little, if any-
thing, in common. Certainly, water
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