Environmental permits (PPC)
Permitted Installations - Inspection and Regulation of Premises
We are responsible for regulating certain industrial activities covered by the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (EPR regulations). If a company wants to carry out processes that may cause emissions to land, air or water they must apply for an Environmental permit to do so from either the Environment Agency or us.
The EPR Regulations were introduced under the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999. The Environment Agency regulates industries with the greatest potential of causing pollution to land, air or water. We regulate industries with less potential to pollute the environment.
The EPR Regulations introduce 3 separate, but linked, systems of pollution control:
- Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC), which covers installations known as A (1) installations, which are regulated by the Environment Agency. Examples include large iron and steel foundries, brickworks, chemical production, waste disposal, and so on
- Local authority Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (LA-IPPC) which activities known as A (2) activities, which are regulated by local authorities Examples include some smaller but similar activities to those under Part A (1)
- Local authority Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC), which covers activities known as Part B activities, also regulated by local authorities Examples include:
- Combustion Activities: for example Small Waste Incineration Plant (SWIPS) and Crematoriums
- Refining Activities: for example Petrol Terminals and Petrol Stations
- Timber processes: for example timber / chipboard manufacture and chemical timber treatment
- Mineral processes for example quarrying, cement plant and mineral screening, grading and mobile crushing plant
- Animal and plant treatment processes: for example animal rendering, animal feed compounding, pet food, composting and manure drying
- Solvent and Coating processes: for example printing, vehicle re-spraying and coating and dry cleaners (paint, adhesives, powder, resin and ink)
This is not a definitive list and if you are unsure you should contact us, or look at the list of process processes detailed in schedule 1 of the (EPR regulations). The DEFRA web site provides guidance notes for specific industry sectors. The notes set out emission limits for both operators and enforcement officers to work to.
All three systems require the operators of certain industrial and other installations to obtain an Environmental permit to operate. Regulators must set permit conditions based on the use of the Best Available Techniques (BAT) to control pollution. For Part A (1) and A (2) installations the permit conditions must cover pollution to all media: air, land and water.
The Environmental permit may also cover energy efficiency, site restoration, noise, odour, waste minimisation, accident prevention and heat and vibrations. Permit conditions for Part B installations only cover emissions to air.
We are required to keep a public register of permitted installations operating within our area.
These installations are inspected on a regular basis in accordance with the DEFRA risk assessment guidance.
A public register of all Part A (2) and Part B installations operating within West Northamptonshire can be found below:
Companies carrying out processes that could potentially cause emissions to either air, land or water must hold a permit. To find out whether or not your company needs to apply for a permit please visit the GOV.UK website, or contact [email protected].
A statutory fee is charged for the application process and an annual fee is also charged. The current list of fees and charges for prescribed processes can be found at the DEFRA section on the GOV.UK website.
Your process will be inspected by us, on a risk-based schedule. The risk assessment process determines the frequency of your site inspection, and the annual subsistence fee will be payable to West Northamptonshire Council.
Last updated 18 March 2024