The Environment Act 1995 established the Environment Agency (EA) in England and Wales and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in Scotland and transferred responsibilities to these agencies from a number of bodies. These functions were originally conferred by previous legislation. The EA assumed various responsibilities of the National Rivers Authority (NRA), the waste regulation and disposal authorities and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution (HMIP). SEPA assumed various functions of the river purification authorities, the waste regulation and disposal authorities, local authorities and Her Majesty's Industrial Pollution Inspectorate (HMIPI). The EA and SEPA were formed on 1st April 1996 and at the same time, the Environment and Heritage Service was established in Northern Ireland with similar responsibilities.

The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 is a consolidation statute, bringing together the provisions of previous merchant shipping legislation. Part VI of the Act deals with oil and other pollution from ships. The Act provides powers to introduce regulations implementing provisions of international treaties (in particular MARPOL 73/78), to regulate ship-to-ship transfers of potentially polluting material, to require harbour authorities to provide waste reception facilities and prepare waste management plans and to control the discharge from a ship of 'oil or any mixture containing oil.'  A number of Regulations has been issued under the powers granted by the Act. The competent authority for the enforcement of the 1995 Act is the DETR in England and Wales, the Scottish Executive in Scotland and the Northern Ireland Office in Northern Ireland.

The 1995 Act has been amended by the Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997 which provides powers to the Secretary of State to establish temporary exclusion zones for stricken vessels where there is a danger of significant pollution of UK waters. The Act also places a responsibility on port and harbour authorities to provide adequate waste reception facilities and prepare waste management plans as a means of pollution control. This responsibility was made statutory by the Merchant Shipping (Port Waste Reception Facilities) Regulations 1997 which came into force in January 1998. These Regulations also revoke and replace earlier legislation on port waste reception facilities. Port and harbour authorities also now have a statutory responsibility to prepare oil spill contingency plans provided they meet certain criteria, one of which being any port or harbour authority within an area of significant environmental sensitivity. This provision was made in this Act and brought into effect by the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention) Regulations in May 1998.

The Act also increased the maximum fine which can be imposed by magistrates (and their equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland) for illegal oil pollution from ,50,000 to ,250,000. This was brought into force by the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution)

The competent authority for the enforcement of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and Maritime Security Act 1997 is the DETR in England and Wales, the Scottish Executive in Scotland and the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland.

This Act provides for the regulation of the keeping and use of radioactive material on premises and for the disposal and accumulation of radioactive waste. The competent authorities under the Act are the Environment Agency in England and Wales, SEPA in Scotland and the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland. These authorities have responsibilities for all of the above duties at hospitals and research and industrial establishments. However, at the major nuclear installations (i.e. Sellafield and Dounreay), these bodies are only responsible for the disposal of radioactive waste to the environment. Discharges of radioactivity into the environment are controlled by authorisations with limits on total emissions and composition of the discharge. The Environment Agency, SEPA and Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland are responsible for environmental monitoring of radioactivity.

This Act is the key piece of legislation governing discharges to surface waters from non-prescribed processes under Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) (see Environmental Protection Act 1990) in England and Wales. In Scotland, the powers to consent discharges have their basis in the Control of Pollution Act 1974. In Northern Ireland, these powers were granted under the The Water Act (Northern Ireland) 1972.

The Water Resources Act consolidated much of the legislation governing water pollution which was previously contained in, for example, the Water Act 1989 and the Control of Pollution Act 1974. Some of the main provisions relevant to water quality in estuaries and coastal waters are listed below.

• Definition of controlled waters
• Water Protection Zones and Nitrate Sensitive Areas
• Offences of Polluting Controlled Waters
• Discharge Consents
• Abstraction licences

Details of provisions

This Act introduced two new pollution control systems:

1. Integrated Pollution Control (IPC);
2. Local Authority Air Pollution Control (LAAPC).

The most important system with respect to water quality in the marine environment is IPC.

Integrated Pollution Control is intended to promote a more integrated approach to environmental protection by considering releases to all three environmental compartments (air, water and land) together. An IPC authorisation, therefore, replaces any existing consents covering releases to these media. Discharges to sewer will additionally require a trade effluent consent from the appropriate sewerage undertaker. IPC initially applies to releases from the >most polluting industrial processes= (as defined by the Secretary of State) and is designed to tighten pollution control requirements by introducing a number of new measures. These include:

• releases of the most polluting (prescribed) substances must be prevented or, where this is not possible, minimised and rendered harmless by applying Best Available Techniques Not Entailing Excessive Costs (BATNEEC);
• for processes resulting in releases to more than one environmental medium, the Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) has to be identified in order to minimise the impact of the process on the environment as a whole;
• one regulatory authority (the Environment Agency in England and Wales, SEPA in Scotland) issues an authorisation for discharges to all three media (air, water and land) after consultation with other relevant environment authorities (a trade effluent consent will still be required from the appropriate sewerage undertaker);
• the 'polluter pays principle' will be applied, allowing the environment agencies to recover from industry the costs associated with administering the IPC system;
• public participation is significantly greater than in previous pollution control schemes;
• self-monitoring is required in authorisations and the results recorded in a public register; and
• tougher enforcement measures are available to the environment agencies.

The IPC systems are limited in application to Great Britain. A comparable system of industrial pollution control has been introduced in Northern Ireland under Regulations introduced in 1998. The competent authority is the Environment and Heritage Service.

The UK Government is proposing to modify the system of IPC in the light of the EC Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) by the introduction of a new Act of Parliament and associated regulations.

The Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 Part II provides controls for the disposal of waste at sea (as opposed to discharge into the sea via pipelines) under a system of licences. Certain other activities resulting in the deliberate deposit of articles or substances in the sea below the mean high water spring mark also require a licence under this legislation. This includes certain construction projects or laying of pipelines. The types of wastes involved can vary from the disposal of dredged material and sewage sludge to the use of tracers and biocides and burials at sea. The main types of wastes for which licences are issued are:

• minestone (colliery wastes);
• sewage sludge;
• dredged material; and
• offshore installations (i.e. oil rigs)

This legislation applies to the UK Continental Shelf (as defined by the Continental Shelf Act 1964 (as amended)) and beyond that if the waste is loaded in the UK or is deposited from a British registered vessel. Licences for these activities are issued by MAFF in England and Wales, the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department (SERAD) in Scotland and the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland.

The former water authorities were responsible for issuing consents for discharges of trade and sewage effluent. They also had a duty to review consents and conditions from time to time and could revoke the consent if it was reasonable to do so or modify the conditions if pollution caused by the discharge was 'injurious to fauna and flora'.

Under COPA, a person is guilty of an offence if he causes, or knowingly permits:

• any poisonous, noxious or polluting matter to enter any stream or controlled waters;
• any matter to enter a stream so as to impede the proper flow of water within the stream in a manner leading or likely to lead to a substantial aggravation of pollution;
• any solid waste matter to enter a stream or restricted water.

The Water Resources Act 1991 largely replaced COPA. The aforementioned responsibilites are now discharged by the Environment Agency in England and Wales and SEPA in Scotland.

Under this Act, the Environment and Heritage Service is responsible for protecting fresh and tidal waters, principally through the application of consents for discharges to controlled waters.

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