Environment Agency: Clarifies Best Available Techniques for Environmental Permits
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Environment Agency: Clarifies Best Available Techniques for Environmental Permits

United Kingdom·Wire Summary⏱️ 4 min read

We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. You have accepted additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time. You have rejected additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time. What best available techniques are, when you must follow them, how to propose alternatives and how to refer to them in your application. ‘Best available techniques’ ( BAT ) means the available techniques which are the best for preventing or minimising emissions and impacts on the environment. You need to use BAT if your operation is an installation (for example a facility that carries out an industrial process like a refinery, food factory or intensive farm). ‘Techniques’ include both the technology used and the way your installation is designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned. The European Commission produces BAT reference documents or BREF notes . They contain BAT for installations. Any that were published before 1 January 2020 apply in the UK. For example, there’s a BREF for: The European Commission has also published ‘ BAT conclusions’ ( BATC ) documents which are legal requirements that your operation must meet. From 1 January 2020, UK BATC documents started to be produced – see UK BATC . These will have the same legal status as the EU BATC . BATC contain a description of BAT and associated emission limits (‘ BAT - AELs ’) which you must comply with unless the Environment Agency agrees you’ve met certain criteria – see ‘How to propose an alternative technique’. The guide for your activity will include a link to the BREF note or BATC for each activity (if there’s one available). The UK regulators have agreed cross-cutting BATC interpretation guidance for the implementation of BAT and interpreting common issues arising in the interpretation of BREFs and BATC . Your permit conditions may tell you what BAT you must use, or they may set emission limit values ( ELVs ) or other environmental outcomes based on BAT . If your permit says you must follow BAT or ‘appropriate measures’ to achieve an outcome or ELV, check the guide for your activity for the BAT for that process . You may have to decide which BAT to use yourself if your permit does not tell you which BAT to use. You may also need to take additional measures to meet the conditions in your permit. When you apply for an environmental permit you must state how you’re going to follow each BAT that applies to your activity, or propose an alternative. You need to do this in the ‘operating techniques’ section of the application form. For BAT that you’re proposing to follow, you must explain how you’re going to either: For any BAT you’re not going to follow, you must propose an alternative technique. If your alternative technique will provide a level of environmental protection that’s equivalent to the BAT , you need to explain how it will do so in the operating techniques section of the application form. If your technique will not provide equivalent environmental protection, but you want to make a case that it’s justified on cost benefit grounds, you’ll need to provide a justification: You will only be granted a permit for activities which do not comply with BAT - AELs if you can show that the costs of achieving the BAT AELs are disproportionately high compared to the environmental benefits, for a particular reason. The reason must be either: Making this kind of proposal is called ‘applying for a derogation’. If you need to do a cost benefit analysis to support your proposal for an alternative technique, you can use the Environment Agency’s Industrial Emissions Directive derogation: cost-benefit analysis tool . England: contact the Environment Agency . Wales: contact Natural Resources Wales . Scotland: contact the Scottish Env

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