Permitting

The Environmental Permitting Regulations (2007) came in to force in 2008 to unify the former Waste Management Licenses and Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) regimes. The Regulations have since been superseded by the Environmental Permitting, England and Wales Regulations (2010) which incorporate all of the provisions of the 2007 Regulations. The regulating body for Environmental Permits is the Environment Agency (EA) whose primary role is the protection of the environment and human health. There are three primary options available to the EA with regard to permitting of AD plants:

• A Standard Environmental Permit
• A Bespoke Environmental Permit
• An Exemption from the Environmental Permitting Regime

Standard permits

For operations that have been assessed to meet generic risk assessments (GRA) based on operation rather than a particular site. If the plant complies with the standard set of rules developed to meet the requirements of the GRA, as set out under the permit, and providing that planning permission is in place, then a standard permit can be issued. Standard permits are available for a range of AD plants and digestate storage and use. Standard permits should be quicker and less costly to obtain than bespoke permits. Standard Permits relevant to AD plants and associated operations include:

No.	Title of Standard Permit	Brief Description
	BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF WASTE
SR2010No14	Composting Biodegradable Waste (in open and contained systems)	500 t (10 t / day of animal waste) at any one time of biodegradable material not used as solvents. Includes ABP material.
SR2010No15	AD facility and use of resultant biogas	Pre treatment and AD of up to 75,000 t/yr of biodegradable material that have not used as solvents (<10 t / day of animal waste). Includes treatment of digestate (centrifuge / pressing / thickening) and biogas storage, drying and use. Biogas burner < 3 MW thermal input in aggregate. Limits set on stack emissions.
SR2010No16	On farm AD facility and use of resultant biogas	Pre treatment and AD of up to 75,000 t/yr of biodegradable material not used as solvents. Includes treatment of digestate (centrifuge / pressing / thickening) and biogas storage, drying and use. Biogas burner < 3 MW thermal input in aggregate. Limits set on stack emissions. Rules allow for gas engines as well as alternative gas uses (turbines, fuel cells, grid injection).
SR2010No17	Storage of digestate from AD plants	Temporary storage of up to 75,000 t of waste in a lagoon or container for up to 3 years. Solid and liquid digestate. Containers must be fit for purpose, lagoons have a freeboard of 750 mm.
SR2009No4	Combustion of biogas in engines at sewage treatment works	Burning of biogas from digestion of sewage sludge in appliance(s) with aggregate thermal input of up to 3 MW. Limits on stack emissions set.

	RECOVERY OR USE OF WASTE ON LAND
SR2010No4	Mobile plant for landspreading	(Not applicable if digestate complies with Quality Protocol / PAS110) Storage of up to 3,000 t of waste for 12 months. The use of mobile plant for spreading materials stated in the rules for agricultural benefit. Includes digestate from AD plants (up to 250 t / ha).
SR2010No5	Mobile plant for reclamation, restoration or improvement of land	Storage of up to 3,000 t of waste for 12 months. The use of mobile plant for the addition of up to 5,000 t / ha of the materials stated in the rules for agricultural / ecological improvement. Compost and digestate from non source segregated sources are to be used on brownfield land not intended for agricultural use only.
SR2010No6	Mobile plant for landspreading of sewage sludge	Storage of up to 3,000 t of waste for 12 months. The use of mobile plant for the treatment of land using the substances listed for the improvement of agriculture / ecology. Includes non agricultural land and agricultural land used for the production of non food crops not grown in short term rotation with food crops. Application of up to 250 t / ha / yr. EA notification required prior to spreading. Sludges from treatment of urban waste water only.

Standard rules for all activities listed above are available at the Environment Agency Website http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/permitting/118404.aspx

Bespoke permits

For operations which do not meet the rules set out in standard permits. For operations that are generally more complex, larger or have potentially higher risks due to the nature of the operation or site location. The Environment Agency will set specific conditions with which the operation must comply.

Exemptions

Where specific low risk activities are being undertaken these may be exempt from an Environmental Permit. Exempt activities must usually be registered with the Environment Agency and this can be done on line from the Agency’s website.

