Licence summary
You must have an environmental permit if you operate a regulated facility in Wales.
A regulated facility includes:
- installations or mobile plants carrying out listed activities
- waste operations
- waste mobile plant
- mining waste operations
Listed activities include:
- energy (burning fuel, gasification, liquification and refining activities)
- metals (manufacturing and processing metals)
- minerals (manufacturing lime, cement, ceramics or glass)
- chemicals (manufacturing chemicals, pharmaceuticals or explosives, storing chemicals in bulk)
- waste (incinerating waste, operating landfills, recovering waste)
- solvents (using solvents)
- other (manufacturing paper, pulp and board, treating timber products, coating, treating textiles and printing, manufacturing new tyres, intensive pig and poultry farming)
Listed activities are divided into three categories: Part A(1), Part A(2) and Part B.
Part A permits control activities with a range of environmental impacts, including:
- emissions to air, land and water
- energy efficiency
- waste reduction
- raw materials consumption
- noise, vibration and heat
- accident prevention
Part B permits control activities which cause emissions to air.
The permit your business requires depends on the specific processes involved and resulting emissions.
Permits are available from the Environment Agency or your local authority (the regulator) depending upon the category your business falls within:
- Part A(1) installations or mobile plants are regulated by the Environment Agency
- Part A(2) and Part B installations or mobile plants are regulated by the local authority, except waste operations carried out at Part B installations which are regulated by the Environment Agency
- waste operations or waste mobile plant carried on other than at an installation, or by Part A or Part B mobile plants, are regulated by the Environment Agency
- mining waste operations are regulated by the Environment Agency
Eligibility criteria
Applications must be made on the form provided by the regulator, or online and must include specified information which will vary depending on the operation.
A fee may be payable.
If further information is required the applicant will be notified by the regulator and they must provide this information or the application will be deemed to be withdrawn.
The application must be from the operator of the regulated facility.
For waste operations no licence will be granted unless any required planning permission had first been granted.