These Regulations may be cited as the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 and come into force 21 days after the day on which these Regulations are made.

These Regulations extend to England and Wales only.

In paragraph (4)(a), the sea adjacent to Scotland has the same meaning as the internal waters and territorial sea of the United Kingdom adjacent to Scotland has by virtue of section 126(2) of the Scotland Act 1998 M2.

In these Regulations—

• “the 1980 Act” means the Highways Act 1980 M3;

• “the 1990 Act” means the Environmental Protection Act 1990 M4;

• “the 1991 Act” means the Water Resources Act 1991 M5;

• “the 1993 Act” means the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 M6;

• “the 1995 Act” means the Environment Act 1995 M7;

• “the 2007 Regulations” means the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 M8;

• “the 2010 Regulations” means the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 M9;

• “the Agency” means the Environment Agency;

• “agricultural waste” means waste from premises used for agriculture within the meaning of the Agriculture Act 1947 M10;

• “appropriate agency” means—

  1. a

     in relation to England, the Agency, and

  2. b

     in relation to Wales, the NRBW,

  and references to the “area” of an appropriate agency are to be construed accordingly;

• “appropriate authority” means—

  1. a

     in relation to England, the Secretary of State, and

  2. b

     in relation to Wales, the Welsh Ministers;

• “Category A mining waste facility” means a mining waste facility that is classified as Category A under Article 9 of the Mining Waste Directive;

• “class”, in relation to a regulated facility, is to be construed in accordance with regulation 8;

• “coastal waters” has the meaning given in section 104 of the 1991 Act;

• F1“combustion plant” means any technical apparatus in which fuels are oxidised in order to use the heat generated;

• “confidential information” means information that is commercially or industrially confidential in relation to any person;

• “culvert” has the meaning given in paragraph 3(3) of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “disposal”—

  1. a

     except in relation to a radioactive substances activity, has the meaning given in paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 9;

  2. b

     in relation to a radioactive substances activity, has the meaning given in paragraph 1 of Part 2 of Schedule 23;

• “drainage” has the meaning given in paragraph 2(1) of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “effluent” has the same meaning as in the 1991 Act;

• “emission” means—

  1. a

     in relation to a Part A installation, the direct or indirect release of substances, vibrations, heat or noise from individual or diffuse sources in the installation into the air, water or land;

  2. b

     in relation to a Part B installation, the direct release of substances or heat from individual or diffuse sources in the installation into the air;

  3. c

     in relation to a solvent emission activity, the direct or indirect release of substances from individual or diffuse sources in the regulated facility into the air;

  4. d

     in relation to Part B mobile plant, the direct release of substances or heat from the mobile plant into the air;

  5. e

     in relation to a waste operation, the direct or indirect release of substances, vibrations, heat or noise from individual or diffuse sources related to the operation into the air, water or land;

  6. f

     in relation to a mining waste operation, the direct or indirect release of substances, vibrations, heat or noise from individual or diffuse sources related to the operation into the air, water or land;

  7. g

     in relation to a radioactive substances activity, the direct or indirect release of radioactive material or radioactive waste;

  8. h

     in relation to a small waste incineration plant, the direct or indirect release of substances from individual or diffuse sources in the regulated facility into the air or water;

  9. i

     F2in relation to a medium combustion plant, the release of substances from the plant into the air;

  10. j

      in relation to a specified generator, the release of substances from the plant into the air;

• “enforcement notice” means a notice served under regulation 36;

• “enforcement undertaking” has the meaning given in paragraph 1(3) of Schedule 26;

• F23“environmental objectives” means—

  1. a

     in relation to the Northumbria River Basin District, means the environmental objectives referred to in the WFD Regulations as applied by regulation 5 of the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (Northumbria River Basin District) Regulations 2003;

  2. b

     in relation to the Solway Tweed River Basin District, means the objectives as defined in regulation 2 of the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (Solway Tweed River Basin District) Regulations 2004;

  3. c

     in relation to a river basin district within the meaning of the WFD Regulations, has the same meaning as in those Regulations;

