Consultation on modernising environmental permitting for industry

For Part B installations local authority permits must apply BAT for emissions to air (including odour), but not for other areas such as emissions to land and water or wider environmental impacts. While control of emissions to air should remain a key aim for Part B regulation, there is extensive anecdotal evidence of other environmental risks for example noise complaints and ground and water contamination. 

Each of these areas already has some degree of existing regulation outside of Part B installation permitting. For example, there is water discharge and groundwater permitting for emissions to water, waste permitting, the contaminated land regime for emissions to land, and statutory nuisance regulations for noise. However, control of some of these environmental impacts is patchy in existing regulation. The contaminated land and statutory nuisance regimes under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 are generally reactive and do not put in place detailed design requirements on industrial installations to reduce emissions to land or noise. While the water discharge and groundwater regimes are effective, they focus primarily on direct discharges to water via a point source and do not require use of BAT or take a fully integrated approach to setting standards. This could represent a missed opportunity for emissions reduction of direct emissions to water and indirect emissions through leaks, runoff and the sewage system, including for low-volume, high concern pollutants such as PFAS. 

An integrated approach to pollution control for Part B installations would remove loopholes that allow pollution and would simplify and consolidate regulation into a single framework to enable regulatory consistency, reduce regulatory complexity and ensure that integrated standards could be developed. There is an existing clear precedent through Part A2 installations, where local authorities take an integrated approach to permitting of those sectors and water permits are consolidated to reduce burden on industry.