Permit

The permit as the main instrument

The permit is the Directive's main instrument. Article 4(1) requires that no installation or combustion plant, waste incineration plant or waste co-incineration plant is operated without a permit. Member States may set a procedure for the registration of installations covered only by Chapter V or Chapter VIa instead. For pig and poultry farms, Article 70c(1) requires a permit for installations in the scope of Chapter VIa and lets Member States use a similar pre-existing registration procedure; an application or registration describes at least the elements listed in Article 70c(2), including the stocking density in LSU per hectare.

BAT conclusions are the reference for setting permit conditions (Article 14(3)), and a permit may simply refer to general binding rules instead of repeating them (Article 6). A permit is not set once. Within four years of publication of decisions on BAT conclusions relating to the installation's main activity, all its conditions are reconsidered and, if necessary, updated (Article 21(3)). A substantial change needs a new permit (Article 20(2)).

In the Netherlands the competent authority is the provincial or municipal executive, depending on the activity, according to the explanatory memorandum to bill 36864.