Consents and authorisations you will need
In Northern Ireland:
If you discharge anything other than clean, uncontaminated water you must have a:
- discharge consent for discharges to surface water
- a groundwater authorisation for discharges to groundwater.
Surface waters include rivers, loughs, reservoirs and canals. Groundwater includes all water below the water table.
You can find information on the regulation of water discharges on the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) website: NIEA: Regulation of water discharges
You can find guidance on groundwater authorisations on the NIEA website: NIEA: Groundwater authorisations
In Scotland:
If you discharge anything to the water environment you may require an authorisation from SEPA - See SEPA: Discharges
EASR has four levels of authorisation:
- general binding rules
- notification
- registration
- water use licences.
You must comply with the conditions of your authorisation.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) will advise which level of authorisation you need for your activity and can change the level of authorisation in order to protect the water environment.
If your business discharges trade effluent to a public sewer, you must have a valid trade effluent consent from your water and sewerage company.
GBRs
Certain low risk surface water discharges are authorised by GBRs. When you carry out an activity and comply with the relevant GBRs, you do not need to contact SEPA or apply for a formal authorisation.
Notification
Notifications are used for low-risk activities that SEPA needs to know are being carried out and by who, but do not need to decide whether to grant or refuse an authorisation. The activity is considered authorised as soon as we have been notified.
Registrations
Registrations cover activities which present a low risk individually, but which cumulatively may pose a risk to the water environment. You must provide SEPA with a description of the controlled activity and its location. You must comply with a set of basic rules described in the notification of registration.
SEPA: Applications for authorisations
Permit
An EASR permit cover activities that are regarded as presenting a medium to high risk of impact on the water environment. You will need a water use permit if:
- your activity needs site-specific controls
- your activity needs to be limited in some way.
You must identify a 'authorised person' to ensure that your business complies with the conditions of the EASR permit. A responsible person can be an individual, a company or a partnership.
The authorised person must be:
- in control over the regulated activity
- fit and proper person to be in control of the regulated activity
You can find controlled water activity guidance from the SEPA website.
SEPA: Applications for authorisations