Guidance

Pollution inventory privacy notice

Published 8 December 2020

We are the Environment Agency and we regulate environmental permits. We are the data controller for information relating to:

• environmental emissions to air, land and water
• off-site waste transfers

A data controller determines how and why personal data (also called ‘personal information’) is processed.

If you have any questions or concerns about how we process personal data, or want to make a complaint or request relating to data protection, please contact:

Data Protection Team
Environment Agency
Horizon House
Deanery Road
Bristol
BS1 5AH

Email [email protected]

Personal data we collect

Personal data we collect includes:

• names
• addresses
• contact details
• questions, queries or feedback you leave, including your email address if you contact us

We are allowed to process your personal data because we have official authority as the environmental regulator. The lawful basis for processing your personal data is to perform a task in the public interest that is set out in law.

If you do not give us the personal data we ask for we will not be able to comply with our legal duty to collect data on emissions.

Your responsibility

If you have included personal data about any other individuals on your pollution inventory submission, you must inform them. You must provide them with a copy of this privacy notice so that they are aware of how their personal data will be used.

What we do with your personal data

The data we process is used by the UK government to inform decisions on environmental policy. It is submitted to the European Union to inform the European Pollutant Releases and Transfer Register.

All the information you supply, including personal data, is available to the public on data.gov.uk. We may also use it to respond to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (if the General Data Protection Regulation allows).

If you can demonstrate that information you provide is commercially or industrially confidential, we will consider withholding that information from the public register. You cannot claim confidentiality on emissions to air.

If you believe that including information on a public register would not be in the interests of national security, you must contact the Secretary of State before you apply to request a determination. You must still send that information with your submission. We will not include the information in the public register unless the Secretary of State decides it can be included.

See guidance on national security and commercial confidentiality in Environmental permitting guidance: core guidance.

We may use your email address to contact you for user research to improve our service. You do not have to take part in the research.

We will not share your details with any other third party without your consent unless required to by law.

Where your personal data is stored and processed

We store and process your personal data on our servers in the UK.

Your data will not be hosted or stored outside the European Economic Area.

We do not use your data to make an automated decision or for automated profiling.

How long we keep your personal data

We will keep your personal data while your permit is in use, and for 6 years after you surrender your permit.

If your permit is for a landfill site, we will keep your personal data for 10 years after you surrender your permit. We will then remove it from the public register.

Your rights

Our personal information charter explains your rights and how we deal with your information.