Pollution consent assessment

Start with the process, not the business name

We map the proposed production process, fuel, water use, discharges and waste streams against the relevant state board’s classification and current consent procedures. A trading description alone does not establish that a site is exempt.

The assessment produces an applicability register, authority map and evidence gaps. Where a consent route applies, application preparation and follow-up can be scoped separately.

Prepare separate descriptions of the current site and proposed changes. Identify each production step, utility and waste-handling activity, including work performed by contractors on the premises. Record which facts are confirmed and which are still design assumptions. This gives the assessment a defined baseline and helps prevent a later equipment change from being overlooked.

What to prepare

• Process flow and installed or proposed capacity
• Site address, ownership or lease and layout
• Water balance, emissions sources and treatment arrangements
• Existing consents, inspection correspondence and planned changes

Use dated layouts and process descriptions that agree with the capacity figures supplied. Where an existing consent is available, retain its schedules and conditions with the main document. Reconcile differences between the paperwork and the operating team’s description, and identify missing technical measurements for a qualified provider to establish rather than estimating them as settled facts.

A practical example

A warehouse adding a washing or processing line needs a fresh activity assessment; its earlier paperwork may describe only storage. Record the changed process before relying on the existing approval.

For the warehouse example, the information request would distinguish the storage area from the new line, its input materials, water requirement and proposed discharge arrangements. A landlord’s general description of the premises would not answer those operational questions. Keep the change visible in the evidence register so the relevant authority and technical advisers receive a consistent account.

Scope, fees and responsibilities

An assessment does not grant permission to establish or operate. Site-specific exemptions, consent conditions and state procedures must be checked before work starts. Technical designs and laboratory sampling require appropriately qualified providers.

The proposal identifies the deliverables, client data responsibilities and follow-up included. Government charges and external technical work are quoted separately where applicable.

The handover identifies the questions assessed, documents relied on, unresolved technical inputs and the owner of each next action. Keep an applicability conclusion, an application submission and an issued consent as separate records. If the final process or site layout changes from the reviewed version, flag the difference before reusing the assessment.