The Environment Agency (EA) has published the response to its April 2025 consultation on proposed one-off increases to regulatory charges under the Environmental Permitting and Abstraction Licensing Charging Scheme 2022 and the Waste (Miscellaneous) Charging Scheme 2018. Following the consultation, the EA has published updated charging schemes, with revised charges taking effect from 1 August 2025. Key changes include: (1) the exemption of medium combustion plant installations from cost increases; (2) a 7.5% increase in charges for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and waste batteries and accumulators for the 2026 compliance period; and (3) the exemption of sheep dip landspreading permits from the increases.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published the response to its November 2024 consultation on updating the drought response framework for England. Based on stakeholder feedback, the EA intends to refine drought definitions, include sector-specific details, clarify organisational roles, strengthen references to heatwave impacts, and update the recovery process section, among other changes. The EA will publish the final updated framework in Spring 2025.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published the response to its December 2024 consultation on updates to the guideline that water companies in England must follow when preparing and publishing their statutory drought management plans by 2027. Key changes include: (1) highlighting all relevant ‘should’ requirements in bold; (2) rewriting section 4.2.2 on further demand reduction actions, clarifying that the EA will work with water companies to improve this area in the future; (3) adding text in section 4.3 on applying for a drought permit or order, requesting water companies to include a work programme for pending environmental work in both their draft and final plans; and (4) introducing a new paragraph on water supplies for firefighting, as provided by the National Fire Chiefs Council, to section 9.4. Several parts of the guideline have also been revised and reorganised to enhance readability. Water companies will begin consulting on their draft plans in autumn or winter 2025.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published the response to its April 2025 consultation on a new levy for certain water discharge activities conducted by water companies in England. The EA confirmed that it will apply a 40% reduction to the total levy for 2025–26 during the transition to its full enforcement operating model. From 1 April 2026, the EA will seek to recover its full yearly costs—estimated at £20.93m—through the levy. The levy, enabled by the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, will be calculated based on the number, type and volume of permitted discharges operated by sewerage undertakers.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published a review on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) additives. PVC is blended with additives to confer various chemical and mechanical properties. Further information on these additives will allow the EA to understand their potential risk to the environment and human health. The report identifies which PVC additives are likely to be relevant to the UK market and prioritises them based on readily available information. Of the 27 substances flagged as the highest priority, only three are not currently under regulatory scrutiny.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published a summary of responses to its January 2025 consultation on proposed amendments to its enforcement and sanctions policy to implement civil sanctions under the Environment Act 2021 (EA 2021). In response to stakeholder feedback, the EA has published 'Annex 4: Environment Act 2021 – the Environment Agency's approach to applying civil sanctions and accepting enforcement undertakings', which outlines how the EA will exercise its new civil sanction powers, particularly in relation to the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/1332. The EA has also updated its main enforcement and sanctions policy to incorporate the new Annex 4.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published a summary of responses to its consultation on proposed amendments to standard rules permits to implement the new decarbonisation readiness (DR) requirements under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (EPR 2016), SI 2016/1154.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published a summary of responses to its standard rules (SR) permits consultation 25. This consultation sought views from various stakeholders on the EA’s proposals to change the SR permits for the non-hazardous and inert waste, and metals recycling sectors. The consultation closed on 1 November 2022 and received 43 responses.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published the terms of reference for its commissioned independent review ‘Floodproof: an action plan to build resilience’, outlining the scope and objectives of the investigation. Commissioned on 8 January 2025, the review will examine property flood resilience (PFR) measures in England, evaluate progress made since the 2016 Bonfield action plan, identify gaps and opportunities to expand the PFR market, and develop a new action plan for relevant stakeholders. The review will present its findings to the EA and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in Autumn 2025.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published two guidance documents on electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

The Environment Agency (EA) has published a report on its new goal to reach organisational net zero by 2045 to 2050. In light of the revised SBTi net zero definition, the EA will rely less than originally planned on offsetting, and will use only UK nature-based offsets, meaning it will be unable to reach its original goal to become net zero by 2030. Instead, the EA has decided to increase it emissions reduction target to 90% between 2045 and 2050 and to amend the timeframe for it to achieve net zero.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published its updated enforcement and sanctions policy, following its April 2025 consultation on proposed changes to incorporate the Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM). The revised policy now includes an example of a CHMM penalty. In addition, the EA has updated Annex 2 of the policy on climate change schemes to include a new Section I covering the CHMM and its associated civil penalties. This section clarifies where discretion cannot be applied, confirming that it will not be allowed for failures to report fossil fuel boiler sales or to meet payment obligations, although discretion may be applied in other cases.