The Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000

PART 2: DETERMINATION OF APPLICATIONS

9.—(1) Subject to paragraph 23, the regulator shall, within 14 days of receiving an application for a permit, give notice of the application, enclosing a copy of it, to the following persons—

(a) in the case of an application for a permit to operate an installation or Part A mobile plant, the Health Authority in whose area the installation or mobile plant will be operated;

(b) in the case of an application for a permit to operate a Part A installation or Part A mobile plant—

(i) the Food Standards Agency(1);

(ii) where the operation of the installation or mobile plant may involve the release of any substance into a sewer vested in a sewerage undertaker, that undertaker;

(iii) where the operation of the installation or mobile plant may involve an emission which may affect a site of special scientific interest or a European site, the Nature Conservancy Council for England, where the site is in England, the Countryside Council for Wales, where the site is in Wales, and Scottish National Heritage, where the site is in Scotland(2);

(iv) where the operation of the installation or mobile plant may involve the release of any substance into a harbour managed by a harbour authority, that harbour authority;

(v) where the operation of the installation or mobile plant may involve the release of any substance directly into relevant territorial waters or coastal waters within the sea fisheries district of a local fisheries committee, that committee;

(vi) where the application will be determined by the Environment Agency, the local authority regulator in whose area the installation or mobile plant will be operated;

(vii) where the application will be determined by a local authority regulator, the Environment Agency;

(viii) where the operation of the installation or mobile plant will involve the carrying out of a specified waste management activity, the relevant planning authority;

(ix) where the installation or the mobile plant will be operated in Wales, the Secretary of State for Wales;

(c) in the case of an application for a permit to operate a Part B installation where the operation of the installation may involve an emission which may affect a site of special scientific interest or a European site, the Nature Conservancy Council for England, where the site is in England, the Countryside Council for Wales, where the site is in Wales, and Scottish National Heritage, where the site is in Scotland;

(d) in the case of an application for a permit to operate a Part A installation or a Part B installation on a site in respect of which a nuclear site licence is required under section 1 of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965(3), a major accident prevention policy document is required under regulation 5 of the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999(4) or a safety report is required under regulation 7 of those Regulations, the Health and Safety Executive(5);

(e) in the case of an application for a permit to operate a Part B installation involving only the carrying out of an activity falling within paragraph (d) of Part B of Section 1.2 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 (unloading of petrol at service stations), the petroleum licensing authority for that installation;

(f) in the case of all applications, such other persons as the Secretary of State may direct.

(2) In sub-paragraph (1)—

• “European site” has the same meaning as in regulation 10(1) of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994(6);

• “harbour authority” has the same meaning as in section 57(1) of the Harbours Act 1964(7);

• “health authority” means an authority established under section 8 of the National Health Service Act 1977(8);

• “local fisheries committee” means a committee constituted under section 1(1)(c) of the Sea Fisheries Regulation Act 1966(9) and the reference to the sea fisheries district of such a committee refers to the district of that committee created under section 1(1)(a) of that Act;

• “petroleum licensing authority” means a local authority empowered to grant petroleum spirit licences under the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928(10);

• “relevant planning authority” means, in relation to an application for a permit to operate an installation which will involve the carrying out of a specified waste management activity, the authority to whom it would fall to determine an application for planning permission authorising the use of the application site for the carrying out of that activity under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (assuming that there was no direction under section 77 of that Act(11) (reference of applications to the Secretary of State)).

10.  Paragraph 9 shall not apply in relation to an application for a permit to operate an installation involving only the burning of waste oil in an appliance with a rated thermal input of less than 0.4 megawatts.

11.—(1) If the regulator proposes to grant a permit subject to an off-site condition, it shall, before granting the permit, give a notice which complies with sub-paragraph (2) to every person appearing to it to be a person falling within sub-paragraph (3).

(2) A notice served under sub-paragraph (1) shall—

(a) set out the off-site condition in question;

(b) indicate the nature of the works or things which that condition might require the holder of the permit to carry out or do; and

(c) specify the period allowed for the purpose of paragraph 12 for making representations to the regulator relating to the condition or its possible effects and the manner in which any such representations are to be made.

(3) A person falls within this sub-paragraph if—

(a) he is the owner, lessee or occupier of land; and

(b) that land is land in relation to which it is likely that, as a consequence of the permit being issued subject to the off-site condition in question, rights will have to be granted by virtue of regulation 12(12) to the holder of the permit.

(4) In sub-paragraph (2), “owner” means the person who—

(a) is for the time being receiving the rack-rent of the land, whether on his own account or as agent or trustee for another person; or

(b) would receive the rack-rent if the land were let at a rack-rent,

but does not include a mortgagee not in possession.

12.—(1) Any representations made by any persons within the period allowed shall be considered by the regulator in determining the application.

(2) For the purpose of sub-paragraph (1), the period allowed for making representations is:

(a) in the case of any person to whom notice is given pursuant to paragraph 9 or 11, the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which notice is given under the relevant paragraph;

(b) in the case of any other person, the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the application is advertised pursuant to paragraph 5.

13.  In the case of an application for a permit to operate a Part A installation, any relevant information obtained or conclusion arrived at pursuant to Articles 5, 6 and 7 of Council Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment in relation to the installation shall be taken into consideration by the regulator in determining the application.

14.—(1) The Secretary of State may give directions to the regulator requiring that any particular application or any class of applications for a permit shall be referred to him for determination pending a further direction under sub-paragraph (6).

