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

Environmental permit in woodworking - what you need to know

If you work in the wood processing sector in Romania and market your products under the umbrella of a legal entity (SA, SRL, PFA, ASF, SNC, etc.), you need to Environmental permit. Only woodworking as a hobby or for own use does not require authorisation.
For current and accurate information, I spoke to Daniel Szekely, known as Dani's apprentice among wood enthusiasts, a person directly connected to this field.

What activities require an Environmental Permit

According to Order 1798/2007, the following woodworking activities require authorisation:

2010 - Wood cutting and planing (Rev3 1611 and 1612)
2020 - Manufacture of laminated wood products: plywood, panels, veneer, chipboard, fibreboard, etc. (Rev3 1621, 1622, 1625 and 1627)
2030 - Manufacture of builders' 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 sets out the measures to be taken to limit the impact of the activity on the environment and the action to be taken in the event of pollution.

Documents required for obtaining the Environmental Permit

In order to obtain the Permit, 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 authorisation;
2. Presentation sheet and declaration according to Annex 2 of Ord.1798/2007 on the procedure for issuing the environmental permit;
3. Newspaper advertisement. You have here model. After the advertisement is placed in the newspaper, the newspaper is bought and the page in which the advertisement is published is attached to the file;
4. Site plan, zoning plan of the objective;
5. Stereo 70 coordinates of the location;
6. The old environmental permit - if the activity has already had an environmental permit - or the environmental agreement;
7. Certificate with the CAEN codes for the work point;
8. Tax registration certificate;
9. Deed to the premises (title deed, lease, etc.);
10. Utility contracts: water-sewer, gas, electricity;
11. Sanitation contract per work point and per company applying for the permit;
12. Sawdust and wood waste take-back contract;
13. Hazardous waste take-back contract: chipboard sawdust, hazardous packaging;
14. Water regulation act, if the objective has its own water supply and discharge into a drain or outfall (flowing water, natural lake);
15. Stack analysis bulletin on emissions of VOCs (volatile organic compounds), if there is a paint shop on the site;
16. The amount of 500 lei shall be paid into the account of the APM and the payment order shall be submitted to the file.
All documents must be submitted in copy. NO originals.

Facilities required at the point of work to receive the Environmental Permit

In order for the Environmental Permit to be issued, the following facilities are required at the point of work for which the permit is being issued:

- Specially arranged space for raw materials;
- Specially designed, concreted and enclosed space for possible hazardous raw materials (varnishes, paints, thinner, etc.)
- Enclosed and covered space for storing sawdust waste;
- Space set aside for wood waste;
- Dust extractors in wood processing plants;
- If the workshop also has painting facilities, these will be arranged separately and will be provided with particle retention filters and VOC exhaust stack. Painting of materials with a paintbrush is not permitted in an unenclosed area.

Environmental permit - Validity, review, reporting

The Environmental Permit is issued for an unlimited period, subject to annual review. After obtaining the permit, the documentation for the annual visa must be submitted 90 days before the date of issue of the environmental permit (3 months before the one-year anniversary).

Substantial changes require informing the MPA for possible revision of the Permit.

The holder is obliged to report to the MPA on issues such as:

- Accidental pollution;
- Annual waste management records - by 31 March 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 Environmental Protection Agency https://raportare.anpm.ro/irj/portal/public

Failure to comply with the permit obligation is punishable by very high fines (30-60 thousand lei) and suspension/closure of the activity by the Environmental Guard. So, if you are involved in wood processing, make sure you have the necessary environmental permit.