The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016
| Year | 2016 |
2016 No. 1154
Environmental Protection, England And Wales
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016
Made 11th December 2016
Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1(1)
The Secretary of State and the Welsh Ministers make these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by—
(a) sections 2 and 7(9) of, and Schedule 1 to, the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 (“the 1999 Act”)1;
(b) sections 61 and 90 of, and Schedule 8 to, the Water Act 2014 (“the 2014 Act”)2; and
(c) paragraph 1A of Schedule 2 to the European Communities Act 19723.
The Secretary of State also makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 62 of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 (“the 2008 Act”)4.
These Regulations make provision for a purpose mentioned in section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19725and it appears to the Secretary of State and the Welsh Ministers that it is expedient for the reference to Commission Decision 2000/532/EC6mentioned in paragraph 1(1) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 3 to these Regulations to be construed as a reference to that instrument as amended from time to time.
In accordance with section 2(4) of the 1999 Act and section 61(5) of the 2014 Act, the Secretary of State and the Welsh Ministers have consulted—
(a) the Environment Agency,
(b) the Natural Resources Body for Wales,
(c) such bodies or persons appearing to them to be representative of the interests of local government, industry, agriculture and small businesses as they consider appropriate, and
(d) such other bodies or persons as they consider appropriate.
In accordance with section 61(3) of the 2014 Act, the Secretary of State and the Welsh Ministers have had regard to the desirability of reducing burdens by ensuring that so far as is reasonably practicable any system established by regulations under that section is combined with, or is consistent with, systems for regulating activities or other matters that cause pollution.
In accordance with section 66 of the 2008 Act, the Secretary of State is satisfied that the Environment Agency will act in accordance with the principles referred to in section 5(2) of that Act in exercising the powers in Schedule 26 to these Regulations to impose a civil sanction in relation to an offence.
A draft of this instrument has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament and by the National Assembly for Wales pursuant to section 2(8) and (9)(d) and (e) of the 1999 Act7and sections 62(7) and (8) and 90(3) of the 2014 Act.
PART 1
General
Citation, commencement, extent and application
1.—(1) 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.
(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales only.
(3) They apply in relation to—
(a)
(a) England and the sea adjacent to England out as far as the seaward boundary of the territorial sea, and
(b)
(b) Wales, within the meaning given by section 158 of the Government of Wales Act 20068.
(4) In paragraph (3)(a), the sea adjacent to England is so much of the sea adjacent to Great Britain as—
(a)
(a) is not the sea adjacent to Scotland, and
(b)
(b) does not form part of Wales.
(5) 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 19989.
Interpretation: general
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the 1980 Act” means the Highways Act 198010;
“the 1990 Act” means the Environmental Protection Act 199011;
“the 1991 Act” means the Water Resources Act 199112;
“the 1993 Act” means the Radioactive Substances Act 199313;
“the 1995 Act” means the Environment Act 199514;
“the 2007 Regulations” means the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 200715;
“the 2010 Regulations” means the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 201016;
“the Agency” means the Environment Agency;
“agricultural waste” means waste from premises used for agriculture within the meaning of the Agriculture Act 194717;
“appropriate agency” means—
(a) in relation to England, the Agency, and
(b) in relation to Wales, the NRBW,
and references to the “area” of an appropriate agency are to be construed accordingly;
“appropriate authority” means—
(a) in relation to England, the Secretary of State, and
(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;
“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”—
(a) except in relation to a radioactive substances activity, has the meaning given in paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 9;
(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—
(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;
(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;
(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;
(d) in relation to Part B mobile plant, the direct release of substances or heat from the mobile plant into the air;
(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;
(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;
(g) in relation to a radioactive substances activity, the direct or indirect release of radioactive material or radioactive waste;
(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;
“enforcement notice” means a notice served under regulation 36;
“enforcement undertaking” has the meaning given in paragraph 1(3) of Schedule 26;
“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;
“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—
(a) that—
(i) requires a marine licence under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 200918, or
(ii) does not require such a licence by virtue of any provision made by or under section 74, 7519or 77 of that Act and does not involve the dismantling of a ship that is waste, or
(b) that relates to waste described in regulation 3(2) of the Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 201220;
“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;
“hazardous substance” has the meaning given in paragraph 4 of Schedule 22;
“hazardous waste”, subject to paragraph (7)—
(a) in relation to England, has the meaning given in regulation 6 of the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 200521;
(b) in relation to Wales, has the meaning given in regulation 6 of the Hazardous Waste (Wales) Regulations 200522;
“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 Act23;
“household waste” has the meaning given in section 75(5) of the 1990 Act;
“inland freshwaters” has the meaning...
To continue reading
Request your trial