Environmental permit
- Permit or other obligation
- 7 municipalities
- Public service
Activities that pose a risk of environmental pollution require a permit. These activities include various industrial activities, energy production and the treatment of aggregates and waste. The permit requirement for operations is based on the Environmental Protection Act. An environmental permit is also required if the activities can cause unreasonable stress to nearby residents.
In the departme ...
Do the following
Apply for an environmental permit from your municipality’s environmental protection authorities or your local Regional State Administrative Agency. In ambiguous situations, the authorities will advise you on which authority you must send the application to.
Contact the department of environmental services of Oulu region well before starting the planned activities. The contact information of the environmental inspectors can be found on the environmental protection website.
Fill in the environmental permit application form and submit it and its appendices to the department of environmental services of Oulu region. Submit the application documents primarily electronically.
Well-drafted documents speed up the processing of the application. According to legislation, the environmental permit applicant must have sufficient expertise. If necessary, use a consultant to assist in preparing the application.
To whom and on what terms
An environmental permit will not be required for activities of short duration (where the purpose is to test new technology or to carry out other similar tasks).
A notification procedure, which is simpler than the permit procedure, is applied to a number of activities referred to in the Environmental Protection Act.
If a trader has established their business in another country within the European Economic Area and intends to provide their services temporarily in Finland, the trader is subject to the same obligations as all other traders established in Finland.
A prerequisite for granting the permit is that the activities must not cause health hazards or significant pollution of the environment or a risk thereof.
Processing time
The processing time is several months, on average approximately 8 months.
Period of validity
An environmental permit is usually valid until further notice, but the validity can be limited for particular reasons.
Background information
Under the Environmental Protection Act, an environmental permit will be required for activities that involve the risk of environmental pollution. A permit is required if the activities can pollute land areas, streams, springs, rills or other waterways.
An environmental permit must also be obtained for water management projects that may cause environmental pollution but that do not require a permit under the Water Act. You are required to apply for an environmental permit if you expand your operations, begin to produce emissions or intend to make any other significant changes to your operations.
An environmental permit is required for such activities as forestry, metal and chemical industries, energy production, animal shelters, professional waste management, waste management in plants mining, fur farming, fish farming and port and airport operations. You must also apply for an environmental permit if the activities can cause unreasonable stress to nearby residents.
If other environment-related permits are required for the applicant’s project in addition to the environmental permit, the applicant may request coordination of the permit procedures from the permit authority. The processing stages of the different permit procedures will then be synchronised. Coordination will ensure that the timing of the different phases of the permit procedures will be harmonised.