Annual Regulation Report 2020-21

Summary

• The COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect businesses, people, and the way we worked during 2021. In response we adapted our regulatory approaches to continue protecting and enhancing the environment during those challenging times.
• Over recent years we have seen an increased number of environmental incidents reported to us. During 2021 we received 8,960 reports of environmental incidents which is 13% more than we received during 2020, and 33% more than 2019.
• We take a risk-based approach to prioritise and target the most harmful activities or helping to ensure the environment remains protected and communities are kept safe. During 2021 we attended 2,407 incidents.
• During 2021 there were 10,942 Environmental Permitting Regulation permits and 41,197 waste exemptions in force across Wales. In addition, there were 12,188 active waste carriers, broker and dealers registered with us.
• We targeted 506 compliance assessments for 310 permitted waste sites, and 590 assessments for 172 installation permits helping to ensure activities remain compliant with the permits we issue.
• In 2021 we created 1,002 new enforcement cases, representing an increase of 343 compared to 2020. These cases contained 1,373 charges against 956 offenders, which was made up of 355 companies and 601 individuals.
  
  

Introduction

The Coronavirus pandemic continued to affect our regulatory operations through 2021 as well as those we regulate, the public and local communities. The pandemic added to the usual challenges to the environment and our natural resources that our regulatory duties are there to protect and enhance. Throughout these difficult times our ambitions have remained to continue delivering our regulatory responsibilities, which are wide reaching and complex, whilst balancing new priorities and encouraging novel or innovative approaches. We want our regulatory approaches to support regulated businesses, while pursuing the sustainable management of natural resources (SMNR).

In line with the principles of SMNR, we adopt a broad range of regulation that embraces many types of intervention. These include formal and informal regulation such as voluntary initiatives, economic and market-based mechanisms, through to information and communications-based approaches. The Environment (Wales) Act 2016 requires us to work in a way that better understands and values the natural environment, in a joined-up and proactive way.

We are sharing this report to show how our regulation (advice, guidance, permitting, compliance, and enforcement) contributes to these goals and to demonstrate our regulatory performance to businesses, the public and to the Welsh and UK Governments. We continually adapt our regulatory approach across Wales to promote responsible behaviour and, where necessary, tackle illegal activity. Regulation is about the law, but also includes wider intervention including economic and voluntary tools or the provision of advice and guidance.

We recognise that there is more to do. Despite the progress made so far, the quality of our environment is not where we, our partners, or society want it to be. We also recognise the increasing pressures from climate change, population, and public expectation. Regulatory non-compliances, waste crime and pollution incidents damage our environment, which can affect communities and undermine legitimate businesses.

This report shows how those we regulate performed in 2021, covering compliance, pollution incidents, crime, and enforcement. We aim to show how and why we regulate and enforce, highlighting the challenges we face given that regulation underpins our purpose to protect, maintain and enhance our natural resources so that people can live better and healthier lives and our wildlife can thrive.

This report covers the period 1 January to 31 December 2021. The data is taken from our incident, compliance, permitting and enforcement systems. The data for 2021 is not easily comparable to previous years because of the impact of the pandemic on businesses and our regulatory activities.

Incident response

During 2021 we received a total of 8,960 High and Low category incidents, over 1,000 more than 2020. Even though our ability to attend incidents in 2021 was still affected by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions we still attended 27% of these incidents, compared to an attendance rate of 21% in 2020.

• Some 3,744 (42%) of incidents reported related to water. These included water pollution, reservoirs, abstraction, and blockage or alteration to a watercourse
• 3,130 (35%) of incidents reported were waste related. These included fly-tipping incidents within NRW’s remit, the burning of waste, illegal waste sites and waste carriers offences.
• 321 (4%) of incidents reported related to illegal fishing, illegal cockling and fish kills.
• 543 (6%) related to forestry.
• 215 (2%) related to flood risk management.
• 771 incidents that we attended resulted with an recommendation for enforcement action.
• In 2021 we responded to 15 incidents classed as major, involving water pollutions, illegal netting, the burning of waste tyres and serious road traffic incidents.

We have continued to develop the use of digital technologies, with our How to report an incident web page being viewed 9,681 times during the year.

Case study: river pollution incident

In June 2020 a pollution incident occurred when 75,000 gallons of slurry was released into the Afon Peris, which flows through the village of Llanon. The cause of the incident was the catastrophic failure of a 40-year-old slurry store at Glanperis Farm in Ceredigion, the slurry store had never received any formal maintenance or assessment making this incident foreseeable. The incident had a devastating impact on aquatic life in the Afon Peris. Our officers said that assessing the number of dead fish was often impossible because the extent of the pollution made the water too thick to see through.

On 14 December 2021 at Aberystwyth Magistrates Court, Dewi and Barry Jones of Glanperis Farm pleaded guilty to water pollution charges under the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2016 and the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.

Following sentencing guidelines, Aberystwyth Magistrates Court fined Barry Jones a combined amount of £1,332 and ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of £133. Dewi Jones was fined a combined amount of £1,136 and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £113. Both defendants were ordered to pay NRW’s full costs of bringing the prosecution forward, a cost of £12,467.90 to be paid between them equally.

Case study: anti-social behaviour

With the gradual relaxation of the lock down rules in Wales, especially during the bank holidays, weekends and school holidays of 2021 we saw an increase in the amounts of visitors to some of North Wales most popular outdoor destinations including our nature reserves, Forests, Trails and National Parks especially at Newborough National Nature Reserve and Forest and car parks at Coed y Brenin and Gwydir Forest Park.

Anti-social behaviour can harm our environment, our wildlife, the tourism sector, and our local communities. The increase in the number of camper vans and other vehicles parked on verges or in lay-bys also caused potentially significant access problems for the emergency services putting lives at risk. Some of the scenes of illegal camping, fly parking and littering we dealt with were extraordinary especially compared to a normal year.

As a result, we had to increase the presence of wardens and police patrols. We also teamed up with partner agencies to monitor known problem sites. NRW is proud to protect manage and enhance special places across Wales for all to enjoy. Unfortunately, our staff faced unacceptable levels abuse when dealing visitors acting in an irresponsible or anti-social manner, which we occasionally had to report to the Police.

Regulated activity

Permits issued, refused, and withdrawn

We processed around 1,292 permit applications in 2021. These include, licences, standard rules permits and bespoke permits. These vary in complexity and range from a customer making a simple on-line registration, to our staff carrying out a comprehensive assessment of the potential environmental impact of an activity such as a large industrial process. The majority of these (around 73,500) were exemptions registered on-line through our digital services.

