Standard Permits

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Standard Permits
Environmental Permitting Regulations Standard
Permits

• Presenter Phil Lodge
• Date 8th February 2008

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What I will cover

• The development of the Environmental Permitting
  Regulations and how we will we implement them
• Standard Permits, application forms guidance
• What changes you will see from 6 April 2008(when
  the new regulations come into force)
• The future
• More information

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Environmental Permitting Programme (EPP)

• The Environmental Permitting Programme has
• engaged stakeholders for over two years
• consulted 4 times on the proposed legislation
• Environmental Permitting Regulations harmonises
  WML PPC first step
• Brings together over 40 legal instruments into
  one streamlined regime
• Aim is to enable one permit per site or operator

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Environmental Permitting Regulations

• Aim Our waste and industry regulation
  customers are regulated in a consistent and risk
  based way through a single permitting and
  compliance regime
• Working towards one permit per site or operator
• Vehicle for improving the way we regulate
• Expected to give significant reduction in
  administrative burden hence operator costs
• Graduated introduction getting it right

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Cutting admin burden
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Improving the way we regulate

• Customer focused system improved forms, clearer
  guidance and high quality documents
• Reduced admin burden for operators -
  documentation reduced by more than 600 documents
  (8000 pages)
• On-line applications and payments during 2008
• Improved permitting, compliance enforcement-
  Focusing our effort on high risk activities

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Introducing standard permits

• We will be introducing Standard permits for 27
  waste operations. These offer you great savings.
• Focus on risk based environmental outcomes
• Know what you are getting
• Pre-consultation on rules
• No site specific risk assessment
• Cheaper to prepare application
• Cheaper application fees (2800 SP compared
  4,500 WML)
• Faster to issue
• Environmental standards will not be compromised

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Standard Permits - available

• Standard permits for
• Low to medium risk
• Can define a risk envelope
• Location independent (no local consultation)
• Can operate to a set of standard rules
• Relatively common (hundreds of sites)
• Bespoke permit
• PPC Standard Permits
• We want holders of old WML to move to Standard
  Permits

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April 2008 Whats different for current waste
exemption, PPC, WML holders?

• All current WML and PPC permits automatically
  become Environmental Permits.
• You dont need to reapply the conditions in
  your permit remain the same.
• Waste exemptions will become exemptions from
  Environmental Permitting.
• Some paragraph number will change. We will
  notify you if affected.
• Subsistence charges will remain the same

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What does it mean to me?

• A better customer experience as we
  areOverhauling how you get your permit
• Customer friendly application form and guidance
• One- stop-shop for applications
• Apply online during 2008
• More routes to technical competency

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Operator competence

• DEFRA Environmental Permitting Guidance 4
  factors
• - Operators management system
• - Operators technical competence
• - Operators compliance record
• - Operators financial competence.
• Detailed in regulatory guidance
• - EP RGS No.5 Operator competence.

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Management systems

• All operators required to manage operations in
  accordance with a management system.
• Baseline permit condition or rule enforces this
  requirement.
• Essential to ensure high level of environmental
  protection.

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Technical competence

• All operators must be technically competent.
• Demonstrate competence on an ongoing basis.
• Addressed differently for waste and non-waste
  operations
• Waste
• - Compliance with an approved industry scheme
• - Holding an appropriate Certificate of
  Technical - Competence (CoTC)
• - Registered and validated deemed competence
• - Environment Agency assessment

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Technical competence

• Non-waste
• - Management system addresses staff training
  and development.
• - Provision to update staff competence.
• - At application stage - integral part of
  assessing the management system.
• - Reviewed by assessing staff development in
  accordance with the management system.

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Relevant convictions (compliance record)

• Assessed for
• - new permit application.
• - transfer application.
• - conviction of an existing operator.
• Only convictions considered.
• Only for offences relating to the environment.
• Convictions held by operator and relevant
  persons.
• Required to disclose in application.

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Relevant persons

• the operator (i.e. the legal person holding or
  applying for the permit a person, persons in a
  partnership, or a corporate body) and
• a director, manager, secretary or other similar
  officer of an operator (when it is a corporate
  body) and a partner in a limited liability
  partnership (LLP), who has either been convicted
  of a relevant offence themselves, or who held a
  position in another corporate body or LLP when it
  was convicted of a relevant offence.

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Financial competence

• We must not issue a permit if we have reason to
  believe that the operator will not be capable of
  financing obligations of the permit.
• Must identify operators who pose the highest
  financial risk - confirm financial stability
  prior to issue.
• Operators required to declare any current or past
  insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings.
• Give their consent for us to carry out a credit
  check.
• Additional requirement for operators of landfill
  sites.

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Financial competence landfill sites

• Operators must make financial provision which is
  adequate to discharge the obligations of the
  landfill permit (including closure and aftercare
  obligations).
• Specify the mechanism they have chosen to make
  financial provision.
• Provide a plan of the estimated expenditure for
  each phase of the landfill.

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What does it mean to me?

• Your permit gives you more options
• Conditions focused on the outcomes
• Risk based surrender
• Partial surrender and transfer
• Increase the amount of land

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What does it mean to me?

• Working towards a company approach to regulation
• Consolidate your permits on the same site.
• Risk based approach to compliance
• 2008/9 we will be looking consolidating permits
• over multiple sites.
• Pilot multi-site and onsite consolidation 08/09
• Introduction of onsite consolidation as the first
  step in enabling one permit per site or operator
• You can opt to have a single regulator - if you
  are regulated by both us and local authority

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The future

• April 2008 is the start of our journey
• We are introducing the powers gradually,
• so we really understand the implications
• We need volunteer for single site as well
• as multi-site consolidation.
• EPR - a vehicle to improve the way we regulate

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Summary

• Environmental standards are maintained
• The customer experience is better
• Admin burdens are reduced
• Regulation is simplified
• Transparency is greater
• EPR - a vehicle to improve the way we regulate

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How do I find out more?

• From our website
• www.environment-agency.gov.uk/epr
• We will be sending you information on these
  changes
• Contact your local officer if you
• are considering putting
• in an application