Do you process wood? Look what happens to you without an Environmental Permit!

Environmental authorization in woodworking - what you need to know

If you work in the wood processing sector in Romania and commercialize your products under the umbrella of a legal entity (SA, SRL, PFA, ASF, SNC, etc.), you need Environmental Authorization. Only woodworking as a hobby or for your own use does not require authorization.
For up-to-date and accurate information, we spoke to Daniel Szekely, known as Dani's apprentice among wood enthusiasts, a person in direct contact with this field.

What activities require Environmental Authorization

According to Order 1798/2007, the following wood processing activities require authorization:

2010 - Wood cutting and planing (Rev3 1611 and 1612)
2020 - Manufacture of laminated wood products: plywood, panel, veneer, chipboard, fiberboard, etc. (Rev3 1621, 1622, 1625 and 1627)
2030 - Manufacture of structural joinery and carpentry (Rev3 1623)
2040 - Manufacture of wood packaging (Rev3 1624)
2052 - Manufacture of articles of cork, straw and plaiting materials (Rev3 1628)
3612 - Manufacture of office and shop furniture (Rev3 3100)
3613 - Manufacture of kitchen furniture (Rev3 3100)
3614 - Manufacture of other furniture (Rev3 3100)
3615 - Manufacture of mattresses and bed bases (Rev3 3100)

The permit lays down the measures to be taken to limit the impact of the activity on the environment and how to deal with pollution.

Documents needed to obtain Environmental Authorization

In order to obtain the Authorization, the holder of the activity must submit to the APM of the city/county where the company is registered a series of documents, including:

1. Application for authorization;
2. Presentation sheet and declaration according to Annex 2 of Ord.1798/2007 on the procedure for issuing environmental authorization;
3. Newspaper ad. You have here model. After the ad is placed in the newspaper, purchase the newspaper and attach the page in which the ad is published;
4. Situation plan, zoning plan of the objective;
5. Stereo 70 coordinates of the location;
6. The old environmental permit - if the activity has already held an environmental permit - or the environmental agreement;
7. Certificate with the CAEN codes for the work point;
8. Tax registration certificate;
9. Deed on the space (property deed, lease, etc);
10. Utility contracts: water, gas, electricity;
11. Sanitation contract per work point and per company applying for authorization;
12. Contract for the collection of sawdust and wood waste;
13. Hazardous waste collection contract: chipboard sawdust, hazardous packaging;
14. Water regulation act, if the objective is supplied with water from its own source and discharged into a drainable basin or outfall (flowing water, natural lake);
15. Stack Emission Analysis Bulletin VOCs (volatile organic compounds), if there is a paint shop on the site;
16. The amount of 500 lei shall be paid to the APM's account and the payment order shall be submitted on file.
All documents must be submitted in copy. NO originals.

Facilities needed at the working point to receive the Environmental Authorization

In order to issue the Environmental Authorization, the following facilities shall be required at the point of work for which the authorization is made:

- Dedicated space for raw materials;
- Specially designed, concreted and enclosed space for any hazardous raw materials (varnishes, paints, thinner, etc.)
- Closed and covered space for the storage of sawdust waste;
- Space for wood waste;
- Dust exhausters in woodworking plants;
- If the workshop also has painting facilities, these shall be separately arranged and shall be equipped with particulate filters and VOC exhaust stack. No brush painting of materials is permitted in unfinished areas.

Environmental Authorization - Validity, review, reporting

The Environmental Authorization is issued for an unlimited period, subject to annual review. After obtaining the authorization, the documentation for the Annual Visa shall be submitted 90 days before the date of issuance of the Environmental Authorization (3 months before the one-year anniversary).

The substantive changes require to inform the APM for the possible revision of the Authorization.

The holder has the obligation to report to the APM such aspects as:

- Accidental pollution;
- Annual waste management records - by March 31 of the current year, for the previous year, in electronic and paper format;
- Monthly quantity and management of waste generated (e.g. sawdust) - by the 5th of the current month for the previous month;

Further information on reporting can be found on the website of the National Agency for Environmental Protection https://raportare.anpm.ro/irj/portal/public

Failure to comply with the authorization obligation is punishable by very high fines (30-60 thousand lei) and suspension/closure of the activity by the Environmental Guard. So, if you carry out wood processing activities, make sure that you have the necessary Environmental Authorization.