Great Yarmouth Borough Council

What are the Environmental Information Regulations?

On 1 January 2005 new Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) came into force, replacing the former regulations which were in place since 1992, giving members of the public the right to access environmental Information held by public authorities.

EIR applies to the same public authorities that are covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI). However, unlike FOI, Environmental Information Regulations also include:

Any body or person carrying out a function of public administration
Any body or person under the control of a public authority who has responsibility in relation to the environment. This includes some private companies and public private partnerships such as companies involved in energy, water, waste and transport.

Environmental information covers information on the state of the environment such as:

air, water, soil, land, flora and fauna (including human beings), diversity, genetically modified organisms
information on emissions and discharges, noise, energy, radiation, waste and other such substances
measures and activities such as policies, plans and agreements
reports, cost benefit and economic analyses
the state of the human health and safety, contamination of the food chain
cultural sites and built structures (as they may be affected by environmental factors)

How do I make a request?
Are there fees to access information?
Refusal Notices, Complaints and Appeals

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