LONDON REGIONAL ASSESSMENT CENTRE LTD
New environmental permit? Not Landfill? Looking for a simple and cost-effective solution?
Take a Closer Look at LONRAC’s 4 Units in 4 Weeks Programme
Introduction
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (the ‘Regulations’) and section 9 of the
government’s core permitting guidance (‘core guidance’) set out requirements for the competence of
operators holding environmental permits.
New environmental permits
When an Operator applies for a new environmental permit initial competence requirements must be met
within 4 weeks of the permit being issued and the site becoming operational.
In some cases a 12 month grace period can be granted during which the remaining qualification units must be
achieved. This will relate to most Risk Tier activities, excluding Landfill, and the WAMITAB/CIWM Scheme
decision tree overleaf provides a useful overview.
Comparison of benefits of available programmes
Benefits by scheme
WAMITAB 4 Unit
CIWM EPOC
12 month grace period available (new permit only, does
not include Landfill)
On-site vocational assessment for staff
Initial ‘off-the-job’ course. Training usually based in
Northampton; other locations available (check CIWM for
details). Plus accommodation and travel costs
On-the-job programme: complies with 12 month grace
period conditions and achievement of qualification
requirements
Assessment tailored to meet individual requirements:
dates, times; location
Opportunities to include additional people, as required
Units count directly towards required qualification to be
achieved within 12 month grace period
Additional units to be completed within 12 month grace
period
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PLUS Top-up units
2 units: Medium Risk
8 units: High Risk
PLUS Full qualification
6 units: Medium Risk
12 units High Risk
The “4 units in 4 weeks” approach from LONRAC means individuals can be operational in
just 4 weeks at a cost of only £1500 + VAT (plus travel and WAMITAB registration fee).
The initial 4 units can then be topped up by an additional 2 units (to meet the 6 unit requirement for Medium
Risk sites) or 8 units (for High Risk sites) within the 12 month period – the simple graphic overleaf
demonstrates this “building block” approach. This offers significant savings in terms of cost and time against
the EPOC route.
With the EPOC pathway, whilst the initial cost is lower at £850+VAT, those operating Medium or High Risk sites
would then need to complete a full 6 or 12 unit qualification to comply with the competence requirements for
Environmental Permitting regulations. Effectively, this would entail starting from scratch with a new
qualification, and the extra time (and money) required would need to be taken into account.
All information accurate at 31 January 2015
Contact LONRAC at: [email protected] or 07711-547598 or PO Box 823, Chalfont St. Giles HP6 9EX
LONDON REGIONAL ASSESSMENT CENTRE LTD
The overall cost to achieve compliance within the 12 month grace period using the “4 units
in 4 weeks” programme with the top up units could be at least 50% less than the EPOC
route.
Building Blocks: WAMITAB Level 4 Diploma in Waste Management Operations
The WAMITAB Level 4 Diploma in Waste Management Operations offers units that are incorporated within the
CIWM/WAMITAB Operator Competence Scheme. Specific units in this qualification can help prepare people to
take on the role of designated Technically Competent Manager (TCM) and the Risk Tier Table on the WAMITAB
website should be consulted to identify the relevant units. The following chart shows how these units can
used as building blocks to meet compliance requirements.
Low Risk = Blue
Medium Risk = Blue + Green
High Risk = Blue + Green + Yellow
CIWM/WAMITAB Decision Tree
All information accurate at 31 January 2015
Contact LONRAC at: [email protected] or 07711-547598 or PO Box 823, Chalfont St. Giles HP6 9EX