The Chemical Usage Survey was undertaken by the Authority in 2012. This was a follow up survey to the Chemical Usage Survey carried out in 2007. The aim of the 2007 survey was to produce a profile of chemical usage in Irish workplaces which could then be used by the Health and Safety Authority to...

The European Commission’s Seville-based IPPC bureau has released the second draft of revised EU guidance on best available techniques (BAT) to reduce pollution from pig and poultry installations. The new draft specifies BAT techniques and their associated emission levels (AELs) from which limit values will be derived in pollution permits determined by national authorities, taking into account local conditions....

European Union legislation has established more than 130 separate environmental targets and objectives to be met between 2010 and 2050. Together, these can provide useful milestones supporting Europe’s transition towards a ‘green economy’, according to a report published by the European Environment Agency (EEA). The ‘green economy’ has emerged as a priority in policy debate...

The European Commission has approved funding for 248 new projects under the LIFE+ programme, the European Union’s environment fund. The projects have been submitted by beneficiaries in 26 Member States and cover actions in the fields of nature conservation, climate change, environmental policy and information and communication on environmental issues across all 27 Member States....

The LIFE+ Information and Communication project RESTORE (LIFE09 INF/UK/000032) has published a new guide to river restoration called Rivers by Design. The guide is aimed at planners, developers, architects and landscape architects and seeks to show them how to maximise the benefits of river restoration in development projects. It explains the context and need for river restoration, illustrating how...

The public consultation for Ireland’s first National Implementation Report under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (known as the Aarhus Convention) was launched on 7 June 2013.  The Aarhus Convention lays down a set of basic rules...

The WFD has been the EU’s main water policy instrument for setting anti-pollution strategies, including measures progressively to reduce or phase out emissions of chemicals listed as priority substances. EQS determine the maximum concentration of a particular pollutant or group of pollutants in water, sediment (any material which is carried by water and settles to...

Mr. Phil Hogan T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, has announced that he has signed regulations to provide for grant assistance for householders whose septic tanks are deemed to require remediation following an inspection under the EPA’s National Inspection Plan. The grants scheme will apply only where a domestic waste water treatment...

FP7 attaches great importance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The aim for FP7 is to allocate at least an indicative 15% of the total EU funding of roughly €50 billion for 2007–13 to SMEs. SMEs have a role in a range of environmental research topics including water recovery/recycling, water and wastewater treatment, waste management...

The UN Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate initiative announced the release of its Corporate Water Disclosure Guidelines providing a common approach to corporate water disclosure. Corporate water disclosure involves Collecting data on the current state of a company’s water management Assessing the implications of this information for the business, developing a strategic response Reporting this information...