Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2012
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) 2012 extends the permitting regime introduced in 2008 and amended in 2010 (which provided a unified system for permitting waste operations, mining waste operations, mobile plant and installations) to include water discharge consents, groundwater permits and radioactive substances regulations. The new Regulations also introduce the new waste exemptions regime which was consulted upon in 2008, 2009 and 2011.
The Environmental Permitting (EP) regime aims to protect the environment while simplifying the regulatory system and minimising the administrative burden on the regulators and the operators of the facilities regulated under the regime. The Regulations transpose the provisions of 18 European Directives regulating emissions to air, water and soil; waste management and management of specific substances.
This page presents a brief overview of the EP 2012 Amendment Regulations and the changes introduced. More detailed information is available from DEFRA and from the Environment Agency. Please also consult the Permitting and Exemptions section for more information on type of permits and how to apply for a permit or register for an exemption.Summary of the Environmental Permitting Regulations (Amendment) 2012
- European Directives transposed by the EP Regulations
- What do the EP Regulations contain?
- Regulated facilities
- Applying for, modifying, surrendering permits and registering exemptions
- Changes to the exemption regime
- Charging policy
The EP Regulations, known as The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) regulations 2007, introduced permitting and compliance regimes in April 2008, which deliver many of the requirements of the European Environmental Directives (Directives) and of national policy (domestic).
The Schedules to the Regulations identify precise requirements, article by article, for each Directive which must be delivered through the permitting system. Each Directive covered by the Regime has a specific schedule. The most relevant to the aggregates recycling and processing industry are presented in the table below:
| Related Schedules of the EPR | Relevant Activities or Operations | Relevant European Directives |
| Schedule 7 | Part A installations and Part A mobile plant | Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (Directive 2008/1/EC) |
| Schedule 8 | Domestic Part B installations and Part B mobile plant | |
| Schedule 9 | Waste operations | The Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) |
| Schedule 10 | Landfill | The Landfill Directive (Directive 1999/31/EC) |
| Schedule 16 | Asbestos | The Asbestos Directive (Directive 1999/77/EC) |
| Schedule 20 | Mining waste operations | The Mining Waste Directive |
DEFRA has published guidance illustrating how each Directive has been implemented by the Environmental Permitting Regulations.
The EP Regulations set out:
- which facilities need an environmental permit ("regulated facilities") or need to be registered as exempt;
- how to apply for, change, extend and surrender a permit and register an exemption;
- how the environmental protection requirements set out by European Directives and national policy are implemented within the conditions of the permits;
- a streamlined permitting system which uses standard rules;
- powers and functions of the regulators, the Secretary of State and the Welsh Assembly Government;
- the transition to the new regime; and
- provisions for appeals against permitting decisions.
Information on which activities are regulated by whom, including an explanation of standard rules and related standard permits, is included within the Permitting and Exemptions section.
There are seven types of regulated facilities which are required to operate under the authority of a permit described in the EP regulations.
The definition is quite complex and there is guidance available from the Environment Agency website (Environmental Permitting Guidance - Core Guidance - Version 4.0 – Revised March 2012) to help operators understand:
- whether their activity/operation is a regulated facility;
- which type it is (e.g. an installation, a waste operation, a mining waste operation, a mobile plant etc.);
- how it is defined (i.e. which activities are part of the regulated facility) etc.
The most important change introduced by the 2012 EP Amendment Regulations includes:
| Related Regulations / Schedules of the EPR 2012 | Description of the changes |
| Regulation 21 | Transfer of permit if the current holder cannot be found |
| Regulation 67A – New Chapter 1A Part 7 | Keep the environmental permit six months after the permit holder dies |
| Part 1 of Schedule 3 | Amended the description of waste types, codes, quantity limit and specified purpose |
Please consult the Permitting and Exemptions section of this module for detailed information on type of permits available, procedures and charges, and registering exemptions.
The Waste Management Regulations (WMR) Step by Step Tool provides details of the new permitting and exemption system while highlighting the changes for each operation.
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 introduce the new exemption regime. This regime, which had been consulted upon in 2008 and 2009, rationalises how waste operations are regulated on the basis of their risk.
Many changes have been introduced, with the result that many more activities previously exempt are now regulated through a permit, and that many activities regulated under the Agency's Low Risk Waste regulatory approach are now exempt or require a permit. Provisions are in place to facilitate the transition to the new regime.
The Waste Management Regulations (WMR) Step by Step Tool provides details of the new permitting and exemption system while highlighting the changes for each operation.
This DEFRA guidance includes (page 43) a look-up table showing how the activities covered by an exemption under the old EP regime are now regulated.
The 2012 Environmental Permitting Regulations provides details of the charging structure of the scheme. There are three tiers that are linked to the relative risks of an activity. For details please visit the Environmental Permitting (EP) charges for waste facilities, installations, mining waste operations, waste exemptions and mobile plant of the Environment Agency website.
