Environmental Permitting and How to Comply guidance

Our intensive farming guidance

'How to comply with your environmental permit for intensive farming’ specifies the standards and measures that intensive farming permit holders need to know.

Intensive farming permit holders do not need to refer to the basic technical guidance ‘How to comply with your environmental permit'.

Download the relevant part of ‘How to comply with your environmental permit for intensive farming’ (version 2, January 2010) below:

• How to comply with your environmental permit for intensive farming version 2 - Introduction and chapters (PDF, 678KB)
• Appendices 1 – 6 (manure/sampling analysis, BREF pig housing, BREF poultry housing, odour, noise, manure management planning) (PDF, 1MB)
• Appendix 7 (undertaking a housing review) (PDF, 89KB)
• Appendix 8 (undertaking a drainage review) (PDF, 104KB)
• Appendix 9 (producing a proposal for covering slurry stores) (PDF, 334KB)
• Appendix 10 (emission reduction plan) (PDF, 101KB)
• Appendix 11 (assessing dust control methods on poultry installations) (PDF, 102KB)

Please note – any reference in the following documents to the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations should now be replaced with Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010. Any requirement relating to permitting under those Regulations has now been replaced by new requirements under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 (EPR).

If your permit refers to version 1 of How to comply and other specific guidance you can download these below:

• IPPC Intensive Farming: How to comply. Guidance for intensive pig and poultry farmers. April 2006 (PDF, 1.4MB) 
• Odour management at intensive livestock installations (PDF, 366KB) 
• Noise management at intensive livestock installations (PDF, 201KB) 

Download our intensive farming interpretation of an installation guidance below. Please note this guidance is being updated and will be published as an appendix to Regulatory Guidance Note 2 (RGN2) in the summer of 2011:

• Interpretation of an installation for the intensive farming sector (October 2006) (PDF, 266KB)
• Regulatory guidance series

Horizontal guidance

The horizontal guidance provides information relevant to all sectors regulated under EPR. It covers topics such as, noise, odour, energy efficiency, and protection of land.

• Horizontal guidance

Regulatory guidance

Regulatory guidance notes are Environment Agency guidance on policy and legal issues associated with putting the environmental permitting regulations in place:

• Regulatory guidance series

Making an application

There is one application form, which must be used to apply for a new bespoke permit or to vary, transfer or surrender your permit. Guidance on how to complete the form is provided:

• Application form and guidance page

Download our factsheet on applying for a permit for an overview of the process:

• EPR Intensive farming - applying for a permit (Word, 928KB)

Example EPR intensive farming applications

Use our intensive farming example applications to help you complete your permit application:

• Example EPR intensive farming applications

Environmental Permitting charges

Our Environmental Permitting charges pages explain how much a permit will cost:

• Environmental Permitting (EP) charges

Environmental Permitting Regulations

Information to help you understand the wider regulatory framework:

• The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010
• Environmental Permitting Regulations

Government guidance

Defra has produced a series of guidance documents. These include 'Core Environmental Permitting Guidance', which describes the general permitting and compliance requirements, and guidance on the European directives which are implemented through the Environmental Permitting Regulations:

• Environmental Permitting - Defra