How to Apply for an Environmental Permit
You must have an environmental permit if you operate a regulated facility in England or Wales.
A regulated facility includes:
- installations or mobile plants carrying out listed activities
- waste operations
- waste mobile plant
- mining waste operations
Listed activities include:
- energy - burning fuel, gasification, liquefaction and refining activities
- metals - manufacturing and processing metals
- minerals - manufacturing lime, cement, ceramics or glass
- chemicals - manufacturing chemicals, pharmaceuticals or explosives, storing chemicals in bulk
- waste - incinerating waste, operating landfills, recovering waste
- solvents - using solvents
- other - manufacturing paper, pulp and board, treating timber products, coating, treating textiles and printing, manufacturing new tyres, intensive pig and poultry farming
Listed activities are divided into three categories: Part A(1), Part A(2) and Part B. The permit your business requires depends on the specific processes involved and resulting emissions.
Part A permits
Part A permits control activities with a range of environmental impacts including:
- emissions to air, land and water
- energy efficiency
- waste reduction
- raw materials consumption
- noise, vibration and heat
- accident prevention
Part B permits
Part B permits control activities that cause emissions to air.
Who regulates the permits?
Permits are available from the Environment Agency or your local authority (the regulator) depending upon the category your business falls within:
- Part A(1) installations or mobile plants are regulated by the Environment Agency
- Part A(2) and Part B installations or mobile plants are regulated by the local authority, except waste operations carried out at Part B installations which are regulated by the Environment Agency
- waste operations or waste mobile plant carried on other than at an installation, or by Part A or Part B mobile plants, are regulated by the Environment Agency
- mining waste operations are regulated by the Environment Agency
More information about environmental permits is available on GOV.UK - environmental permits.
Eligibility
The operator must submit the application. You must use the form provided and include all specified information. This will vary depending on the operation.
If further information is required you will be notified by the regulator. You must provide this information or the application will be deemed to be withdrawn.
No licence will be granted for waste operations unless any required planning permission has first been granted.
How to apply
You can apply online:
Apply for a B Environmental Permit
Apply for an A2 Environmental Permit
Changes to your existing circumstances
Annual subsistence charge
Application process
The regulator will take into account the protection of the environment. This will be done by preventing or, where that is not practicable, reducing emissions into the air, water and land.
The regulator may inform the public of the application and must consider any representations.
The operator of the regulated facility must submit the application. The regulator must be satisfied that they will operate the facility in line with the environmental permit.
How long will it take to process my application?
It is in the public interest that we process your application before it can be granted and we aim to do this within 90 days. If you have not heard from us within this period, please contact us.
Appeals
Please contact us in the first instance. Anyone who is refused a licence or wants to object to a condition on the licence can appeal to their local magistrates' court within 21 days of receiving notice of the decision.
The law
The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Act was introduced in 1999 to comply with EU Directive's controlling emissions to air from certain industrial processes. The IPPC Act superseded Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA), under which controls upon certain industrial activities could be introduced.
