Guidance

Bioaerosol monitoring at regulated facilities: RPS 209

Updated 18 July 2023

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bioaerosol-monitoring-at-regulated-facilities-use-of-m9-rps-209/bioaerosol-monitoring-at-regulated-facilities-use-of-m9-rps-209

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to comply with your environmental permit for a waste activity.

However, the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action if you do not comply with the permit condition on bioaerosol monitoring provided that:

  • your activity meets the description set out in this RPS
  • you comply with the conditions set out in this RPS

In addition, your activity must not cause (or be likely to cause) pollution of the environment or harm to human health, and must not:

  • cause a risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals
  • cause a nuisance through noise or odours
  • adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest

Activity this RPS applies to

This RPS applies to regulated facilities which have a permit condition that requires bioaerosol monitoring.

Conditions you must comply with

If your biowaste facility is 250 metres or less from a sensitive receptor (a place where people live or work for more than 6 hours at a time), you must:

You do not need to monitor or submit results for:

  • gram-negative organisms
  • E coli
  • actinomycetes

You do not need carry out bioaerosol monitoring if your biowaste facility is more than 250 metres from a sensitive receptor, unless the Environment Agency asks you to do so.

Things to note

The Environment Agency is reviewing all biowaste permits. Once they have finished the review they will withdraw this RPS.

They will remove the permit condition requiring bioaerosol monitoring at facilities more than 250 metres from a sensitive receptor. That is unless there are site specific reasons not to.

When you must check back

The Environment Agency will review this RPS by 1 December 2024.

The Environment Agency can withdraw or amend this regulatory position before the review date if they consider it necessary. This includes where the activity that this RPS relates to has not changed.

You will need to check back from time to time, including at and before the review date, to see if this RPS still applies.

This RPS remains in force until it is removed from GOV.UK or is otherwise identified as having been withdrawn.

If you cannot comply with this RPS

If you operate under this RPS but can no longer comply with it, you must stop the activity to which this RPS relates and must tell the Environment Agency immediately.

Contact the Environment Agency

Email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk if you have any questions about this RPS.

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