How to Obtain an Effluent Discharge Licence

Any company that discharges the following requires an effluent discharge licence: 

• Trade effluent (including cooling water) to waters 
• Sewage effluent to waters 
• Trade effluent (including cooling water) to sewers 

All trade effluent discharges must be licensed by either Uisce Éireann (formerly known as Irish Water), the Environmental Protection Agency or the local authority.

Under the provisions of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts 1977 and 1990, local authorities are responsible for the issuing of effluent discharge licences for effluents discharged to surface waters and ground/groundwater.

On 1st January 2014, Uisce Éireann (formerly known as Uisce Éireann) became the new national water utility that has the responsibility for the delivery of public water and waste water services, taking over the role that was previously held by Local Authorities. Commercial activities discharging trade effluent to the public sewer require a licence from Uisce Éireann, with large industrial or water management-based activities requiring a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Application to Discharge Trade Effluent or Sewage Effluent to Waters (Section 4 of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act 1977 should be made to the relevant local authority on a standard application form obtained from that local authority. 

A licence is required from Uisce Éireann for any trade effluent or other matter (other than domestic sewage or storm water), discharged to a sewer controlled by Uisce Éireann. In discharging their role as the national water services utility, responsible for water services operations and investment, Uisce Éireann is primarily regulated by:

• The economic regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) and
• The environmental regulator, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which sets standards and enforces compliance with EU and National Regulations for drinking water supply and wastewater discharge to water bodies. 
• Uisce Éireann is also regulated, in the normal course of its business, by other regulatory bodies such as the Data Protection Commission (DPC) and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).
• Uisce Éireann is responsible for providing water services in compliance with the requirements of prevailing national and European legislation. Relevant legislation in the context of its operations include the:
  • Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive and Irish implementing regulations
  • Water Framework Directive and Irish implementing regulations
  • Planning and Development Act 2000
  • Companies Act 2014 (as amended)

Completed application forms together with supporting documentation needs to be submitted to the licensing authority, including:

• Maps, plans and such other particulars as may beare necessary to describe the premises, drainage systems and any works apparatus or plant from which the effluent is to be discharged, in order to identify the waters to which the discharge is to be made. 
• Plans and other particulars necessary to describe the premises, drainage system, discharge points, etc from which the effluent is to be discharged
• Technical details relating to the nature, composition, anticipated temperature, volume and rate of discharge and/or the proposed method of any treatment of the effluent and the period or periods during which the effluent is to be discharged.
• Control measures and risk management to mitigate against accidental or unauthorised discharges.
• Evidence of payment of trade effluent application fees.

Additional reports may be required for applications to the EPA or local authorities for discharges to waters or where discharges are to be located in sensitive areas and on or near on Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas:

• Appropriate Assessment
• Natura Impact Assessment
• Environmental Impact Assessment

For more information on how to obtain the most appropriate discharge licence for your business, please contact ECOS.