Pollution prevention advice and guidance (PPG)

In partnership with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), we have written a range of pollution prevention guidance notes.

Each PPG gives advice on law and good environmental practice, to help reduce environmental risks from business activities.

PPGs:

• are used by our staff to help customers when we visit businesses and when we answer queries
• provide up-to-date technical and legal compliance advice to help achieve consistent good environmental practice
• set out our national position on a range of activities
• are used to support compliance with permit conditions

The order of this page of guidance follows the activities in the documents:

• Is your site right? 10-point checklist (PDF, 116 KB) 
• Pollution prevention pays (PDF, 865 KB)

General good environmental practice

• General guide to the prevention of pollution: PPG 1, May 2001 (PDF, 95KB)
  A basic introduction to good environmental management that will help you avoid pollution incidents. This guidance refers to information in other PPGs and publications. This PPG is currently being rewritten. We hope to have the new version of this guidance available in 2012/13.
  
  
• Works and maintenance in or near water: PPG 5, (PDF, 894KB)
  If you are planning works near, in or over water, this guidance provides advice on how to make sure your work protects the environment and meets legal requirements, including waste management. 
  
  
• Dewatering underground ducts and chambers: PPG 20, (PDF, 115KB)
  Information for safe dewatering of underground ducts and inspection chambers. 

Storing and handling materials and products

• Above ground oil storage tanks: PPG 2, August 2011 (PDF, 277KB)
  Advice on how to store oil safely in above ground oil storage tanks and comply with the law (excludes oil refineries and distribution depots).
  
  
• Get to know your oil tank, August 2011 (PDF, 2.3MB)
  A guide to looking after your above ground oil storage tank and avoiding pollution, written together with the Oil Firing Technical Association and the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers. We recommend you have a look if you’ve got a new tank at your home or business or if you’ve moved into premises with a tank.
   
• Concrete bunds for oil tanks - Environment Agency/Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA) Joint Guidelines  (PDF, 292KB)
  Guidance for the construction of simple, reinforced concrete bunds for oil storage tanks up to 3.5 metres wide and 0.9 metres high.
  
  
• Masonry Bunds for Oil Storage Tanks - Environment Agency/CIRIA Joint Guidelines: (PDF, 483KB)
  For the construction of simple, reinforced masonry bunds for oil storage tanks up to 3.5 metres wide and 1.2 metres high. 
  
  
• Refuelling facilities: PPG 7 - good practice guidelines, July 2011 (664KB)
  Good practice in fuel storage and management that can reduce the environmental risk of your site. This also refers to the storage and handling of other liquids commonly used in association with fuel storage and dispensing.
  
  
• Emission reduction solutions technical information (for example AdBlue), January 2011 (PDF, 39KB)
  Information to help you store and use emission reduction solutions (for example, AdBlue) safely, so they don't damage the environment.
  
  
• Installation, decommissioning and removal of underground storage tanks: PPG 27, July 2007 (PDF, 90KB)
  Covers all underground storage tanks (USTs), including those containing petroleum, diesel, fuel oil, aviation fuel, waste oil, domestic heating oil and other potentially polluting materials such as organic solvents. This PPG is currently being rewritten. We hope to have the new version of this guidance available in October 2012.
  
  
• Drums and intermediate bulk containers: PPG 26, May 2011 (PDF, 355KB)
  These guidelines will help you if you are responsible for storing and handling drums and Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs). They are written for site operators of industrial and commercial premises.

Managing your waste

• Safe storage and disposal of used oils: PPG 8, February 2004 (PDF, 76KB)
  Provides advice on storing and disposing of used oils safely. This information applies to everyone wishing to dispose of used oil. This PPG is currently being rewritten. We hope to have the new version of this guidance available in 2012/13. 

Site drainage, dealing with sewage and trade effluents

• Use and design of oil separators in surface water drainage systems: PPG 3, April 2006 (PDF, 76KB)
  To help you decide if you need an oil separator at your site and, if so, what size and type of separator is appropriate. The separators listed in the document below have passed the performance type test in accordance with Clause 8.3.3 of the European Standard for Separator Systems, BS EN 858-1:2002:
  
  
• Oil separator manufacturers Version 11, August 2011 (PDF, 71KB)
  
  
• Treatment and disposal of sewage where no foul sewer is available: PPG 4, (PDF, 244KB)
  To help you choose the correct option for sewage disposal. This PPG includes information about the treatment and disposal options available, guidance about correct maintenance and your legal requirements. This PPG is currently being rewritten.