• “environmental permit” has the meaning given in regulation 13(1);

• “environmental permit condition” means a condition of an environmental permit;

• “establishment” has the same meaning as in the Waste Framework Directive;

• F24“EU-derived domestic legislation” has the meaning given by section 2(2) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018;

• “excluded flood risk activity” has the meaning given in paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “excluded waste operation” means any part of a waste operation not carried on at an installation or by means of Part B mobile plant—

  1. a

     that—

     1. i

        requires a marine licence under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 M11, or

     2. ii

        does not require such a licence by virtue of any provision made by or under section 74, 75 M12 or 77 of that Act and does not involve the dismantling of a ship that is waste, or

  2. b

     that relates to waste described in regulation 3(2) of the Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 M13;

• “exempt facility” has the meaning given in regulation 5;

• “exempt flood risk activity” has the meaning given in regulation 5;

• “exempt groundwater activity” has the meaning given in regulation 5;

• “exempt waste operation” has the meaning given in regulation 5;

• “exempt water discharge activity” has the meaning given in regulation 5;

• “exemption authority” has the meaning given in paragraph 2 of Schedule 2;

• “exemption registration authority” has the meaning given in paragraph 2 of Schedule 2;

• “existing mining waste facility” means a mining waste facility in operation on 1st May 2008;

• “extractive waste” means waste within the meaning of Article 2(1) of the Mining Waste Directive, except where it is excluded from the scope of that Directive by Article 2(2)(a) and (b);

• “flood defence structure” has the meaning given in paragraph 2(1) of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “flood risk activity” has the meaning given in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “flood risk activity emergency works notice” means a notice served under paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “flood risk activity notice of intent” means a notice served under paragraph 9(2) of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “flood risk activity remediation notice” means a notice served under paragraph 8 of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “groundwater” means all water which is below the surface of the ground in the saturation zone and in direct contact with the ground or subsoil;

• “groundwater activity” has the meaning given in paragraph 3 of Schedule 22;

• F47“groundwater mobile plant” means plant that is—

  1. a

     designed to move or be moved whether on roads or other land,

  2. b

     used to carry on a groundwater activity, and

  3. c

     not an installation or Part B mobile plant;

• F47“groundwater Source Protection Zone 1” means a zone—

  1. a

     within 50m of a point at which water is abstracted for domestic or food production purposes from any underground strata, or

  2. b

     defined by a 50-day travel time for groundwater to reach a groundwater abstraction point that is used to supply water for domestic or food production purposes,

     whichever is larger;

• “hazardous substance” has the meaning given in paragraph 4 of Schedule 22;

• “hazardous waste”, subject to paragraph (7)—

  1. a

     in relation to England, has the meaning given in regulation 6 of the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 M14;

  2. b

     in relation to Wales, has the meaning given in regulation 6 of the Hazardous Waste (Wales) Regulations 2005 M15;

• “highway drain” means a drain which a highway authority or other person is entitled to keep open by virtue of section 100 of the 1980 Act M16;

• “household waste” has the meaning given in section 75(5) of the 1990 Act;

• “inland freshwaters” has the meaning given in section 104 of the 1991 Act;

• “installation” has the meaning given in paragraph 1(1) of Part 1 of Schedule 1;

• “lake or pond” and “waters of any lake or pond” have the same meaning as in section 104 of the 1991 Act;

• “landfill” has the meaning given in paragraph 2(1)(d) of Schedule 10;

• “landfill closure notice” means a closure notice served under paragraph 10 of Schedule 10;

• “local authority” F25, except in Schedule 1A, has the meaning given in regulation 6;

• “main river” has the meaning given in paragraph 2(1) of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• F3“medium combustion plant” has the meaning given in paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 25A;

• “mining waste facility” has the meaning given in paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 20;

• “mining waste facility closure notice” means a closure notice served under paragraph 10 of Schedule 20;

• “mining waste operation” has the meaning given in paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 20;