We are responsible for checking compliance, providing advice and guidance, and taking protective responses including issuing notices, civil sanctions, or enforcement action. These activities enable businesses to carry out their operations, while robust regulation provides a level playing field for legitimate businesses by preventing them from being undercut by irresponsible or illegal operators. We expect and encourage businesses to take responsibility for their operations.

Case study: river pollution

Tower Regeneration Limited was set up as a joint venture partnership between Tower Colliery Ltd and Hargreaves Services plc to oversee the remediation and reclamation of a former deep coal mine near Hirwaun,

During the two-year period from 6 February 2019 to 15 February 2021, NRW officers responded to several reports of discolouration in the River Cynon and its tributaries, with visible discolouration seen as far downstream as the River Taff at Radyr. NRW officers investigated the permitted discharge point at the Tower Colliery site, took water samples and found the amount of silt in the water was over the permitted level on 13 occasions, with a peak of almost 100 times the limit.

NRW issued statutory notices to Tower Regeneration Limited to make the necessary changes to the surface water infrastructure to manage the runoff from the site, however the measures were slow to be put in place and the pollution incidents continued

The company was charged with offences related to breaches of the company’s environmental permit by discharging silt laden surface water into a tributary of the River Cynon, above the allowed levels of suspended solids. The company pleaded guilty at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court on 21 July 2021 to 13 charges spanning a two-year period and was fined was fined £29,990 as well as being ordered to cover NRW’s costs of £26,791.

In May 2021, Tower Regeneration Limited were also found guilty at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court of offences relating to the non-permitted discharges from the Tower Colliery site into a tributary of the River Cynon. The company was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay NRW costs of £12,849 and a victim surcharge of £170.

Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) permits

At the end of 2021 there were a total of 10,942 EPR permits in force in Wales issued by us.

Permit regime	Permit type	Total
EPR Permit	Directly Associated Activity (DAA)	13
EPR Permit	Deployment	223
EPR Permit	Installation	349
EPR Permit	Sheep dip	999
EPR Permit	Mining waste	6
EPR Permit	Mobile plant	63
EPR Permit	Waste	669
EPR Permit	Water discharge activity	6,546
Water resources licence	Full abstraction	1,233
Water resources licence	Impoundment	727
Water resources licence	New authorisation full abstraction	52
Water resources licence	New authorisation transfer abstraction	14
Water resources licence	Transfer abstraction	48

Forestry

Act/ Regulation	Received	Issued	Progress	Refused	Withdrawn
Forestry Act 1967	514	408	73	15	18
Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999	103	90	5	0	8
Total	617	498	78	15	26

 

Species licencing

We determine applications for a wide range of activities and species under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations2017, the Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulation 2017, Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Badgers Act 1992, the Deer Act 1991, the Seals Act 1970, and The Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019

We determine applications in line with relevant policy, technical guidance and (internal) operational instructions. We assess and authorise licence applications in line with current legislation, often consulting with operational specialists for ecological advice, before drafting and issuing licences.

When assessing applications, we consider several factors including experience of applicant and ecologist, purpose, satisfactory alternatives, whether the application adheres to imperative reasons of over-riding public interest, and the impact on the species and favourable conservation species.

Act/Regulation	Received	New/Renew	Amend	Reject	Refuse	Withdraw
Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017	847	482	220	81	5	59
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981	1270	1002	140	37	22	69
Badgers Act 1992	23	16	5	1	0	1
Deer Act 1991	0	0	0	0	0	0
Seal Act 1970	0	0	0	0	0	0

In 2021 we passed 21 incidents to the police to investigate where licence conditions had not been complied with or works had commenced without a licence. We also assisted the police on several investigations providing expert advice, licensing information and witness statements.

Exemptions from EPR 2016

Where regulated activities pose a reduced level of risk, we offer a range of exemptions allow operators to carry out these activities without an environmental permit, as long as certain conditions are met. Exemptions will normally impose limits on the scale or type of activity that can take place.

At the end of 2021, there were 41,197 waste exemptions registered in Wales at 11,146 different locations.

Waste carriers, brokers and dealers

Anyone who transports waste as part of their business will need to be registered as a waste carrier. If they arrange for waste from other businesses or organisations to be transported, disposed of, or recovered, they need to register as a waste broker. If someone buys and sells waste, or uses an agent to do so, they need to register as a waste dealer. Those in the ‘Upper Tier’ generally handle other people’s waste, while ‘Lower Tier’ generally handle their own waste.

We regulate this regime to help ensure waste is handled and disposed of correctly. Illegal waste activity and fly tipping can cause pollution, impacts on human health and undermines legitimate business.

We maintain a public register of registered carriers, and anyone passing waste on must check that that the carrier or dealer they use is registered. We revoke or refuse the registrations of carriers when they are not competent to handle waste.

We work with partner organisations including Local Authorities, the Police, and the Driver Vehicle Standards Agency to monitor registration and handling of waste.

In 2021 we received 10,387 new waste carrier, broker, and dealer applications from companies, organisations, individuals, and public bodies, we also received 1,801 renewals, making the total of 12,188 waste carriers, brokers and dealers registered with us.

Case study: unregistered waste carrier and illegal waste disposal

Danial McNeill from Kinmel Bay advertised a waste carrier and disposal service on Facebook and was investigated jointly by NRW and Conwy County Borough Council. Mr Mc Neill was caught collecting household waste from homes across North Wales, whilst not being registered to do so and then fly tipping it on land in Llysfaen. Mr McNeill pleaded guilty to the charges at Llandudno Magistrates Court and received a 20-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, a 14-week curfew and £1,500 contribution towards the prosecution costs.

Compliance and operator performance

During the pandemic we were not able to do as many on-site regulatory visits. We adapted our approaches so we could continue to regulate effectively especially at high-risk activities. We developed innovative ways and in particular relied much more on other mechanisms to conduct our work for low-risk activities.

Physical inspections are a key part of regulation, but it’s also about the things we do remotely to gather intelligence, analyse data and assess performance. Used together, these activities provide us with a rich picture from which we can assess regulatory compliance and support customers.

Most of the industrial sites we regulate under EPR are well run. There are 749 Waste operations and installations in Band A, B and C, with only 36 sites in band D, E and F.

