Pollution permits
In order to prevent pollution, certain industrial activities that use or emit particular substances must operate under a permit.
A permit is an official legal document, which sets out conditions that the operator must comply with. A permitted process is referred to as an installation. An installation may include more than one relevant activity.
Which industrial installations need a permit
Industrial installations are split into 3 types depending on the type and scale of activity:
Part A1 Installations
The Environment Agency regulates A1 installations. These are the larger, more complex and potentially more polluting industries, such as landfill sites and power stations. Enquiries about A1 installations should be made to the Environment Agency. More information on the Environmental Permits pages of the GOV.UK website.
Part A2 Installations
We undertake the inspection and regulation of part A2 activities. The Part A2 activities regime is known as Local Authority Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (LA-IPPC). Part A2 installations include surface coating of vehicles in manufacture.
Operators who carry out A2 activities have a duty to protect the environment from emissions to air, water (including discharges to sewer) and land that may have an environmental impact.
Part B Installations
Part B activities have the least potential for pollution of the 3 types of activity. They include dry cleaners, car re-sprayers and petrol stations and are regulated by the local authority. Part B activities are only regulated for emissions to air. The Part B activities regime is known as Local Authority Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC).
Our Role
We are responsible for the regulation of part A2 and part B installations including the following roles and duties:
- Granting or refusing permit applications
- Issuing and reviewing pollution permits
- Inspecting permitted installations
- Ensuring that permitted installations are compliant with their permit, including the use of formal enforcement powers where necessary.
- Maintaining a public register of permitted processes
