You must follow this guide if you’re applying for a permit or to change (vary) a permit for intensive farming under the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

As part of your risk assessment you must assess the following emissions:

• odour
• noise
• dustemissions and bioaerosols (airborne particles that contain living organisms)
• ammonia

This is to check if they are likely to affect people‘receptors’ (people or parts of the environment that could be harmed by emissions from your farmfarm):

• odour
• noise
• dust (calledand ‘receptors’).
  bioaerosols (airborne particles that contain living organisms)
• ammonia

Pre-application discussion

First,Complete you need to fill in and submit the environmental permit pre-application advice form to arrange a pre-application discussion.

InContact this discussion, the Environment Agency will:and ask to speak to your local office to arrange a pre-application discussion.

• At the pre-application discussion the Environment Agency will tell you about the application process

• and identify nature conservation sites and neighbours close to your farm who will need to be considered in the environmental risk assessment

assessment. The Environment Agency will also tell you what should and should not be included in the permit, for example:

• example relevant buildings
• buildings, fuel storage
• storage, carcass incinerators
• slurry storage

Odour and noiseslurry management

storage.

Odour and noise from the farm may affect receptors such as local residents, schools, hospitals, parks or businesses.

You’ll need to submit written odour and noise management plans as part of your application if:

• if there are receptors within 400 metres of the site boundary
• the siteor hasif it’s been the cause of odour or noise complaints in the past

past.

Read the emissions guide to find out what you must do to prevent odour and noise pollution.

Ammonia emissions

You must submit a risk assessment of the impact of ammonia emissions from your site if you’reeither either:of the following apply:

• you’re applying for a new bespoke permit
• you’re applying to change (vary) an existing environmental permit in a way that will cause an increase of ammonia emissions to air from your farm

Factors that could cause an increase of ammonia emissions include:

• an increase in the number of, or change in the type of animals you keep on the farm
• an increase in the amount of manure or slurry you store
• a change to yourthe site’s design of your site, or ventilationventilation, that could lead to higher ammonia concentrations
• aconcentrations, change to your site’s design or ventilation that could lead to ammonia settling on a nearby receptor, such as residential housinghousing, or a nature conservation site

ActivitiesAmmonia that release ammonia into waterscreening

YouThe generallyEnvironment cannotAgency getdo a permit‘distance forscreening’ activitieson thatevery resultapplication. inThey releasingwill ammoniause into water.

Ammoniawork screening

Theout Environmentwhether Agency will do a ‘distance screening’ on your application to check if your farm is close to nature conservation sites.

At the pre-application discussion,discussion you’llthe beEnvironment askedAgency will ask you for information so thethey Environment Agency can do a ‘simplesimple screening’screening of:

• assessment of expected ammonia emissions
• and the potential effects on nearby nature conversationconservation sites

Aftersites. The this,simple you’llscreening bewill tolddetermine ifwhether youyou’ll need to employ a consultant to produce a detailed modelling assessment of ammonia emissions to support your application.

Information

You generally cannot get a permit for activities that result in releasing ammonia into water. Contact the Environment Agency before beginning your application if you needexpect to giverelease forammonia simpleto screening

water.

InYou thewill pre-applicationneed discussion,to you’llprovide bethe askedfollowing to give:the Environment Agency so they can do the screening:

• farm name, address and Ordnance Survey grid reference for your farm
• what type of ventilation system typeyou (fanuse, for example fan or natural)natural ventilation
• ventilation location (roofof your ventilation, for example roof or side mounted)
• mounted, if roof mounted you must also provide the height of roofthe vents above the ground and the fan airflowefflux speedvelocity in metres per second (if fans are roof mounted)
• amountthe quantity of manure (in tonnes) stored on your farm at any one time, in tonnestime
• the surface area (inin square metres)metres of any slurry storage facilitiesfacility on your site,site including(including lagoons
• lagoons) and the type of cover used on slurry storage
• a breakdown of animal numbers by type and by housingtype (forof example,housing, for example the number of sows, growers and finishers on fully slatted floorings and the number on partly slatted flooring)flooring
• the most appropriate ammonia emission factors for the livestock and housing type

You’ll also have to provide a site plan (forif you’re applying for a new applicationsapplication or variationsfor thata includevariation which includes changes to the site layout)

descriptionlayout.