The majority of EPR permits are for waste activities (75%). The rate of non-compliance (permits in bands D, E or F) within the waste sector is 5%

We have 16 industrial sites, with permits in D, E or F bands for two or more consecutive years.

Compliance assessments

Waste operations

At the end of 2021 there were 729 permits (654 waste, 61 mobile plant, 14 mining waste) and 552 operational sites in Wales.

Installations  

At the end of 2021 there were 233 installation permits, 127 Intensive Farming Permits and 47 Medium Combustion Plant and Specified Combustion Plant and Specified Generator Permits issued by us in Wales.

Assessments carried out

Number of Compliance Assessment Reports (CAR forms) completed for each assessment type.

Type of assessment	Waste operations	Installations
Site Inspection	308	112
Audit	44	33
Report/Data Review	137	348
Check Monitoring/Sampling	1	84
Other	16	13
Total	506	590

Non-compliance

Non-compliance type	Waste operations	Installations
C1 - Major	1	3
C2 - Significant	39	26
C3 - Minor	222	332
C4 - No environmental impact	80	143
Total number of non-compliances	342	504
O Ongoing non-compliance - not scored	16	23
X Action only	161	226

Bandings

Number of sites by compliance bandings at the end of 2021.

Banding	Waste Operations (operational sites)	Installations
A - Good	419	137
B	90	58
C	24	21
D	9	8
E	11	6
F - Poor	0	2

Producer responsibility

NRW is the UK environmental regulator for producers, producer compliance schemes and treatment facilities in Wales.

Producer responsibility covers packaging, electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), batteries and end of life vehicles (ELVs). Producer responsibility is about making sure businesses that manufacture, import and sell these products are responsible for their end-of-life environmental impact.

Packaging direct registrants

There were 28 direct registrants registered for 2021 with one drop off (operations ceased in Wales). The total tonnage of packaging handled by these direct registrants in 2021 was 204,039. All direct registrants for 2021 submitted their registrations to us by the required deadline,

The total recycling obligation for direct registrants in 2021 was 34,228 tonnes, this is made up of a material specific recycling obligation of 24,520 tonnes and a general recycling obligation of 9708 tonnes.

Packaging compliance schemes

Recycle Wales Compliance scheme continue to be registered with us for 2021. There are 60 members in this scheme of which 36 are based in Wales.

Most scheme members were registered by the required date, those that did not were classed as late registrants and paid the associated late fee. There were 5 producers that left Recycle Wales. There are approximately 230 producers registered with a scheme regulated by SEPA, NIEA and EA that operate in Wales.

Reprocessor and exporters

A total of 30 reprocessors and exporters were accredited in 2021, with 20 of those being reprocessor and 10 exporters.

100% of reprocessor submitted all quarterly returns, with 90% of exporters submitting all quarterly returns. Only 1 exporter failed to submit any quarterly returns these were nil returns and the exporter had not exported any materials during the 12 months of the accreditation and did not register as an exporter for 2022.

The total amount of waste packaging reprocessed and exported in 2021 was 679,913 tonnes, PRN/PERNs were claimed on 632,347 tonnes.

Case study: use of waste packaging for animal bedding

A reprocessor accreditation was submitted for the use of waste packaging in the production of animal bedding. Following our assessment of the operators’ sampling and inspection plan, we were not satisfied that the operator had suitable processes in place to ensure that any waste materials used in the production of the animal bedding would meet with our current position on the use of waste in the production of animal bedding – only clean, non-hazardous, untreated wood is permitted to be used.

We outlined our expectations that the reprocessor should have suitable methods of identifying packaging that met our requirements, further process documentation was provided but we were still not confident that all packaging being processed would meet the requirements.

A meeting between NRW, the reprocessor and a representative from the wood recyclers association was undertaken to discuss the situation. During this meeting the reprocessors processes were discussed and additional steps were added to ensure that they were able to identify packaging that met our requirements. The representative from the wood recyclers association was able to provide further information to support the reprocessor processes and confirmed that the majority of UK wood-based packaging could be classed as clean, non-hazardous, and untreated.

The reprocessor amended their sampling and inspection plan to include all additional checks required and the accreditation was then approved by us.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities (AATF)

The annual submission date for AATF accreditation is the end of September. Our deadline for determining applications and issuing approval notice is 31 December. In 2021 we received thirteen applications before 30 September, and we received one late application on 5 October ,however we were able to approve all the applications and accreditations on time.

However due to the COVID regulations that were still in force during the year no AATF sites were visited or audited. New sites were approved without auditing, and their site visits have had to be deferred until 2022.

A T11 exemption allows you to repair, refurbish or dismantle various types of WEEE so that the whole WEEE item or any parts can be reused for their original purpose or recovered, at the end of 2021 there were 36 T11 exemptions in Wales registered by us.

Batteries/Approved Battery Treatment Operators and Approved Exporters (ABTO)

There are three large ABTO sites in Wales, two of which treat industrial, automotive and portable batteries and one site treats automotive batteries only. All three sites submitted an annual return in 2021, the total amount of batteries treated in Wales at the end of 2021 in Wales was 40,869.

There are five battery producer compliance schemes registered in Wales. In 2021 there were 18,465 battery evidence notes purchased by producers.

International waste shipment

International waste shipments, also known as transfrontier shipments of waste, are movements of waste between countries. Waste shipment controls depend on the classification of the waste being imported or exported.

The two main classes of waste under waste shipment controls are green list waste which can be imported or exported without prior authorisation from NRW or notifiable waste which needs authorisation from us before it can be imported or exported, for example where it is subject to notification controls.

Green list wastes are usually considered low risk to the environment and are listed in the Waste Shipment Regulations. Notifiable wastes are considered hazardous or harmful to the environment and are also listed in the Waste Shipment Regulations.

In 2021 NRW received 23 notification applications to export up to 342,000 tonnes of waste and 27 notification applications to import up to 70,770 tonnes of waste.

Each individual waste shipment made on notifications require completion of a movement tracking forms, which must accompany the load during the export or import. During 2021 NRW received 11,586 movement tracking forms.

In 2021 we did not receive any formal requests made by a non-UK authority to repatriate waste to Wales.

Hazardous waste regulation

You need to register your premises in Wales if you produce hazardous waste (waste which is dangerous to people, the environment, or animals). Some premises are exempt and do not need to be registered. When you notify us of your premises, we place your details on a register and you will be given a hazardous waste producer registration number called a ‘premises code’. When waste is collected from premises and taken to another location a consignment note is required regardless of whether you are a registered premises or exempt.

