EPA Update
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ireland
Protecting and improving the environment as a valuable asset for the people of Ireland.
Hello and welcome back to our newsletter!
The aim of this newsletter is to provide a quick overview of the latest updates of the EPA.
Below are the highlights for April 2024.
Registration is now open for the EPA’s Climate Conference on 15th May. This conference will highlight the evidence and emerging research relating to adaptation and climate resilience in Ireland. Keynote speakers and panelists will highlight the adaptation issues facing sectors and how they are assessing and dealing with them, bringing diverse perspectives and insights on flooding and water quality, heritage, commerce, conservation and tourism and society. The event will be relevant to policy makers, Local and Regional Governments, Agencies, professionals, NGOs, and academics dealing with climate change challenges.
Find out more: https://bit.ly/43XSzPx
The EPA, in conjunction with the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) are delivering the annual Environment, Health and Wellbeing Conference on Wednesday 29th May 2024, at the Royal College of Physicians, Dublin and Online.
This conference will hear from experts about current international and national perspectives and action to promote health and wellbeing through the creation and shaping of healthy environments for all.
Register now here: https://bit.ly/3w9TW0
The EPA Research Call 2024 remains open until 30th May 2024, offering up to €14.5m in funding for research projects to address environmental, climate change and sustainability challenges. Check out the range of thematic areas that applications can be submitted under below. Find out more about the call and how to apply at: https://ow.ly/e0H250R8rFZRegister.
In 2021, the EPA launched the National Hazardous Waste Management Plan (NWHMP) for the Republic of Ireland covering a six-year period from 2021 to 2027. Its purpose is to protect environment and human health in Ireland through best-practice management of hazardous wastes. The Plan contains priority actions for delivery during its lifetime to improve the prevention and management of hazardous waste.
Under the plan, the EPA is required to provide an annual update on the progress of the Plan recommendations. As a result, the 2023 Annual Report on the NHWMP 2021-2027 provides an update on all recommendations and key actions with a timeframe of 2021, 2022, 2023 ‘ongoing’ and ‘annually’. Our 2023 annual update on the recommendations & actions is available now. Highlights include: updates on the establishment of national collection systems for farm hazardous waste, household hazardous waste and surplus and out-of-date medicines.https://ow.ly/rI4j50RefJn
Emissions reported to the EPA under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) from Irish power generation and industrial companies decreased by 17% (more than 2.4 million tonnes of CO2) in 2023 to 12.19 million tonnes.
Ireland’s ETS sector delivered a decrease in emissions in 2023 due to a combination of factors, including
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? an increase in imports of electricity
? the use of renewable electricity and renewable fuels
? a decrease in cement production.The electricity sector used less coal generation compared to the previous year, with increased use of wind and solar powered electricity.Further reductions include
? Cement industries?recorded a six per cent decrease overall due to a drop in production.
? Emissions from the food and drink sector also showed a decrease in emissions of more than three per cent
? Emissions from?bulk manufacturing of pharmaceuticals decreased by more than six per cent
Find out more here: https://bit.ly/4cO2KdD
The EPA hydrology bulletin for March is now available to download. Rainfall was above average in most locations. River flows in March increased at 69% of monitoring stations compared to February. 86% of lake and turlough monitoring stations observed water levels above the long-term normal range and groundwater levels increased at 82% of the monitored wells. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3JeAovc
The EPA has today published its third report on Green Public Procurement (GPP) activity in government departments. GPP is a process where public authorities seek to source goods, services or works that have a reduced environmental impact throughout their life-cycle.
The report details that out of the reported €922 million spend on contracts greater than €25,000 and signed in 2022, just 34 per cent of the spend included green criteria. While it is encouraging to see an improvement compared to the previous year (10 per cent in 2021, 34 per cent in 2022), overall the use of green criteria is inconsistent across government departments and at a low level relative to total spend.
The report ‘Green Public Procurement: Monitoring and Reporting by Government Departments, 2022 Reference Year’ is now available here: https://bit.ly/3fTLrLq
The latest National Priority Sites list for Q1 2024 features five sites from the Anaerobic Digestion, Landfill, Food & Drink and Wood, Paper, Textiles & Leather Sectors.The National Priority Sites List is a system of performance-based indicators to rank industrial and waste licensed sites in order of priority for enforcement. We use the National Priority Sites List to target our enforcement effort at the licensed operators with the poorest environmental performance. This helps us to drive improvements in environmental compliance.
Learn more and view the Q1 enforcement data at https://bit.ly/49RFsAK
Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for more EPA updates.
RN
6 个月When will the EPA address the toxic Fiberglass problem? Being exposed by leaking fiberglass mattresses is minuscule compared to the thousands of other products containing fiberglass. It’s in our air, water and food supply. The industry has managed to keep the devastation of this toxic product hidden from the public since the 70s with the help of their lobbyists and many politicians while the EPA turns a blind eye, instead of Protecting the Public from devastating health issues caused by fiberglass. I’ve been actively working to educate the public every day since I was diagnosed in 2016 after a 3 year exposure in my home. I never receive a response from the Federal, State or County EPA. I am now on O2 because my lungs have been compromised. My life has been forever changed because of this nightmare. Same for the 810 members of the support group below. When do our lives become more important than the Corporations ruining them?
two links not working when I try to follow them, can you please check? Thanks!