Environmental Permitting

The Environment Agency require you to have an environmental permit if you wish to do an activity that could:

• Pollute the air, water or land
• Increase flood risk
• Adversely affect land drainage

Consents to Discharge

In some cases, where there are no public sewer services, it is necessary to provide sewerage disposal using private systems such as cesspools, soakaways and private treatment plants. In order to protect water quality, permits are required if you wish to discharge any drainage to surface waterbodies, such as rivers or streams, or if you require discharge – directly or indirectly – to groundwater. We can provide advice on the type of treatment to be used and obtain from the Environment Agency the necessary consents to discharge the treated effluent where necessary.

Flood Risk Consents

You will also require an environmental permit if you wish to do work on or near a main river, within a floodplain or near a flood defence structure. This is regulated under environmental permits and was formerly known as Flood Defence Consent. National guidance specifies that any works within 8 metres of the riverbank (or within 16 metres of a flood defence) requires consent, although this distance varies in accordance with local byelaws.

Water Environment are able to offer advice on all aspects of flood risk and drainage permitting and can make this application on your behalf. For further information on Environmental Permitting, please see the gov.uk website, and do not hesitate to contact us if we can help with your application.