Explained: Why was Waterford's 2023 record on NEPs unsatisfactory?
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Water, air and noise enforcement in Waterford was “unsatisfactory” in 2023, according to a new EPA report.
The Local Authority Environmental Enforcement Performance Report found that Waterford City and County Council failed to achieve a strong or excellent score in 10 or more of the 20 National Enforcement Priorities (NEPs) examined by the EPA.
Waterford achieved nine strong or excellent scores, which was up from three in 2022.
The LA was one of six councils to fail the audit alongside Westmeath, Wexford, Sligo, Galway City and Kilkenny.
The Waterford News and Star contacted Waterford City and County Council for comment, but none was available at the time of publication.
NEP stands for National Enforcement Priority.
According to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), local authorities are responsible for most of the enforcement of environmental legislation.
The EPA supervises local authorities’ performance and assesses them under 20 NEPs, and generates an annual report.
Those NEPs fall under four themes, waste, water, air and noise and governance processes.
Those NEPs are scored on a four-point scale: Excellent, Strong, Moderate and Limited.
The Local Authority was strongest on air and noise enforcement and the RMCEI plan: NEPs.
Waterford achieved a score of excellent or strong on nine NEPs, which were:
-Illegal waste activities and multi-agency sites/operators of concern (Strong)
-End-of-life vehicles and metals (Strong)
-Household and commercial waste (Strong)
-Solid fuels (Strong)
-Air quality monitoring and data use (Strong)
-Ongoing air and noise enforcement work (Excellent)
-RMCEI Plan: Resource planning (Strong)
-Environmental complaint handling (Strong)
-RMCEI Plan: NEPs (Excellent)
Waterford needed to score ten or more excellent or strong. The Local Authority was weakest on pressures from agriculture.
Overall, Waterford scored moderate or limited on 11 NEPs, which were:
-Demolition and construction waste (Moderate)
-Producer responsibility initiatives and local priorities (Moderate)
-Pressures from agriculture (Farm Yards) slurry/ soiled water collection and storage (Limited)
-Pressures from agriculture (Farmland) slurry and fertiliser spreading (Limited)
-Domestic wastewater treatment systems/ septic tanks (Moderate)
-Discharge licences/ misconnections (Moderate)
-Local priorities and water quality monitoring (Moderate)
-Environmental Noise Directive (ENDs) (Limited) Air and noise controls, including planning (Moderate)
- RMCEI Outcomes (Moderate)
-RMCEI plan: Review and reporting (Moderate)
Commenting on the findings of the report, Dr Tom Ryan, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement, said:
“The effective enforcement of environmental law is essential to identify polluters and non-compliant operators and to hold them to account. Local authority leadership is critical in delivering better environmental outcomes through the prioritisation of environmental enforcement and the appropriate allocation of resources.”
