Dear List
Over the last couple of weeks we have been emailing back & forth with Natalie Cole at the Agency (Data/Information Process Officer & Evidence Directorate (Data Sharing and Access)) to clarify the EA terms & conditions should a consultant use the the Agency WIYBY service (and the EA website in general).
I posed a scenario to Natalie (detailed below) that I thought probably reflects how many consultants are likely to be using WIYBY.
The EA have confirmed (it went to the legal team) that this type of use is within the terms and conditions of the EA website.
I hope this is of use/interest to list members
Chris Dainton - Peak Environmental Solutions
http://peakenvironmentalsolutions.com/
The scenario I posed went as follows:
A environmental consultant has been commissioned to undertake a piece of work that includes initial hydrogeological assessment to determine if the site could potentially pose an unacceptable risk to controlled waters. The report is to be used by the client for their internal purposes or as a supporting document in the planning regime.
A consultant has purchased from the BGS a solid & drift map (and typically geological memoirs if available) for an area that includes the site. One aspect the consultant is interested in relates to groundwater resources that are managed and protected by the Environment Agency through their various regulatory powers and duties. The consultant also own the BGS/EA major and minor aquifer reference books.
Through reference to the BGS/EA reference information (but not WIYBY), site/local knowledge and an understanding of the Agency aquifer classification scheme, the consultant establishes the presence/absence of strata that the consultant believes the Agency should or should not have been classified as Aquifers.
The consultant logs onto WIYBY to confirm the Agency aquifer classification and views the aquifer designation map and source protection zone maps. The consultant knows they will be dealing with Agency officers who will be using this resource.
No copies of any screen shots are made. As an aside, the consultant has a Ordnance Survey license that would allow, should they wish, the creation of pdfs of OS maps from Internet screen shots.
The consultant then writes a report on many aspects of the site and includes a statement on the likely Aquifer Classification under the site and whether source protection zones are present in the area. The consultant references (but does not include any direct reproduction of) the BGS/EA information, Agency guidance and the WIYBY web portal address.
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