CHAPTER 9 PERMITTING 9.1 England and Wales 100 9.1.1 T24 exemption for on-farm AD 100 9.1.2 T25 exemption for off-farm AD 100 9.1.3 Standard rules environmental permits 100 9.1.4 Standard rules for on-farm AD facility (SR2010 No16) 100 9.1.5 Standard rules for off-farm AD facility (SR2010 No15) 100 9.1.6 Standard rules for storage of digestate from AD plants (SR2010 No17) 101 9.1.7 Standard rules for the use of mobile plant for land spreading (SR2010 No4) 101 9.1.8 Standard rules for combustion of biogas as a fuel in engines at a sewage treatment works (SR2009 No4) 101 9.1.9 Health warning 101 9.1.10 Bespoke environmental permits 101 9.2 Scotland 102 9.2.1 Exemption 102 9.2.2 Waste management licence 102 9.2.3 PPC permit 102 9.3 Northern Ireland 103 9.3.1 Waste management licence 103 9.3.2 PPC permit 103 www.adbiogas.co.uk THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO AD 99
9.1 ENGLAND AND WALES In England and Wales, the anaerobic digestion of waste requires either an environmental permit or, for certain small-scale activities, an exemption from environmental permitting. The requirement for a permit or exemption falls under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010, as amended. 9.1.1 T24 exemption for on-farm AD The T24 exemption for on-farm AD authorises the anaerobic digestion of plant tissue waste and horse and farmyard manure only, provided, among other things, that the total quantity of waste treated or stored at any one time does not exceed 1,250 m 3, the minimum retention time in the digester is 28 days and any biogas is burnt in an appliance with a net rated thermal input of less than 0.4 MW for the purposes of producing energy. 9.1.2 T25 exemption for off-farm AD The T25 exemption for off-farm AD authorises the anaerobic digestion of plant tissue waste, horse and farmyard manure, paper and cardboard, biodegradable kitchen and canteen waste, animal tissue waste, some dairy and baking wastes unsuitable for consumption or processing and biodegradable waste from markets, provided, among other things, that the total quantity of waste treated or stored at any one time does not exceed 50 m 3, the minimum retention time in the digester is 28 days and any biogas is burnt in an appliance with a net rated thermal input of less than 0.4 MW for the purposes of producing energy. Details of the site location, operator and activities carried out under exemption must be submitted to the Environment Agency (EA), either electronically or in paper form. There is no application fee. If the EA agrees that the activity complies with the terms of the exemption, it will enter the details on a public register. Further details are available at: www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/permitting/116287.aspx 9.1.3 Standard rules environmental permits A standard rules environmental permit may be the best option available for sites that are too large to meet the terms of an exemption but can still comply with a strict set of criteria set by the EA. Standard rules environmental permits are less complex and expensive than bespoke environmental permits and represent a more streamlined environmental permitting process. The forms and application fee must be submitted to the EA. In addition, a management plan or management system must be in place for the site. Standard rules exist for on-farm AD facilities, off-farm AD facilities, the storage of digestate, the use of mobile plant for land spreading and the combustion of biogas as a fuel in engines at sewage treatment works. 9.1.4 Standard rules for on-farm AD facility (SR2010 No16) A standard rules environmental permit for on-farm AD (SR2010 No16) can be applied to farm sites that meet a strict set of criteria where, among other things, the total quantity of waste does not exceed 75,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) and the AD facility and gas engines are not within 500 m of a European Site (ie Special Protection Area or Special Area of Conservation), RAMSAR Site (wetlands) or Site of Special Scientific Interest (excluding any SSSI designated solely for geological features). The activities must also meet the following criteria: Be located outside a specified Air Quality Management Area which has been designated due to concerns about oxides of nitrogen and Groundwater Protection Zone 1 All waste storage and treatment must not be within 10 m of any watercourse or 250 m of any spring, well or borehole used for domestic or food production purposes Biogas must be burnt in an appliance with a net rated thermal input of less than 3 MW Gas engine stacks must be located 200 m from any building used by the public (including farm houses) unless the stack is at least 7 m high or has an effective height of 3 m (ie at least 3 m higher than nearby buildings and tanks) Permitted waste types comprise sludges, plant tissue waste and manure from agriculture, horticulture, forestry and fishing and some wastes from the dairy products industry Proposed amendment Due