CHAPTER IV

PERMITS AND REGISTRATIONS

Issue of permits
Article 23
1
Member States shall require any establishment or undertaking intending to carry out waste treatment to obtain a permit from the competent authority.
Such permits shall specify at least the following:
a
the types and quantities of waste that may be treated;
b
for each type of operation permitted, the technical and any other requirements relevant to the site concerned;
c
the safety and precautionary measures to be taken;
d
the method to be used for each type of operation;
e
such monitoring and control operations as may be necessary;
f
such closure and after-care provisions as may be necessary.
2
Permits may be granted for a specified period and may be renewable.
3
Where the competent authority considers that the intended method of treatment is unacceptable from the point of view of environmental protection, in particular when the method is not in accordance with Article 13, it shall refuse to issue the permit.
4
It shall be a condition of any permit covering incineration or co-incineration with energy recovery that the recovery of energy take place with a high level of energy efficiency.
5
Provided that the requirements of this Article are complied with, any permit produced pursuant to other national or Community legislation may be combined with the permit required under paragraph 1 to form a single permit, where such a format obviates the unnecessary duplication of information and the repetition of work by the operator or the competent authority.

Exemptions from permit requirements
Article 24
Member States may exempt from the requirement laid down in Article 23(1) establishments or undertakings for the following operations:
1. disposal of their own non-hazardous waste at the place of production; or
2. recovery of waste.

Conditions for exemptions
Article 25
1
Where a Member State wishes to allow exemptions, as provided for in Article 24, it shall lay down, in respect of each type of activity, general rules specifying the types and quantities of waste that may be covered by an exemption, and the method of treatment to be used.
Those rules shall be designed to ensure that waste is treated in accordance with Article 13. In the case of disposal operations referred to in point (a) of Article 24 those rules should consider best available techniques.
2
In addition to the general rules provided for in paragraph 1, Member States shall lay down specific conditions for exemptions relating to hazardous waste, including types of activity, as well as any other necessary requirement for carrying out different forms of recovery and, where relevant, the limit values for the content of hazardous substances in the waste as well as the emission limit values.
3
Member States shall inform the Commission of the general rules laid down pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2.

Registration
Article 26
Where the following are not subject to permit requirements, Member States shall ensure that the competent authority keeps a register of:
1. establishments or undertakings which collect or transport waste on a professional basis;
2. dealers or brokers; and
3. establishments or undertakings which are subject to exemptions from the permit requirements pursuant to Article 24.
Where possible, existing records held by the competent authority shall be used to obtain the relevant information for this registration process in order to reduce the administrative burden.

Minimum standards
Article 27
1
Technical minimum standards for treatment activities which require a permit pursuant to Article 23 may be adopted where there is evidence that a benefit in terms of the protection of human health and the environment would be gained from such minimum standards. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 39(2).
2
Such minimum standards shall cover only those waste treatment activities that are not covered by Directive 96/61/EC or are not appropriate for coverage by that Directive.
3
Such minimum standards shall:
a
be directed to the main environmental impacts of the waste treatment activity;
b
ensure that the waste is treated in accordance with Article 13;
c
take into account best available techniques; and
d
as appropriate, include elements regarding the quality of treatment and the process requirements.
4
Minimum standards for activities that require registration pursuant to points (a) and (b) of Article 26 shall be adopted where there is evidence that a benefit in terms of the protection of human health and the environment or in avoiding disruption to the internal market would be gained from such minimum standards, including elements regarding the technical qualification of collectors, transporters, dealers or brokers.
Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 39(2).