Declare activities or installations with a low potential impact on the environment (Class 3 declaration)

COMPANY MANAGERS OR SELF-EMPLOYED PERSONS REQUIRED TO DECLARE THE CLASS 3 ACTIVITIES AND/OR INSTALLATIONS OF THEIR ESTABLISHMENT.

These activities and installations are very numerous and are listed and detailed in Walloon legislation. They have a low impact on the environment, human health or animal welfare.

The legal or natural persons concerned by the obligation to submit a Class 3 environmental declaration have very varied profiles and professions, for example:

• a garage owner who operates a vehicle repair or maintenance workshop containing fewer than 3 pits or vehicle lifts
• an operator of a permanent chip shop
• a carpenter depending on the power of his machines and his activity area
• a baker depending on his production volume and his activity area
• a brewer, a producer of ciders or fruit wines depending on the quantities produced and the activity area
• a farmer for livestock housing infrastructure for cattle, sheep or goats, depending on their capacity and location
• ...

Company managers and self-employed persons who already have an environmental permit or a single permit for their activity MUST NOT submit an environmental declaration (see the procedure relating to the register of transformations or extensions).

CITIZENS/INDIVIDUALS (NATURAL PERSONS) REQUIRED IN CERTAIN CASES TO SUBMIT A CLASS 3 ENVIRONMENTAL DECLARATION PRIVATELY.

For example:

• if they store:
  • heating oil in one tank or several connected tanks with a capacity equal to or greater than 3,000 litres
  • gas (butane, propane) in tanks:
    • above-ground tanks with a capacity equal to or greater than 3,000 litres
    • or underground tanks with a capacity equal to or greater than 5,000 litres
• if they are connected to an individual wastewater treatment unit (IWTU) with a capacity less than or equal to 20 population equivalents
• if they keep certain animals or installations:
  • beehives in a residential area
  • kennel, shelter or boarding facility for animals, depending on:
    • the number of animals
    • and the siting area
  • non-domestic exotic animals (NDE)

As a company or self-employed person, you must submit the declaration to:

• start your new establishment
• maintain your establishment:
  • following a change to the list of Class 3 installations and activities
  • when the previous declaration expires (10-year period)
• bring your existing establishment back into operation, for example after a cessation of activity or an incident
• carry out an extension or transformation of an old establishment
• report the relocation of your establishment

As a citizen/individual, you submit a declaration as soon as you:

• start carrying out an activity included as a Class 3 activity
• have Class 3 installations

For example, if you:

• store fuels such as:
  • heating oil in one tank or several connected tanks with a capacity equal to or greater than 3,000 litres
  • gas (butane, propane) in tanks:
    • above-ground tanks with a capacity equal to or greater than 3,000 litres
    • or underground tanks with a capacity equal to or greater than 5,000 litres
• are connected to an individual wastewater treatment unit (IWTU) with a capacity less than or equal to 20 population equivalents
• keep certain animals or installations:
  • beehives in a residential area
  • kennel, shelter or boarding facility for animals, depending on:
    • the number of animals
    • and the siting area
  • non-domestic exotic animals (NDE)

These examples do not cover all situations. Other situations may require a Class 3 environmental declaration, even privately, depending on:

• the nature of the installation or activity
• its capacity
• its location (residential area, agricultural area, natural area, etc.)

The municipality on whose territory the establishment is located is the competent authority for receiving your declaration.

When your establishment is located on the territory of several municipalities, the declaration must be sent to the municipality corresponding to the address of the operating headquarters.

The municipality is your contact point, both for submitting the declaration and for any question relating to the procedure or to the operating conditions.

Additional operating conditions imposed by the municipality

The municipality may impose additional conditions to be complied with. It has 15 days from the date of receipt of your declaration to inform you of its intention to impose additional conditions on you.

If no integral condition applies, the municipality may set additional conditions within 30 days. It does so if your establishment may cause dangers, nuisances or disadvantages.

Operating an establishment without a prior environmental declaration when this is required is an offence under Walloon environmental legislation.

