Reminder - The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007
On 6 April 2008, the Environmental Permitting Regulations came into force, aiming to make it quicker and easier for businesses to apply for or change a permit.
These Regulations replaced the system of waste management licensing in Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 (as amended), and the system of permitting in the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 (as amended), with a new system of environmental permitting in England and Wales.
If you’ve got a Waste Management licence or PPC permit, it automatically became an environmental permit on the 6 April 2008. You don’t need to reapply, and the Environment Agency won’t send you a new one. The conditions and subsistence fees stay the same.
If you hold an exemption from WML, then from 6 April 2008, you will instead be exempt from environmental permitting. There are some changes, for example to paragraph numbers and to the regulation of hazardous wastes.
The other changes include:
-You will be able to apply for and pay for an environmental permit online, later in the year.
-You will have a dedicated team to deal with all environmental permit applications.
-The EA will launch 27 standard permits for low to medium-risk waste activities. These permits will be cheaper to apply for (the EA will issue them within three months).
-A single permit could cover all the relevant activities on your site.
-If you’re a waste operator, you will soon be able to choose how you prove your technical competence.
The full text of the Regulations can be accessed from:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/uksi_20073538_en_1
Further information is available from:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/1745440/1745496/1906135/?lang=_e
Source: www.environment-agency.gov.uk (accessed 29/04/08)