Major milestone reached as Environment Agency issues new permits to Sizewell C

Three important permits required for Sizewell C nuclear power station to operate were granted by the Environment Agency this week, marking a significant step forward for the project.

The three permits – the Radioactive Substances Activity Permit, the Combustion Activity Permit, and the Water Discharge Activity Permit – are needed for Sizewell C to operate. With them, Sizewell C now has permission to:

• dispose of and discharge radioactive waste
• operate standby power supply systems using diesel generators
• discharge returned abstracted seawater (from the cooling water system and 2 fish recovery and returns systems) and other liquid trade effluents (including treated sewage effluent) to the Greater Sizewell Bay – North Sea

From spring 2020 when the permit applications were first submitted, to this week when the permits were finally granted, marks the completion of one of several important processes the project must go through to construct and operate Sizewell C.

Diagram indicating permit process from submission to granting 

Peter Bryant, Sizewell C Head of Environment said, “We are delighted that our regulator, the Environment Agency, has granted these three permits which are an important step towards the regulatory permission needed to operate Sizewell C. This is a stamp of confidence in Sizewell C’s commitment to the Protect of the Environment.”

These permits are an endorsement from the regulator that, concerning these three permits, Sizewell C is fit to operate a nuclear power plant. Peter and his team will now continue to further embed the right culture at Sizewell C to ensure that everyone working on the project understands their responsibility to protect the environment.

Notes

1. 1. Image caption: Environment Agency Chief Executive Sir James Bevan meeting with Sizewell C’s Environment team at site
   2. You can learn more about our environmental policies and our commitment to the environment in our policy statement here
   3. Click here to read the EA’s press release