ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING
Managing the full regulatory process, from identifying the correct permitting pathway at the outset of a project through to securing approvals ahead of construction.
Environmental Permitting
Temporary works water management, including groundwater abstraction and environmental discharge is one of the most strictly regulated aspects of UK and global construction.
Abstraction licences, permits, and trade effluent consents all require detailed technical evidence, structured applications, and sustained engagement with environmental regulators.
Navigating this process can be time-consuming, and delays directly impact construction programmes.
Why Environmental Permitting Matters
What are the Risks?
Programme Delay
Abstraction licence and permit applications are subject to statutory determination periods and require detailed supporting evidence. Late or inadequate applications can significantly delay construction start dates and overall project delivery.
Regulatory Non-Compliance
Abstracting or discharging water without appropriate permissions exposes clients to enforcement action, stop notices, and financial penalties. Identifying the correct regulatory pathways at an early stage and securing approvals well in advance of construction helps mitigate these risks.
Incomplete Applications
Environmental regulators are increasingly rigorous in their assessment of applications. Inadequate applications that do not address essential criteria are likely to trigger requests for further information, and so extend determination timescales.
What We Do
OGI manages the full regulatory process on behalf of its clients, from identifying the correct permitting pathway at the outset of a project through to securing the required approvals ahead of construction.
We maintain established working relationships with the relevant regulatory bodies, acting as your agent in all correspondence and engagement with the relevant regulator throughout the application process.
Early engagement is essential.
Regulatory determination periods are fixed, and technical evidence required to support an application takes time. OGI identifies permitting requirements at the earliest possible stage, so that applications can be submitted in time to avoid construction programme impact.
Our UK Environmental Permitting Services
Providing end-to-end UK environmental permitting services for temporary works water management across all project stages.
- Regulatory Pathway Assessment
- RPS368 Notifications
- Groundwater Investigation Consent Applications
- Abstraction Licence Applications
- Environmental Permit Applications
- Foul Sewer Trade Effluent Consent Applications
- Site Investigation and Monitoring
Environmental Permitting in Practice
OGI has extensive experience of the UK’s permitting frameworks in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and provides clear, early advice on the regulatory requirements applicable to each project so that clients are not exposed to unexpected obligations or delays.
Where a project involves multiple regulatory requirements, OGI coordinates all applications and submissions to ensure that the overall permitting programme is managed as a single, coherent workstream, with dependencies between applications identified and managed proactively.
Key Outputs
Abstraction Licence Application
Application package prepared for submission to the relevant environmental regulator; including supporting hydrogeological evidence, a hydrogeological impact appraisal assessing effects on third-party abstractors and groundwater-dependent features, a water management plan, and a structured technical case demonstrating that the proposed abstraction can be sustainably managed throughout the construction programme.
Discharge Permit/Consent Application
Application package prepared to the relevant environmental regulator or sewerage undertaker; including supporting water quality risk assessment, assessment of proposed discharge points and receiving waterbodies, and a structured technical case demonstrating that the quality and volume of discharged water will not cause deterioration of the receiving environment.
Why Choose OGI
Full Regulatory Management
We act as your agent throughout the regulatory process, managing all applications and correspondence with the relevant environmental regulator on your behalf, so your exposure to regulatory delays is mitigate.
Integrated technical evidence
Where OGI is also providing hydrogeological assessment, test pumping, or groundwater control design, the technical evidence required to support regulatory applications is developed as part of a single, coordinated workstream, removing the delay and interface risk of assembling evidence from separate consultants.
Established regulator relationships
OGI has developed working relationships with the EA, NRW, and SEPA through sustained engagement across a range of UK construction projects, and understands the evidence standards and engagement approaches that each regulator expects.
Full programme visibility
All permitting milestones, submission deadlines, and regulatory determination periods are set out in a live online project programme, regularly updated to give you and your team clear visibility of the regulatory programme and its interface with the construction programme at all times.
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