The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007

PART 1 Interpretation and application: general

Interpretation

1.  In this Schedule, “background quantity” means, in relation to the release of a substance resulting from an activity, such quantity of that substance as is present in—

(a) water supplied to the site where the activity is carried on;

(b) water abstracted for use in the activity; and

(c) precipitation onto the site on which the activity is carried on.

Activities falling within more than one Part description

2.—(1) Where, in Part 2 of this Schedule, an activity falls within a description in Part A(1) and a description in Part A(2) that activity must be regarded as falling only within that description which fits it most aptly.

(2) Where, in Part 2 of this Schedule, an activity falls within a description in Part A(1) and a description in Part B (other than a description in Section 7) that activity must be regarded as falling only within the description in Part A(1).

(3) Where, in Part 2 of this Schedule, an activity falls within a description in Part A(2) and a description in Part B (other than a description in Section 7) that activity must be regarded as falling only within the description in Part A(2).

(4) If, immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations, an installation where a Part A(2) activity and a waste operation were carried out was a Part A(1) installation by virtue of paragraph 17 of Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the 2000 Regulations, that installation carries on a Part A(1) activity for the purposes of these Regulations.

Application of activities falling within Sections 1.1 to 6.9 of Part 2

3.  An activity must not be taken to be an activity falling within Sections 1.1 to 6.9 of Part 2 if it is—

(a) carried on in a working museum to demonstrate an industrial activity of historic interest;

(b) carried on for educational purposes in a school as defined in section 4(1) of the Education Act 1996(1);

(c) carried on at an installation or mobile plant solely used for research, development and testing of new products and processes;

(d) the running on or within an aircraft, hovercraft, mechanically propelled road vehicle, railway locomotive or ship or other vessel of an engine which propels or provides electricity for it;

(e) the running of an engine in order to test it before it is installed or in the course of its development; or

(f) carried on as a domestic activity in connection with a private dwelling.

Capacity: Part A(1) and A(2) descriptions

4.—(1) This paragraph applies for the purpose of determining whether an activity carried on in a stationary technical unit falls within a description in Part A(1) or Part A(2) of Part 2 of this Schedule which refers to capacity, other than design holding capacity.

(2) Where a person carries out several activities falling within the same description in Part A(1) or Part A(2) in different parts of the same stationary technical unit or in different stationary technical units on the same site, the capacities of each part or unit, as the case may be, must be added together and the total capacity must be attributed to each part or unit for the purpose of determining whether the activity carried on in each part or unit falls within a description in Part A(1) or Part A(2).

(3) For the purpose of sub-paragraph (2), no account must be taken of capacity when determining whether activities fall within the same description.

(4) Where an activity falls within a description in Part A(1) or Part A(2) by virtue of this paragraph it must not be taken to be an activity falling within a description in Part B (other than a description in Section 7).

Operation below thresholds: effect on the installation

5.  Where an operator is authorised by an environmental permit to carry out Part A(1) activities, Part A(2) activities or Part B activities which are described in Part 2 of this Schedule by reference to a threshold (whether in terms of capacity or otherwise) at an installation, the installation does not cease to be a Part A(1) installation, a Part A(2) installation, or a Part B installation, as the case may be, by virtue of the installation being operated below the relevant threshold unless the permit ceases to have effect in accordance with these Regulations.

Application of Part B activities: releases into the air

6.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), an activity must not be taken to be a Part B activity within Part 2 of this Schedule if it cannot result in the release into the air of a substance listed in sub-paragraph (3) or there is no likelihood that it will result in the release into the air of any such substance except in a quantity which is so trivial that it is incapable of causing pollution or its capacity to cause pollution is insignificant.

(2) Sub-paragraph (1) does not apply to—

(a) an SED activity; or

(b) an activity which may give rise to an offensive smell noticeable outside the site where the activity is carried on.

(3) References to, or to the release into the air of, a substance listed in this paragraph are to any of the following substances—

(a) oxides of sulphur and other sulphur compounds;

(b) oxides of nitrogen and other nitrogen compounds;

(c) oxides of carbon;

(d) organic compounds and partial oxidation products;

(e) metals, metalloids and their compounds;

(f) asbestos (suspended particulate matter and fibres), glass fibres and mineral fibres;

(g) halogens and their compounds;

(h) phosphorus and its compounds;

(i) particulate matter.

References to releases into water

7.  References in Part 2 to, or to the release into water of, a substance listed in this paragraph or to its release in a quantity which, in any period of 12 months, is greater than the background quantity by an amount specified in this paragraph are to the following substances and amounts—

Table

Substance	Amount greater than the background quantity (in grammes) in any period of 12 months
* Where both Altrazine and Simazine are released, the figure for both substances in aggregate is 350 grammes.
Mercury and its compounds	200 (expressed as metal)
Cadmium and its compounds	1,000 (expressed as metal)
All isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane	20
All isomers of DDT	5
Pentachlorophenol and its compounds	350 (expressed as PCP)
Hexachlorobenzene	5
Hexachlorobutadiene	20
Aldrin	2
Dieldrin	2
Endrin	1
Polychlorinated Biphenyls	1
Dichlorvos	0.2
1, 2—Dichloroethane	2,000
All isomers of trichlorobenzene	75
Atrazine	350*
Simazine	350*
Tributyltin compounds	4 (expressed as TBT)
Triphenyltin compounds	4 (expressed as TPT)
Trifluralin	20
Fenitrothion	2
Azinphos-methyl	2
Malathion	2
Endosulfan	0.5

References to certain substances

8.—(1) References in Part 2 to a substance listed in this paragraph are to any of the following substances—

(a) alkali metals and their oxides and alkaline earth metals and their oxides;

(b) organic solvents;

(c) azides;

(d) halogens and their covalent compounds;

(e) metal carbonyls;

(f) organo-metallic compounds;

(g) oxidising agents;

(h) polychlorinated dibenzofuran and any congener thereof;

(i) polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and any congener thereof;

(j) polyhalogenated biphenyls, terphenyls and naphthalenes;

(k) phosphorus;

(l) pesticides.

(2) In this paragraph, “pesticide” means any chemical substance or preparation prepared or used for destroying any pest, including those used for—

(a) protecting plants or wood or other plant products from harmful organisms;

(b) regulating the growth of plants;

(c) giving protection against harmful creatures or rendering such creatures harmless;

(d) controlling organisms with harmful or unwanted effects on water systems, buildings or other structures, or on manufactured products; or

(e) protecting animals against ectoparasites.

(1)

1996 c. 56; section 4(1) was substituted by the Education Act 1997 (c. 44), section 51.