WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT PRE-APPLICATION ADVICE?
Pre-application advice is guidance that is designed to assist with the Environmental Permit application process. It provides advice to an operator that is tailored to their specific activity and site, to help the operator understand if any permissions (such as permits, licenses or authorisations) are required from the Environment Agency (EA) before an activity can be carried out in a legally-compliant manner. If yes, the process highlights what components are required as part of the application. The EA identifies 3 regimes that fall under the regulatory industry category which helps operators decide which regime(s) the proposed operations fall in to:
- Installations – Activities relating to a wide range of industrial processes, manufacturing or other businesses that produce potentially harmful substances. For example, activities pertaining to hazardous waste treatment exceeding 10 tonnes per day, non-hazardous waste treatment exceeding 50 tonnes per day for disposal or 75 tonnes per day for recovery.
- Waste – Activities involving the handling of waste material, either by storage and/or treatment above limits set within exemptions. Facilities that fall under the waste category include inert waste treatment, household, commercial and industrial (HCI) transfer stations, and open windrow composting up to 75 tonnes per day.
- Water Quality – Stand-alone water discharge activities resulting in the release of polluting liquids to surface waters (e.g. rivers, streams), or stand-alone groundwater activities releasing polluting liquids directly or indirectly to water underground.
We also support environmental permit pre-application support for food manufacturing and intensive farming.
ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT PRE-APPLICATION ENGAGEMENT PROCESS
We have a team of environmental consultants with over two decades of experience in conducting pre-application engagement with the EA on behalf of our clients. Our expertise spans sectors and business processes and we provide a full and comprehensive pre-application solution to operators that alleviates the burden commonly associated with the early stages of the environmental permit application process. When we carry out a pre-application engagement on behalf of an operator, we perform the following actions:
- Submission of pre-application forms – Following the receipt of the necessary details required for a pre-application, we will complete the pre-application forms in their entirety and manage the submission to the EA.
- Regulator Liaison – We will liaise with the Environment Agency throughout the pre-application process and will respond to any clarifications required by the regulator on behalf of the client.
- Next Steps – Following the full response to the pre-application submission by the EA, we will work to secure the appropriate environmental permit for the client, whilst simultaneously ensuring that the service offered meets their needs.
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