Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016
Some business operations could harm the environment or human health unless they are controlled. Typically you may need to apply for an environmental permit if you carry out operations on a ‘regulated facility’ which can pollute the air, water or land, or can increase flood risk or impact land drainage.
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 or a mobile crusher
- a solvent emission activity – releasing organic solvents directly or indirectly into the air
The principal offences under the regulations are operating a regulated facility without a permit, causing or knowingly permitting a water discharge activity or groundwater activity without a permit, and failing to comply with a permit or an enforcement related notice.
You can check if you need a permit, or to find out more details on the Gov.uk website.
A public register of facilities currently regulated by Knowsley MBC can be viewed here.