Regulations

Industrial processes that use or emit certain substances are controlled under the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 & the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007, and require a permit to operate issued either by Bromsgrove DC or the Environment Agency.  The permit sets controls and emission standards to minimise pollution. Once a Permit has been issued we routinely inspect the activity.  The processes are risk assessed and those that are considered to have a higher pollution potential are inspected more frequently.

The risk rating is made up of two components:

• Environmental Impact Appraisal (EIA) -this assesses possible environmental problems, taking into account an installation's location and type
• Operator Performance Appraisal (OPA) - this assesses how well the operator manages the potential environmental impact of the process

We periodically review the permits and conditions to take into account developments in working practices and technology.  If the conditions we set in the Permit are not complied with we can take enforcement action which may lead to prosecution.

The industrial activities listed in the Environmental Permitting regulations 2007 are very wide ranging and are split into three categories, A1, A2 or Part B activities.

It is the Operator’s responsibility to determine whether the Regulations apply to their activity, and, if so, whether it is a Part A1, A2 or Part B activity. Operators should satisfy themselves that they comply with the law.

Part A1 activities:

The Environment Agency control A1 activities, which are the larger more polluting and complex industries such as power stations and chemical plants. A1 installations are regulated by the Environment Agency who control emissions of pollutants to air, land and water.  Enquiries in relation to applications for Part A1 installations should be directed to the Environment Agency via their national call centre tel. 08708 506 506

Part A2 activities:

These include medium sized industries such as animal rendering, brick manufacturers and galvanisers. Part A(2) activities are regulated by the local authority. The A2 system is Local Authority Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (LA-IPPC).

A2 industries have pollution controls to protect the environment from emissions to air, water (including discharges to sewer) and land including any other activities that may have an environmental impact hence the term ‘integrated pollution prevention and control’.

Part B activities:

These include smaller installations ranging from dry cleaners and petrol stations to large scale printing and bulk cement that are regulated by the local authority. These industries are considered unlikely to cause pollution to land or water and are only regulated for emissions to air.

The Part B system is known as Local Authority Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC).

Mobile installations:

Part A(2) and B mobile units such as stone crushers are regulated by the local authority where their head office or principle place of business is located. Operators of these units are required to inform the regulating authority of their location. As before Part A(1) mobile units are regulated by the Environment Agency.