Environmental permitting applies to England and Wales only.
If you operate your business in Northern Ireland or Scotland, see our guidance on pollution prevention and control and waste management licensing.
Pollution prevention and control permits
Waste management licensing
If you hold an environmental permit you must:
- comply with its conditions
- tell your regulator in advance if you are planning any change to your operations
- comply with any enforcement notices or suspension notices issued by your regulator
- provide any information requested by your regulator, unless you have a reasonable excuse.
You can be fined or sent to prison if you do not comply with these requirements.
How to comply with environmental permit conditions
Your environmental permit will have simple conditions which are things that your regulated facility must do to achieve environmental outcomes.
For example, one of your conditions might say: you must not cause odour pollution outside your site; the environmental outcome is an odour-free environment for your neighbours.
In most cases, your environmental permit will not set out what you must do to meet the environmental outcome. You have the flexibility to decide how you will do this.
The Environment Agency has produced guidance on how to meet an environmental outcome. You can use other methods not set out in this guidance as long as you meet the environmental outcome.
Environment Agency: How to comply with your environmental permit - getting the basics right (Adobe PDF - 249KB)
The Environment Agency has also produced technical guidance to help you comply with your environmental permit.
Environment Agency: Technical guidance notes
In England and Wales, the Environment Agency has also developed a toolkit that will help you comply with your environmental permit and manage your environmental performance.
As environmental law varies throughout the UK, some of the toolkit will not reflect the law in Northern Ireland or Scotland. If your business is in Northern Ireland or Scotland you can still use the toolkit to help you structure a management plan to control your business' environmental impacts.
For further information, see our guidance on toolkits to help you manage your environmental performance.
Submitting online waste returns
If your environmental permit requires you to submit a waste return you can complete your return online using the Environment Agency's e-business reporting software called the Generic Operator Returns (GOR) internet portal.
Environment Agency: e-business returns
What changes should you tell your regulator about?
If you plan to change or extend your operations you must give notice in writing to the Environment Agency or your local council at least 14 days before the change.
If you operate as a company you should also give the Environment Agency or your local council notice in writing of changes to the operation of your company, including any change:
- in your operating name, trading name, registered name or registered office address
- to your holding company
- in your solvency, such as going into administration.
What is an enforcement notice?
If the Environment Agency or your local council thinks you are not complying with an environmental permit condition, they may issue you with an enforcement notice.
The enforcement notice will:
- explain why your regulator has issued you with the notice
- give details about why your regulator thinks you are not complying with your permit
- explain what you must do to restore any environmental damage and make sure you comply with your permit in the future
- give a time period for you to complete the work.
What is a suspension notice?
If the Environment Agency or your local council thinks that the operation of your regulated facility may lead to serious pollution, they may serve you with a suspension notice.
The suspension notice will:
- explain why your regulator has issued you with the notice
- give details about the pollution risk
- explain what you must do to prevent the pollution happening
- give a time period for you to complete the work
- temporarily vary what your environmental permit allows you to do.
In this guideline:
What is an environmental permit?
Do you need an environmental permit?
Do you need to register an exemption from environmental permitting?
How do you apply for an environmental permit?
What you must do if you hold an environmental permit
How do you change, transfer or cancel your environmental permit?
Environmental permitting further information
Environmental permitting legislation
