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<p>The Environment Agency (EA) is the regulator for onshore gas operations in England.
It requires operators to obtain environmental permits which contain conditions that
ensure risks are properly managed and will not allow companies to start work unless
they can demonstrate how they will provide a high level of protection for people and
the environment. The EA will monitor compliance with permits and take enforcement
action if it believes permit conditions have been breached.</p><p>The EA undertakes
inspections based on its assessment of the risks presented by a particular site. Often
the site operator is responsible for environmental monitoring, which the EA then examines
to ensure that they are abiding by their permit conditions. In some cases, depending
on the risks presented by a site, the EA may undertake extra monitoring itself.</p><p>The
environmental permits require operators to monitor the emissions from their activities
and assess their environmental impact. They do this in order to demonstrate to the
EA that pollution is minimised and to comply with the limits specified in their permit.
The monitoring must be carried out to recognised standards by competent personnel.
The EA recommends that operators do this through its Monitoring Certification Scheme
(MCERTS). Operators can choose to use an alternative certified monitoring standard,
as long as it is equivalent to the MCERTS standard.</p><p>MCERTS is the Environment
Agency’s Monitoring Certification Scheme. It provides the framework for businesses
to meet EA’s quality requirements. If operators comply with MCERTS, the EA can have
confidence in the monitoring of emissions to the environment.</p><p>The EA will adopt
a compliance assessment plan for each site that sets out how it will measure the operator’s
compliance and ensure that environmental risks are properly managed. This may include
a variety of methods such as audit, site inspections, check monitoring, sampling,
and reviewing operator records and procedures.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, DECC officials
are currently developing further measures to provide independent evidence directly
to the public about the robustness of the existing regulatory regime, as announced
in the Autumn Statement.</p>
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