The regulations do not apply to domestic waste, except where that waste is asbestos produced by a contractor. In this case, the contractor may have to notify the place where the waste is collected from.

Industrial estates

• Between April 2021 and April 2022, we visited 28 industrial estates across Wales, we found that there was a general lack of understanding on the requirements to register as a hazardous waste producer and the process to do so. There were also some gaps in understanding about how and when to complete consignment notes. We provided advice and guidance in most cases however there were a few sites where we found more serious issues, and after investigation we took appropriate enforcement action.

End of life vehicle audits

• Between April 2021 and April 2022, we carried out 12 on site audits at end of life vehicle sites nationally. Common issues found during these inspections was the mistreatment / misclassification of oil filters, incorrect or non-submission of consignee returns and incorrect or incomplete consignment notes. Findings were reported back to the operators through advice and guidance and several warning letters were issued where breaches of the Hazardous Waste Regulations were identified. Catalytic converters were identified as a problematic waste stream with suspicions raised that illegal treatment was taking place to remove them from vehicles prior to bringing them into legal waste facilities. This intelligence has been passed on to the secondary metals sector group and a project is being planned to target this significant issue.

Permitted sites

• We carried out 22 visits to permitted facilities that receive and / or produce hazardous waste. Common issues identified on site include misclassification of waste, incomplete or inaccurate consignment notes and non-submission of consignee returns. We provided advice and guidance to bring the operators into compliance with the Hazardous Waste Regulations.

Industry regulation

• Using a risk-based approach we identified that the refineries sector requires more focused regulation. We are developing methodology to audit the outgoing wastes from refineries with a view to identifying potential misclassified waste and intend to complete at least two refinery audits nationally in 2022
• A further project we will be developing will focus on identifying potential free riders in surface treatment sites. This has been identified as a problematic area due to a lack of registrations within the sector. We are developing a project plan to identify potential free riders and are developing an inspection methodology; we intend to complete at least two inspections nationally.

Four Nations Hazardous Waste Technical Group

• NRW set up and are the lead agency for monthly UK hazardous waste technical meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to bring specialists within each nation’s agency together in an open forum to discuss common issues and exchange advice and project wins. These meetings have been extremely beneficial to all involved and have allowed for robust, consistent regulation of the hazardous waste sector across the UK.

Hazardous waste regulation enforcement

We issued the following notices under the Hazardous waste regulations;

Regulation 53: Requiring submission of outstanding quarterly returns by a specified date.

• 6 notices were issued.
• 5 were complied with and received no further action.
• 1 complied with outside the notice deadline and a warning was issued as a result.

Regulation 35: Requiring submission of consignment notes for audit purposes by a specified date.

• 8 notices were issued.
• 2 notices were complied with and received no further action.
• 3 notices were complied with and received advice and guidance.
• 1 notice was complied with outside the notice deadline and a warning was issued as a result.
• 2 were issued and not complied with and a Fixed Penalty Notice is being issued as a result (both are currently with legal).

Healthcare waste audits

Due to Covid-19 restrictions we were unable to complete any healthcare waste audits. However, we did engage with the Welsh Government on the storage, movement and treatment of clinical waste across Wales, to ensure that it was handled appropriately and that any capacity concerns were identified and addressed in a timely manner.

Water abstraction and water quality

We are responsible for the management and effective use of water in Wales to balance the needs of people and the natural environment. This is done by issuing water abstraction and impoundment licences. You are likely to need to apply for a licence if you want to impound water in any watercourse or take more than 20 cubic metres (4,000 gallons) of water per day from a river or stream, reservoir, lake or pond, canal, spring, underground source, dock, channel, creek, bay, estuary, or arm of the sea.

Without licences, persistent over-abstraction or works that obstruct or impede the flow of water in a watercourse could lead to shortages in water supply, increased river pollution by reducing dilution of pollutants, damage to ecology and habitats or the loss of rivers for our recreation and enjoyment. By licensing, we can control the level of abstraction to protect water supplies and the environment.

At the end of 2021, there were 1,973 effective water resource licences:

Licence type	Total
Full abstraction licences	1,161
Groundwater investigation consents	8
Impoundment licences	723
Transfer licences	31
New Authorisation full abstraction licences	39
New Authorisation transfer licences	11

By the end of 2021 we completed 689 compliance assessment reports for water quality and water abstraction at 334 regulated sites in Wales.

Breach category	Water abstraction	Water quality
A - Assessed, and no evidence of non-compliance	138	163
C2 - A non-compliance which could have a significant environmental effect	4	18
C3 - A non-compliance which could have a minor environmental effect	11	168
C4 - A non-compliance which has no potential environmental effect	16	117
X - Action only	8	45
Permits with a CAR form	177	512

Case study: river pollution incident

In June 2018 Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW) caused a pollution incident that affected 9km of the river Clywedog in North Wales. DCWW illegally discharged crude settled sewage from the Five Fords wastewater treatment plant, resulting in the largest fish kill recorded in North Wales. Over 3,000 fish were killed, affecting species including brown trout, bullhead, lamprey, stone loach, salmon, parr, chub, eel, stickleback, perch, and minnow. Following this incident NRW worked closely with DCWW to restore the river.

In June 2021 at Llandudno Magistrates Court, DCWW pleaded guilty to causing the pollution incident and fined £180,000, as well as being ordered to cover £25,871 in related costs, totalling £205,871.

Agriculture

The dairy industry was the largest contributor to reported pollution incidents to surface water over the last three years.

Incident type	2020	2021	2022
Dairy	75	70	26
Unknown source	4	4	2
Beef	14	30	5
Other agricultural source	30	24	9
Sheep	11	8	6
Forestry	0	0	0
Arable	10	13	0
Non-agricultural source	5	0	0
Equine	5	6	3
Poultry	1	8	1
Fish farming	0	0	0
Pig	0	1	1
Horticulture	0	0	0
Total	155	164	53

Agriculture incidents with impact to land, water, and air.

