Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

The complainant has requested information about a discharge consent from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Defra refused the request as manifestly unreasonable, citing regulation 12(4)(b) of the EIR. The Commissioner’s decision is that Defra has failed to persuade him that the request is manifestly unreasonable. The Commissioner requires Defra to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
Regarding part one of the request - issue a fresh response to the complainant that does not rely on regulation 12(4)(b) of the EIR.