to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 coming into force on 6 April 2012, the EA is considering increasing the standard rules threshold of gas engines to a net rated thermal input of less than 5 MW. In addition, the maximum waste throughput may be increased to 100,000 tpa. 9.1.5 Standard rules for off-farm AD facility (SR2010 No15) A standard rules environmental permit for off-farm AD (SR2010 No15) can be applied to sites that meet a similar set of criteria to those for on-farm standard rules activities, namely the total quantity of waste does not exceed 75,000 tpa and the AD facility and gas engines are not within 500 m of a European Site (ie Special Protection Area or Special Area of Conservation), RAMSAR Site or Site of Special Scientific Interest (excluding any SSSI designated solely for geological features). The activities must also meet the following criteria: Be located outside a specified Air Quality Management Area which has been designated due to concerns about oxides of nitrogen and Groundwater Protection Zone 1 All waste storage and treatment must not be within 10 m of any watercourse or 250 m of any spring, well or borehole used for domestic or food production purposes Biogas must be burnt in an appliance with a net rated thermal input of less than 3 MW The distance to any off-site building used by the public must be 250 m or greater It should be noted that there is a significantly greater range of permitted waste types under off-farm standard rules than on-farm standard rules. 100 THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO AD www.adbiogas.co.uk
Off-farm standard rules also require that all storage and process tanks are located within impermeable bunds and that any digestate stored on site must be within covered containers or lagoons. Any buildings used for waste storage must be fitted with a biofilter or scrubbing system. Proposed amendment Due to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 coming into force on 6 April 2012, the EA is considering increasing the standard rules threshold of gas engines to a net rated thermal input of less than 5 MW. In addition, the maximum waste throughput may be increased to 100,000 tpa. 9.1.6 Standard rules for storage of digestate from AD plants (SR2010 No17) A standard rules environmental permit for the storage of digestate away from the AD facility (SR2010 No17) can be applied to sites that meet a strict set of criteria, which include the following: The total quantity of waste must not exceed 75,000 tpa and the storage capacity must not exceed 75,000 m 3 The activity must not be carried out within 200 m of a European Site (ie Special Protection Area or Special Area of Conservation), RAMSAR Site or Site of Special Scientific Interest The activity must be outside a Groundwater Protection Zone 1 and 200 m from any off-site building used by the public, including dwelling houses Storage must not be within 250 m of any spring, well or borehole used for domestic or food production purposes There must be no point source emissions into surface water or groundwater, except clean water from building roofs or areas not used for waste operations It is not permitted to store hazardous waste Waste must not be stored for longer than three years 9.1.7 Standard rules for the use of mobile plant for land spreading (SR2010 No4) A standard rules environmental permit to allow the use of mobile plant for land spreading (SR2010 No4) allows a wide range of wastes (including liquor, whole digestate and fibre digestate from the anaerobic treatment of source segregated biodegradable waste) to be spread on land for agricultural or ecological improvement. Under standard rules, the following critera must be met: Land spreading must not be carried out within 10 m of any watercourse, 50 m of any spring, well or borehole used for domestic or food production purposes, or within a Groundwater Protection Zone 1 No more than 3,000 tonnes of waste must be stored at any one time and the storage period must not be longer than 12 months In terms of digestate, no more than 250 tonnes per hectare must be spread in any 12 months period It is important to note that under standard rules, a deployment form must be submitted to the EA, prior to land spreading commencing at a site 9.1.8 Standard rules for combustion of biogas as a fuel in engines at a sewage treatment works (SR2009 No4) A standard rules environmental permit for the combustion of biogas in engines at a sewage treatment works (SR2009 No4) can be applied to the use of compression and spark ignition engines with a net rated thermal input of less than 3 MW, provided the following criteria are met: The activity is not carried out within 500 m of a European Site (ie Special Protection Area or Special Area of Conservation), RAMSAR Site or Site of Special Scientific Interest (excluding any SSSI designated solely for geological features) or within 200 m of any off-site building used by the public (including dwelling houses) The activity must be outside an Air Quality