Premises type	2020	2021	2022
Unknown	1	0	1
Anaerobic digestor	0	0	0
Arable	30	18	0
Beef	24	36	8
Dairy	86	78	30
Forestry	0	0	0
Household waste site	0	0	0
Livestock Markets	0	0	0
Horticulture	0	0	0
Other	2	0	1
Other agricultural source	73	61	18
Other Domestic	0	0	0
Other natural source	0	0	4
Other waste management	0	0	0
Pig	3	2	1
Poultry	2	11	1
Premise not Identified	4	4	1
Private dwellings	1	0	0
Recreation and sports	1	0	0
Road	1	0	0
Sheep	26	16	10
Stables/Equine	10	15	5
Storage and distribution	0	0	0
Water treatment works	0	0	0
Total	264	241	80

 

Marine regulation

The Welsh marine licensable area includes the Welsh inshore and Welsh offshore region. The Welsh inshore region extends seaward 12 nautical miles from Mean High-Water Springs (MHWS) to the territorial limit. The Welsh offshore region extends beyond the territorial limit to include all areas of the sea in the Welsh Zone.

A marine licence is required when any licensable activity as defined in section 66 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 is undertaken within the marine licensable area. Marine Licences are issued in different bandings (band 1, 2 and 3). Our Marine Licensing team also undertake some statutory functions as part of the post permission phase such as variations, discharge of conditions and monitoring report approval. They also provide Screening and Scoping Opinions under the Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) regulations 2007, as amended and give preapplication advice on sediment sample plans for certain applications.

In broad terms, a marine licence is required if one or more of the activities listed below are to be undertaken in the marine licensable area:

• Construction, alteration or improvement works (including works hanging/suspended over the marine licensable area and works beneath the seabed e.g., tunnels, bridges and piers)
• Scuttling vessels or floating containers
• Dredging
• Incineration of objects
• Deposit and use of explosives
• Harvesting or growing aquaculture (seaweed or shellfish)

There are several low risk and exempt activities. However, any deposit or removal of material or substance, using a vehicle or vessel or deposits or removals by hand are not marine licensable activities

At the end of 2021 we issued:

Permit/Consent/Authorisation	Total issued
Marine Licences Band 2 (4 months)	19
Marine Licences Band 1 (6 weeks)	15
Marine Licences Band 3 (no timeframe)	7
Screening/Scoping (6 weeks/90 days)	6
Variation 0 (NRW led) (no timeframe)	3
Variation 1 (admin) (21 days)	0
Variation 2 (complex) (4 months B1&2, no timeframe B3)	1
Variation 3 (routine) (8 weeks)	6
Discharge of conditions - Band 2 (6 weeks)	7
Discharge of conditions - Band 3 (no timescales)	12
Sample Plan - (4 weeks)	7
Monitoring approval (8 weeks)	1
Total	84

Radioactive substances regulation

NRW is the environmental regulator for both the nuclear and non-nuclear sectors in Wales. There are also other regulators who carry out compliance work in these sectors including the Office for Nuclear Regulator (ONR) and the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).

Nuclear

There are two nuclear licensed sites in Wales: Wylfa and Trawsfynydd. While no longer generating power, there is ongoing work required to decommission these sites. Together with the Environment Agency, we carry out compliance work to ensure operators are meeting their environmental obligations. In 2021, we completed compliance work at each site using remote inspection methods due to Covid-19 restrictions. We maintained regular contact with site operators, and we continued to undertake other routine compliance work by correspondence.

In 2021, the NRW permitting team completed two permit variations. Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd recently applied to the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to enter the voluntary Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process with their Small Modular Reactor design. GDA is led by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (safety and security) and the Environment Agency (environment). NRW will join the environmental assessments to establish acceptability of a generic design from a Wales perspective.

GDA contributes to a comprehensive approvals process involving a range of regulators. As GDA looks at the generic design, it does not involve identifying potential locations for the designs. Further site-specific permissions and assessments are required.

We have also been actively engaging with BEIS, the Office of Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency regarding Advanced Nuclear Technologies which could be deployed in England and Wales in the future and the potential regulatory implications of these advanced systems.

Non-nuclear

There are currently around 110 permits across 88 sites across Wales which use either open or sealed sources. These activities are listed under Schedule 23 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. Uses range from medical treatment and research to measurement and testing in industrial settings. These regulated radioactive substances activities are termed “non-nuclear” as they are not on nuclear licensed sites.

The total number of permits has decreased since last year due to the consolidation of multiple permits on the same site, rather than a real decrease in sites. In 2021, NRW determined a total of 12 permit applications, and two additional NRW-led permit variations.  The applications included eight variations, two new permits, one surrender and one transfer. Significant progress was also made updating older permits into the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 template.

NRW officers undertake compliance audits and inspections at facilities using, holding, or disposing radioactive substances which fall under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. Sites are inspected on a risk-based frequency depending on the type of operation.

Covid-19 restrictions heavily impacted our planned inspection work; however, we delivered an average of 31% of our planned inspections across Wales in 2021. Overall, compliance in the sector was good with no significant non-compliances identified.

To support the work of the medical sector during the pandemic, we made regulatory decisions to allow some flexibility in compliance with permit limits, provided that the risks to the environment and health were low. We also monitored the impact associated with the end of the EU exit transition period on industry in Wales.

We continued to work with user groups including the medical and industrial sectors and jointly with other UK regulators on UK wide projects.

We contacted all operators during the EU exit transition period and the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure they were meeting their environmental obligations. As restrictions have lifted, we are increasing our site inspections in order of priority.

Reservoir safety

As the enforcement authority for the Reservoirs Act 1975 in Wales, it is our duty to ensure that reservoir owners and operators comply with the minimum standards set by the law.

As of March 2022, there were 396 large, raised reservoirs registered in Wales. This is an increase of 25 reservoirs since last year which have been identified as reservoirs liable for registration.

For the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022:

• We recorded details for the appointment of 42 engineers to Government engineering panels
• We processed 70 supervising engineer appointments at high-risk reservoirs
• We received and processed 193 Supervising Engineers’ statements.
• We received 34 inspection reports for high-risk reservoirs. We used our enforcement powers to carry out an inspection at an orphan reservoir, and to serve notice requiring an inspection at another.
• We recorded 75 new safety measures required at 25 reservoirs, bringing the current total to 208 measures: 8% fewer than the average from the previous two years.
• There were 45 overdue safety measures including those at orphan reservoirs for which we are using our enforcement powers to implement. Enforcement notices have been served at four reservoirs requiring completion of these works.
• We have continued to review flood risk and provide risk designations. At the end of the period, we had confirmed 62% of reservoirs as high-risk reservoirs, 18% not high-risk and 20% remaining to be designated.

