Waste Exemptions 27/04/2016. A gallop through waste permitting. Waste Permitting Could it be any more complicated?!

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1 Waste Permitting Could it be any more complicated?! Carol Romero Romero Waste Consulting A gallop through waste permitting issues 1. What is waste? 2. The legislation- why do waste operations need a permit? 3. What are waste exemptions? 4. Examples of exemptions 5. Types of environmental permits 6. Standard Rules v Bespoke permits -example of costs 7. Standard Rules Permits- examples, limitations, pre-app screening 8. Bespoke permits & Opra scores 9. Waste Recovery Plans 10. Technical Competence Requirements 11. Code of practice What is waste? and why does it matter? The legislation- why do waste operations need a permit? Environmental Protection Act 1990 Section 33. Prohibition on unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal etc. of waste. (1) a person shall not: (a) deposit controlled waste or knowingly cause or knowingly permit controlled waste to be deposited in or on any land unless an environmental permit authorising the deposit is in force and the deposit is in accordance with the licence; 1A) Paragraph (a) above does not apply in relation to a waste operation that is an exempt waste operation. Waste Exemptions Environmental Permitting (England &Wales) Regulations 2010 Schedule 3 lists 60 exempt waste activities including the Use of Waste in Construction (U1) Activities must be registered with EA No charge to register them Last for 3 years Are listed on the EA public register (can search using post code) 1

2 U1 exemption U1 Exemption cont. This exemption allows you to use suitable waste rather than virgin raw material in construction activities Construction means building or engineering work - including repairing, altering, maintaining or improving existing work and preparatory or landscaping work. Land reclamation is only allowed when it is an integral part of the construction activity. Examples of U1 activity you can carry out:- using crushed bricks, concrete, rocks and aggregate to create a noise bund around a new development and then using soil to landscape the area using road planings and rubble to build a track, path or bridleway bringing in soil from somewhere else to use in landscaping at housing developments You can t: dispose of waste by using waste that is unsuitable or by using more waste than is needed. You need to be able to justify the amount needed use waste for land reclamation, for example by infilling a hollow register this exemption more than once at the same place for 3 years after registration de-register and then re-register this exemption at the same place within a 3 year period store the waste for longer than 12 months before you use it Types of Waste Permits Permits are needed for:- Disposal of waste Keeping or transferring waste Biological treatment Metal recovery, scrap metal, vehicle dismantling Treatment to produce aggregate/construction materials Recovery or use of waste on land Standard Rules v Bespoke permits Applying for a standard rules (SR) off the peg permit is quicker and costs much less than a bespoke permit, but if you don t meet the conditions for the standard rules permits you must apply for a bespoke permit. Conditions include proximity to receptors, quantity restrictions, waste type limitations Conditions have already been consulted on so you can t change (vary) them and you have no right of appeal against them 2

3 Standard Rules v Bespoke permits Restriction for Standard Rules Standard Rule Bespoke Permit 2010 No.10 1 Application Fee 1950 Opra x 172= Annual Subsistence Fee Technical Competence 850(EPOC only) 850(EPOC) Plus WAMITAB 6 units (estimate) Surrender Application Fee basic surrender 2540-Low Risk Surrender or Full Surrender (Opra x 125) = 3250 Site Condition Report (including Not required, but advised Required. water and soil sampling) 1500(estimate) Consultancy Fees (including (estimate) EMS) Restrictions vary depending on which permit is being applied for:- SR2015 No.39. Use of waste in a deposit for recovery operation-construction, reclamation, restoration or improvement of land Maximum volumetric capacity of recovery operation 60,000 m3 First year + surrender total costs 6,880 19,032 Locational restrictions SR2015 No.39 The activities shall not be carried out: (a) within 500 metres of a European Site or a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI); (b) within 250 metres of the presence of Great Crested Newts where the site is linked by good habitat to the breeding ponds of the newts, (c) within 50 metres of a site that has species or habitats protected under the Biodiversity Action Plan that the Environment Agency considers is at risk from this activity, (d) within 50 metres of a National Nature Reserve (NNR), Local Nature Reserves(LNR), Local Wildlife Site (LWS), Ancient woodland or Scheduled Ancient Monument, (e) within groundwater Source Protection Zones 1 and 2 or if a source protection zone has not been defined then not within 250 metres of any well, spring or borehole used for the supply of water for human consumption. This includes private water supplies. (f) on any landfill whether historical, closed, or operational, (g) within 10 metres of a watercourse, (h) within a specified Air Quality Management Area for particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM10). Pre-app screening check Bespoke permits Are made to measure i.e. are site specific. Before you apply you must do all the following: check you meet the legal operator and competency requirements (including technical competency) develop a management system (a written set of procedures that identifies and minimises the risks of pollution) complete a risk assessment design your facility to avoid and control emissions check the technical guidance Cost of application is based on Risk (Opra score) Calculating Risk(Opra) The operational risk appraisal (Opra) assessment provides a risk rating which the EA can use to allocate its regulatory resources and to determine how much a business will be charged for an activity. The Opra banded profile has 4 attributes: Complexity (ie type of site) Emissions (ie quantity and type of waste) Location Operator performance (management procedures) 3