• F4“mobile medium combustion plant” means a medium combustion plant that is—

  1. a

     designed to move or be moved whether on roads or other land, and

  2. b

     is not Part B mobile plant;

• F47“mobile plant”, in relation to England, means any of the following—

  1. a

     Part B mobile plant;

  2. b

     waste mobile plant;

  3. c

     mobile medium combustion plant;

  4. d

     groundwater mobile plant;

• “mobile plant” F44, in relation to Wales, means F5any of the following—

  1. a

     Part B mobile plant;

  2. b

     waste mobile plant;

  3. c

     F6mobile medium combustion plant;

• “mobile radioactive apparatus” has the meaning given in paragraph 1 of Part 2 of Schedule 23;

• “the NRBW” means the Natural Resources Body for Wales;

• “net rated thermal input” has the meaning given in paragraph 1(1) of Part 1 of Schedule 1;

• “non-hazardous waste”, subject to paragraph (7), means waste which is not hazardous waste;

• “non-tidal main river” has the meaning given in paragraph 2(1) of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “nuclear site”, in relation to a radioactive substances activity, has the meaning given in paragraph 1 of Part 2 of Schedule 23;

• “operate a regulated facility” and “operator” have the meaning given in regulation 7;

• “Part A(1) activity” means an activity falling within Part A(1) of any Section in Part 2 of Schedule 1;

• “Part A(2) activity” means an activity falling within Part A(2) of any Section in Part 2 of Schedule 1;

• “Part A installation” means a Part A(1) installation or a Part A(2) installation;

• “Part A(1) installation” means an installation where a Part A(1) activity is carried on either alone or in combination with any or all of the following—

  1. a

     a Part A(2) activity;

  2. b

     a Part B activity;

  3. c

     the operation of a small waste incineration plant;

  4. d

     a solvent emission activity;

• “Part A(2) installation” means an installation where a Part A(2) activity is carried on either alone or in combination with any or all of the following—

  1. a

     a Part B activity;

  2. b

     the operation of a small waste incineration plant;

  3. c

     a solvent emission activity;

• “Part B activity” means an activity falling within Part B of any Section in Part 2 of Schedule 1;

• “Part B installation” means, subject to F7paragraph (8) and to Sections 2.2, 5.1 and 6.4 in Part 2 of Schedule 1, an installation, not being a Part A installation, where a Part B activity is carried on either alone or in combination with either or both of the following—

  1. a

     the operation of a small waste incineration plant;

  2. b

     a solvent emission activity;

• “Part B mobile plant” means plant that is designed to move or be moved whether on roads or other land and that is used to carry on a Part B activity;

• F47“pollutant”, in relation to England, means any—

  1. a

     substance,

  2. b

     heat, or

  3. c

     biological entity or micro-organism,

     which is liable to cause pollution;

• “pollutant” F45, in relation to Wales, means any substance liable to cause pollution;

• F47“pollution”, in relation to England, in relation to a water discharge activity or groundwater activity, means the direct or indirect introduction, as a result of human activity, of substances, heat or biological entities or micro-organisms into air, water or land which may—

  1. a

     be harmful to human health or the quality of aquatic ecosystems or terrestrial ecosystems directly depending on aquatic ecosystems,

  2. b

     result in damage to material property, or

  3. c

     impair or interfere with amenities or other legitimate uses of the environment;

• “pollution” F46, in relation to Wales, in relation to a water discharge activity or groundwater activity, means the direct or indirect introduction, as a result of human activity, of substances or heat into the air, water or land which may—

  1. a

     be harmful to human health or the quality of aquatic ecosystems or terrestrial ecosystems directly depending on aquatic ecosystems,

  2. b

     result in damage to material property, or

  3. c

     impair or interfere with amenities or other legitimate uses of the environment;

• “pollution”, other than in relation to a water discharge activity or groundwater activity, means any emission as a result of human activity which may—

  1. a

     be harmful to human health or the quality of the environment,

  2. b

     cause offence to a human sense,

  3. c

     result in damage to material property, or

  4. d

     impair or interfere with amenities or other legitimate uses of the environment;

