Medium combustion plant: apply for an environmental permit

Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD) permits are standalone permits. They only cover emissions of SO₂, NOₓ and dust to air. There are no permit conditions for water, land, energy efficiency, odour or noise.

There are 3 types of permit for a stationary or mobile medium combustion plant (MCP):

• standard rules permit – low risk
• simple bespoke – low risk
• complex bespoke permit – high risk

Find information on what to do if your MCP is already permitted, for example, if you have:

• an IED installations environmental permit
• a local authority Part B section 1.1 or 5.1 activity permit

Before you apply

Check you have all the information you need, including the deadlines you must meet. Read the guidance on:

• when you need a permit
• how to comply with emission limit values (ELVs)

In:

• England, apply to the Environment Agency using these details and application forms
• Wales, apply to Natural Resources Wales – use their details and application forms

You need to apply in time for the regulator to determine your application – check the ‘After you apply’ section of this page for more information.

Standard rules permits

To apply for a standard rules permit in England, you must be able to meet the rules set out in the permit. If you cannot, you must apply for a bespoke permit.

See the standard rules permits available for low risk stationary MCPs.

The standard rules permits are not suitable:

• if your existing MCP is also classed as a specified generator
• for MCP that are directly associated activities to an IED installation environmental permit

Apply for a standard rules permit

When you submit your application, you must provide the:

• operator’s name and the address of the registered office – for mobile MCP the owner is the operator
• MCP’s location, if stationary – address, postcode and the national grid reference or latitude and longitude (not required for mobile MCP)
• net rated thermal input (MWth)
• type of combustion plant – such as diesel engine, gas turbine, dual fuel engine, other engine or boiler
• type and portion of fuels used, as set out in the fuel categories in Annex 2 of the MCPD
• operation start date
• Nomenclature of Economic Activities (NACE) code for the activity
• expected annual operating hours and the approximate average load in use (see the ‘ELV exemption declaration’ section of this page)

Operator competence

In your application you must be able to demonstrate your ability as an operator. Provide information on:

• any conviction of a relevant offence by you or a relevant person
• current or past bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings against you or a relevant person

You must also confirm you have a written management system.

ELV exemption declaration

If the 500 operating hours per year exemption applies to your MCP, you must provide a signed declaration that the MCP will not operate more than the allowed hours.

Charges for standard rules permits

SR2018 No 7: new and existing, low risk, stationary medium combustion plant and SR2022 No 9: new and existing, low risk, stationary medium combustion plant which is a natural gas boiler

Number of MCPs	Application charge	Subsistence charge	Transfer charge	Surrender charge
1	£446	£194	£169	£125
up to 3	£520	£256	£169	£125
up to 5	£620	£342	£169	£125
up to 8	£720	£394	£169	£125
up to 10	£779	£520	£169	£125
up to 15	£813	£620	£169	£125

ApplyHelp and advice

See guidance on how to get help with your application in England.

In Wales, contact Natural Resources Wales for ahelp.

Complete and submit the standard rules permit application form

Or you can complete the spreadsheet application form for a standard rules permit.

Bespoke permits

If you cannot meet the conditions in a standard rules permit you must apply for a bespoke permit. There are 2 types:

• simple bespoke (low risk) – does not require detailed air dispersion modelling
• complex bespoke (high risk) – does require detailed air dispersion modelling

Read the following guidance to see:

• which type of bespoke permit you must apply for
• what information you must provide in addition to that required for a standard rules permit

You cannot apply for an MCP bespoke permit if the activities are directly associated to an IED installation environmental permit.

Air emissions risk assessment

Stage 1

If each individual MCP is operating outside the minimum screening distances to the habitat sites given in the table then you can apply for a lower risk simple bespoke permit. If any of the MCP(s) are operating inside the minimum screening distances to habitats given in the table then you should move to a stage 2 assessment.