(2) The regulator shall inform the applicant of the fact that his application is being referred to the Secretary of State and forward to the Secretary of State any representations which have been made to the regulator within the period allowed.

(3) Where an application for a permit is referred to him under sub-paragraph (1), the Secretary of State may afford the applicant and the regulator an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed by him and he shall do so in any case where a request is duly made by the applicant or the regulator to be so heard.

(4) A request under sub-paragraph (3) shall be in writing and shall be made within the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which the applicant is informed that the application is being referred to the Secretary of State.

(5) Sub-paragraphs (2) to (10) of paragraph 4 of Schedule 8 shall apply to a hearing held under sub-paragraph (3) as they apply to a hearing held under paragraph 4(1) of that Schedule, but with the following modifications—

(a) with the substitution in sub-paragraph (3) for the reference to the appellant of a reference to the applicant;

(b) with the substitution in sub-paragraph (4)—

(i) for the reference to the appeal of a reference to the application; and

(ii) for the reference to every person mentioned in paragraph 3(1)(a) of Schedule 8 and every person mentioned in paragraph 3(1)(b) and (c) of that Schedule who has made representations in writing to the Secretary of State of a reference to every person who was required to be given notice under paragraph 9 of this Schedule and to any person who made representations to the regulator with respect to the subject matter of the application;

(c) with the substitution in sub-paragraph (7)—

(i) for the reference in sub-paragraph (7)(a) to the appellant of a reference to the applicant;

(ii) for the reference in sub-paragraph (7)(c) to any person required under paragraph 3(1)(a) of Schedule 8 to be notified of the appeal of a reference to any person required under paragraph 9 of this Schedule to be notified of the application.

(6) The Secretary of State shall, on determining any application transferred to him under this paragraph, give to the regulator such a direction as he thinks fit as to whether it is to grant the application and, if so, as to the conditions that are to be attached to the permit.

15.—(1) Except in a case where an application has been referred to the Secretary of State under paragraph 14 and subject to paragraph 18, the regulator shall give notice of its determination of an application for a permit within the period of four months beginning with the day on which it received the application or within such longer period as may be agreed with the applicant.

(2) For the purpose of calculating the period of four months mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) no account shall be taken of—

(a) any period beginning with the date on which notice is served on the applicant under paragraph 4 and ending on the date on which the applicant furnishes the information specified in the notice;

(b) any period allowed for making representations in relation to a notice given pursuant to paragraph 11 in so far as that period does not overlap with any other period allowed for making representations in accordance with paragraph 12;

(c) where a matter falls to be determined under regulation 30 or 31, any period beginning with the date on which the period of 28 days referred to in paragraph 5 ends and ending on the date on which the application is advertised in accordance with paragraph 23(a).

16.  If the regulator fails to give notice of its determination of an application for a permit within the period allowed by or under paragraph 15, the application shall, if the applicant notifies the authority in writing that he treats the failure as such, be deemed to have been refused at the end of that period.

17.  Where the Secretary of State is aware that the operation of an installation carrying out an activity listed in Annex I to the Directive in England or Wales is likely to have significant negative effects on the environment of another member State, or where another member State likely to be significantly affected so requests, the Secretary of State shall forward a copy of the application to operate that installation to the other member State at the same time as the application is advertised pursuant to paragraph 5 (or as soon as he becomes so aware or receives such a request, if he becomes so aware or receives such a request after the application is advertised but before the application is determined) in order that the application may serve as the basis for any consultations necessary in the framework of the bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and the other member State on a reciprocal and equivalent basis, as referred to in Article 17 of the Directive.

18.—(1) Where an application is forwarded to another member State pursuant to paragraph 17 the Secretary of State shall notify the applicant and the regulator and, in a case where the application has not been referred to the Secretary of State under paragraph 14—

(a) the regulator shall not determine the application until the Secretary of State has notified it in writing that the bilateral consultations mentioned in paragraph 17 have been completed and has forwarded to it any representations duly made on the application by persons in the other member State which have been forwarded to the Secretary of State; and

(b) the period of four months within which to give notice of determination of the application set out in paragraph 15 shall begin on the date on which the regulator receives the Secretary of State’s notification that the bilateral consultations have been completed.

(2) In determining an application which is forwarded to another member State pursuant to paragraph 17 the regulator, or the Secretary of State if the application has been referred to him, shall take into consideration any representations duly made in the other member State which have been forwarded to the Secretary of State.

19.  In paragraphs 17 and 18, “member state” shall be taken to include Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein(12).

(1)

See section 1 of the Food Standards Act 1999 (c. 28).

(2)

See section 128 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43) and section 1 of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991 (c. 28).

(3)

1965 c. 57: section 1 was amended by S.I. 1974/2056 and S.I. 1990/1918.

(4)

S.I. 1999/743.

(5)

See section 10 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (c. 37).

(6)

S.I. 1994/2716; regulation 10(1) was amended by S.I. 2000/192.

(7)

1964 c. 40.

(8)

1977 c. 49; section 8 was substituted by section 1(1) of the Health Authorities Act 1995 (c. 17).

(9)

1966 c. 38; section 1 was amended by the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70), Schedule 30 and the Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51), Schedule 8.

(10)

1928 c. 32 (18 & 19 Geo.V).

(11)

Section 77 was amended by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 (c. 34), Schedule 7, paragraph 18.

(12)

The Directive is extended to the European Economic Area by the decision of the EEA Joint Committee No. 27/97 of 30.4.97 (OJ No. L 242, 4.9.97, p. 76).