• “prescribed statutory provision” means—

  1. a

     Part 4 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 M17,

  2. b

     section 163 of the 1991 Act M18,

  3. c

     section 165 of the Water Industry Act 1991 M19, or

  4. d

     any local statutory provision (within the meaning given in section 221 of the 1991 Act) or statutory order which expressly confers power to discharge effluent into water;

• “prohibition notice” means a notice served under paragraph 9 of Schedule 22;

• “proposed transferee” means the person to whom an operator or a regulator proposes to transfer an environmental permit in whole or in part;

• “public participation provisions” means regulations 26, 29 and 60, and paragraphs 6 and 8 of Part 1 of Schedule 5;

• “public register” has the meaning given in regulation 46(1);

• “radioactive material” has the meaning given in paragraph 3 of Part 2 of Schedule 23;

• “radioactive substances activity” has the meaning given in paragraph 11 of Part 2 of Schedule 23;

• “radioactive substances exemption” means an exemption under Part 6 of Schedule 23 from the requirement for an environmental permit in respect of a radioactive substances activity;

• “radioactive waste” has the meaning given in paragraph 3 of Part 2 of Schedule 23;

• “recovery” has the meaning given in paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 9;

• “register” and “registered”, in relation to an exempt facility, have the meanings given in paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 2;

• “regulated facility” has the meaning given in regulation 8;

• “regulator” means the authority on whom functions are conferred by regulation 32, or by a direction under regulation 33;

• “regulator-initiated variation” means the variation of an environmental permit on the initiative of the regulator under regulation 20(1);

• “relevant function” has the meaning given in regulation 9;

• “relevant territorial waters” has the meaning given in section 104(1) of the 1991 Act;

• “remote defence” has the meaning given in paragraph 3(3) of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “revocation notice” means a notice served under regulation 22(3);

• “river control works” has the meaning given in paragraph 3(3) of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “rule-making authority” means—

  1. a

     in relation to a regulated facility for which a local authority is the regulator, the appropriate authority, and

  2. b

     in relation to any other regulated facility, the appropriate agency;

• “sea defence” has the meaning given in paragraph 3(3) of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “sewage effluent” has the meaning given in section 221 of the 1991 Act;

• “sewer” has the same meaning as in the 1991 Act;

• “small waste incineration plant” means a waste incineration plant or waste co-incineration plant with a capacity less than or equal to 10 tonnes per day for hazardous waste or 3 tonnes per hour for non-hazardous waste;

• “solvent emission activity” means an activity to which Chapter V of the Industrial Emissions Directive applies;

• F8“specified generator” has the meaning given in paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 25B;

• “standard facility” means a regulated facility described in standard rules published under regulation 26(5);

• “stand-alone flood risk activity” means a flood risk activity that is not carried on as part of the operation of a regulated facility of another class;

• “stand-alone groundwater activity” means a groundwater activity that is not carried on as part of the operation of a regulated facility of another class;

• “stand-alone water discharge activity” means a water discharge activity that is not carried on as part of the operation of a regulated facility of another class;

• “suspension notice” means a notice served under regulation 37;

• “tidal main river” has the meaning given in paragraph 2(1) of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “trade effluent” has the meaning given in section 221 of the 1991 Act;

• “undertaking”, except in relation to a radioactive substances activity, has the same meaning as in the Waste Framework Directive;

• “vessel”, except in Section 2.2 of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Schedule 1 and in paragraph 14 of Part 2 of Schedule 23, has the same meaning as in the 1991 Act;

• “waste”, subject to paragraph (6), and except where otherwise defined—

  1. a

     in relation to Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Schedule 1 and Schedules 13 to 15, F917, 19, 25A and 25B, means anything that—

     1. i

        is waste within the meaning of Article 3(1) of the Waste Framework DirectiveF26, as read with Articles 5 and 6 of that Directive, and

     2. ii

        is not excluded from the scope of that Directive by Article 2(1)(d) of that Directive;

