Environmental Permitting Regulations

Local Authorities & The Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007

Local Authorities are required to regulate certain types of industries to reduce pollution and in particular improve air quality. The laws include The Pollution Prevention & Control Act 1999 and Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 which together govern Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control and Local Authority Pollution Prevention and Control.

Our role in the regime is to issue permits which set controls and emission standards to minimise pollution from certain industrial activities to prevent environmental harm. The Activities which require a permit can be found in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007. Once a Permit has been issued we routinely inspect the activity. All processes are risk assessed and are inspected more frequently.

The Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007 has replaced the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations so as to bring waste processes (regulated by the EA) into the same regime as industrial processes. Permits are reviewed every six years as a minimum and existing PPC permits will gradually be replaced EP permits.

DEFRA are looking at reviewing the permitting regime again through 'Better Regulation', and the process guidance notes for the individual processes are in the process of being reviewed.

The activities listed in the Environmental Permitting regulations 2007 are split into three categories - A1, A2 and Part B activities.

Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) - Part A1 processes
The Environment Agency (This link will open in a new window) control A1 activities, which are the larger more polluting and complex industries e.g. power stations.

Regulates emissions to air, land and water and the impacts of noise, waste and energy efficiency.

Local Authority Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (LA-IPPC) - Part A2 processes
The Part A2 activities regime is known as Local Authority Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (LA-IPPC). These tend to be less complex than A1 activities

Regulates emissions to air, land and water and the impacts of noise, waste and energy efficiency.

Part B Processes
Part B activities are those that have less potential to cause pollution and include activities such as vehicle re-spraying, crematoria, small foundries, coating processes and unloading of petrol. The Part B activities regime is known as Local Authority Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC).

Regulates emissions to air only.

Permits

Operators of installations like those mentioned above must obtain a permit to operate. An application fee (set by central Government) must accompany the application for permit. For the part B and part A2 charging schemes contact Environmental Services or visit the DEFRA website (This link will open in a new window).

Permit applications must include a process description, details of emissions sources, methods of control and monitoring and management systems in place to demonstrate that Best Available Techniques (BAT) are being employed in accordance with the current Government Guidance. Where a local authority decides to grant a permit, the permit includes conditions stipulating the necessary process controls.

Government guidance has been published as to the appropriate pollution standards for various types of installation. The law requires the standards to achieve a balance between protecting the environment and the cost of so doing. The local authority is required to have regard to that guidance.

Operators can appeal where a permit application is refused or where it is granted but the operator disagrees with the conditions. Once a permit is issued the operator must comply with the conditions.

Local authorities categorise installations according to the risk they represent (high, medium or low risk) based on the potential environmental impact in the event of an incident, and the effectiveness and reliability of the operator.

Where a business fails to comply with the Regulations, local authorities have the power to serve various types of notice and the power to prosecute. Where possible, however, authorities try to work with the operator to resolve problems.

General Guidance Manual (GGM)

The GGM comprises guidance on the policy and permitting procedures for activities subject to LA-IPPC and LAPPC under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007 from 6 April 2008 onwards. It is statutory guidance to local authority regulators to which they must have regard. It aims to guide firms undertaking or planning to undertake relevant activities on their legal obligations and it is designed to be useful to members of the public interested in industrial pollution control.

Visit the DEFRA website to download the full guidance document (This link will open in a new window)

Guidance notes for local authority regulated industrial activities

Process and Sector Guidance Notes are specific to particular industrial sectors. Process Guidance Notes (PG Notes) involve only Part B activities whereas the Sector Guidance Notes (SG Notes) involve only Part A(2) activities.

Visit the DEFRA website to download Process and Sector Guidance notes (This link will open in a new window)

Public Register

Local Authorities are required to maintain a public register containing information on all the processes that are permitted by them under Part B or Part A2 of the regulations. In addition we are required to keep information on the register relating to Part A1 processes permitted by the Environment Agency.

The register lists details of the operator, the type of process, the date the authorisation was given, the application number and the address of the operator's head office. This register must be made available to members of the public to view free of charge. Copies of the documents should also be made available for a reasonable fee.

The public register can be viewed in our offices in Cambourne.

For further information please contact Environmental Services.