Environmental guidance for your business in Northern Ireland & Scotland

Permits and licences - An overview

Business activities that may cause pollution or that pose another risk to the environment are regulated.

You must ensure that you have appropriate authorisation for the activities your business carries out. Most authorisations are issued:

In Northern Ireland by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), your district council or water and sewerage company.
In Scotland by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) or your water and sewerage company.

This guide outlines the main environmental authorisations, including pollution prevention and control permits, waste management licences, hazardous waste notification, trade effluent consents and the licences or authorisations you require for discharges to or abstractions from the water environment.

Environmental News Blog

A day with Hydrology, SEPA's hydrometry unit is responsible for around 400 gauging stations and 350 rainfall monitoring sites. River gauging stations are important as they allow river levels to be monitored so flood events can be predicted and flood warnings sent out.
Brewing and Distilling Technical Drop-in Day: Waste, Water, Energy, Brewing and Distilling is booming due to high demand for quality Scottish beers and spirits. All this growth is also leading to a boom in food waste, energy and water use.