Guidance

Environmental permitting: groundwater activities in Wales

This guidance is intended to help the regulator, the regulated community, and others with an interest in groundwater activities.

Applies to Wales

Documents

Environmental permitting guidance groundwater activities in Wales

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

It describes the views of the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Welsh Ministers on how the legislation relating to groundwater activities should be applied and how particular terms should be interpreted in Wales.

In England, follow separate guidance for environmental permitting for groundwater activities.

This guidance explains the legal requirements but only the national courts can give a definitive interpretation of the legislation.

‘Groundwater activities’ includes both those activities that require a permit, and those activities that are unlawful, for instance causing pollution to groundwater, whether deliberate or accidental.

This guidance should be read in conjunction with the environmental permitting core guidance.

Further information

Updates to this page

Published 15 June 2011
Last updated 8 April 2025 + show all updates
  1. This guidance now only applies in Wales, there is separate guidance for England which is linked under the details section.

  2. First published.

Sign up for emails or print this page