Environmental permits
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 requires certain industrial and commercial operations to obtain an environmental permit before they are allowed to operate.
An environmental permit is a document issued by the regulator to the operator of a prescribed process describing the controls and procedures necessary to comply with the law and control or prevent emissions to the environment.
The council is responsible for issuing and enforcing environmental permits for many types of industrial processes to ensure that they meet current emission limits and environmental standards.
Regulated facilities include:
- Installations or mobile plants carrying out listed activities
- Waste operations
- Waste mobile plant
Some processes are regulated by the Environment Agency, usually depending on the size of the operation and the pollutants produced.
Legal requirements
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 set out a list of prescribed processes that are considered to have the potential to cause environmental harm. If you operate one of these prescribed processes without a permit you could be liable for prosecution.
A permit will describe the extent and location of the permitted installation and the conditions under which it is allowed to operate. The conditions of the permit will usually be based on the Best Available Techniques (BAT) and guidance from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
It is an offence to operate a prescribed process without a Permit.
Which industries are covered?
The industrial activities covered by the Environmental Permitting Regulations and regulated by Swindon Borough Council are very wide ranging and cover installations in the following categories:
- Processes in the Part A2 category including “medium-sized” industry such as brick manufacturers and foundries. These processes pose a potential risk to the air, land and water.
- Processes in the Part B category include smaller industry such as dry cleaners, petrol stations, roadstone coating plants and crematoria. These processes are considered to pose a potential risk to the air.
A full list of premises regulated in Swindon, their location and type of process, is available to download below: