Programme

The Changing Law & You Conference

 

09:00 Registration, Tea & Coffee

09.30 Chair's Opening

Jonathan Atkinson
The Environment Agency

09.40  The EU Soil Framework Directive – Are we nearly there?

  • The development of SFD has been rapid by EU  standards, however acceptance has stalled due to many concerns in EU member states where soil protection policies are more mature. Signs are that the Directive is moving towards common acceptance, yet many of the high
    level principles are already within the UKs regulatory regime. The presentation will provide
    an over view of where the SFD sits and look at what the implementation might do.

Andrew Hursthouse
UWS

10.00  The Water Framework Directive and Development of Brownfield Sites

  • Developers of brownfield sites frequently have to deal with land contaminated by earlier use and in addition many sites are in waterfront locations.  
  • The first River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) set out the condition of groundwater and surface water bodies.  They also identify measures that will be required to improve the water environment to meet Water Framework Directive (WFD) requirements. 
  • The planning system includes established processes for assessing the environmental impacts of plans, programmes and proposed development.  Increasingly we expect them to show how development will help to deliver WFD requirements.  The relationship between planning permission and environmental permits is relevant. 
  • In 2010 we expect the enactment of new legislation and measures that help to meet WFD requirements and we will look at some that are relevant to development of brownfield sites. 

Richard Whittaker
The Environment Agency

10.20  Implementation of the Waste Framework Directive: Where are we heading?

  • Waste definition: the subject that shall not be mentioned
  • Implementation and Waste Permitting
  • What are the policy imperatives?
  • Can risk based regulation and civil sanctions deliver compliance?

Andrew Bryce
Andrew Bryce & Co.

10.40  Q & A           

10.50  Tea & Coffee

11.20  The Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 (the RESA 2008) - How it Will Work in Practice

  • Potential Routes for Challenging Regulatory Decisions
  • A summary of the new civil sanctions and their importance to environmental and other key regulators
  • How the sanctions will be applied in practice
  • Potential routes of challenge and Appeal
  • Move towards risk based regulation
  • Benefits and competitive advantages of running an  environmentally compliant business

David Egan
Irwin Mitchell LLP

11.40  The Environmental Damage Regulations and their Implications

  • The new regime
  • Key differences between English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland regulations
  • Effect on existing environmental liability law
  • Implications for operators

Valerie Fogleman
Stevens & Bolton LLP

12.00  Changes in Contract Law in relation to Environmental Matters

  • Allocating liabilty using contractual provisions
  • Role of disclosure
  • Appointment of expert witnesses
  • Relevance of doctrine of legal privilege.

Kathy Mylrea
CMS Cameron Mckenna LLP

12.20  Q & A

12:30  Panel Discussion - What should be in the Part 2A Guidance?            

13.00  Lunch

14.00  Part 2A guidance - Putting it in context: The St Leonard's Court Part 2A Appeal

  • The main issues from the Inspector's report
  • The Secretary of State's decision
  • The judicial review
  • The implications for future remediation notices
  • The government review of the Statutory Guidance - where we are

Andrew Wiseman
Stephenson Harwood

14.20  The Corby Litigation

  • Should we have expected this judgment?
  • Tort and environmental law - Corby in context
  • The other key cases that we must take into account alongside Corby 
  • What does the judgment mean in practice?

Stephen Shergold
Denton Wilde Sapte

14.40  Q & A           

14.50  Tea & Coffee

15.20  Public Interest Cases: "Not dead yet"  

  • Access to justice: EU and ECJ developments on time, costs and certainty
  • Review of planning, EIA, and Habitats Directive cases
  • Outlook for claimants and developers

Richard Buxton
Richard Buxton Environmental and Public Law

15.40  Proving Causation in Environmental Poisoning Cases - The Challenges

  • Tools and methods
  • Dealing with uncertainty
  • Experts and expertise

Mike Quint
Environmental Health Sciences

16:00  Q & A        

16:10  Drinks & Networking Reception   

17:00  Close