Policy paper

Discharges to surface water and groundwater: assessing environmental permit compliance

Updated 3 December 2024

Applies to England

This guide applies to permit holders with permits regulated under the Environmental Permitting Regulations carrying out the following standalone activities:

• water discharge activities
• point source groundwater activities

Standalone means the activity is not part of another regulated facility such as a waste operation or installation.

If your discharge to surface water or to ground is part of a waste operation or installation you must read the guide for waste operations and installations: assessing and scoring environmental permit compliance.

If you also have a permit for a radioactive substances activity you must read the guide for radioactive substances activities: assessing environmental permit compliance.

The Environment Agency must focus its resources where there is likely to be the greatest risk to human health, quality of life and the environment. This guide explains how we regulate water discharge activities and point source groundwater activities with an environmental permit in a way that is:

• consistent
• transparent
• proportionate

We use a generic approach which we then adapt according to the specific discharge, its location and receptors.

This guide includes:

• 6 principles which explain how the Environment Agency assesses and categorises permit breaches
• an explanation of what happens after a compliance assessment

We follow principles 1, 3, 4 and 6 in this guide.

Read about when we carry out assessments and inspections in the guide for how you’ll be regulated.

Principle 1: record all non-compliances

The results of a compliance assessment may be recorded on a Compliance Assessment Report (CAR) form. We provide the permit holder with a copy of the form and the law requires us to put it on the Environment Agency’s public register.

We record all non-compliances identified during the assessment on the CAR form.

We only categorise non-compliances that relate directly to permit conditions.

A permit may contain 20 to 60 conditions. These are matched on the CAR form to 8 high level areas with 28 sub-criteria. Not all of the 28 sub-criteria match conditions used for water discharge activity and point source groundwater activity permits. Those that do not match are indicated by N/A in the sub-criteria list.

a) Permitted activities

1. Specified by permit

b) Infrastructure

1. Engineering for prevention and control of pollution
2. N/A
3. Site drainage engineering (clean and foul)
4. Containment of stored materials
5. Plant and equipment

c) General management

1. Staff competency and training
2. Management system and operating procedures
3. N/A
4. N/A

d) Incident management

1. N/A
2. Accident, emergency and incident planning

e) Emissions

1. N/A
2. Land and groundwater
3. Surface water
4. N/A
5. N/A

f) Amenity

1. N/A
2. N/A
3. Solid matter in receiving water or on bankside, beach or shoreline
4. N/A
5. N/A

g) Monitoring and records, maintenance and reporting

1. Monitoring of emissions and environment
2. Records of activity, site diary, journal and events
3. Maintenance records
4. Reporting and notification

h) Resource efficiency

1. N/A
2. N/A

We record all permit non-compliances on the CAR form under the relevant sub-criteria. Where we can record a non-compliance under more than one sub-criteria, we choose the one that best describes the non-compliance.

The completed form explains which of the sub-criteria and conditions we have assessed.

Compliance assessments vary in frequency, duration, detail and complexity. This depends on the type and scale of the activity and the likelihood of non-compliance. It can include audits, inspections, monitoring and other data reviews and discharge sampling.

We record all permit condition breaches identified by our compliance assessments on the Compliance Classification Scheme (CCS).

In some cases, for example where we collect samples to check compliance with emission limits, we may confirm the outcome of the assessment to the permit holder by letter.

Principle 2: consolidation

We record all non-compliances on the CAR form. For water discharge activities and point source groundwater activities we do not consolidate them for the purposes of scoring.

Principle 3: assess the reasonably foreseeable impact

Permit conditions minimise impact on the environment. The risk category we give a non-compliance reflects the potential impact it could have if it were not addressed promptly and adequately. Breaches of permit conditions can lead directly to pollution of the water environment.

Our assessment of the potential impact is known as the ‘reasonably foreseeable impact’. We assess this on a case-by-case basis using knowledge, evidence, professional judgement and common sense. For example, a non-compliance with a permit condition could have a significant risk category in one location (such as a drinking water source protection area), but it may have a much lesser risk category if it happened somewhere else.

Assessing reasonably foreseeable impact takes account of:

• the sensitivity of the receiving surface water or groundwater, including proximity to local receptors such as drinking water abstractions
• any procedures, resources and infrastructure that the permit holder has in place to mitigate pollution – these are collectively known as ‘appropriate measures’
• the responsiveness of the permit holder and site staff
• where third party intervention, or unexpected circumstances, have mitigated the effect of an incident arising from a breach of a permit condition

The CAR form explains how we have taken these factors into account when we arrive at a risk category for the reasonably foreseeable impact.

Principle 4: assess the root cause of the original non-compliance

A non-compliance can often be the symptom of a wider underlying problem. Compliance assessments also identify the risk category for the root cause of a non-compliance. We record and categorise this root cause non-compliance on the CAR form.

In the vast majority of cases, we can trace back the root cause of a non-compliance to deficiencies in the management system. In some cases the management system may be adequate, but the permit holder is not following it routinely.

