The Environment Agency (EA) has published guidance on importing and exporting waste and non-waste textiles, setting out how businesses should classify textiles and comply with the relevant shipment controls. The guidance states that textiles are waste if they are discarded, intended to be discarded, required to be discarded or can no longer be used for their original purpose. Textiles are non-waste only where they are suitable for direct reuse. It applies to clothing, footwear, accessories, household textiles, workwear and technical textiles. Businesses exporting textiles must sort items, remove contamination and non-textile materials, keep records of assessment and sorting processes, and ensure shipments meet destination country requirements. Waste textile exports must be accurately described and assigned the correct Basel Convention code. The guidance also outlines requirements for classifying waste shipments, including the use of code B3030 for certain textile wastes and reminds businesses to comply with applicable import, export and waste management rules.

The Environment Agency (EA) has  published guidance explaining how water companies in England and Wales must submit an incident action plan following a dry day spill, setting out the information required and the conditions for acceptance. The EA requires companies to use an online service and to provide a clear summary of the incident, its primary root cause, the work needed to prevent recurrence or restore compliance, delivery dates, estimated costs where known, and details of measures taken to rectify, limit or prevent environmental pollution, together with reference information such as the National Incident Recording System number, the incident date if known, and the site’s unique identifier. The guidance requires each plan to include at least one action with a completion date within the calendar year of submission and at least one action for each subsequent year covered by the plan, and states that the EA may reject plans that do not include an action due for completion within the year of submission.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published guidance for businesses in England on managing septic tank sludge and other waste from non-mains domestic sewage systems. These systems include septic tanks, small sewage treatment plants, separator toilets, cesspools, chemical toilets, and portable sanitary facilities. The document provides guidance on managing separator toilet waste, and storing, treating, assessing, and classifying sludge. It also outlines the requirements for spreading residual septic tank sludge on agricultural land in accordance with the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989, SI 1989/1263.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published guidance on its natural flood management (NFM) heat maps, which are intended to help identify potential project opportunities under the flood and coastal erosion risk management investment programme. The guidance explains how to access the heat maps, outlines the methodology used to develop them and sets out how they should be used. The maps are available via the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Data Services Platform and are based on the EA’s simplified national-scale methodology for estimating the benefits of NFM. The guidance notes that the maps do not take account of local features such as pumped catchments, washlands, large reservoirs, roads or other local infrastructure. Users are therefore expected to apply local knowledge to determine whether proposed measures are likely to operate effectively in the relevant context. The EA plans to refine the maps over time, including by screening out areas where NFM would be unlikely to be effective due to local features and by incorporating local NFM opportunity mapping.

The Environmental Agency (EA) has published guidance on the performance standard for rapid measurement techniques for the chemical testing of soil. The standard sets out the performance criteria for rapid measurement techniques (RMTs) used for the chemical testing of soil. It is intended for manufacturers of RMTs for the chemical testing of soil and test laboratories that evaluate equipment on behalf of manufacturers to determine whether it complies with the required standard.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published guidance for operators, test laboratories, and equipment suppliers on the quality assurance procedures for continuous emissions monitoring systems. The document supports the application of EN 14181, Stationary source emissions – quality assurance of automated measuring systems.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published guidance on how to report non-compliance with the Simpler Recycling rules. The guidance outlines the process for reporting workplaces, private waste collectors, or other businesses responsible for arranging workplace waste collection that fail to separate or collect recyclable waste in accordance with the rules. Reports can be submitted through an online form and will be reviewed by the EA's national Simpler Recycling team.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published guidance setting out the conditions operators must meet to surrender non-nuclear radioactive substances activity permits in England, implementing existing requirements under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations (EPR) 2016. Operators must satisfy two statutory surrender tests: (1) demonstrating that necessary measures were taken to avoid pollution risk from the regulated facility and (2) that the site has been returned to a satisfactory state. Evidence may include records of radioactive material removal, radiological monitoring surveys and remediation documentation. The EA will apply a graded approach in determining surrender applications.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published guidance to assist reservoir owners and operators in safely managing, operating, and maintaining large raised reservoirs in England.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published guidance on transferring abstraction or impounding licences using form WR165. The guidance specifies that temporary abstraction licences cannot be transferred and sets out a minimum five-week notice period for transfers taking effect on a specified date. New licence holders must demonstrate a right of access to the abstraction point for at least 12 months or for the remainder of the licence period, whichever is shorter. The transfer process also requires authorisation letters from both the existing and prospective licence holders. Existing licence holders will remain responsible for complying with licence conditions and paying applicable fees until the EA formally transfers the licence to the new holder.

The Environmental Agency (EA) has published a report on the indicative catchment statistics for nutrient pollution, providing catchment-scale source apportionment and estimated diffuse sector reductions required to achieve water quality targets in protected areas. This report supports a general understanding of catchments and aims to assist those designing or co-ordinating nutrient mitigation schemes, working on Diffuse Water Pollution Plans, and working on site restoration.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published a significant update to its national flood and coastal erosion risk assessment for England. The new data, incorporating improved modelling techniques and the latest UK climate projections, reveals that 6.3 million properties are currently at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, or surface water. This represents a substantial increase in the assessed risk, particularly for surface water flooding, which now affects 4.6 million properties. The updated National Coastal Erosion Risk Map indicates that coastal erosion risk is expected to impact 3,500 properties by 2055, rising to approximately 10,100 by the end of the century. These assessments will inform future flood resilience planning and investment strategies.