Project: E.A. Discharge Consent Application

Following concerns that an Environment Agency Discharge Consent was not present, ALRO were called-in to assist.

The Packaged Treatment System serving a day-care nursery was found to have been installed without a Discharge Permit in place, resulting in an illegal discharge to a nearby watercourse.

Upon receiving the initial call from the concerned business owner, the enquiry appeared to be quite straightforward. A Septic Tank had been recently installed but the Application for an Environmental Permit was incorrectly completed, resulting in a lack of permission to discharge.

Whilst this is clearly not an ideal position (in some cases, the Environment Agency (E.A.) can order a Discharge halted, resulting in considerable inconvenience for the affected party), by submitting the correct paperwork in a timely fashion our experienced consultants hoped to resolve the situation promptly.

Discharge Consent Applications (in accordance with The Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2010) are processed at ALRO on an almost daily basis, as such we are well-placed to navigate the complexities of the required forms and documents.

However, as is sometimes the case on this occasion the task soon proved to be somewhat more complex. Whilst an initial enquiry to the E.A. had already been made, due to a lack of information regarding the Septic Tank, its' installation and discharge location, a decision was taken to carry-out a consultancy Site Survey.

The Survey, conducted by our Lead Consultant and Managing Director Mr. Robin Weiss, allowed ALRO to correctly identify the so-called Septic Tank as a Klargester Biodisc Packaged Sewage Treatment System (as pictured). The Outlet Pipework was also traced to a nearby brook, allowing our office to accurately plot the route.

With the correct information now available our office team were able to re-submit the application to the Environment Agency, resulting in the issuing of a valid Permit to Discharge (to the relief of the business owner).