Environmentally hazardous activities
Environmentally hazardous activities include any use of land, buildings or facilities which may impact human health or the environment. Rules for environmentally hazardous activities are set out in the Environmental Code.
If you wish to start, run or alter certain environmentally hazardous activities, you need to apply for a permit or file a report. Questions concerning smaller matters are handled by the supervisory authority, whereas bigger matters that are regulated through the permits need to be applied for with the assessment authority.
Environmentally hazardous activities are divided into three different types
C-activities
C-activities usually have a relatively minor environmental impact. Examples of C-activities include agricultural facilities without animals, petrol stations and hospitals. C-activities must be reported to the municipality.
B-activities
B-activities include, e.g., sewage treatment plants, quarries, wind farms, agricultural facilities with animal husbandry, and many industrial plants. Applications for permits for these facilities are evaluated by the County Administrative Board’s Environmental Assessment Delegation.
A-activities
A-activities usually have an extensive environmental impact, e.g., paper industries, large energy plants and oil refineries. Applications for A-activity permits are processed by the Land and Environment Courts.
In the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, you can read about whether your facility is an A-, B- or C-activity.
Examples of environmentally hazardous activities that require a permit
Environmentally hazardous activities may, e.g., include
- waste facilities, such as landfills
- sewage treatment plants
- rock, gravel and peat extraction
- biogas plants
- depots
- agricultural facilities involving animal husbandry
- ports
- industries, such as food industries
- medium-sized and large combustion plants
- wind farms.
Examination of environmentally hazardous activities
The County Administrative Board handles applications for permits for environmentally hazardous activities. It is then the Environmental Assessment Delegation that makes decisions in these cases.
Supervision of environmentally hazardous activities
Do you operate an environmentally hazardous business with a permit? It is the County Administrative Board that normally supervises the activity, in some cases it may be the municipality's environmental committee.
Send a copy of a notification of an environmentally hazardous activity
If you work at a municipality and receive a notification of an environmentally hazardous activity, you must send copies of these documents to the County Administrative Board.
Waste
The County Administrative Board manage matters that concern transport and waste dumping, and handle applications on waste operations subject to a permit. Supervising waste disposal together with the municipalities is also our responsibility.
Waste transportation by foreign companies
Waste transportation by companies registered in Sweden
Chemicals and chemical products
Do you intend to transfer hazardous chemical products on a commercial basis? Or do you wish to handle hazardous chemical products privately? To do so, you will need to apply for permission from the County Administrative Board.
Chemicals and chemical products
The Seveso Act
If you run a business that handles or stores large amounts of chemicals, it can be covered by the Seveso Act. The directive’s purpose is to prevent and limit the consequences of serious chemical accidents.