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.