You will need to apply for a permit from the Environment Agency if you want to discharge to surface water or groundwater. Including discharge from an effluent plant or an industrial process. An assessment of the river or groundwater that you are proposing to discharge to will be required. To see if it can take both the volume and chemical load of the effluent you plan to discharge. A groundwater risk assessment may therefore be necessary. You will also need to assess the risk to downstream waters or groundwater.

Permits are not granted automatically because they are decided on risk to the environment. Standard rules permits can therefore be granted quickly for domestic plants. larger industrial processes may require a bespoke permit. Bespoke permits are advertised like planning applications. Hence, may take much longer to be determined.

We can help you apply for the most appropriate environmental permit. We can provide all of the scaled drawings and survey reports required to support your application. The process will take 3-6 months depending on complexity. Therefore, if you are looking to discharge via a treatment plant we will need to know the type of plant and the volumes of effluent. Chemical analysis of constituents and load is also an important factor in the EA’s decision making process because of risk.

We have helped many companies achieve a permit for  their industrial discharge activities. From food factories to cooling water discharges and domestic treatment plants for housing corporations.