ABSTRACT
The system of integrated pollution control (IPC) introduced by Pt I of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990, reflected a major change in approach to controlling environmental pollution. It represented a shift from the medium-by-medium approach found in earlier legislation and discussed in the previous three chapters. As we have seen, that approach establishes separate pollution control regimes relating to air, water and land. One consequence of having different regimes with varying standards and systems of enforcement is the temptation to ‘regime shop’. For example, in order to avoid air pollution controls waste may be dumped in landfill rather than incinerated. If landfill becomes uneconomic, industry may be tempted to switch to an alternative such as releasing waste into rivers and seas. Whatever option is chosen, pollution of one media is likely to affect other environmental media. Leachates from landfill sites may enter water courses; air pollution may affect soil and vegetation. The IPC regime focuses upon the effect of industrial processes upon the environment as a whole and not in relation to particular media.