• Vehicle washing and cleaning: PPG 13, March 2007 (PDF, 175KB)
  Advice to help you protect the environment when you're washing vehicles using automatic wash systems, high pressure or steam cleaners and washing by hand.
  
  
• Cleaning wheeled waste containers, December 2011 (PDF, 45KB)
  Information to help wheeled waste container cleaning businesses and operators comply with environmental rules and work without harming the environment.
  

Guidance to help you plan to deal with accidents and emergencies

• Pollution incident response planning: PPG 21, March 2009 (PDF, 318KB)
  Good practice guidance to help you produce an incident response plan for your site to deal with accidents, spills and fires. Using this guidance will help to protect the environment.
  
  
• Dealing with spills: PPG 22, April 2011 (PDF, 553KB)
  Good practice guidance to help you plan how you will respond to a spill on your site or if you are transporting materials. Includes information about the pollution control hierarchy and pollution control equipment options.
  
  
• Oil clean-up products and their application in England and Wales (PDF, 115KB)
  
  
• Managing fire water and major spillages: PPG 18, June 2000 (PDF, 131KB)
  To help you identify equipment and techniques available to prevent damage to water supplies and resources caused by fires and major spillages. This guidance is being reviewed in 2012.
  
  
• Controlled burn: PPG 28, July 2007 (PDF, 240KB)
  This guidance will help you decide when and how to use a controlled burn as part of a fire fighting strategy to prevent or reduce damage to the environment.
  

Safe storage - combustible materials, prevent and control fire

Large fires at waste recycling facilities, particularly those processing tyres (rubber) or wood are a common cause of serious pollution incidents. We’re working with the Wood Recyclers Association (WRA), the Tyre Recovery Association (TRA), the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to reduce the number and impact of these fires.

The development of good practice guidance by the WRA and TRA for operators in the tyre and wood sectors is a key part of that work.

Contact Pollution Prevention for further information about these codes or the storage of other Combustible Waste Materials.

• Pollution Prevention

Guidance for specific businesses

• Working at constuction and demolition sites: preventing pollution guidance PPG 6, March 2012 (PDF, 8MB)
  Developed in partnership with industry to help those working at construction and demolition sites to prevent pollution.

Downloading this guidance:

This is a large PDF and will download and work more quickly if you:

• download it using a fast internet connection, for example, download it and save it when you are in an office, rather than using remote access, such as 3G
• wait for the guidance to fully download and then save it to your hard drive or memory stick, rather than trying to open and use it before saving
• ensure you have an up-to-date version of Internet Explorer and Adobe Reader/Writer

Using this guidance:

You can type directly into the checklists to record actions and references. If you have Adobe Writer then you can save any changes you make. If you have Adobe Reader you can only print your changes.

• Managing concrete wash waters on construction sites guidance (issued June 2011) (PDF, 112KB)
      Additional guidance about dealing with concrete washwaters on construction sites.
  
  
  

  Technical information notes

  • Pollution prevention: Safe storage and use of de-icing products (issued December 2010) (PDF, 72KB)
    Advice and guidance on the safe storage and use of de-icer products together with their potential environmental impacts.
    
    
  • Pollution prevention: Airfield management (updated April 2011) (PDF, 63KB)
    Advice to protect the environment from common activities at private, commercial and military airfields.
    
    
  • Prevent pollution from drinking water treatment works and distribution networks (PDF, 10KB)
    Advice to protect surface waters and groundwater from activities at water treatment works and distribution networks.
    
    
  • Preventing pollution: Major pipelines (updated June 2011) (PDF, 60KB)
    Advice to protect the environment from the construction and operation of major pipelines.
    
    
  • Pollution Prevention: Emission reduction solutions technical information (for example AdBlue) (January 2011) (PDF, 39KB)
    Information to help you store and use emission reduction solutions (for example AdBlue) safely, so they don't damage the environment.
    
    
  • Pollution Prevention: Cleaning wheeled waste containers (December 2011) (PDF, 44KB)
    Information to help wheeled waste container cleaning business and operators comply with environmental rules and work withouth harming the enviroment. 

  Guidance updates and feedback

  As we review and update our guidance we will consult widely to make sure it meets the needs of our readers.

• Current consultations
  
  We welcome feedback about these guidelines and the topics, even when we aren't reviewing them. Please email us if you have any comments, suggestions for improvement or for additonal guidance we could consider directing people to:

  • Pollution Prevention