Permit Management and Compliance

Permits issued under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) in England and Wales, and similar legislation for permitting in Scotland and Northern Ireland, require operators to have an appropriate environmental management system in place that, for example, is compliant with the ISO14001:2004 standard.  In England and Wales the system can alternatively be in line with the Environment Agency’s horizontal guidance note (H6).

It is a requirement that the management system must identify and minimise the risks of pollution, including those arising from operations, maintenance, accidents, incidents and non-conformances. It also extends to those drawn to the operator’s attention as a result of complaints.

What is the benefit?

Permit management requires competent staff to be trained to a level appropriate to their role and for the duties they perform within the remit of the site permit. This includes the parts an individual and teams will play in protecting the environment.

Practices put into place should adequately address what was agreed with Regulators in order to maintain permit conditions.  The level of awareness will follow an ongoing theme of continual improvement relevant to the activity and this will also be specific to the duties and roles performed by all those involved.

Staff awareness and competency, at levels conducive to the requirements of an environmental permit and supporting statutory guidance, reduces the potential risk of non-compliance with permit conditions and other environmental legislation.  An appropriate level of awareness can also control the level of exposure to overall business liability and business continuity risks that could include enforcement action and heightened costs.

 Why CRA?

CRA has a track record of providing training support services for environmental permitting and permit management.  This can be extended to include relevant aspects of environmental management, safety systems and other safety requirements such as COMAH.

CRA approaches training assignments in the context of our clients’ business needs and also their commercial priorities and value drivers for their business going forward.  The depth of our experience enables CRA to provide a level of training that can be phased and rolled-out in a manner that suits the clients’ needs and available budget.

For additional information on how CRA could help you, please contact Nigel Leehane on nleehane@cra.co.uk or 0115 965 6700.