Commercial Property e-Brief - Companies face new environmental liability obligations

Phil Gregory, commercial property partner

Environmental liability is a growing area of concern for business, especially as many do not understand the damage that their organisation could be responsible for and what that can mean in relation to potential liabilities and costs.

Now due to a significant change in existing regulations in England many companies could find themselves liable for environmental damage that they were previously exempt from.

The Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations came into force on March 1 in implementation of the European Directive on Environmental Liability.

The regulations are an attempt to speed up the process whereby the relevant authorities can require environmental damage to be remediated without the need for formal prosecutions, which can be time consuming and costly. 

All economic activities - including all types of business and the public sector - are subject to the regulations and they are enforceable against the person or company who controls or is in charge of an activity. They do not cover any domestic or recreational activities.

Environmental damage for the purposes of the regulations is deemed to include damage to water, land, sites of specific interest and/or protected species or natural habitats. There are now also specific obligations to take all practical steps to prevent - and remedy - environmental damage and to notify authorities when such damage occurs or where there is an imminent risk of it occurring.   

This is a brief overview of the Regulation and if you wish to discuss this in further detail please contact Phil Gregory, Partner in Gordons commercial property department on 0113 227 0235 or email phil.gregory@gordonsllp.com.

Published: 19th June 2009

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