This offence may result in:

• administrative sanctions:
  • formal notice
  • regularisation order: obligation to bring yourself into compliance
  • suspension of the activity
• criminal sanctions:
  • administrative or criminal fines
  • the amount of which varies according to the seriousness of the offence, its duration and the circumstances
• immediate administrative measures, particularly in the event of serious or imminent danger, such as:
  • suspension of operation
  • or temporary or definitive administrative closure of the establishment by the competent authority

Your declaration shows that you are in order.

It also makes your activity visible to:

• your municipality
• neighbouring municipalities
• the Department of Permits and Authorisations (DPA) of the Public Service of Wallonia Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment (SPW ARNE)

In the event of an incident, the authorities quickly identify the activities, the installations on site and the risks. They can then intervene appropriately.

If you are a private citizen, it also allows you to prove that you are in order: question from a neighbour, inspection or request from an insurer.

Your declaration shows that your activity complies with environmental regulations.

1. Check the class of your establishment

Check that your activities and installations fall under Class 3 via the tool available on the environmental permit website.

This tool allows you to:

• identify the applicable heading or headings
• confirm the class of your establishment (all headings must be in Class 3)
• consult the legal references and operating conditions

2. Prepare the necessary documents

Gather the documents useful for submitting your declaration, in particular the supporting documents required according to your situation.

If you submit your declaration online, make sure you have these documents in electronic format (PDF, Word or Excel).

For more information, consult the user guide for the “Environmental declaration – Class 3 establishment” form, available in the “Documents utiles” section.

3. Complete and submit your declaration

You can submit your declaration:

• online, via Mon Espace
• or in paper format, using the official form downloadable in the “formulaire” section

A third party may complete the environmental permit or single permit application file for you.

Two situations are possible:

• The third party completes the file and sends it to you: you then submit the application yourself to the municipality or online, if your municipality allows this. In this case, communications relating to the follow-up of your application are sent directly to you.
• The third party submits the application on your behalf: they then become the recipient of communications relating to the follow-up of your application. In this case, you must attach to the file a signed mandate authorising them to carry out the procedure for you. This mandate may take the form of a contract, a power of attorney or any other equivalent document.

ONLINE DECLARATION

The online form is:

• pre-filled on the basis of your identification data;
• accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
• recordable and modifiable at any time before submission.

It allows you in particular to:

• select the heading or headings corresponding to your activity or installation:
  • by keywords
  • by wording
  • or by heading number if you know it
• locate and validate the cadastral parcels in the mapping module
• directly attach the annexes required for your declaration

The user guide supports you step by step, whether you are:

• the declarant: the person who declares
• or their representative

PAPER DECLARATION

If you choose the paper form, it must be completed in four copies:

• three copies to be sent to the municipality by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt;
• one copy to be kept:
  • on the premises of the establishment for your company, your self-employed activity
  • at your residence, as a private citizen
  • or at any other place agreed with the municipality

4. The municipality analyses your declaration and informs you of the follow-up given to your application.

SUBMISSION OF THE DECLARATION

The costs of a declaration for a Class 3 establishment vary from one municipality to another.

They may include, in particular, municipal fees and/or administrative taxes.

Contact the competent municipality to find out the fees applicable to your situation.

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL

The cost of the appeal for this procedure is EUR 25.00. This amount does not concern any appeal you might lodge with the Council of State.

Proof of payment of the file fee amounting to EUR 25.00 must be attached to the appeal form.

Payment must be made to the account of the Department of Permits and Authorisations.

IBAN: BE44 0912 1502 1545

BIC: GKCCBEBB

The deadlines below start from the date of receipt of your declaration by the municipality.

INADMISSIBLE DECLARATION

The municipality informs you that your declaration is inadmissible within a period of 8 days.

In this information, also called notification, it specifies the reasons. It may also ask you to complete or correct your declaration.

ADMISSIBLE DECLARATION

The municipality has a period of 15 days to inform you.

It also has a period of 15 days to indicate whether it intends to impose additional conditions.

ADDITIONAL OPERATING CONDITIONS

The municipality may require your establishment to meet additional conditions when it considers that it is likely to cause dangers, nuisances or disadvantages for people, the environment or the neighbourhood.

When the municipality has announced its intention to impose additional conditions, it has a period of 30 days from receipt to communicate them to you.

DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL DECLARATION

Signed mandate: if a third party has submitted the application on your behalf. They then become the recipient of communications relating to the follow-up of your file.

