Application Of Integrated Pollution Prevention And Control To Waste Water Treatment

The judgment of Nelson J was given on Friday 13 January. It has major implications for the regulation of waste water treatment works.

This was a test case brought by the Environment Agency to answer the following questions:

Do the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations 2000 ("PPC Regulations") apply to waste water treatment activities?

Is sewage sludge "waste" under the Waste Framework Directive and, if so, is it excluded by Article 2(b) (iv) of the Directive? Article 2 (b) (iv) expressly excludes "waste waters, with the exception of waste in liquid form."

Is the treatment of sludge covered by the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive ("IPPC Directive") and the PPC Regulations?

In a specific example where beer effluent and milk effluent is pre-treated at a site 700 or 800 metres from the brewery and the milk processing plant from which it originates, before being piped on for treatment at a public waste water...