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6 | Reach Issue 5 2013

T

he Environment Agency (EA) has a wide-ranging remit, best described in its 2012/13 Corporate Plan Update as ‘the body that leads the process of adaptation to the inevitable changes that will come with climate change; reduces the risks to people and properties from ‚ooding; manages water resources for people, businesses, agriculture and the environment; addresses pressures on biodiversity and applies the standards within which industry can operate.’ From this year, the EA will cover England only, as Wales is creating its own organisation. The EA will remain the largest agency of its kind in Europe. Funded in part by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the EA’s work includes regulating businesses that could adversely affect the environment, ood prevention and

response and tackling environmental crime including poaching, illegal waste sites, illegal waste export and metal theft. EA of cers even carry out ‘secret shopper’ visits to premises to check goods suspected of containing hazardous chemicals that could affect the environment.

The EA also works closely with many other government and voluntary agencies, including Police forces, local authorities, the Forestry Commission and Natural England. EA of cers traditionally used mobile phones and VHF radios to communicate whilst out on site. However, this inter-agency collaboration, the nature of some of the EA’s work, and the need to protect its of cers in both remote and potentially dangerous situations, led the EA to look for a communications solution that could deliver resilience, security, coverage, and interoperability.

The EA became an Airwave customer in 2007. Initially, the terminals were procured on a regional basis, but during 2011-2012 the EA brought its contracts together under one national user agreement. Interoperability with all the emergency services is essential to maximise the effectiveness of the EA’s contribution to ghting environmental crime and assisting with major events such as ooding – this became particularly relevant during the extreme events of 2012. This interoperability is achieved through ‘eetmapping’ (see page 8). This is pre-programming the EA’s Airwave radios with the regional and national talkgroups that their of cers may need to join when on operations. The initial case for the EA to have access to emergency services talkgroups was made to the Emergency Services Sharers Advisory Group –

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