Minimum screening distances to the habitat sites

Fuel type used	Rated thermal input (MWth) of any MCP	Minimum distance from MCP to a site of special scientific interest or marine conservation zone in metres	Minimum distance from MCP to a special area of conservation, special protection area or Ramsar wetland in metres
Natural gas, gas oil or woody solid biomass	1 to less than 2	750	750
Natural gas, gas oil or woody solid biomass	2 to less than 5	1,000	1,000
Natural gas, gas oil or woody solid biomass	5 to less than 10	1,500	1,500
Natural gas, gas oil or woody solid biomass	10 to less than 20	2,000	2,500
Natural gas, gas oil or woody solid biomass	20 to less than 50	2,000	5,000
Gas other than natural gas	1 to less than 2	1,000	1,000
Gas other than natural gas	2 to less than 5	1,500	1,500
Gas other than natural gas	5 to less than 10	2,000	4,000
Gas other than natural gas	10 to less than 20	2,000	5,000
Gas other than natural gas	20 to less than 50	2,000	10,000
Solid and liquid heavy fuel oil	1 to less than 2	2,000	2,000
Solid and liquid heavy fuel oil	2 to less than 5	2,000	4,000
Solid and liquid heavy fuel oil	5 to less than 10	2,000	8,000
Solid and liquid heavy fuel oil	10 to less than 50	2,000	10,000

You can ask for a free habitats (nature and conservation) screening assessment to check if you meet the criteria. Use our pre-application advice service and select the installations form.

Stage 2

If any of your individual MCP are within the minimum screening distances given in the stage 1 assessment, you can use the Simple Calculation of Atmospheric Impact Limits (SCAIL) combustion tool to do an air emission risk assessment.

Follow the guidance on how to use the SCAIL combustion tool and assess the outputs. You will need specialist knowledge to use it. You should find an air quality consultant to do it for you.

The output of the screening and subsequent assessment will determine if you:

• ‘screen out’ and need to apply for a low risk simple bespoke permit
• ‘screen in’ and need to apply for a high risk complex bespoke permit

If you do not use the SCAIL combustion tool and guidance to do a stage 2 assessment, you will need to apply for a complex bespoke permit. You will need to send us a detailed air dispersion modelling report. You must include information about any actions you are taking to reduce air impacts to prevent harm to a habitat. Detailed modelling requires specialist knowledge. You should find an air quality consultant to do it for you.

If the MCP is also a specified generator, then you should also follow the guidance relating to the air emissions risk assessment for specified generators.

Energy efficiency report for MCP 20MWth or more

If the MCP’s total thermal rated input is 20MWth or more and produces waste heat at a useful temperature you must also meet Schedule 24 of the environmental permitting regulations. This implements the requirements of the Energy Efficiency Directive. You must prepare and submit a report if your plant is:

• new or substantially refurbished
• operates more than 1,500 hours per year
• is over 20MWth (total aggregated net thermal input)
• a boiler, furnace, gas turbine or compression ignition engine

See guidance on how to meet the energy efficiency standards.

Mobile MCP deploying to a local authority air quality management area (AQMA)

You must provide:

• details of the specific AQMA
• generic examples against high background concentration
• evidence of no harm to local air quality

The regulator will restrict deployment as appropriate.

Stationary MCP located in a local authority AQMA (mostly boilers)

If your MCP is not a generator, for example it’s a boiler, you must find out if your MCP is located within a local authority AQMA.

In your application you must provide:

• details of the AQMA
• actual emissions from the MCP

Setting monitoring requirements

You must provide detailed information on:

• secondary abatement – the pollutant, abatement technology and how it’s maintained and monitored to provide continuous and effective abatement
• continuous emissions monitors (CEMs) where proposed – the pollutant and the monitoring standards the CEMs meet
• the stack and flue configuration and sample points of aggregated stacks for new or existing MCP

The regulator will set the monitoring requirements based on:

• Annex 3 of the MCPD
• the information you submit with your application

Charges for bespoke permits

Find the charges for simple and complex bespoke MCP permits in table 1.10 of the environmental permits and abstraction licences: tables of charges.

If the Environment Agency needs to do extra or unusual regulatory work they will charge you a supplementary charge. For example, if they need to assess the effect of emissions to air on a protected habitats site. Their charge is in table 1.19.2 of the tables of charges.

Apply for a bespoke permit