The non-compliance of the management system may be caused by:

• inadequate training or staffing levels
• insufficient process controls
• ineffective contingency planning and accident prevention

We usually categorise root causes related to the management system condition against condition 1.1.1 in the permit. For older permits that do not currently have a modern management system condition, we award a risk category under a similar condition.

If a compliance assessment finds several non-compliances under different permit conditions and the root cause of each relates to different failings in the management system, we record the non-compliance with one risk category under the management system condition for that permitted activity.

The risk category for a root cause does not have to be the same as that of the original non-compliance. The root cause may have the potential for greater impact than the original non-compliance. For example, an inadequate management system could have a greater reasonably foreseeable impact than the failure that led to its discovery.

Principle 5: suspend scores

Permit non-compliances for water discharge activity and point source groundwater activity are not given scores that contribute to an annual compliance band for the permitted activity, therefore we do not apply principle 5.

Principle 6: assess the category of non-compliance

There are 4 risk categories of non-compliance. They represent the severity of the reasonably foreseeable impact.

Risk category 1

They are associated with a major impact on human health, quality of life or the environment.

Risk category 2

They are associated with a significant impact on human health, quality of life or the environment.

Risk category 3

They are associated with a minor impact on human health, quality of life or the environment.

Risk category 4

They are associated with no impact on human health, quality of life or the environment.

Duration of impact

If there is a link between duration and environmental impact, then we take into account the length of a continuing non-compliance when we determine the risk category. This is because the duration may increase the reasonably foreseeable impact.

Severity of impact and sensitivity of receptors

The risk category we award reflects the severity of impact on a receptor. The more sensitive the receptor (due to its proximity or type) the more severe the impact will be.

We assess the risk category on a case by case basis – reflecting the relative sensitivity of the receptors and the nature and scale of the non-compliance.

Sensitive environmental receptors include:

• groundwater source protection zones
• protected habitats
• groundwater dependent terrestrial ecosystems
• bathing waters
• drinking water abstractions

Use Magic maps to find habitat designations.

Explaining the outcomes of a compliance assessment

If they are available, we do a site visit for a compliance assessment when the operator or their suitable representative is present. This is so we can make them aware of any non-compliances. We discuss with them the actions needed to remedy the non-compliance and the timeframe for undertaking them. We summarise the discussion on the CAR form.

We tell the operator or their suitable representative what risk category we are likely to give the non-compliance.

If, on reflection, we later change the indicative risk category, we record this as a correction on the CAR form along with an explanation of why we made the correction.

We record a non-compliance identified during an assessment on the CAR form along with an explanation of:

• what is wrong
• the actions the permit holder needs to take to correct the problem
• the date by which they must complete the actions
• what enforcement action (if any) we may take in response to the non-compliance

Where we have given the permit holder a period of time in which to complete actions, we may make several re-inspections during, or at the end of this period. We do this in order to monitor progress and to confirm that the permit holder has addressed the non-compliance. We record progress updates and satisfactory completion of actions on the CAR form.

We send the permit holder the CAR form outlining the results of a compliance assessment. This is usually within 14 days of the assessment or receiving any monitoring data to assess. We do this even when we have not identified any non-compliances. In exceptional circumstances, it may take us longer than 14 days to send the permit holder the CAR form. Where this happens, we let the permit holder know the reason for the delay and also the date when we will send the CAR form.

If a permit holder disagrees with the CAR form, they can raise their concerns with the officer or team which issued the inspection form. This must be done within 14 calendar days of receipt. If the response does not resolve the licence holder’s concerns, they can request an appeal of the regulatory decision. This request must be made within 28 calendar days of receipt of the response.

How we use data from a compliance assessment

Published data

The Environment Agency publishes data which is available to everyone to access, use and share.

Data which relates to assessing and scoring permit compliance includes:

• National Compliance Assessment
• Compliance Classification Scheme

Regulating for people, the environment and growth

The Environment Agency publishes annual reports which include information about:

• assessing permit compliance
• water company environmental performance
• the number of serious pollution incidents and sectors responsible
• reductions in costs for businesses we regulate
• enforcement action we take when businesses do not comply

Privacy notice: how we use your personal data

The Environment Agency runs the CCS and National Compliance Assessment Database (NCAD). We use CCS to store all permit breaches that we identify. We use NCAD to store electronic copies of compliance assessment report forms.

We are the data controller for these services. A data controller determines how and why personal information is processed.

Our personal information charter explains your rights and how we deal with your personal information.

Personal data we need

The personal data we process about you includes your:

• name
• job title
• address
• information on permitted activities

We are allowed to process your personal data because we have official authority as the environmental regulator. The lawful basis for processing your personal data is to perform a task in the public interest that is set out in law.

We use your personal data to process and reference our compliance assessments.

What we do with your personal data

The information from our compliance assessments is stored on the CCS database and NCAD. CAR forms (sent to permit holders of permitted sites following a compliance assessment) are stored on our electronic document and records management system.

CAR forms are available on our public register.

How long we keep your personal data

We keep your personal data for 7 years after the end of your permit. The end of your permit means it has been surrendered, transferred or revoked. This is our standard information retention policy.

Where your personal data is processed and stored

We store and process your personal data on our servers in the UK.