Our last Biennial Report to the Welsh Minister for 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2021 is available on our website.

Fly-tipping Action Wales

Case study

In 2020, bags of household waste were found fly tipped in the Newport Area, within the waste there was evidence relating to the owner of the waste. Our officers contacted the owner Mrs Rasa Knabikiene and invited her to attend a formal interview regarding the fly tipping of her waste but failed to attend. A notice was then served on her requiring her to attend interview and again she failed to attend. In December 2021 Mrs Knabikiene was prosecuted but failed to attend court and was found guilty in her absence, she was fined £440, we received costs of £558.06 and she was required to pay a victim surcharge of £44

In Sept 2021 Newport Council successfully prosecuted a pair of fly-tippers following a joint investigation with NRW and Gwent Police . They both received a fine of £400 and must pay costs back to the council for £1100. This followed covert surveillance footage obtained of fly-tipping on land in Newport and Cardiff, and through sharing intelligence a joint investigation progressed. As the suspects were using a vehicle on false plates, they couldn’t be traced so NRW issued a press release appealing to the public to identify the one suspect caught on camera. The public responded and provided a name, and soon after the second suspect was also identified. A joint interview then took place and although the suspects denied being involved, they later pleaded guilty in court. The press release to identify the suspect and the subsequent press release highlighting the prosecution had a massive reach including a story in the Daily Mail Online.

Tackling waste crime

Through additional funding from Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales has formed an initiative focused on tackling waste crime. This consists of a small virtual team of officers geographically dispersed across Wales that work to develop and test innovative approaches that can help to prevent and disrupt waste crime.

Working in partnership with the Local Authority, Police and others we have recently launched a pilot scheme involving the marking of waste tyres by garages in the Newport City area. The pilot aims to raise awareness amongst waste producers about their duty of care and reduce the likelihood of waste tyres being dumped in the area.

We are currently trialling the use of SMART Water on a large illegal deposit of tyres. The aim of the trial is to test is to assess whether forensic marking techniques can help deter further illegal deposits. We have also been reviewing exemptions registered for mechanically treating end of life tyres (T8) in Wales. This has resulted in over 40 exemptions being deregistered.

Another focus of our work has been around the use of technology. Last year we reported results of trials exploring the use of satellite imagery. The purpose of this work was to understand how satellite data might be used to support our response to waste crime now and in the future. Results showed that satellite data can be used effectively to help assess suspected illegal waste sites in some circumstances. The work has also led to the creation of a new GIS tool that can help Officers in NRW assess permit applications for spreading of waste to land.

We recognise that people and businesses in Wales can become vulnerable to exploitation by waste criminals. In response we have taken a proactive approach to communicating and warning about the risks certain activities pose, as well as providing practical steps that individuals and organisations can take to help protect themselves. In November 2021 we launched a new page on NRWs website aimed at advising landowners and commercial landlords of the steps they can take to reduce the risk of waste being abandoned on their land. This was accompanied by a press release and video warning about this issue based on a real-life case study.

We have also been active in trying to broaden the tools available to intervene against waste criminals. For example, we have a new procedure that will allow Officers to seize vehicles that are suspected to have been used to commit waste offences. A commercial partner has been contracted to support the activity, ensuring that vehicles can be recovered, stored securely, before being returned, sold, or destroyed.

Case study: Advice to businesses regarding waste crime

In 2021 our Tackling Waste Crime team provided advice to the public and commercial companies to help protect them from the activity of waste criminals. We provided new guidance to help commercial landlords protect themselves from waste criminals. Landowners and landlords are frequently targeted by criminals who rent industrial units under false pretences and then disappear leaving the buildings full of waste and, in many cases, structurally damaged. Landlords are not only left with costly cleaning and repair bills but also can be legally responsible for the waste and its removal. To help landlords avoid falling victim to waste criminals NRW has produced a film and a dedicated page on its website highlighting the problem and offering advice and guidance.

Another example is that we have provided advice to equestrian centres, stables, and horse owners who have been offered a “recycled” plastic material for use on their equestrian surfaces. Our investigations have shown that some of the material that has been offered as a cheap alternative is in fact waste and it has mixed plastics from a variety of sources, including cable sheathing and waste electricals mixed within it which may contaminate the land and poses a risk to horses and riders.

Enforcement

In 2021 we reviewed our Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Enforcement and Sanctions Guidance documents, and as a result we produced an updated Enforcement and Sanctions Policy (ESP) which makes how we tackle environmental crime in all its forms easier to understand and more accessible to the public. The revised ESP does not change our approach to enforcement. Principally, we will engage with operators, individuals, and businesses, to educate and enable compliance or prevent harm; to put the environment first and to integrate good environmental practices into normal working methods.

The ESP went through public consultation exercise where we received 26 responses to the consultation from a wide range of people and companies including representatives of Angling clubs, rivers trusts, woodland trusts, a community councillor and community groups, Charites, The Farmers Union of Wales, RSPB Cymru, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and several limited companies.

Overall, the respondents supported the new Enforcement and Sanctions Policy and wanted to see NRW take enforcement action against environmental crime, and in particular river pollution, illegal fishing, damage to nature and fly tipping. Many of the responses were concerned with our incident attendance and some responders whilst critical of NRW acknowledged that NRW is faced with a resource shortage and a “lack of boots on ground”

The information provided below shows our enforcement outcomes from 1 January 2021 until 31 December 2021. Several cases will have commenced before 2021 but were completed within the year. There will also be cases that were commenced during 2021 that are either still under investigation or in the court system, and these will be recorded in our 2022 report.

Fresh water and migratory fisheries enforcement  

The continued decline in the status of Welsh salmon and sea trout stocks remain a serious concern, The results from the latest assessment have shown that of the 23 principal salmon rivers in Wales, 21 (91%) are now categorised as being At Risk, and the remaining 2 (9%) are Probably at Risk. No rivers were categorised Not at Risk or Probably Not at Risk. In addition, sea trout stock continues to show worrying levels of decline. Wales has 33 main sea trout rivers, only 4 of these (12%) are deemed to be as Probably Not at Risk, whilst the remaining are either Probably at Risk (24%) or At Risk (64%). No rivers are deemed to be “Not at Risk”

In 2021 we had 331 Fisheries incidents reported to us, made up of 245 incidents of illegal fishing and 55 incidents of fish kills. We prosecuted 112 charges of illegal fishing and 40 Rod and Line charges. We also prosecuted two charges under the Theft Act 1968 for Rod and Line offences and there are a further four Theft Act charges still in progress at the end of the year. In addition, we provided Advice and Guidance in 41 cases and issued 18 warning letters and at the end of the year there were a total of 80 enforcement cases in progress.

