A Regulator’s Approach to Risk Assessment: From Corporate to Roject Specific Risk. Simon J.T. Pollard, Risk Analysis Manager, National Centre for Risk Analysis and Options Appraisal; Gareth Llewellyn, Head, National Centre for Risk Analysis and Options Appraisal; and Michael Brewer, Project Manager, Corporate Governance, Head Office Environment Agency National Centre for Risk Analysis and Options Appraisal, Environment Agency, Steel House, 11 Tothill Street, London, SW1H 9NF, UK, telephone +44 (0)171 664 6832, fax +44 (0)171 664 6836, e-mail simon.pollard@environment-agency.gov.uk
The Environment Agency has wide ranging duties and powers for environmental management in England and Wales, and uses these to help achieve the objective of sustainable development. In doing so, the Agency must ensure its decisions are based on the best possible scientific information and analysis of the risks. Along with many corporate organisations in the late 1990's, the Agency is considering risks at all levels of its business, from corporate governance (business risk) and planning (risk-based resource allocation), to the evaluation of capital schemes (project risk assessment of flood defence schemes), environmental monitoring and inspection (risk-based monitoring), policy development (risk-based prioritisation) and the consideration of individual discharge authorisations (environmental risk).
Approaches to risk assessment in each of these areas are discussed. Emphasis is given:
(i) to the tiered and iterative application of tools and techniques (screen; prioritise; quantify-generic; quantify-site specific), in support of the Agency's Environmental Strategy; (ii) to selection criteria for the individual tiers of approach; (iii) to the role that environmental risk assessment plays at the various organisational levels indicated in the paragraph above; and (iv) to the role of these tools within the overall environmental management cycle.
The development of risk assessment within the Agency has demonstrated considerable opportunity for cross-fertilisation; both between the different types of approach currently adopted, but also of individual issues at the various levels of application (treatment of uncertainty, for example). This applies equally to the treatment of environmental risk within individual statutes, as to the responsibilities for residual risk of management layers within the organisation.
Progress towards the integration of risk assessment output with the wider socioeconomic and political aspects of environmental decision-making in the Agency is reviewed, and the role of the National Centre for Risk Analysis and Options Appraisal is highlighted in this regard.
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