The Environmental Protection Licence is a legal authorizatio n under certain conditions, for industries/ activities to discharge effluents, deposit wastes, emit smoke/gases/fumes/vapor or excessive noise /vibration into the environment.

Section 23A of the National Environmental Act states that no person shall carry out any prescribed industry except under the authority of an Environmental Protection Licence. As such, the possession of a valid Environmental Protection Licence is a legal requirement for prescribed industries.

The EPL seeks to control the discharge of effluents / emissions, within standards stipulated by the CEA thereby ensuring that minimum harm is done to the environment.

The EPL seeks to control the discharge of effluents / emissions, within standards stipulated by the CEA thereby ensuring that minimum harm is done to the environment.

Industries/activities that are prescribed in accordance with the regulations of the National Environmental Act (NEA) have to obtain EPL.

According to the Gazette Notification No: 1533/16 of 25.01.2008, industries are prescribed under three categories namely Part A, B and C. In part A, 80 high polluting industries, in part B, 33 medium polluting industries and in part C, 25 low polluting industries are prescribed.

Industries /activities which are prescribed under parts “A” and “B” according to the Gazette Notification No: 1533/16 of 25.01.2008 have to be obtained EPL from the CEA Provincial or District Offices.

Industries /activities which are prescribed under part “C” has to obtain EPL from the respective Local Authority (LA) - Municipal Council/Urban Council/ Pradeshiya Sabha where the industry is located, as the powers of the CEA with regard to issuing EPL have been delegated to the Local Authorities under Section 26 of the NEA.

EPL application forms could be obtained free of charge from the CEA or downloaded from the CEA website www.cea.lk. Photocopy of this application form is also accepted.

Duly filled EPL application has to be submitted to the relevant authority 01(one) month (30 days) prior to the commencement of the prescribed industry/activity.

Based on the details furnished by the industrialist, the relevant Provincial / District office of the CEA will decide the amount of the inspection fee. Minimum amount of the inspection fee is Rs.3000/= ( + Government taxes) Maximum amount is Rs.10000/= (+ Government taxes)

An official receipt will be issued to the applicant on payment of the inspection and EPL Fees.

Relevant officers of CEA will carry out the inspection in order to verify the details furnished by the applicant.

The decision to issue EPL or to withhold it will be made by the authorized officer of the CEA based on the observations and recommendations of the inspecting officers.

If the waste / noise generated from the industry/activity does not conform to the standards stipulated by the CEA, the EPL is refused. The refusal letter will be sent to the applicant under the signature of the authorized officer.

The EPL fee and validity period varies for industries listed under Part A, B and C as  gazetted as follows;

* In addition to this fee, it is required to pay approved government taxes.

When the decision to issue an EPL is made by the authorized officer, a written request will be made to the applicant for the payment of EPL fee. Once the licence fee is paid, the Environmental Protection Licence will be issued under the signature of the authorized signatory.

The EPL has to be renewed three months prior to the date of expiry of the EPL or one month before effecting any changes, alterations or extensions to the industry. EPL Renewal application forms may be obtained from the CEA Head Office, Provincial / District offices. It could also be down loaded from the CEA web site www.cea.lk

Inspection fee has to be paid only when applying for the first EPL. Therefore it is not necessary to pay the inspection fee for the EPL renewal. However if the applicant fails to submit the renewal application on time, he/she has to submit a fresh EPL application along with the inspection fees.

An EPL may be suspended / cancelled under the following circumstances.

To control environmental pollution caused by industries, advice could be obtained from consultants (4) registered at CEA.

Yes, there are several laboratories(5)registered under CEA to test water / emission samples and noise levels.

The EPL holder has legal authority to discharge effluents, deposit wastes; emit smoke/gases/fumes/vapour, noise/vibration into the environment in accordance with the standards and criteria stipulated by the CEA. This will help the EPL holder to prevent or minimize discharges and emissions into the environment from the industrial activity.

Possibility of protests or objections from the neighborhood will be reduced.
Public confidence in the industry may be gained and the products will be able to attract foreign buyers.
The EPL holder will be able to proceed towards ISO certification to provide the means to fulfill international obligations relating to environmental protection.

Industries /activities which are registered under section 17 of the Act of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), has to obtain EPL from the BOI situated at World Trade Centre, Colombo 01.

EPL for an industry/activity which is situated in the North Western Province has to be obtained from the North Western Provincial Environmental Authority (NWPEA) situated at Maligawa, Kurunegala. The North Western Provincial Council has its own statute and the EPL programme for industries which is administered through the NWPEA.