Environmental permits

​​​​​You must obtain a permit under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 if you operate or wish to operate a facility for the activities which fall under the regulations.

An application must also be made to carry out variations to and existing permitted activity or to surrender a permit.

Facilities include:

• Installations or mobile plants carrying out listed activities
• Waste operations
• Waste mobile plant
• Mining waste operations

Activities include:

• Energy - burning fuel, gasification, liquification and refining activities
• Metals - manufacturing and processing metals
• Minerals - manufacturing lime, cement, ceramics or glass
• Chemicals - manufacturing chemicals, pharmaceuticals or explosives, storing chemicals in bulk
• Waste - incinerating waste, operating landfills, recovering waste
• Solvents - using solvents - including delivery and sale of petrol, dry cleaners and vehicle refinishers
• Other - manufacturing paper, pulp and board, treating timber products, coating, treating textiles and printing, manufacturing new tyres, intensive pig and poultry farming

The permit required depends on the specific processes involved and resulting emissions.

Activities are divided into three categories: Part A(1), Part A(2) and Part B.

Part A permits control activities with a range of environmental impacts, including:

• Emissions to air, land and water
• Energy efficiency
• Waste reduction
• Raw materials consumption
• Noise, vibration and heat
• Accident prevention

Part B permits control activities which only cause emissions to air.

Applications should be made to the Environment Agency or the local authority (the regulator) depending upon the category the activity falls within:

• Part A(1) installations or mobile plants are regulated by the Environment Agency.
• Waste operations or waste mobile plant carried on other than at an installation, or Part B mobile plants, are regulated by the Environment Agency.
• Mining waste operations are regulated by the Environment Agency.
• Part A(2) and Part B installations and mobile plants are regulated by the local authority.

• Applications must be made on the form provided by the regulator or Defra whether on online or not, and must include all relevant and specified information for the activity.
• A fee is payable.
• An application will also be required to vary or surrender a permit.
• If further information is required the applicant will be notified that the application is not 'duly made' under the regulations and it must be resubmitted with the appropriate information.
• The application must be from the operator. This is the person in control of the regulated facility.
• For waste operations no licence will be granted unless any required planning permission has first been granted.

To apply for a permit, please contact us.

The regulator will pay regard to:

• The protection of the environment taken as a whole by, in particular, preventing or, where that is not practicable, reducing emissions into the air, water and land.
• The Secretary of State's guidance for that activity.
• The application will be a public document (except items that are accepted as confidential under the Regulations) and the Regulator must consider any representations.
• The regulator must be satisfied that the applicant operator is capable of operating the facility in accordance with the environmental permit.

Please contact us in the first instance.

An applicant who is refused an environmental permit may appeal to the appropriate authority. In England, the appropriate authority is the Secretary of State, and in Wales, the Welsh Ministers. Appeals must be lodged no later than 6 months from the date of the decision.

If an application to vary, transfer or surrender an environmental permit has been refused or if the applicant objects to conditions imposed on the environmental permit they may appeal to the appropriate authority.

Appeals must be lodged in relation to a regulator initiated variation, a suspension notice or an enforcement notice, not later than 2 months from the date of the variation or notice and in any other case not later than 6 months from the date of the decision.

Contact the team