If ofyou’re proposedapplying changesto (ifvary your permit, you arewill varyingalso yourhave permit)

Ammoniato emissiondescribe factorsthe andproposed standards

change.

At theyour pre-application discussion,discussion the Environment Agency will work out the most appropriate ‘emissionemission factors’factors for yourthe livestock reared on your site and housing.the Youtype canof checkhousing you use. Check the standard ammonia emissions factors theythat use.the Environment Agency will check your ammonia emissions factors against.

TheThere are 3 standards the Environment Agency will assess your ammonia emissions against 3 standards to check the risk of air pollution:

• ammonia critical level
• nutrient nitrogen critical load
• acidity critical load

TheVisit the Air Pollution Information System explainswebsite to find out what critical levels and loads.loads are.

Ammonia screening thresholds

The Environment Agency will check ifwhether there are any nature conservation sites close to your farm. They will do a simple screening if your farm basedis onwithin the distances shown in the following distances.table.

Nature conservation site designation	Distance from site in km	Lower threshold %	Upper threshold %
Special Protectionprotection Areasareas (SPAs), Specialspecial Areasareas of Conservationconservation (SACs), Ramsar sites	5km	1%4%	No upper threshold20%
Sites of Specialspecial Scientificscientific Interestinterest (SSSIs)	5km	20%	50%
LocalNational nature sitesreserves (National(NNRs), Naturelocal Reserves,nature Localreserves Nature(LNRs), Reserves,local Localwildlife Wildlifesites Sites,(LWS), Ancientancient Woodlands)woodland (AW)	2km	100%	100%

Results

If ofthe simple screening

You predicts that emissions from your farm will be less than the lower threshold of the relevant critical level or load you will not need to do detailed modellingmodelling.

If ifthe simple screening predicts that ammonia emissions from your resultfarm iswill abovebe thesemore screeningthan thresholds:

• 1%the forupper SPAs,threshold SACsof andthe Ramsarrelevant sites
• 50%critical forlevel SSSIs
• 100%or forload localyou’ll natureneed sites

to do detailed modelling.

If youthe aresimple withinscreening 5predicts kilometresthat ofthe aammonia SSSIconcentrations andfrom your resultfarm iswill betweenbe more than the lower andthreshold but less than the upper screeningthreshold thresholds,of the relevant critical level or load at a SAC, SPA, Ramsar site or SSSI, the Environment Agency will check otherif permittedthere are other farms in the area.area whose emissions yours may combine with. If the combined emissions are aboveless than the upper threshold,threshold you will not need to do a detailed modelling assessment. If they’re more, you will need to do detailed modelling.

Detailed modelling

TheOnce your simple screening has been completed the Environment Agency will tell you if you need to dofind detaileda modellingconsultant afterto completingdo theirdetailed simplemodelling screening.for you.

You will need to docarry out detailed modelling if:

• the original permit for your farminstallation includedcontained instructions on how you must reduce ammonia emissions –- an ‘improvement condition’
• your proposed activities are within 250 metres of any nature conservation site
• simplesites, screeningfor showsexample yourSPAs, emissionsSACs, couldSSSIs, affectNNRs, natureRamsar conservation sites

To doand detailedlocal modelling,wildlife yousites

the needsimple toscreening useassessment computersuggests softwareemissions thatcould modelsaffect theconservation passagesites of- ayou substancewill asbe ittold travelsif throughthat’s the atmosphere until it reaches the ground.

case

DetailedConsultants modellingmust requiresfollow specialist knowledge. You can find a consultant to do it for you. They’ll charge for their services. 

Contact the Environment Agency if you want to do your own detailed modelling.

For guidance onfor detailed modelling for environmental permitting applications, check environmental permitting: air dispersion modelling reports.

