Introduction to Industrial Pollution Prevention and Control
This page provides an introduction to the Pollution Prevention and Control scheme.
Many industrial activities have the potential to cause harm to the environment. The UK legislation, some of which is founded on requirements of the European Union, requires that the operators of such activities ensure that the pollution is prevented or minimised.
While pollution control schemes had existed in a number of forms, for example the Alkali and Works etc Act and the Clean Air Acts 1956 and 1968 (now combined into the 1993 Act), the present scheme of industrial pollution control was introduced in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 where ‘authorisations’ were granted to operators of prescribed processes who could prove that they met stringent pollution control requirements.
The Pollution Prevention & Control Act 1999 replaced the relevant sections of Environmental Protection Act 1990 the ‘authorisation’ being replaced by a ‘permit’. The transitional period to convert authorisations to permits expired in 2007.
The activities whose emissions are controlled are categorised as Part A or Part B activities.
- Part A activities are subject to Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) and so all emissions to air, land, water and noise environments are controlled by the permit.
- Part B activities are subject to Local Air Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC) and by contrast to Part A processes, only the emissions to air are controlled.
The enforcement of the legislation is split between the Environment Agency and local authorities.
- The Environment Agency handle the largest potentially polluting activities, for example power stations, these types of activities are known as A1 activities.
- Local authorities are responsible for A2 activities for IPPC and the Part B processes subject to LAPPC.
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