Environmental permitting guidance - groundwater

Our guidance

‘How to Comply with your Environmental Permit’ contains both technical guidance, advice on complying with permit conditions and describes the basic standards and measures that standard permit holders will need to know. Applicants for bespoke permits will also find the basic information they require but they will also need to use other technical guidance where appropriate.

The document is in three parts:

Part 1: guidance for all activities;
 
Part 2: is split into five separate sections to provide guidance for different types of regulated facility.You will need to read the section that is relevant to your regulated facility. 

Part 3: additional guidance, which may be relevant to some activities, for example monitoring.

You will find a link to 'How to Comply with your Environmental Permit' on our generic guidance page:

• Environmental Permitting Guidance

Sector technical guidance

There are a number of technical documents and Codes of Practice relating to groundwater discharge activities. Please read any documents connected to your activity:

• Groundwater Protection Policy & Practice (GP3) 
• Defra - Environmental Permitting Guidance - Groundwater Activities (published December 2010) (PDF, 2MB) 
• Defra - Protecting our Water Soil and Air: A Code of Good Agricultural Practice for Farmers, Growers and Land Managers (PDF, 1.6MB)
• Defra - Groundwater Protection Code: Use and disposal of sheep dip compounds (PDF, 206KB)
• Pesticides: Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products (PDF, 3MB)
• Defra - Groundwater Protection Code: Solvent use and storage (PDF, 191KB)
• Defra - Groundwater Protection Code: Petrol stations and other fuel dispensing facilities involving underground storage tanks (PDF, 211KB)

Horizontal guidance

The horizontal guidance provides information relevant to all sectors regulated under EPR. It includes information on noise, odour, energy efficiency, and protection of land.

• Horizontal guidance

Regulatory guidance

Regulatory guidance notes are Environment Agency guidance on policy and legal interpretation issues associated with implementing the Environmental Permitting Regulations:

• Regulatory guidance series

Making an application

There is one application form, which must be used to apply for a new bespoke or standard permit or to vary, transfer or surrender your permit. Guidance on how to complete the form is provided:

• Application form and guidance

Environmental permitting (EP) charges

Our Environmental Permitting charges pages explain how much a permit will cost:

• EP charges page

Operational Risk Appraisal (Opra)

To find out how we assess the environmental risk of an EPR site operation, visit our Opra page. We use the output from Opra to work out charges and for planning our permitting and compliance activity:

• Opra

Environmental Permitting Regulations

Information to help you understand the wider regulatory framework:

• Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010
• Environmental Permitting 

Government guidance

Defra has produced a series of guidance documents.These include 'Core Environmental Permitting Guidance', which describes the general permitting and compliance requirements, and guidance on the European directives which are implemented through the Environmental Permitting Regulations:

• Defra - Core Environmental Permitting Guidance (PDF, 659KB)
• Defra - Environmental Permitting Guidance - Groundwater Activities (PDF, 1.5MB)