In a landmark decision for the UK's waste management
industry, on 22 February 2010 the Environment Agency (EA) dropped
charges against two companies alleged to have shipped contaminated
waste paper to the Far East.1 The decision came only one
week before the trial was due to commence.
That the case was dropped reflects the EA's acceptance that
its evidence was inconclusive. That it was dropped at such a late
stage points to a more fundamental problem, and one that affects
all future prosecutions for such offences – namely, the
absence of practical and detailed EA guidance about levels of
permissible contamination in exported waste.
Such guidance, which is long overdue, should be issued
immediately.
Waste export regulations
The export of waste from the UK is governed by the Transfrontier
Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007....
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Electronic waste, or ‘e-waste’, has become a significant international environmental enforcement challenge. Each year, hundreds of thousands of used electronic items – containing highly toxic substances like lead, mercury and cadmium – are shipped across the world.
As previously noted in our initial Climate Change Bulletin dated August 15, 2008 and subsequent updates, concerns over global climate change have sparked a series of legislative and policy responses on the provincial, federal, regional, and international levels.
On August 13, 2010, President Obama signed into law Public Law 111-230, which requires employers with 50 or more employees and more than 50% of their U.S. workforce on H-1B or L visas (L-1A, L-1B, L-2) to pay additional fees of $2,000 to $2,250 per visa application.
Ontario’s process for making Crown land available for renewable energy projects continues into its second phase as the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) invite the public to provide input on where, when and how the Government should make Crown land available for off-shore wind projects.
Until now, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has acted on the assumption that National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits are not required for discharges of pollutants from ditches, culverts and channels that collect stormwater runoff from logging roads.
On July 12, 2010 the Budget Implementation Bill (Bill C-9) received Royal Assent, passing into law some significant and controversial amendments to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act ("CEAA").
On Aug. 17, 2010, the Michigan State Senate passed sweeping reforms of Michigan’s Environmental Remediation Program, known as Part 201 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA).
