The
Environment Agency - Environmental protection
About
the Environment Agency
The
Environment Agency are the leading public body for protecting and
improving the environment in England and Wales. It's their job to
make sure that air, land and water are looked after by everyone
in today's society, so that tomorrow's generations inherit a cleaner,
healthier world. They are the biggest organisation protecting and
improving the environment in England and Wales.
The
Environment Agency have around 12,000 members of staff and a budget
of almost £900 million. They were set up under the Environment
Act 1995 and given certain duties and powers. They are a public
body - around sixty per cent of our funding comes from Government,
and most of the rest comes from various charges schemes. They are
independent, but they work closely with Government to get the best
possible results for the environment.
Although
The Environment Agency work across England and Wales, they have
regional offices working closely with other regional bodies to develop
the right solutions for local environments. They also have area
offices working with local authorities and others to tackle the
immediate environmental issues in your area.
The
Environment Agency's work includes:
- Protecting
people from flood - last year we increased flood protection to
around 30,000 properties by building or improving our flood defences
- Working
with industry to protect the environment and human health - since
1990 we have reduced the amount of sulphur dioxide released into
the air by 75 per cent. Sulphur dioxide can create acid rain and
damage people's health.
- Concentrating
our effort on higher risk businesses - those that run potentially
hazardous operations, or whose performance just isn't coming up
to scratch
- Helping
business use resources more efficiently - over half of the waste
produced by business we regulate is not being put to other uses,
including recycling and producing energy.
- Taking
action against those who don't take their environmental responsibilities
seriously - every year we bring hundreds of offenders to justice,
leading to millions of pounds of fines.
- Looking
after wildlife - we complete around 400 projects every year to
improve the places threatened species live. Over the last 25 years
there has been a six-fold increase in the places otters can be
found in England
- Helping
the people get the most out of their environment, including boaters
and anglers. We sell over a million rod licences a year, many
to young people coming into the sport for the first time. All
the money we raise goes straight back into improving the places
people fish.
- Working
with farmers to build their role as guardians of the environment,
tackling pollution we cannot see as well as adding to the beauty
of the countryside.
- Helping
to improve the quality of inner city areas and parks by restoring
rivers and lakes.
- Influencing
and working with Government, industry and local authorities to
make the environment a priority.
If
you have a specific query, check their A-Z of environmental services
to find the answers to common queries. To find out more about what
they do, read their case studies to see practical examples of our
work.
To
contact The Environment Agency directly by phone use the following
numbers:
General
Enquiries: 08708 506 506 (Mon-Fri 8-6)
Incident
hotline: 0800 807060 (Freephone* 24 Hour)
(To
report an environmental incident)
Hazardous
Waste Registration number: 08708 502 858 (Mon-Fri 9-5)
(Any
enquiries regarding Hazardous Waste Registration)
Agricultural
Waste Registration: 0845 603 3113 (Mon-Fri 8-6)
(Any
enquiries regarding Agricultural Waste Registration)
Floodline:
0845 988 1188 (24 Hour)
(Information
about flooding)
Register
your boat: Our craft registration team will be able to help you
register your boat.
Enquiries
(non-UK calls): 00 44 1709 389 201 (Mon-Fri 8-6)
For
the hard of hearing a minicom service is also available by calling
08702 422 549.
To
write to The Environment Agency use:
National
Customer Contact Centre,
PO Box 544,
Rotherham
S60 1BY
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