Northern Ireland’s EPA initiative steps up

The plan to win an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Northern Ireland may go a little bit closer on Thursday, June 15th, when an expert will address a public meeting on the campaign.

Professor Richard Macrory will address the meeting. A study he carried out compared environmental protection agencies across the UK and Ireland. It sparked the campaign to create a similar body for Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK not to have an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Instead the job is carried out by DOE Environment and Heritage Service.

A number of conservation organisations have asked the government to hand the job over to independent and properly-resourced EPA.
The public are asked to give their views on the quality of pollution control, wildlife protection and heritage conservation in Northern Ireland. The green groups are looking for views on DOE’s record in areas such as the control of pollution and the regulation of waste going to landfill sites.
In February, Lord Rooker, Minister for the Environment at the time, set up an independent public inquiry to examine if Northern Ireland should have an EPA.

A three-person panel are currently undergoing the ‘Review of Environmental Governance’ meeting. They will hear people’s opinions on the best way forward.