BiomassAir emissions: biomass boilers

You need to assess the environmental impact of nitrogen dioxide and particulate emissions if you:

• add a biomass boiler to an existing permitted site
• propose a biomass boiler in plans for a new site

Contact the Environment Agency and ask to speak to your local officer to discuss how to do the assessment.

Poultry farms: when you do not need to do an air emissions assessment for your biomass boiler

You do not need to do an assessment of air emissions if:if the following apply:

• the fuel comes from virgin timber (whole trees and woody parts of trees), clean non-virgin timber (any timber or timber product that has not been treated), straw or miscanthus (also called elephant grass)
• the biomass boiler appliance and its installation are eligible for the Renewable Heat Incentive

In addition, the aggregate boiler net rated thermal input must be less than 0.5MWth0.5 (megawattMWth, thermal), or it must meet all of the following:

• the aggregate boiler net rated thermal input is less than or equal to 4MWth4 MWth
• no individual boiler has a net thermal input greater than 1MWth1 MWth
• the stack height is at least 5 metres above the ground and may need to be higher if there are buildings within 25 metres –- the stack must extend above the roof level of any building by at least 1 metre
• there are no receptors within 50 metres of the emission points

If your proposed biomass boiler installation does not meet this criteria, then use the following criteria for the pig farms.farm. You will not need to do an air emissions assessment if it meets the pig farm criteria.

Pig farms: when you do not need to do an air emissions assessment for your biomass boiler

You do not need to do an assessment of air emissions if:if the following apply:

• the fuel comes from virgin timber (whole trees and woody parts of trees), clean non-virgin timber (any timber or timber product that has not been treated), straw or miscanthus (also called elephant grass)
• the biomass boiler appliance and its installation are eligible for the Renewable Heat Incentive

In addition, the aggregate boiler net rated thermal input must be less than 0.5MWth,0.5 MWth, or it must meet all of the following:

• the aggregate boiler net rated thermal input is less than 1MWth1 MWth
• the stack height is greater than 1 metre above the roof level of buildings within 25 metres (where there are no buildings within 25 metres, the stack height must be a minimum of 3 metres above ground)
• there are no SPAsSACs, SACsSPAs, Ramsar sites or SSSIs within 500 metres of the emission points
• there are no NationalNNRs, NatureLNRs, Reserves,AW Local Nature Reserves, Local Wildlife Sites or AncientLWS Woodlands within 100 metres of the emission points

Where the aggregate boiler net rated thermal input is greater than 1MWth1 MWth but less than 2MWth,2 MWth you do not need to do an assessment of air emissions if, in addition to meeting all of the above criteria (including fuel type and eligibility for the Renewable Heat Incentive), there are no receptors within 150 metres of the emission points.

Net rated thermal input definition

Net rated thermal input means the rate at which fuel can be burned at the maximum continuous rating of the appliance, multiplied by the net calorific value of the fuel. It’s expressed in MWth. Ask the manufacturer of the biomass boiler for this information.

DustAir emissions: dust and bioaerosols

You will need to produce and submit a dust and bioaerosol management plan with your application if there are relevant receptors within 100 metres of your farm, such as the farmhouse or farm worker’s houses.

In your dust and bioaerosol management plan, you must give details of control measures you will use to manage the risks from dust and bioaerosols from your farm. Tables 1 and 2 and checklist 1 and 2 in ‘assessing dust control measures on intensive poultry installations’ explain the methods you should use.

The format of your dust and bioaerosol managementmanangement plan should be similar to your odour and noise management plan.

Submit your application

Submit your application within 6 months of your ammonia screening to make sure the data remains current.

If your application requires detailed modelling,modelling you must:

• must show that your emissions are at the acceptable levels in the screening thresholds table
• and provide plans to show how you will reduce them if they’re not

not.

If you’re unable to propose ways to reduce your emissions below these levels, the Environment Agency will do a detailed assessment of your proposal. For SPAsSACs, SACsSPAs, Ramsar sites and SSSIs the Environment Agency will consult with Natural England before they decide whether to approve your permit.

Contact

Contact the Environment Agency if you have queries.