The environment has been a topic of great discussion for many years, including how we should all be doing things to prevent pollution and reduce waste. Certain businesses are also required, by law, to ensure that they are controlling the amount they pollute. This includes amongst other things their emissions (i.e the pollutants they produce) that go to land, air, water, and also their energy usage and number of environmental accidents.

In the UK the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010, set out which businesses are required by law to be regulated. These businesses may need to be regulated due to what they do, or because they operate above a certain threshold. If a business is included in this list they must apply for a permit. This is known as an Environmental Permit. If they operate without a permit they are breaking the law and can be prosecuted.

The Regulations split the businesses into 3 groups, usually by their potential to cause pollution:

• The largest businesses with the greatest pollution potential (such as chemical manufacturers) are known as Part A1 and are regulated by the Environment Agency. These are regulated for all of their pollution to land, air, water etc,
• Medium sized businesses are known as Part A2 and are regulated by the Local Authority. These are also regulated for all of their pollution to land, air, water etc,
• The smaller less polluting businesses are known as Part B and are regulated by the Local Authority for air pollution only.

The Local Authorities role is to:

• ensure that all businesses that fall under this legislation are permitted,
• assess applications and issue permits,
• inspect businesses against the conditions contained in their permit,
• take the necessary actions including enforcement to ensure businesses comply,
• make available a public register of information about the businesses that are regulated (Please note that at present the public register only covers the North area of Central Bedfordshire). Please contact the team if you would like to view the register 

The Public Protection Team is responsible for permitting a number of sites within Central Bedfordshire. Currently there are about 90 permits (PDF 28KB) in place including:

• a maggot breeder
• roadstone coaters
• a printer
• cement batching plants
• coating processes
• petrol stations
• waste oil burners
• dry cleaners

Volatile Organic Compounds or VOC's may be better known to most people as solvents.

If an industrial process is required to have a permit under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010, the operating company must make a formal application.

This is a complex and technical subject and we would always recommend that you contact us if you think you may need a permit, so that we can assist you in applying.

The application must contain detailed information on exactly what will be undertaken at the site and the effects it may have on the environment. This will then be considered by a Public Protection Officer in light of Government Guidance.

New applications may have to be advertised in local papers for public consultation and other government bodies such as the Environment Agency or Natural England may be consulted.

A draft permit may be written and provided to the operator for comment. All comments will then be considered and either accepted or rejected with an explanations of any reasons for rejection. For some of the smaller scale activities there are specimen permits issued by the Secretary of State that may be used. In which case the operator may not be issued with a draft or asked for comments 

The application must be determined within specified timescales of up to 4 months, depending on whether consultation is required. Once determined either the permit is refused or a permit is issued.

If a permit is issued it will contain a number of conditions based on the Government Guidance, BAT and any site specific issues. The permit may also include emission limits that take into account National Air Quality Standards. 

The operator must abide by these conditions which are designed to reduce air pollution to acceptable levels. The conditions may involve the operator installing new equipment to reduce the levels of pollution, introduce monitoring systems and encourage the use of more environmentally sound products.

The installation will be risk assessed to determine how often it must be inspected by a Public Protection Officer and what annual subsistence fees must be paid.

The Officer will then inspect the installation against the conditions in the permit to ensure compliance. Any areas of non compliance will be addressed in line with the council's enforcement policy. The operator may be required to submit records and documents and to undertake any monitoring as required by the permit conditions.

In the unusual event that a permit is refused then there is a right of appeal. Further details of which are provided on the Appeals guidance 

If you wish to make changes to what you do and this may have an effect on your emissions then you must contact us. This is to ensure that your permit reflects the current status of your process and to ensure you do not breach any permit conditions.

If you wish to transfer your business and permit to someone else you must contact us. Both yourselves and the person to whom the permit will be transferred must jointly apply.

If you wish to close you should surrender your permit so you are not liable for any fees for the next financial year.

Always contact us well in advance of any changes, transfers or surrenders so that we have plenty of time to make any necessary changes.

Much of the information regarding these sites is kept on an Public Register (Please note that at present the public register only covers the North area of Central Bedfordshire).  However, we still hold some information in hard copy depending on which site you wish to obtain information on. All information can be viewed at our offices or Points of Presence, however it is necessary to make an appointment to ensure the information is made available and that we can assist you. The Environment Agency's public register is maintained in paper form at our main offices but may also be viewed at Environment Agency Offices as well.

It costs nothing to read the register, although we do make a small fee for photocopying.

Government Guidance includes:

The General Guidance Manual that details permitting policy and procedures which includes:

• Process Guidance Notes for all part B activities
• Sector Guidance Notes for all Part A(2) activities
• Air Quality (AQ) Notes for additional guidance

In addition to these, should you wish to go into more detail there are other relevant more technical or legal documents including:

Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 which is the detailed legislation,

Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 which is the UK enabling legislation,

IPPC Directive which is the EU legislation,

The Best Available Techniques Reference documents (Known as BAT Reference documents or BREFs).

Some of these documents are used when considering applications and also when writing permits.