Jill Pattison and Liz Davidson met with the Executive Committee
in March to discuss developments in the Load Based Licensing
(LBL) scheme as detailed below.
Load Reduction Agreements (LRAs), established under the Protection
of the Environment (General) Regulation 1998, are
a key economic incentive under the LBL scheme by providing
immediate fee reductions for licensees willing to commit
to future pollution load reductions.
In developing detailed procedures to assist licensees wanting
to enter LRAs it has become clear to the EPA that some amendments
to the detail of the Regulation are required. Amendments
include: extension of the maximum length of agreements from
three years to four years; removal of the interim reporting
requirements; addition of a financial assurances option;
replacement of the annual agreed goals with annual agreed
load limits; and reduction of repayment requirements.
As the amendments are minor in nature, a full consultation
program is not proposed. However the EPA would welcome any
comments on the proposed amendments.
