Environmental Information Regulations
We care about protecting the environment and we are committed to:
- delivering a Net Zero ready network by 2035;
- reducing our consumption and waste generation;
- embedding circular economy principles across the business;
We will strive to increase biodiversity and improve air, land, and water quality across our network, benefiting both the environment and the communities we work in.
We publish a wide range of environmental information here on our website and you’ll find lots of reports that you can download for free. Alternatively, you can make a request in accordance with the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 provide a right of access to ‘environmental information’ held by public authorities and other organisations that carry out certain functions of a public nature. This includes gas distribution networks such as Wales & West Utilities.
Environmental information means information on any of the following:
- The state of the elements of the environment and the interaction among these elements; (e.g., water, air, soil, or land)
- Factors affecting or likely to affect those elements; (e.g., radiation, noise, energy, waste, or emissions)
- Measures or activities affecting or likely to affect those factors or elements, or designed to protect those elements; (e.g., policies, plans, programmes, spend or maintenance)
- Reports on the implementation of environmental legislation;
- Cost-benefit and other economic analysis and assumptions used within the framework of those measures and activities; and
- The state of human health and safety, conditions of human life, cultural sites and built structures in as much as they are or may be affected by those elements.
Please note that WWU is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
How to make a request
We already make available a wide range of environmental information on our website. If you cannot find what you are looking for, you are entitled under the Environmental Information Regulations to make a request to us. Please do so by contacting us at:
By Email: EIRRequests@wwutilities.co.uk
By Post:
WWU Legal Team
Wales & West House,
Spooner Close,
Newport,
NP10 8FZ
We aim to deal with your request as soon as possible but in any event within 20 working days. If your request is particularly complex, we may extend this to 40 working days, and we will tell you if this is the case.
Although there is a general presumption in favour of disclosing environmental information, the Environmental Information Regulations set out circumstances which allow us to withhold information in response to a request. We will tell you within the statutory deadline if we cannot disclose the information you have requested, and we will explain to you why this is the case.
If we are not clear on exactly what information you are requesting, we will write to you and ask for further clarification. If this is the case, the information will be provided within 20 working days of receiving your clarification.
Charges
We may make a reasonable charge for environmental information requests. The decision to charge will be decided on a case-by-case basis considering the time and cost of providing the information. We may charge for:
- The costs of staff time involved in locating, retrieving, and extracting information in the required format, at a rate of £25 per hour.
- Printing or copying will be charged at 10p per black and white A4 sheet. Colour copies will be supplied at 50p per sheet. Other formats may incur additional charges.
- Postage will be charged at 2nd class post rates.
When we receive your request, we will advise on whether a fee applies and the expected cost. If you wish to proceed with your request, the information will only be supplied on receipt of payment. Failure to pay within 60 days of the request will automatically cancel your enquiry.
Complaints
If you have made a request for environmental information and you are dissatisfied with our response you have a right to make a complaint within 40 working days of receipt of the refusal. Details on how to do this will be set out in our refusal letter.
Appeals to the ICO
If you are still unhappy following the outcome of the internal review process, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. They can be contacted in the following ways:
By Post: The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
By Email:casework@ico.org.uk
Further information regarding the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website.