First you will need to find out if your proposed activity would be a regulated facility under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR).
A regulated facility can be:
- an installation that carries out an industrial, waste or intensive farming activity listed in Schedule 1 of the Regulations;
- a waste operation that is not carried out at an installation, e.g. a waste transfer station;
- a mobile plant carrying out either a Schedule 1 activity or a waste operation, e.g. treating waste soils.
In practice, your installation or waste operation may carry out a number of regulated activities as part of an overall operation. Provided they are technically connected we will likely treat them as one regulated facility. If there are more than one operator then each will need a permit for their part of it.
Is it an installation?
If your proposed activity meets a definition in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations then it is an installation. The installation, including directly associated activities, constitutes a regulated facility. Part 2 is divided into chapters and subdivided into Part A(1), Part A(2) and Part B activities. We regulate Part A(1) activities and local authorities regulate Part A(2) and Part B activities.
- Chapter 1: Energy: combustion, gasification, liquification and refining activities.
- Chapter 2: Metals: ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, surface treating metals and plastic materials.
- Chapter 3: Minerals: production of cement and lime, activities involving asbestos, manufacture of glass and glass fibre, other minerals, ceramics.
- Chapter 4: Chemicals: organic, inorganic, fertiliser production, plant health products and biocides, pharmaceutical production, explosives production, manufacturing involving carbon disulphide or ammonia, storage in bulk.
- Chapter 5: Waste management: incineration and co-incineration of waste, landfills, other forms of disposal of waste, recovery of waste, production of fuel from waste.
- Chapter 6: Other: paper, pulp and board manufacture, carbon, tar and bitumen, coating activities, printing and textile treatments, dyestuffs, timber, rubber, food industries, intensive farming.
- Chapter 7: Solvent Emission Directive: where not already prescribed in Chapters 1 to 6.
Help on understanding what is a regulated facility:
The Government's general guidance to us and those we regulate under these regulations is the Environmental Permitting Core Guidance which can be found on the Defra website. The Government also provides guidelines on specific EU directives, see an example: The Government's Guidance on the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive (PDF, 333KB).
For detailed guidance on understanding the meaning of regulated facility and what is an operator see our regulatory guidance notes:
What to do next?
- If you have an installation which concerns Part A(1) activities proceed to our types of permit page.
- If your activity is an installation and concerns Part A(2) or B activities go to our Local Authority Units page to find out what to do next.
- If it is not an installation but may involve a waste, proceed to the section below.
If neither an installation or involving waste then you do not fall under the Environmental Permitting Regulations. If in doubt contact our NCCC on 08708 506 506.
Is it a waste operation?
If you deal with the disposal or recovery of waste and your activity does not match the installation definitions, then the activity may be a waste operation under the Environmental Permitting Regulations.
Examples of waste operations regulated under Environmental Permitting include waste transfer, metal recycling and composting.
It will not be a waste operation requiring a permit under the Regulations if:
- it falls under the Regulations anyway as an installation;
- is an excluded waste operation under Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of the Regulations. Some waste operations are excluded from Environmental Permitting if they already have a permit:
- deposits at sea under the Food and Environmental Protection Act 1985,
- a consent for liquid discharge under the Water Resources Act,
- a Groundwater Regulations authorisation for agricultural waste disposal,
- for the disposal or recovery of sludges which are not to be treated as industrial or commercial waste under the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992
- is an exempt waste operation under Paragraph 5 of Part 1 of the Regulations. Find out more information about waste exemptions from our exemption web pages.
- or is a low risk waste covered by a Regulatory Position Statement which are available on our modernising waste regulation panel page.
What to do next?
If your activity is a waste operation regulated facility you are normally regulated by us. If you want to apply for a new permit, please go to our types of permits page:
Further help
If you are still aren’t sure whether you need an Environmental Permit, please contact our National Customer Contact Centre on 08708 506506. If your enquiry is of a technical nature they may pass you to someone in our area offices. Please be aware that the amount of free time we can spend on pre-application is limited. Please familiarise yourself with the relevant guidance before you call us.