  2. b

     in any other case means anything that—

     1. i

        is waste within the meaning of Article 3(1) of the Waste Framework DirectiveF26, as read with Articles 5 and 6 of that Directive, and

     2. ii

        is not excluded from the scope of that Directive by Article 2(1), (2) or (3) of that Directive;

• “waste battery” and “accumulator” have the meaning given in Article 3(7) of the Batteries Directive, but do not include any waste which is excluded from the scope of that Directive by Article 2(2);

• “waste co-incineration plant” means a stationary or mobile technical unit whose main purpose is the generation of energy or production of material products and which uses waste as a regular or additional fuel or in which waste is thermally treated for the purpose of disposal through the incineration by oxidation of waste as well as other thermal treatment processes, such as pyrolysis, gasification or plasma process, if the substances resulting from the treatment are subsequently incinerated;

• “waste incineration plant” means a stationary or mobile technical unit and equipment dedicated to the thermal treatment of waste, with or without recovery of the combustion heat generated, through the incineration by oxidation of waste as well as other thermal treatment processes, such as pyrolysis, gasification or plasma process, if the substances resulting from the treatment are subsequently incinerated;

• “waste mobile plant” means plant that is—

  1. a

     designed to move or be moved whether on roads or other land,

  2. b

     used to carry on a waste operation, and

  3. c

     not an installation or Part B mobile plant;

• “waste oil” means mineral-based lubricating or industrial oil which has become unfit for the use for which it was originally intended and, in particular, used combustion engine oil, gearbox oil, mineral lubricating oil, oil for turbines and hydraulic oil;

• “waste operation” means recovery or disposal of waste;

• “watercourse” has the meaning given in paragraph 2(1) of Part 1 of Schedule 25;

• “water discharge activity” has the meaning given in paragraph 3 of Schedule 21;

• “WEEE” has the meaning given in Article 3(1)(e) of the WEEE Directive;

• F27“the WFD Regulations” means the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017;

• “working day” means a day other than—

  1. a

     a Saturday or a Sunday,

  2. b

     Good Friday or Christmas Day, or

  3. c

     a day which is a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 M20.

In paragraph (1), “statutory order” means any order, byelaw, scheme or award made under any enactment, including an order or scheme confirmed by Parliament or the National Assembly for Wales, or brought into operation in accordance with special parliamentary procedure or special procedure in the Assembly.

In these Regulations, a power to give a direction includes a power to vary or revoke it.

Where this paragraph applies, for so long as the relevant exemption applies to A, the applicable radioactive waste must be treated for the purposes of these Regulations as if it were waste other than radioactive waste.

In relation to an activity that falls within Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Schedule 1 or Schedule 13, hazardous waste means waste which displays any of the characteristics listed in Annex III to the Waste Framework Directive.

From the transfer date any medium combustion plant or specified generator does not form part of a Part B installation unless the operation of the plant is itself a Part B activity.

In paragraph (8), “transfer date” has the meaning given in regulation 32(5C).

Schedule 2 (exempt facilities: general) has effect.

Schedule 3 (exempt facilities and waste operations to which section 33(1)(a) of the 1990 Act does not apply: descriptions and conditions) has effect.

Where a port health authority has been constituted for a port health district by an order under section 2 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 M34 that authority is the local authority for the area covered by that district in relation to a Part B installation, a small waste incineration plant or a solvent emission activity.

In these Regulations, a reference to a class of regulated facility is a reference to a class in paragraph (1).

In this regulation, “instrument” means a notice, notification, certificate, direction or form under these Regulations.

An instrument must be in writing.

In the case of a body corporate, an instrument may be served on or given to a director of that body or the secretary or clerk.

In the case of a partnership, an instrument may be served on or given to a partner or a person having control or management of the partnership business.

For the purposes of paragraph (6), the principal office of a company registered outside the United Kingdom or of a partnership established outside the United Kingdom is their principal office in the United Kingdom.

A form provided by the regulator which specifies an electronic address for submission may be submitted electronically to that address.

A form provided by the regulator for completion and submission through a website may be submitted through that site.