Guidance

Environmental permits for ‘orphan’ waste effluent treatment plants: RPS 33

Updated 17 December 2021

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environmental-permits-for-orphan-waste-treatment-plants/environmental-permits-for-orphan-waste-effluent-treatment-plants-rps-33

This regulatory position statement (RPS) is about when you can operate an ‘orphan’ waste effluent treatment plant without a waste operation or waste installation environmental permit.

This RPS does not change your legal obligations to:

  • get an environmental permit
  • register a waste exemption for a waste operation
  • comply with other relevant legislation

However, if you follow the conditions in this RPS we will not normally take enforcement action if you operate an ‘orphan’ effluent treatment plant without a waste operation or waste installation environmental permit.

A waste effluent treatment plant is ‘orphan’ if the activity it serves is not regulated under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 and one of the following applies:

  • the discharge of the treated effluent is authorised by a Water Industry Act trade effluent consent or an Environmental Permitting Regulations schedule 21 water discharge permit
  • the treated effluent is sent off site for further treatment or disposal

When this RPS applies

Examples of ‘orphan’ waste effluent treatment plant covered by this RPS include:

  • leachate treatment plant at historic landfills which no longer have, or never had, an environmental permit
  • small manufacturing sites that do not exceed the threshold for a Part A (1) installation under the Environmental Permitting Regulations
  • effluent treatment (including anaerobic digestion) at food and drink manufacturing sites

Conditions you must comply with

You must:

  • only treat liquid waste and wastewater produced on site – you must not import it from other sites
  • classify the effluent before you export it from your site – see waste classification technical guidance WM3
  • comply with the conditions in your consent or water discharge permit if you discharge effluent to the sewerage system, surface water or groundwater

You must make sure your activities do not endanger human health or the environment. You must not:

  • cause a risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals
  • cause a nuisance through noise or odours
  • adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest

Enforcement

A RPS means that the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action against you for operating without a permit for a waste operation or waste installation if:

  • your activity meets the description set out in this RPS
  • you comply with the conditions set out in this RPS
  • your activity does not, and is not likely to, cause environmental pollution or harm human health

When to check back

This RPS will be reviewed by 31 December 2024. You will need to check back then to see if it still applies or if you need to apply for a permit.

Contact the Environment Agency

General enquiries

National Customer Contact Centre
PO Box 544
Rotherham
S60 1BY

Email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk

Telephone 03708 506 506

Telephone from outside the UK (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm GMT) +44 (0) 114 282 5312

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

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