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You must apply to the Environment Agency if you operate a facility which is classed as an A1 installation. Check the guidance on the regulations to find out if it is.

A1 installations are facilities which carry out industrial processes, like:

• refineries
• manufacturing sites
• factories
• process industries

It also includes certain waste activities, like:

• disposing of waste to landfill
• hazardous waste treatment
• waste incineration

Theres separate guidance on environmental permits for intensive pig and poultry farms.

Check if your installation needs to meet Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD) or specified generator requirements.

If your installation is classed as A2 or B, apply to your local authority.

See the guidance for Part B sections 1.1 (combustion) and 5.1 (incineration of wood) activities. The Environment Agency will regulate these activities where MCPD or specified generator regulations apply.

There are 2 types of permit:

• standard rules a set of fixed rules for common activities
• bespoke tailored to your business activities

Fees and charges for permits

You must pay a fee to apply for a permit.

The application charges are listed in tables 1.4 to 1.14 of the environmental permits and abstraction licences: tables of charges.

You must send payment with your application.

If your application is successful, the Environment Agency will charge you an annual subsistence fee while you have a permit. This fee depends on your activity and the type of permit you have.

You can contact the Environment Agency if you need help working out how much to pay.

Check if you need a standard rules permit

You can apply for a standard rules permit if your activity meets the relevant description and rules, but:

• you cannot change (vary) the rules and you have no right of appeal against them
• if you want to change your operations and so will not meet the criteria of the standard permit any more, you will have to apply to make it a bespoke permit instead
• if there is a change in your local environment after your permit has been issued (such as a change in the definition of a groundwater source protection zone) you may need to apply to change (vary) your permit to another standard rules permit or a bespoke permit

Applying for a standard rules permit is quicker and costs less than a bespoke permit.

If you do not meet the conditions for a standard rules permit you must apply for a bespoke permit.

Standard rules permits: low impact installations

You can apply for a standard rules permit as a low impact installation if you carry out any A1 activity, except for activities related to:

• incineration and co-incineration of waste
• disposal of waste by landfill
• disposal of waste other than by incineration or landfill
• recovery of waste

Read the standard rules for:

• low impact installations
• low impact installations which produce biodiesel

Qualifying as a low impact installation

To qualify, your installation must have a low environmental impact because of its design, including during start-up, shutdown, or abnormal operating conditions.

Low impact installations must not:

• release more than 50 cubic metres per day of waste water
• have to use equipment to reduce or remove emissions before theyre released into the outside environment
• discharge emissions to groundwater
• produce more than 1 tonne of waste or 10kg of hazardous waste per day, averaged over a year, with not more than 20 tonnes of waste or 200kg of hazardous waste being produced in any one day
• consume energy at a rate greater than 3 megawatts (MW) or, if the installation uses a combined heat and power installation to supply any internal process heat, 10MW (through both imported electricity and by burning fuel on site)

Low impact installations must have:

• containment measures to prevent emissions escaping to surface water, sewer or land, which are maintained at all times
• only a low risk of causing offence due to noise and odour you cannot be a low impact installation if noise and odour are noticeable outside the boundary of your site

Standard rules permits: composting, anaerobic digestion, or treatment of incinerator bottom ash

You can apply for a standard rules permit if you carry out any of the following activities:

• composting in open systems more than 75 tonnes each day
• composting in closed systems more than 75 tonnes each day
• anaerobic digestion facility, including the use of the resultant biogas more than 100 tonnes each day
• on-farm anaerobic digestion facility using farm wastes only, including use of the resultant biogas more than 100 tonnes each day
• anaerobic digestion of non-hazardous sludge at a waste water treatment works, including the use of the resultant biogas more than 100 tonnes each day
• treatment of Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) more than 75 tonnes each day

Apply for a standard rules permit

Before you apply for a standard rules permit you need to:

• read the conditions for the relevant standard rules to make sure you can comply with them
• read the instructions in the application form and form guidance
• contact the pre-application advice service to request a heritage and nature conservation screening so the Environment Agency can check if any conservation sites, protected species or habitats could be affected by your activity
• read the generic risk assessment for your activity so you understand the potential risks and make sure you manage them effectively (you can find this with the relevant standard rules document)
• check you meet the legal operator and competence requirements
• check how to control and monitor your emissions you do not need to submit any emissions information as part of a standard rules permit application

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