Management Area that has been designated due to concerns about oxides of nitrogen The gas engine stack must be at least 3 m high All biogas condensate must be discharged to a sealed drainage system (ie not to surface water or groundwater) Typically, the EA should determine a standard rules application within 13 weeks of being duly made. 9.1.9 Health warning Prior to preparing a standard rules environmental permit application, it is important to ensure that the site and activities will comply with all the relevant criteria and requirements which have been set by the EA for these types of permit. As the terms and conditions of standard rules permits are occasionally amended by the EA, it is important to ensure that the latest set of criteria is met. Further information is available at: www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/permitting/118404.aspx 9.1.10 Bespoke environmental permits Where a site or AD/biogas combustion activity cannot comply with an exemption or standard rule, a bespoke environmental permit will be required. Bespoke environmental permits can be for either waste facilities/operations or for what are known as Schedule 1 Activities (or Listed Activities). Waste facility/operation A bespoke environmental permit application for a waste facility/operation should be supported by completing and submitting a quantitative risk assessment, known as H1 Environmental Risk Assessment, which requires quantification of emissions to all environmental media (air, land and water) and any impacts that may result. The application must also include a non-technical summary and a management plan (detailing the environmental management systems to be used by the operator), a description of the techniques used to control pollution, waste acceptance and handling procedures, site protection and monitoring programme, accident risk assessment, noise assessment and odour management plan. Air dispersion modelling and noise calculations may be required to support the application (likely to be required if the site is a Schedule 1 Activity, see below). www.adbiogas.co.uk THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO AD 101
In addition, baseline data on whether any contamination is present at the site will need to be compiled and included in a site report. The purpose of the site report is to demonstrate background conditions prior to activities commencing under the environmental permit. When activities eventually cease and an operator wishes to surrender the environmental permit, environmental conditions at the time will need to be compared to those detailed in the site report to demonstrate that pollution has not occurred as a result of permitted activities (if pollution has occurred under the environmental permit, this may need to be remediated to enable permit surrender). Schedule 1 Activity (Listed Activity) Under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010, as amended (and equivalent legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland), an activity is classed as a Listed Activity if it falls under Schedule 1 of the Regulations. Listed Activities are subject to the requirements of Best Available Techniques (BAT) to prevent or reduce emissions and their impact on the environment as a whole. A facility subject to the requirements of BAT must be designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned to achieve a high level of protection for the environment as a whole. An environmental permit application for a Listed Activity must be supported by a detailed assessment to demonstrate the use of BAT. Listed Activities include the disposal or recycling of animal carcasses or animal waste at a plant that will treat more than 10 tonnes per day of these waste types. The use of artificial heat (ie not sunlight) to dry digestate for onward use as a solid fuel (eg as a low calorific fuel for combustion) is also a Listed Activity. A bespoke environmental permit application for a site that falls under Schedule 1 must include all the information required for a bespoke waste facility/operation, plus a BAT assessment, quantification of raw materials and energy use and a site decommissioning plan. Typically, the EA should determine a bespoke application within 13 weeks of being duly made. Proposed amendment Under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), AD sites that receive 100 tonnes per day or more of waste will be classed as a Listed Activity and be subject to the requirements of the IED, including BAT (the threshold applies if 100 tonnes per day or more of waste is received on any day, not necessarily as an average amount). The IED will be transposed into UK law for new sites from 6 January 2013, and for existing sites that are not currently subject to BAT by 6 July 2015. 