Apply for a permit to discharge trade or mixed effluent
If your discharge of effluent can’t be registered with us as exempt, you will need an Environmental Permit. These discharges can include:
- Discharges of trade effluent to ground or to surface water
- Discharges of mixed effluent (trade and sewage) to ground or to surface water
- Discharges to groundwater via a borehole, well or other deep structure.
- Discharges to water from a heat exchanger into surface water
If you’re looking to discharge domestic sewage effluent please see our webpage Apply for a permit to discharge domestic sewage
Apply for an Environmental Permit to discharge trade or mixed effluents
To apply for an Environmental Permit to discharge trade or mixed effluents, you will need to complete our online application form B6.
Apply for an Environmental Permit to discharge to groundwater via a borehole, well or other deep structure
To apply for an Environmental Permit to discharge, you will need to complete our online application form B6
Apply for a permit to discharge water from a heat exchanger into surface water
To apply for an Environmental Permit to discharge water from a heat exchanger into surface water, you will need to complete our application form B1. See our page Apply for a permit to discharge water from a heat exchanger into surface water
If you need advice before you make an application for a permit please use our pre-application advice service
Fees and charges
Application fees
You will need to pay an application fee for this Environmental Permit which differs depending on the volume you’ll be discharging and where your treated effluent is being discharged.
If you discharge to surface water (this means rivers, ditches, lakes, ponds, canals, estuaries or the sea) the application fee is:
- For discharges of less than 5000 litres (5 cubic metres) per day - £3,610.
- For discharges between 5000 and 20,000 litres (5 to 20 cubic metres) per day - £5,838.
- For discharges of 20,000 litres (20 cubic metres) or more per day - £10,076.
If you discharge to ground (this means making a discharge to a drainage field or infiltration system) the application fee is:
- For discharges of less than 5000 litres (5 cubic metres) per day - £3,415.
- For discharges between 5000 and 15,000 (5 to 15 cubic metres per day) litres per day - £5,517.
- For discharges of 15,000 litres (15 cubic metres) or more per day - £9,516.
Habitats Regulations Assessment fee
If your discharge is near a recognised European habitat site we will need to carry out a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) as part of assessing your permit application. This requires payment of an additional fee.
For discharges to surface water the fee for a habitats assessment is £4,951.
For discharges to ground the fee for a habitats assessment is £4,671.
Environmental Risk Assessment fee
If your discharge into surface water contains hazardous chemicals and elements we may need to complete an Environmental Risk Assessment as part of assessing your permit application. This will require payment of an additional fee of £4,951.
Applications with insufficient detail to progress
If we return your application due to insufficient detail and so are unable to progress past the application accepted stage, we will retain 10% of the application fee. We will only return an application after first giving you an opportunity to supply missing information.
If you decide to withdraw your permit application
If you decide to withdraw your permit application after we have accepted it, we will retain 100% of the application fee. If you decide to withdraw before we’ve progressed from the application accepted stage, we will retain 10% of the application fee.
Annual fee
There will be an ongoing annual charge to cover our costs of maintaining and reviewing your permit, ensuring that you comply with the permit conditions and monitoring the water body that you discharge into.
Read more about fees and charges in our environmental permitting charging scheme.