Exemptions are set out in the Environmental Permitting, England and Wales Regulations 2010. The table below briefly describes the exemptions that are most likely to be applicable to anaerobic digestion and associated activities.

No.	Title of Exemption	Brief Description
	USE OF WASTE
U6	Use of sludge for the purposes of re-seeding a waste water treatment plant	Storage of use of up to 1,000 m3 of sludge from a WWTP in order to re-seed the receiving WWTP. Can use sludges from treatment of urban waste water, and sludges from biological treatment of industrial waste water other than those mentioned in 190811 (i.e. contaminated). It is understood that this exemption does apply to AD plants.
U10	Spreading of waste on agricultural land to confer benefit	Spreading of up to 50 t/ha and storage of up to 200 t of digestate produced from a process operating under a T24 or T25 activity. A mobile plant license is required where U10 is not applicable.
U11	Spreading waste on non-agricultural land to confer benefit	Spreading of material for physical, chemical or biological land improvement. Includes digestate from T24 or T25 process at a rate of 50 t/ha with up to 200 t storage. Compost also included. A mobile plant license is required where U11 is not applicable.

	TREATMENT OF WASTE
T13	Treatment of waste food	Decanting, unwrapping, bulking up, sorting of food waste and its packaging. Does not include ABPR material destined to be fed to animals or any further treatment of the waste. Store or treat up to 30 t of waste at any one time. Can be stored for up to 7 days.
T23	Aerobic composting and associated prior treatment	Storage and treatment of up to 80 t at any one time at the place of production and where compost is to be used. ABPR needs Animal Health approval. 60 t if transporting material to or from facility.
T24	Anaerobic digestion at a premises used for agriculture and burning of resultant biogas	Storage or treatment of up to 1,250 t at any one time of manure or plant tissue waste for AD with a minimum retention time of 28 days. Storage of material derived on farm in manure or slurry pits is excluded from the 1,250 t. Imported manure / slurry is included in the 1,250 t. Biogas must be used to produce energy with a thermal rating of les s than 0.4 MW. Plant tissue waste and farmyard manure & slurry only.
T25	Anaerobic digestion at a premises not used for agriculture and burning of resultant biogas	Storage and treatment of up to 50 m3 of waste for AD with a minimum retention time of 28 days. Biogas must be used to generate energy with a thermal input of less than 0.4 MW. Includes ABPR but must comply with regs.

Information on all of these exemptions and others that may be relevant to your operations can be found at the Environment Agency website http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/permitting/115492.aspx

Consolidated permits may be available to operators with more than one facility. This is however only available if the facilities are on one site i.e. there is more than one type of permitted activity on one site.

Establishing which permit is relevant for your facility and demonstrating compliance with the various requirements of either Standard and Bespoke permits or Exemptions will require direct consultation with the Environment Agency and it is recommended that you contact your local EA permitting officer. There is information and guidance on environmental permitting of AD plants on the Environment Agency’s website (http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/sectors/37338.aspx)

Duty of Care

The Duty of Care is set out in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and associated regulations. It applies to anyone who is the holder of controlled waste. Persons concerned with controlled waste must ensure that the waste is managed properly, recovered or disposed of safely, does not cause harm to human health or pollution of the environment and is only transferred to someone who is authorised to receive it. The duty applies to any person who produces, imports, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste or as a broker has control of such waste. You should visit the Welsh Assembly Government ‘Duty of Care’ web page for more information.

The Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations (with amendments) sets out the framework within which waste should be appropriately held and transported. Specific requirements of the Duty of Care Regulations include:

·That you identify, store and transport your waste appropriately and securely;

·That your waste is collected, transported and handled by companies or people that are authorised to do so;

-All businesses or individuals that collect or transport waste on a professional basis must be registered with the Environment Agency to do so.

-Similarly all businesses or individuals who arrange for the collection or disposal of waste (e.g. brokers or dealers) must also be registered with the Environment Agency.

·That any transfer of waste between two separate bodies are recorded on an appropriate Waste Transfer Note, with such records being kept for a minimum period of two years.

DEFRA has recently undergone a public consultation on the Revised Waste Duty of Care Code of Practice (April 2009) which provides a good overview of how to comply with the Regulations. Further information can be found at the Defra website.