For some years, the Environment Agency (EA) has used its Operator Risk Appraisal (OPRA) system to score sites operating under an environmental permit according to their environmental risk.

The OPRA score is derived each year from the EA’s assessment of a site’s complexity, emissions and inputs, location, operator performance and compliance record. Each site is banded according to its OPRA assessment, and the banding influences the amount of regulatory resource that will be devoted to the site.

Fees

Importantly, it also determines the annual subsistence fee and any other fees that may be payable, for example for variation applications. Permit subsistence fees for large chemicals sites are substantial nowadays, and OPRA provides a strong incentive to devote resources to improving management systems and compliance.

Changes

Now, the EA is proposing to move to a new assessment scheme which places more emphasis on performance rather than compliance. The existing OPRA compliance bands of A-F will be replaced by four descriptive bands: Exemplary, Expected, Improvement Needed and Significant Improvement Needed. Operator behaviours such as responsiveness and attitude will be assessed to judge the likelihood of an adverse incident as well as the hazards arising from the type and scale of the regulated activity and the site’s environmental sensitivity. Sites which achieve compliance and no more will fall into the Expected band. Exemplary sites, those that go above and beyond mere compliance, could enjoy a form of regulated self-assurance, light-touch regulation and lower subsistence fees than at present. Sites in the lower two bands can expect more attention from the EA and higher fees.

The EA ran a 4-week informal consultation on these proposals, ending in May. It will use the responses to develop a formal consultation which it plans to launch in July. Operators subject to OPRA scoring would be well advised to look out for that consultation paper and study it to find out what impact the proposals are likely to have.

Comment

Operators will also be keen to ensure that new categorisations are properly evidence based and it may therefore be worth some investment of time and resource to ensure that all appropriate material is available so as to ensure that the right regulatory conclusions are drawn.

For more information contact;

paul.bratt@symmetrylaw.co.uk

victoria.joy@symmetrylaw.co.uk