4 Recovery or Use of Waste on Land permits & Waste Recovery Plans WRPs-Essential when applying for a Waste to Land for Recovery type permit WRP- referred to within the permit conditions e.g. The use and associated secure storage of a maximum of 60,000m3 of wastes listed.. for the purposes of the construction work and/or restoration, reclamation or improvement of land as detailed in the approved waste recovery plan The operator shall not deviate from the approved waste recovery plan without prior written approval from the Environment Agency. Waste Recovery Plans Regulatory Guidance Series No.EPR 13 Defining Waste Recovery: Permanent Deposit of Waste to Land. loads/attachment_data/file/302955/rgn13.pdf Must be referred to by applicants seeking a recovery permit. EA requires justification a activity is recovery not disposal(and hence needs landfill permit) Waste Recovery Plans From EPR13 If a site has planning permission this is likely to demonstrate that there is a need for the proposed development However.. Where the planning permission requires waste to be used this would be a factor tending to indicate that the proposed operation is more likely to be a disposal operation. Recovery v Disposal permits Disposal = Landfill No standard rules available Higher Opra score & hence higher costs Higher level of technical competence required No grace period for technical competence No basic surrender available Landfill tax is payable. ( 2.65/tonne inactive waste or 84.40/tonne) Technical Competence All permitted sites require the operator to comply with an approved competence scheme The operator competence scheme (sometimes known as a WAMITAB or CoTC) is designed to allow permitted waste facilities in England and Wales to demonstrate they employ technically competent people with the knowledge and skills to ensure waste sites comply with Environmental Permitting Regulations (2007). Technical Competence WAMITAB has devised a risk tier table which identifies which qualification an operator needs. Low Risk- 4 units (e.g. aggregate manufacturing) Medium Risk- 6 units (e.g. waste to land for recovery, non hazardous waste transfer, AD plants, inert landfill) High Risk- 12 units (eg non hazardous & hazardous landfill, hazardous waste treatment) 4

5 Technical Competence Low Risk sites can be satisfied by completing a 2 day EPOC course All other qualifications are assessed in the work place with a requirement for portfolios of evidence and written knowledge questions. 12 month grace period available for nonlandfill medium or high risk tier sites applying for a new permit, on completion of EPOC. All sites require 2 year continuing competence assessment to be undertaken The Definition of Waste: Development Industry Code of Practice m_content&view=category&id=977&itemid=3 30 Code of Practice can be used to determine if excavated materials are waste or not. The Environment Agency will take account of this CoP in deciding whether to regulate the materials as waste. If materials are dealt with in accordance with this CoP, the EA considers that those materials are unlikely to be waste if they are used for the purpose of land development. This may be because the materials were never discarded in the first place, or because they have been submitted to a recovery operation and have been completely recovered so that they have ceased to be waste Principles for the use of Materials as Non-Waste. 4 factors considered:- 1. Protection of human health and protection of the environment 2. Suitability for use, without further treatment 3. Certainty of Use 4. Quantity of Material The production of a Materials Management Plan (MMP) required to considered the above. Must be signed off by a registered, independent Qualified Person The MMP must be produced prior to excavation. It must include:- Details of the parties that will be involved A description of the materials in terms of potential use and relative quantities of each category The specification for use of materials against which proposed materials will be assessed, underpinned by an appropriate risk assessment Details of where and how these materials will be stored; Details of the intended final destination and use of these materials; Details of how these materials are to be tracked; Contingency arrangements that must be put in place prior to movement of these materials Verification Plan. Summary If it s discarded by the holder it s waste If an activity involves waste it needs a permit or registered exemption Standard Rules permits are a much simpler and cheaper option than bespoke permits Technical Competence is an expensive and time consuming element of permitting In some cases excavated material going off site may not be waste 5

6 Any questions? 6