Site layout diagram

Attach a site layout diagram including a descriptive plan of the establishment, which must be:

• drawn up at an appropriate scale
• indicate the location of:
  • the premises
  • the workshops
  • the deposits of raw and auxiliary materials
  • the waste storage areas
  • the devices, technical installations and chimneys
• clearly show the parcel boundaries.

You may also attach any additional document that you consider useful for the assessment of your environmental declaration.

Depending on the heading or headings concerned, additional supporting documents may be required.

SPECIFIC DOCUMENTS ACCORDING TO CERTAIN HEADINGS

For heading 26.65.03.04.01 - small-scale asbestos removal works:

You must add:

• readable execution plans of the levels, drawn up at an appropriate scale, including:
  • the work area and any containment devices
  • the staff and waste flows
  • the adjacent areas occupied by persons not involved in the decontamination works
  • the location of the measurement points for asbestiform fibres in the air
• a description of the decontamination work to be carried out (removal, encapsulation), specifying:
  • the estimated quantity of waste, by type of asbestos application (lagging, sheets, etc.)
  • the removal or encapsulation method
  • the measures taken to limit nuisances, such as collective protections and waste packaging
  • the start date and end date of the worksite
  • the identity of the project supervisor

For heading 41.00.03.01 - Installation for the abstraction of non-potable groundwater not intended for human consumption with a water abstraction capacity less than or equal to 10 m³/day and 3,000 m³/year:

Attach a plan at a scale of 1/100 indicating the location of the structure in relation to:

• buildings
• roads
• watercourses
• other existing installations nearby

For heading 92.61.13.01 - Tests, trials, training or recreational use of scale models powered by an internal combustion engine (aeromodelling):

Attach the written agreement of the owners of the land flown over.

Headings relating to the keeping of non-domestic exotic animals

For the following headings, attach:

• either the approval issued by the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
• or the application for approval, if it has not yet been issued

Headings concerned:

• 92.53.02.02 – Keeping, in an installation not open to the public, of more than 24 and fewer than 81 non-domestic exotic birds (excluding ratites)
• 92.53.02.04 – Keeping, in an installation not open to the public:
  • more than 200 adult fish
  • or more than 50 adult amphibians
  • or at least one snake
  • or at least 10 reptiles
• 92.53.02.05 – Keeping, in an installation not open to the public, of one or more animals belonging to a non-domestic exotic species (with the exception of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and invertebrates)

For heading 64.20.01.01.01 - Stationary transmitting antenna

Attach a report including:

• the technical data relating to the antenna, making it possible to demonstrate compliance with Article 4
• a description of the immediate environment, by means of a vertical projection plan indicating the height of the buildings within a radius sufficient to verify compliance with the exposure limit
• an assessment of the electromagnetic radiation of the antenna
• an opinion from the Scientific Institute of Public Service (ISSeP) certifying compliance with the exposure limit
• a non-technical description of the electromagnetic field assessment, intended for laypersons
• the planned date of commissioning of the antenna

If you consider that a decision does not comply with the regulations or infringes your rights, you may submit:

• an administrative appeal to SPW ARNE
• an action for annulment before the Council of State

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL

You may submit an administrative appeal to the Government, only if you contest the additional conditions prescribed by the municipality.

1. You have 20 calendar days from the date of the decision if you are the permit applicant, or from its posting if you are a person demonstrating an interest.

1. You pay in advance the file fees of EUR 25.00

2. You complete the appeal form

3. You send the form and proof of payment to the “appeals” Technical Officer at:

Renaud BAIWIR
Director General
Public Service of Wallonia Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment
Avenue Prince de Liège, 15
5100 Namur (Jambes)

You may send your appeal:

• by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt
• by any similar means enabling a certain date to be given to your dispatch and to its receipt, regardless of the postal service used
• by hand delivery on site against acknowledgement of receipt

APPEAL BEFORE THE COUNCIL OF STATE

You may also submit an action for annulment before the Council of State within 60 days following receipt of the decision.

Submit this appeal:

• electronically at https://eproadmin.raadvst-consetat.be
• by dated and signed registered letter, to the address: Council of State - Registry - Administrative Litigation Section - Rue de la Science, 33 - 1040 Brussels