Single Justice Procedure (fisheries)

Number of cases	11
Total fines	£2,180
Average fine	£198
Total costs awarded	£1,257
Average costs awarded	£114

Case study: fishery patrols

Over the 2021 Easter Bank Holiday weekend, acting on intelligence reports, we anticipated that there would be an increase in illegal fishing on our rivers, to act as a deterrent our enforcement officers were out and about patrolling rivers targeting for illegal fishing activity.

Our officers investigated offences resulting in four anglers on the River Tywi facing enforcement action for using worms as bait in contravention of byelaws. Other reported activities included netting and foul hooking and an illegal net was retrieved from the Rivers Nevern and Loughor.

Case study: fisheries offences

In January 2021 Brothers Carlos and Dimitri Davies of Brecon were spotted fishing out of season on the River Usk in Brecon by a local angler. The men were known not to be members of Brecon Angling Society who hold the fishing rights for this stretch of the river. The angler contacted an enforcement officer at NRW who, with the support of a police officer seconded to NRW, relayed the information to Dyfed Powys Police in Brecon. Officers were dispatched to the scene and subsequent enquires led to one of the men being detained within 30 minutes of the initial report and the identification of the other angler. On the 2 July 2021 Cardiff Magistrates' Court found both men guilty of the charges brought against them and they were fined a total of £264 each which included compensation, costs, and a victim surcharge order.

In April 2021 we received reports on our incident hotline that anglers were using a ‘cruel’ and illegal method of catching fish known as foul hooking on the Loughor Estuary. This means that the fish is caught with a hook to its body rather than its mouth. Our fisheries enforcement officers supported by Dyfed Powys Police conducted patrols in the area which resulted in enforcement action being taken against 18 individual fishermen.

Cockle fisheries enforcement

We received reports of 31 incidents of illegal cockling. We prosecuted four charges relating to illegal cockling.

Dee Estuary

Currently we have 54 full cockle licence holders on the Dee Estuary. The cockle season runs from 1 July to 31 December. However, in 2021 the season commenced on 1 June to allow for the removal of concentrated stocks of cockles in one bed to facilitate growth. During 2021, the total daily allowable catch per cockle fisherman was 500kg.

The Dee Estuary has shoreline in Wales and on the Wirral in England, so it is a cross border fishery, which is regulated by NRW. In 2021 we placed a greater emphasis on collaborative multi-agency working . We now carry out joint patrols with Welsh government Fisheries and IFCA for the English side of the Estuary . We implemented a new initiative which saw NRW enforcement officers patrolling with the North West Police joint underwater search and Marine Team on their boat. These patrols had a good level of success in deterring illegal activity and in 2022 the patrols will be expanded to check vessels for illegal taking of salmonids and other migratory fish.

In 2021 we spent 269 hours regulating the cockle fishery and 188 hours of out of hours and weekend enforcement work

Burry Inlet

The Burry Inlet shellfishery is open 12 months of the year. The licences run from 1 April to 30 March every year and there are currently 36 full time licence holders and two temporary short-term licences (the temporary licences change every year depending on stock levels, for example). In 2021 we spent 1355 hours regulating and enforcing on the Burry Inlet cockle fishery.

Civil sanctions

An enforcement undertaking is a type of civil sanction which is available to NRW in relation to several environmental offences as set out in the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act (RES Act) 2008. An enforcement undertaking is a legally binding agreement, which is entered into voluntarily by the offender, and is offered to the regulator when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence has been committed. For an enforcement undertaking to become an option for us as an alternative to a prosecution, we must have investigated the offence and have a realistic prospect of a successful prosecution to the criminal standard of proof, which is beyond reasonable doubt.

We did not receive any enforcement undertaking offers in 2021.

Case study: enforcement undertakings

We were contacted in late 2020 by e Cube Solutions with a voluntary enforcement undertaking. The purpose of an Enforcement Undertaking is to allow an offender to restore and remediate any environmental damage they have caused. Enforcement undertaking is a voluntary offering to the regulator which involves completing the enforcement undertaking form and submitting details of a sum of money which represents costs which have been avoided by non-compliance. If accepted by the regulator, this money is then awarded to an environmental project of the company’s choice.

eCube had failed to register as a packaging producer for the 2018/19 period and proposed to pay the equivalent of the registration fee, PRN obligation cost for the charity donation with a 30% uplift on this making the donation £1830. They also proposed to make a payment of £500 to cover our costs.

Before being able to accept this proposal we need to establish if they had been obligated prior to 2018/19. eCube provided the relevant information to show that they had previously not been obligated and provided evidence to show that they had registered a producer via a compliance scheme going forward. After discussions with legal we were happy to accept the financial offer however the proposed charity was not acceptable as it could not be guaranteed that the money would be spent on an environmental project within Wales.

We went back to the company to outline this and asked that the amend the enforcement undertaking to ensure that a project within Wales and preferably the area local to the where the company is based would be the beneficiary. eCube revised the enforcement undertaking with the charity donation being made to Friends of the Earth Cymru to support litter picks and beach clean activities. We accepted the enforcement undertaking in March 2021, and all payments were made by the end of the year.
 

Contravention Offence Legal Information Notification System (COLINS)

In 2021, NRW created 1,002 new cases, comprising of 936 offenders, with 1,373 separate enforcement charges. We took enforcement action against 355 companies and 601 individuals. At the end of 2021, we had 306 cases still listed as “legal in progress”.

The total number of enforcement cases we dealt with increased by 40% from 2020.

Year	Cases	Offenders	Charges	Companies	Individuals
2021	1,002	956	1,373	355	601
2020	604	620	936	241	379
2019	638	623	941	258	365

 

There were four cases where we took no further action, and three cases where we offered no evidence

We provided formal advice and guidance in 348 cases. We issued 479 warnings, served 38 enforcement notices that were complied with and issued one fixed penalty notice.

We issued 41 formal cautions and prosecuted 54 separate charges, ten of which were proved in the absence of the defendants.

