Guidance

Environmental permitting: groundwater activities in Wales

This guidance is intended to help the regulator, the regulated community, and others with an interest in groundwater activities.

• From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
• Published: 15 June 2011
• Last updated: 8 April 2025
  Show all updates

  1. 8 April 2025

     This guidance now only applies in Wales, there is separate guidance for England which is linked under the details section.

  2. 15 June 2011

     First published.

Applies to Wales

• Publication for England

Documents

Environmental permitting guidance groundwater activities in Wales

Ref: PB13555

PDF, 1.53 MB

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Details

It describes the views of the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Welsh Ministers on how the legislation relating to groundwater activities should be applied and how particular terms should be interpreted in Wales.

In England, follow separate guidance for environmental permitting for groundwater activities.

This guidance explains the legal requirements but only the national courts can give a definitive interpretation of the legislation.

‘Groundwater activities’ includes both those activities that require a permit, and those activities that are unlawful, for instance causing pollution to groundwater, whether deliberate or accidental.

This guidance should be read in conjunction with the environmental permitting core guidance.

Further information

• Environmental permitting