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Glossary termPublished inIED 2.0

Environmental inspection

Also known as milieu-inspectie

What does "Environmental inspection" mean under the IED?

All actions, including site visits, monitoring of emissions and checks of internal reports and follow-up documents, verification of self-monitoring, checking of the techniques used and adequacy of the environment management of the installation, undertaken by or on behalf of the competent authority to check and promote compliance of installations with their permit conditions and, where necessary, to monitor their environmental impact

Defined in / by

Last updated: 14 October 2026.

How competent authorities check compliance

Environmental inspections are how competent authorities check that installations comply with their permits. Under Article 23(4), the period between two site visits shall not exceed 1 year for installations posing the highest risks and 3 years for installations posing the lowest risks. After a site visit, the competent authority's report is notified to the operator concerned within 2 months of the site visit taking place (Article 23(6)).

The definition covers far more than site visits: monitoring of emissions, checks of internal reports and follow-up documents, verification of self-monitoring, and checking the techniques used and the adequacy of the installation's environmental management. Inspections can be carried out by the competent authority or on its behalf.

In the Netherlands the omgevingsdiensten carry out supervision and administrative enforcement for the provincial or municipal executive, according to the explanatory memorandum to bill 36864. Directive (EU) 2024/1785 added a related definition, compliance assurance, and Article 8(1) requires Member States to adopt compliance assurance measures to promote, monitor and enforce compliance. The definition of environmental inspection itself was not changed.

Questions and answers

How often must an IED installation be inspected?

Under Article 23(4), the period between two site visits shall not exceed 1 year for installations posing the highest risks and 3 years for those posing the lowest risks.

Who carries out IED inspections in the Netherlands?

The omgevingsdiensten, for the provincial or municipal executive that is the competent authority, according to the explanatory memorandum to bill 36864.

Regulations

  • Industrial Emissions Directive (IED 2.0)

    The revised Industrial Emissions Directive is Directive (EU) 2024/1785. Member States had to transpose it by 1 July 2026, and none had notified full transposition by 25 September 2026. Operators need an environmental management system by 1 July 2027, and large pig and poultry farms follow from 2030. The Dutch bill is before the Eerste Kamer.

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