Who needs a permit
You may need an environmental permit if you do an activity that could:
- Pollute the air, water or land
- Increase flood risk
- Negatively affect land drains
You are breaking the law if you operate without a permit when you should have one.
What you need a permit for
You need an environmental permit if you operate any of the following:
- An installation – an industrial facility, manufacturer or other business that produces potentially harmful substances, for example a landfill site, a large chicken farm, a food factory, a furniture factory, a dry cleaners, a petrol station
- A waste operation – a site where waste is recycled, stored, treated or disposed of
- A mining waste operation – a site which manages waste produced from mines or quarries
- A medium combustion plant or specified generator
- A small waste incineration plant – where certain types and quantities of waste are burned
- Mobile plant – plant that’s designed to move or be moved, for example a machine that’s moved onto a site to clean contaminated soil
- A solvent emission activity – releasing organic solvents directly or indirectly into the air