Environmental permitting regime and exemptions

Environmental permits are a key component of UK business regulation, designed to control and regulate activities which have the potential to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health.

Environmental permits impose a range of conditions governing the construction, operation and eventual decommissioning of a regulated facility, as well as how regulated activities may be carried out.

The risks arising from business activities may arise in a variety of ways, for example from:

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materials used on site
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storage of harmful substances
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risks of pollution to water courses and groundwater
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storage or manufacturing of composts
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mining activities
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risk of flooding due to activities on the land
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emissions to air, from manufacturing processes
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the scale of a particular activity
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handling radioactive substances
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by-products created from manufacturing
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waste treatment or storage
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disposal of waste to landfill or into the ground

Environmental permits allow activities to be regulated according to the risks that they pose. This also allows the government to achieve certain environmental targets, and promote best practice and consistency within industry.

Development of environmental permitting

Prior

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