Introduction to environmental permits and licences

Business activities that may cause pollution or that pose another risk to the environment are regulated.

You must ensure that you have appropriate environmental permit or licence for the activities your business carries out. Most authorisations are issued by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), but some are issued by your district council or Northern Ireland Water.

This guide outlines the main environmental authorisations including pollution prevention and control permits, waste management licences, water discharge consents, groundwater authorisations, abstraction licences and hazardous waste notification.