Licensing & Permitting

The Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) is Environmental Legislation aimed at reducing emissions from industrial production processes. This directive is a recast of the seven previous Commission Directives that covered Industrial Emissions. A review of these resulted in their merging to ensure clearer environmental benefits and consistent application of Best Available Techniques (BAT) across member states is achieved. In the past the Environmental Protection Agency in Ireland has issued Waste Licences and IPPC Licences for activities which are listed in the Third and Fourth Schedules to the Waste Management Act 1996 (as amended) and the First Schedule to the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (as amended) respectively.

The Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) has introduced a new type of licence that can be granted by the EPA known as an Industrial Emissions Licence (IEL). In accordance with this, the EU Industrial Emissions Regulations have amended the First Schedule of the EPA Act 1992 to state which activities are licensable. These activities are summarised as follows:

• Minerals and Other Materials
• Energy
• Metals
• Mineral Fibres and Glass
• Chemicals
• Intensive Agriculture (poultry and pigs)
• Food and Drink
• Wood, Paper, Textiles and Leather
• Fossil Fuels
• Cement, Lime and Magnesium Oxide
• Waste
• Surface Coatings
• Other Activities (includes testing of engines, manufacture of printed circuit boards, production of lime, the manufacture of ceramic products, the capture of CO2 streams and treatment of wastewater)

Some of the classes are subject to thresholds. If you are carrying out an activity that is below a threshold, you must ensure that this threshold is not exceeded without first obtaining an Industrial Emissions Licence.

The Industrial Emissions licence is required to refer to the complete environmental performance of a plant including emissions to air, water and land, generation of waste, use of raw materials, energy efficiency, noise, prevention of accidents and restoration of the site upon closure. In the case where the activity uses, produces, or releases relevant hazardous substances, the plant is obliged to prepare a baseline report before starting an operation or before a permit is updated taking into consideration possible soil and groundwater contamination. If you are proposing to commence a new activity listed in the First Schedule of the EPA Act, you must first obtain an industrial emissions licence before commencing the activity

AVRIO has extensive experience in the preparation of IED Licence applications and can therefore help with determining if the IED applies to your business activities and if so, the subsequent preparation of an application and its submission thereafter.