Environment

Under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, a site manager arranging collection of a mixed construction skip must:

• AWeigh the waste and pay the landfill tax directly to HMRC each quarter
• BDescribe the waste and use a registered carrier, keeping the transfer note✓
• CSort the waste by hand so the skip contains only one European Waste Code
• DRegister the site with the Environment Agency as a waste producer each year

Answer: The duty of care requires the producer to describe the waste accurately, hand it only to an authorised carrier for delivery to a permitted site, and complete and keep a transfer note. Landfill tax is paid by the landfill operator, mixed skips are lawful if described correctly, and there is no annual producer registration for ordinary construction waste.

A skip company collects general construction waste and issues a transfer note. For how long must the site keep that note?

• A6 years
• B2 years✓
• C1 year
• D3 years

Answer: Waste transfer notes for non-hazardous waste must be kept for two years and produced to the regulator on request, whereas hazardous waste consignment notes are kept for three years. One year is too short to satisfy the duty of care, and six years is the usual period for financial records rather than waste documents.

Which of these wastes arising from an office refurbishment must be handled as hazardous waste?

• AUntreated softwood joists from the roof
• BConcrete rubble from the ground-floor slab
• CClean plasterboard offcuts from the new partitions
• DFluorescent tubes stripped from the ceiling grid✓

Answer: Fluorescent tubes contain mercury and are classified as hazardous waste, so they must be stored separately, consigned with a consignment note and taken to a facility permitted to receive them. Clean plasterboard, untreated timber and concrete are non-hazardous, although plasterboard must still be kept out of mixed biodegradable waste sent to landfill.

In the waste hierarchy that must be applied when managing construction waste, which option ranks immediately below reuse?

• ARecycling✓
• BPrevention
• CEnergy recovery
• DLandfill disposal

Answer: The hierarchy runs from prevention, then preparing for re-use (reuse), then recycling, then other recovery such as energy from waste, with disposal to landfill as the last resort. Prevention sits above reuse rather than below it, while recovery and disposal are lower priorities that should only be used when the higher options are not practicable.

A basement excavation is producing silty groundwater that must be pumped away. Which arrangement is lawful?

• ASettling out the silt and discharging under a permit or consent✓
• BPumping it into the foul sewer manhole on site without telling the water company
• CDischarging it to the nearest surface-water drain because silt is not a chemical
• DReleasing it to the roadside ditch overnight when flows are low

Answer: Silt smothers river beds and kills aquatic life, so silty water must be treated in settlement tanks or lagoons and only discharged with an environmental permit or consent from the regulator, or a trade effluent consent from the water company for sewer discharge. Surface-water drains lead directly to watercourses, and unauthorised sewer or ditch discharges are offences regardless of the time of day.

A bunded diesel storage tank is being delivered to site. The bund must be able to hold at least what proportion of the tank's contents?

• A25% of the tank's capacity
• B50% of the tank's capacity
• C100% of the tank's capacity
• D110% of the tank's capacity✓

Answer: Oil storage rules require secondary containment of at least 110% of the largest tank so that a total loss plus rainwater or a pump failure is contained. Anything at or below 100% can overflow during a full-tank failure, and the smaller figures offer no protection against a serious release.

A fuel bowser hose splits during refuelling and around 40 litres of diesel run towards a surface-water gully. After stopping the flow, the site manager should:

• ADig out the wet soil and put it in the general waste skip for collection
• BContain it with the spill kit and report it to the environmental regulator✓
• CHose the diesel into the gully with water so it disperses before it pools
• DCover the gully with sand and record the event in the site diary only

Answer: Absorbents, drain covers and booms from the spill kit should stop the diesel reaching the gully, and a spill of this size that threatens a watercourse must be reported to the regulator's incident line. Washing it into the drain spreads the pollution, a diary entry alone conceals a reportable incident, and oil-contaminated soil is hazardous waste that cannot go in a general skip.

A contractor wants advance agreement on working hours and noise limits for piling close to housing. Which legal route provides this?

• AA section 60 notice served on the residents' association setting out the planned hours
• BPrior consent from the local authority under section 61 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974✓
• CRegistration of the rig with the HSE under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005
• DA noise permit from the Environment Agency under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016

Answer: Section 61 lets the contractor apply to the local authority in advance for consent to the proposed methods, hours and noise levels, giving certainty before work starts. A section 60 notice is served by the local authority on the site, not by the contractor, construction noise is not regulated by the Environment Agency, and the noise at work regulations protect employees rather than neighbours.

Site clearance of scrub and hedgerow is programmed for early May. Which approach complies with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981?

• ACheck for active nests first and leave any that are found undisturbed✓
• BClear the scrub quickly with a flail so birds have no time to settle in it
• CClear it at dusk when the adult birds have left the nests to feed
• DRemove the nests by hand and relocate them to the retained hedgerow

Answer: Wild birds, their eggs and active nests are protected, so vegetation clearance in the March to August nesting season needs a check by a competent person and a buffer around any active nest until the young have fledged. Speed, timing or moving nests all still destroy or disturb them and are offences.

A pre-demolition survey finds evidence of bats roosting in a barn that is due to come down. What is the legal position?

• AA licence is needed from the nature conservation body before the roost is disturbed✓
• BA licence is needed only if the barn is a listed building or in a conservation area
• CWork may proceed in winter because bats are only protected during the breeding season
• DWork may proceed once the bats have been sealed out for 48 hours by the contractor

Answer: Bats and their roosts are strictly protected under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, whether or not bats are present at the time, so a mitigation licence from Natural England or its equivalent must be obtained before the roost is damaged or destroyed. Exclusion by the contractor, seasonal timing and the planning status of the building do not remove the need for a licence.

Japanese knotweed is found on part of a site earmarked for landscaping. Which statement is correct?

• ASoil containing its rhizomes may be reused in the landscaping if it is screened first
• BIt can be chipped and composted on site with the other green waste
• CIt is only an offence if it grows on land next to a public highway
• DSoil containing its rhizomes is controlled waste and must not be spread✓

Answer: Causing knotweed to spread is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and soil or plant material containing rhizome is controlled waste that must go to a permitted landfill able to accept it, or be buried, bunded or treated on site under the Environment Agency's knotweed guidance and a management plan. Composting and screening do not kill the rhizome, and the offence applies wherever the plant is spread, not just beside a highway.

Which body is responsible for regulating water pollution from a construction site in England?

• ANatural Resources Wales
• BThe Environment Agency✓
• CThe Health and Safety Executive
• DThe local authority's planning department

Answer: The Environment Agency regulates pollution of watercourses and groundwater in England, with Natural Resources Wales, SEPA and NIEA fulfilling that role in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. The HSE regulates worker safety rather than the environment, and the planning department controls development rather than pollution incidents.