ABSTRACT
By its nature, legislation and regulation vary with the country or region that the anaerobic digestion (AD) plant is to be built in. In the UK, legislation controlling the operational aspects of the AD plant is dealt with by central government but planning permission is dealt with by county council planning departments, under guidelines handed down by central government. In terms of planning permission, or building permits, there are areas of commonality across EU countries and North America as to what is likely to constitute an acceptable scheme. These tend to include: community acceptance, site evaluation, odour control, traffic impact, landscape impact, noise, pollution control, and local employment. Animal by-product (ABP) regulations are dealt with more fully in and cover the whole of the EU, with similar instruments in force in North America. The regulations only need to be considered if it is intended to use ABPs as feedstock.
