The Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004 provide the public with a right to access information pertaining to the Environment.  The regulations cover a number of types of information including;

• The state of the elements of the environment, such as air, water, soil, land, fauna (including human beings)
• Emissions and discharges, noise, energy, radiation, waste and other such substances
• Measures and activities such as policies, plans, and agreements affecting or likely to affect the state of the elements of the environment
• Reports, cost-benefit and economic analyses
• The state of human health and safety, contamination of the food chain
• Cultural sites and built structures (to the extent they may be affected by the state of the elements of the environment)

Devon County Council is committed to proactively publishing Environmental Information, however should you wish to make a request for information pertaining to the Environment, Devon County Council is happy to accept such requests.

Making a Request for Environmental Information

Requests should be made in writing to;

Information Governance Team

Customer Relations & Information Governance Team

Room 120, County Hall

Devon

EX2 4QD

Requests may also be made via email to foioffice@devon.gov.uk or by fax to 01392 383165.  Devon County Council also accept requests for information verbally via phone at 01392 384678.

Our Obligations

Devon County Council has an obligation to respond to requests for environmental information within 20 working days of receipt of the request.   For particularly complex and voluminous requests, we may seek an extension to this timeframe of a further 20 days.

The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 contain a series of 'exceptions' to disclosure, which allow for the refusal to disclose information under a number of circumstances, subject to the application of a public interest test.  Read more about the 'exceptions'

Making a Complaint

If you have an issue with the way in which your request for information under the Environmental Information Regulations has been handled, Devon County Council has a formal Access to Information Complaints procedure that we advise applicants to follow.