In 2021 our court fines from our successful prosecutions increased tenfold from £25,437 in 2020 to £262,414. This can be accounted for by one large court fine of £180,000 and several fines in the £20k range. We received £131,027 in costs awarded by the courts however the amount of court time available for was still reduced due to delays caused by Covid

2021 prosecutions

These are the cases that resulted in a prosecution in 2021. Many of these cases started in previous years, and in some cases, we prosecute more than one charge.

Date	Offender Name	Company	Offence	Charge	Fines	Costs
26-Jan-21	Lee Wyn Roberts	No	Waste	Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016	£   500	£   2,000
17-Mar-21	Andrew Paul Thomas	No	Waste	Environmental Protection Act 1990	None Suspended Sentence
08-Apr-21	Daniel McNeil	No	Waste	Control of Pollution (amendment) Act 1989	None Suspended Sentence	£   1,500
20-Apr-21	Philip Stephen Downsby Garratt	No	Waste	Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016	£  1,000	£   1,650
19-May-21	Tower Regeneration Ltd	Yes	Water Quality	Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016	£  3,000	£  12,849
17-Jun-21	Johnny Doran	No	Fly Tipping	Environmental Protection Act 1990	£  1,400	£    300
18-Jun-21	Andrew Janes	No	Waste	Environmental Protection Act 1990	£  1,110	£    950
23-Jun-21	DCWW	Yes	Water Quality	Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016	£180,000	£  25,701
02-Jul-21	Carlos Davies	No	Rod and Line	Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975	£   100	£    100
25-Jun -21	DBC Site Services Ltd	Yes	Waste	Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016	POCA
25-Jun -21	Eurid Huw Leyshon	Yes	Waste	Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016	POCA
21-Jul-21	David Kevin Owen	No	Waste	Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016	£150	£   2,500
21-Jul-21	Tower Regeneration Ltd	Yes	Water Quality	Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010	£ 13,330	£  26,791
26-Aug-21	TE and M Francis and Son Ltd	Yes	Water Quality	Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016	£  2,500	£    350
17-Sep-21	Christian Craig Astill	No	Waste	Environmental Protection Act 1990	£   200	£   3,000
22-Sep-21	V J Thomas & Sons Partnership (Edward Thomas)	Yes	Water Quality	Water Resources (Control of Pollution) (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) (Wales) Regulations 2010	£  2,100	£   3,847
19-Oct-21	Damian Burchall	No	Rod and Line	Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975	£   220	£     98
19-Oct-21	Keiran Price	No	Rod and Line	Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975	£   220	£     98
19-Oct-21	Nicky Dan Lee Edwards	No	Rod and Line	Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975	£   220	£     9
17-Nov-21	Par Contractors Ltd	Yes	Waste	Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016	£  8,000.	£   9,987
19-Nov-21	Dennis Connor	Yes	Waste	Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016	POCA	n/a
23-Nov-21	Philip Johns	No	Waste	Environmental Protection Act 1990	£  2,160	£   6,872
24-Nov-21	Aaron Hern	No	Rod and Line	Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975	£    40	£    127
24-Nov-21	Mathew Stephen Guilliford	No	Rod and Line	Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975	£    80	£    127
07-Dec-21	Rasa Knabikiene	No	Fly Tipping	Environment Act 1995	£   440	£    558
10-Dec-21	Daniel Richard Tamplin	No	Waste	Environmental Protection Act 1990	Suspended Sentence	£   2,677
14-Dec-21	David Williams	No	Waste	Environmental Protection Act 1990	£   250	£   2,500
14-Dec-21	Dewi Jones	No	Water Quality	Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016	£   666	£  12,467
16-Dec-21	Jack Mason Raymon	No	Rod and Line	Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975	£   440	£    127
16-Dec-21	Jeremy McKenny	No	Rod and Line	Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975	£    80	£    127
16-Dec-21	Maurice Loaring	No	Rod and Line	Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975	£   240	£    127
16-Dec-21	Wayne Jenkins	No	Rod and Line	Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975	£   440	£    127

The Code for Crown Prosecutors

The Code for Crown Prosecutors requires us to apply for compensation and ancillary orders, such as anti-social behaviour orders and confiscation orders, in all appropriate cases. Listed below are the ancillary orders that a court may make following a conviction:

Disqualification of directors

No orders have been made by the court

Confiscation of assets - Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme-ARIS)

NRW is what is known as a Proceeds of Crime Act (PoCA) enabled body, this means that we are a public body directly involved as an investigator, prosecutor and enforcement authority and as such we are allowed to make an application at the crown court for a confiscation order. The expression ‘confiscation order’ is a misnomer as the order itself does not confiscate any property but, instead, requires the defendant to pay over a sum of money. This sum is termed the ‘recoverable amount’. This will be either (a) the full amount of what the court has found to be his benefit from his criminal conduct or (b) the value of the defendant’s remaining assets called the ‘available amount’. Confiscation is only available upon conviction of the defendant after plea or trial.

All our asset recovery confiscation receipts are remitted directly from the courts to the Home Office which pays us back up to 37.5% of the recovered sum. The Government immediately retain 50%. The payment is made in the financial quarter following the date of the receipt of the recovered funds. E.g., money paid into court funds during January, February, March of 2015 (being quarter four of the financial year) are not in fact received by the designated body, NRW, until the end of quarter one of the following financial year, i.e., June 2015.The remaining 12.5% share is received by the courts service for enforcement purposes.

We are encouraged to re-invest incentive monies in asset recovery activity or increasing financial investigation capacity. The Home Office requires agencies to account for their spending in this area. Any monies not spent are required to be returned to the Home Office

Tax Year 20-21

	Offender Name	Criminal benefit figure	Amount available	Paid	Type
1	Gaughan	£ 609,4340	£ 114,686	No	Compensation
2	Rees	£1,405,933	£66,841	Yes	Confiscation
3	Leyshon	£ 1,296,197	£ 108,313	No	Confiscation
4	Connor	£1,121,554	£177,908	No	Confiscation
5	DBC Site Services 2005	£1,121,554	£65,411	No	Confiscation

Anti-social behaviour orders

• No orders have been made by the court

Forfeiture of equipment used to commit the offence

• No orders have been made by the court

Disqualification from driving

• 0

Compensation other than PoCA

• 0

Vehicle seizure

• None

Remediation – under the Environmental Permitting Regulations

• 0

Unpaid work

• Three cases totalling 400 hours

Community orders and curfews

• Two cases with a 12-month community order
• One case with a 14-week community order
• One case with a 14-week curfew order

Restoration Order under Wildlife and Countryside Act 1980

• 0

Conditional discharge

• 0