Businesses have to deal with the environment. The Establishments and activities Decree BES (IAB BES) and the Ministrial regulation establishments and activities BES (RIA BES) lays down environmental rules for all businesses in the Caribbean Netherlands.

Environmental permit

If your business is a type 3 or type 4 establishment, you need to apply for an environmental permit.

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When do I need an environmental permit

If your business is a type 3 or a type 4 company, you will need an environmental permit. A type 3 company is, for example, a car dismantling company, a stone crusher or a landfill.

A type 4 company is a more complex where safety risks are involved for the environment. These are large companies for the storage and transhipment of (petroleum) oil (products) and companies with a larger amount of gas storage (more than 10 tonnes).

Whether your company is a type 3 or typ 4 can be found in  Annex 1 of the Establishments and Activities Decree BES (IAB BES).

How to apply

When you start and operate a type 3 or type 4 company, you always need an environmental permit.

You need to apply for an environmental permit to the Executive Council (in case of Type 3 company) or the Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management (in case of Type 4 company).

What are Best Available Techniques

The environmental permits contains requirements that  comply with. These requirements are based on the Best Available Techniques (BAT). BAT are the most effective methods technically and economically feasible to prevent emissions and other adverse effects on the environment of a business. Which techniques are different for different companies. It can be, for example, the use of a technique that causes less waste or a source measure (such as collecting or infiltrating rainwater).

When granting the environmental permit, the competent authority therefore looks at BAT that are eligible for type 3 and type 4 establishments. The competent authority shall take into account, inter alia, the type of business and the installations and processes taking place in the company, geographical conditions and local environmental conditions.

The techniques must be economically and technically feasible in the industry to which the company belongs. The techniques should also be reasonably available on the market. The competent authority ultimately assesses whether BAT is properly applied.

The rules on BAT are set out in Article 3.4 of the IAB BES.

When is financial security needed

If you work as a company with large quantities of hazardous substances, the environmental permit may include the obligation that the company pay for the cost of any environmental damage. This is called financial security. This is, for example, about soil contamination.

The rules on financial security are set out in Article 3.7 of the IAB BES.

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