Policy paper

Environment Agency's engagement plan for Hinkley Point C's environmental permits

Published 31 July 2023

Applies to England and Wales

Introduction

EDF’s Hinkley Point C company, NNB Generation Company (HPC) Limited, applied for permits from the Environment Agency to build and operate Hinkley Point C in 2011. These are permits to:

• dispose of and discharge radioactive wastes
• operate standby power supply systems using diesel generators
• discharge cooling water and liquid effluents into the Bristol Channel

Following consultation in 2012 the Environment Agency issued 3 operational environmental permits for Hinkley Point C in March 2013. NNB Generation Company (HPC) Ltd must also apply to the Environment Agency for changes (variations) to these permits and for other environmental permits to carry out specific activities such as:

• site preparation
• construction works
• associated developments such as a park and ride

NNB Generation Company (HPC) Limited applied to the Environment Agency to change its water discharge activity permit in December 2022.

This plan sets out how the Environment Agency is engaging with the public and stakeholders as it consults on environmental permits for Hinkley Point C.

1. Feedback on our approach

We regularly ask Hinkley stakeholders for their feedback on our approach to engagement and consultations on environmental permits. If you have any comments about our approach, please email them to [email protected]

2. Who may be interested

Members of the public and other stakeholders who:

• want to give the Environment Agency information that’s relevant to permit consultations
• live or work in west Somerset and south Wales and the surrounding towns and villages
• represent a ‘community’ they will share this information with
• are interested in the process for assessing permits for new nuclear power stations

3. Approach to engaging

It will always remain the responsibility of the regulator to make decisions about the permit applications. However, we want our decisions to be better informed through good engagement. We want to understand peoples’ comments and views. Where relevant we can use these to help inform our assessments of the permits.

3.1 Permits to operate a nuclear power station

We will make decisions on the operational permit applications after 2 rounds of consultations.

We consulted on permit applications and proposed decisions and draft permits from 2011-2012. We published our final decision and permits in March 2013 after carefully considering comments from the consultation.

NNB Generation Company (HPC) Ltd must also apply to the Environment Agency for changes (variations) to these permits.

3.2 Permits for site investigations, construction and associated developments

We will also have a period of consultation on these permit applications.

We will not make a final decision until we have carefully considered the comments from the consultation.

Construction site activities and associated developments (such as worker accommodation) are not unique to nuclear developments and are time limited, so we are processing the permit applications as we would for any construction site. This is a proportionate approach that will help us exercise the best regulatory control on rapidly changing construction activities.

We decide whether an application is high public interest on a case-by-case basis. You can read when and how we consult on environmental permits.

4. Engagement aims

Our aim is to strengthen trust and confidence in us as regulators and to make sure:

• our stakeholders understand our role in nuclear regulation and specifically new-build – what we do and what we do not do
• we understand stakeholder views so that we can use them to inform our assessments
• we reach a wide range of stakeholders at appropriate times
• our stakeholders understand how they can provide comments and views

5. Consultation objectives

We want to make sure stakeholders:

• understand how we assess and determine operational permit applications and what will happen at each stage (permit application and draft permit stages)
• understand how we assess and determine other environmental permits needed by a nuclear site developer
• understand how they can provide their views, what they can and cannot comment on and how we’ll use their input to inform our assessment
• have many opportunities to give us their views
• understand the conclusions of our assessments and why we have made our decisions
• help make our final decisions on the operational permits as robust as possible
• know more about how permitting fits into the bigger picture of nuclear power station development
• understand each regulator’s role, specifically around regulation of nuclear new build – what we do and what we do not do

6. Our stakeholders

We are engaging with:

• the public, particularly those living near to the Hinkley site in west Somerset and south Wales
• local environmental groups
• the angling community and groups that use the Bristol Channel and river Severn
• elected representatives, including local councillors and MPs
• local (county, district, town and parish) councils, especially those within a 25 mile radius of the power station and other representative bodies near the site
• national non-government organisations (NGOs), campaign groups and environmental groups
• academics, scientists and consultants with an interest in nuclear power, energy and the environment
• the nuclear industry, including potential developers and operators
• nuclear trade associations and professional institutions
• other government agencies
• other regulators

7. Preparing to consult

We carried out an equality analysis in 2018 for the water discharge activity permit variation, focussing on the Somerset, West Somerset and Sedgemoor council areas. We also assessed south Wales due to its close geographical proximity to the site.

We reviewed the government’s consultation principles.

We talk to local stakeholders about:

• their communities and the local environment
• events and meetings we can attend to talk about our work
• the best locations to hold our community drop-in events
• how they prefer to engage with us and receive information from us

8. How we engage and communicate during consultation

We will:

• publish information on the GOV.UK website, including a non-technical summary
• carry out online public consultation on Citizen Space
• send some copies of the consultation documents to local libraries, information points and the local Environment Agency office if required
• share information through e-bulletins
• attend and speak at site stakeholder groups and community meetings
• listen to NGO concerns at nuclear liaison fora, such as the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero NGO engagement forum
• meet with representatives and groups near the site
• hold public drop-ins (unless public health guidance prevents this)
• hold online engagement events for local and national stakeholders
• work with journalists to share information in local and national media
• advertise the consultation in local newspapers and on posters at locations near the site
• use our social media accounts to raise awareness – Twitter and blogs
• share information through community channels and local advocates
• share information through HPC’s channels (for example the website and newsletter) where appropriate
• translate public summaries and ebulletins into the Welsh language
• advertise applications in English and Welsh in at least one newspaper in south Wales
• share information through e-bulletins with stakeholders in south Wales
• publish bi-lingual information on our Citizen Space consultation pages

9. How to get involved

We will advertise consultations that you can take part in.

You can also join our Hinkley regulator engagement forum. Email [email protected] to sign up.

You can read information about previous consultations in Hinkley Point C: decisions on environmental permit applications.

10. Responding to stakeholders

We will:

• consider the responses we receive and any information arising from consultation
• use these responses to inform our decisions where relevant
• publish a summary of responses on GOV.UK explaining how this input has informed our decisions
• publish our final decision documents on GOV.UK
• update stakeholders about stages of the consultation and our final decisions through our websites, e-bulletins, social media and news stories, and at events

11. Keep in touch

You can sign up to our e-bulletin. Email [email protected].