9.2 SCOTLAND 9.2.1 Exemption In Scotland, under the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulation 2011, Schedule 1, paragraph 51, the anaerobic digestion of biodegradable waste from farms and distilleries is exempt from waste management licensing, provided the biogas from the AD process is used for energy recovery and the digestate is a stable, sanitised material that when applied to land results in benefit to agriculture or horticulture or ecological improvement. Details of the exemption must be notified to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). If SEPA agrees that the activity complies with the terms of the exemption, it will enter the details on a public register. Further information is available at: http://bit.ly/tlwwmf 9.2.2 Waste management licence The anaerobic digestion of waste (except at farm and distillery sites) will require a waste management licence, unless the activity falls under Schedule 1 of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000, as amended. An application for a waste management licence will require the completion of detailed application forms, risk assessments and a working plan setting out how the site will be operated, monitored and decommissioned. The application must be submitted to SEPA for determination. Typically, SEPA should determine the application within four months, although this timescale may overrun on occasions. Further details are available at: http://bit.ly/txx6xn 9.2.3 PPC permit A PPC permit will be required for AD activities that fall under Schedule 1 of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000, as amended. In reality, an AD site is only likely to require a PPC permit if activities include the disposal or recycling of more than 10 tonnes per day of animal carcasses or animal wastes, or if the digestate is heated for onward use as a solid fuel (eg as a low calorific fuel for combustion). An AD plant falling under Schedule 1 of the Regulations is subject to the requirements of BAT to prevent or reduce emissions and their impact on the environment. A facility subject to the requirements of BAT must be designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned to achieve a high level of protection for the whole environment. The PPC permit application must be supported by a detailed assessment to demonstrate the use of BAT, as well as detailed reports and risk assessments which demonstrate how the site will be operated, monitored and decommissioned without causing pollution or harm. Further information is available at: http://bit.ly/vyqnhl In Scotland, the anaerobic digestion of waste may require a waste management licence (under the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011) or a PPC permit (under the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000, as amended). The anaerobic digestion of agricultural or distillery waste may fall under an exemption from the need to hold a licence or permit. 102 THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO AD www.adbiogas.co.uk
9.3 NORTHERN IRELAND Northern Ireland has a similar licensing/permitting system to Scotland. 9.3.1 Waste management licence The anaerobic digestion of waste will require a waste management licence, unless the activity falls under Schedule 1 of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2003, as amended. An application for a waste management licence will require the completion of detailed application forms, risk assessments and a working plan setting out how the site will be operated, monitored and decommissioned. The application must be submitted to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) for determination. Typically, NIEA should determine the application within four months, although this timescale may overrun on occasions. Further details are available at: http://bit.ly/tlwy6p 9.3.2 PPC permit A PPC permit will be required for AD activities that fall under Schedule 1 of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2003, as amended. In reality, an AD site is only likely to require a PPC permit if activities include the disposal or recycling of more than 10 tonnes per day of animal carcasses or animal wastes or if the digestate is heated for onward use as a solid fuel (eg as a low calorific fuel for combustion). An AD plant falling under Schedule 1 of the Regulations is subject to the requirements of BAT to prevent or reduce emissions and their impact on the environment as a whole. The PPC permit application must be supported by a detailed assessment to demonstrate the use of BAT, as well as detailed reports and risk assessments which demonstrate how the site will be operated, monitored and decommissioned without causing pollution or harm. On its website, NIEA states: As the application process is complicated, requiring extensive consultation with other statutory bodies and interested parties as well as public participation, the evaluation process can last up to six months. Further information is available at: www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/apply_online/ippc_part_a.htm www.adbiogas.co.uk THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO AD 103
Notes 104 THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO AD www.adbiogas.co.uk