Defra consults on 2013/14 air pollution control fees

A consultation on 2013/14 local authority fees and charges for businesses on air pollution control will be open until 18 January 2013

Defra has started its consultation on permit charges and fees for businesses in England relating to air pollution for 2013/14.

The consultation specifically focuses on the setting of fees for Local Air Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC) and Local Air — Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (LA —IPPC) as part of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010.

Defra’s Nobel House headquarters in London – the department is consulting on 2013-14 air pollution control fees for businesses

Around 19,000 businesses from different sectors currently hold environmental LAPPC and LA-IPPC permits for their activities, such as chipboard and glass manufacturers, foundries, animal renderers, paint manufacturers, larger furniture works, petrol stations and high street dry cleaners.

Businesses must apply for an environmental permit for certain activities and pay the relevant local authority an amount specified by Defra.

The money from these fees and charges is then used to recover the cost to local authorities of implementing these environmental regulations and permits — also known as the ‘polluter pays’ principle.

Current charges and fees

All existing 2012/13 charges were frozen at 2011/12 levels, with the LAPPC standard application fee set at £1,579 and the charge for operating without a permit standing at £1,137.

The LA-IPPC application fee for 2012/13, meanwhile, is set at £3,218, while the charge for operating without a permit set at the same level as the LAPPC fee. Businesses can pay the subsistence charges in four quarterly instalments.

A full break-down of the current 2012/13 LAPCC and LA-IPPC fees and charges is available to view on the Defra website under industrial emissions, or by clicking here.

Responses by post and email are being invited until the consultation periods ends on 18 January 2013. The Welsh Government will be consulting separately on the charges.