West Bengal Pollution Board NOC

On September 20, 1974, the West Bengal government established the West Bengal Prevention and Control of Water Pollution Board immediately following the passage of the nation's first federal environmental law, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. The Board established under the Water Act was assigned the duty to carry out the requirements of the Air Act within the state of West Bengal following the passage of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and the said Board was renamed the West Bengal Pollution Control Board. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981, the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 and the Rules made under these Acts are all regulated by the State Board.

• The correct application of the requirements of various environmental laws, notices, decrees, and office memos issued by the governments of India and West Bengal within the territory under their respective control.
• To give the residents of this state a cleaner, greener environment, both today and in the future.
• To combine pro-development and pro-environment approaches.
• The Board is working to increase civil society members' awareness of environmental regulations and to promote their proactive participation in environmental protection to ensure the strict and equitable enforcement of those requirements.
• While taking into account the techno-economic effectiveness of both liquid and gaseous effluents, reduce pollution at its source
• The requirement for controlling pollution can be decreased by strategically situating new businesses and moving existing ones as necessary.
• To offer guidance to the State authority on any matter about pollution control, prevention, or source location.
• Encourage the conduct of such research and participation in such research in order to advance study into and assessment of pollution-related issues.

What are the Functions of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) Registration?

According to the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981, the WBPCB's primary responsibilities are as follows:

• To assess plans, specifications, and the effectiveness of wastewater and trade waste processing plants, as well as to inspect them.
• To offer advice to the State Authority on any issue relating to the reduction of air and water pollution.
• Inspecting air pollution control locations in order to evaluate the quality of the air there and taking action to avoid, regulate, or reduce air pollution in certain places.
• To develop the most effective, commercially viable sewerage and trade effluent treatment system.
• To work with the Central Pollution Control Board to plan training for those involved in or about to be involved in programs linked to the prevention, control, or reduction of water and air pollution, as well as to plan mass education campaigns related to those programs.
• To develop a thorough plan for preventing, managing, and reducing air and water pollution.
• Gathering and sharing knowledge about water and air pollution, as well as ways to avoid, control, or eliminate it.
• Inspecting industrial facilities, manufacturing processes, and any control devices, and guiding how to take action to prevent, control, or reduce air pollution.
• To establish, alter, or annually revise regulations for sewage and commercial effluents, as well as for the release of any atmospheric pollutants into the air from any other source and the emission of pollutants from industrial facilities and vehicles.
• To gather samples of trade effluents, sewage, and air pollution emissions, and to evaluate those samples for a set of parameters.
• To carry out any additional duties that the State Government or the Central Pollution Control Board may specify.

• Consent to Establish

All new intending projects (developmental and industrial), as per the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981, must obtain "Consent to Establish" (commonly known as NOC) from the Pollution Control Board West Bengal.

• Consent to Operate

All operating units and those beginning operations after a NOC issued by the Board, are mandated to obtain "Consent to Operate" from the West Bengal Pollution Control Authority in accordance with the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981. A CTO must be renewed and an application for the same needs to be submitted 120 days before the expiration of the previous certificate. Following are the terms certain industries need to apply for renewal-

1. Green category: 7 years
2. Orange category: 5 Years
3. Red category: 5 Years

What is Environment Clearance under West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB)?

The new Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Law was announced by the Government of India's Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change on September 14, 2006. The screening and scoping processes have been made mandatory in the revised EIA notification. 

The Schedule of the revised EIA notification lists the projects or activities that need prior environmental clearance. According to the guidelines outlined in the EIA-2006 notification, the following project requires prior Environmental Clearance (EC).

• All new projects and activities are outlined under Schedule Expansion.
• Modernization and/or expansion of current initiatives
• If the pollution load is rising, alter the product mix.

Based on the severity of any potential effects and the vulnerability of the selected sites, all of the projects described in the notice are divided into two general groups.

• Category A: The Central Level Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) will evaluate, and the MoEF, the Government of India will grant a clearance for which the EIA is required.
• Category B: Except in cases of special conditions and general conditions, the State Environmental Impact Assessment Agency (SEIAA) shall conduct the appraisal, and the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) will grant clearance. EIA is required for Category B1 as well as Category B2 (EIA not necessary)

These steps make up an Environmental Clearance (EC) process:

• Apply for an EC: The Project Proponent (PP) shall submit FORM 1 (and FORM 1A containing a conceptual plan for building projects exclusively), the Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR), and the Terms of Reference (optional) to the relevant authorities for conducting EIA Study.
• Process of Screening: SEAC will classify projects under Category B into Category B1 and B2 alone. If placed in Category B1, EIA will be required.
• Assessment: Establishing the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the EIA study for projects in categories A and B1. carried out by EAC.
• A study conducted by the EIA: The project proponent (PP) will create a draft EIA and Environment Management Plan (EMP) based on the ToR.
• Public discussion: A consultation process will be organized with the draft EIA and EMP. In the finalized EIA & EMP report, the issues mentioned will be addressed.
• Hike: A consultation process will be organized with the draft EIA and EMP. In the finalized EIA & EMP report, the issues mentioned will be addressed.
• Conclusion: The MoEF (for Category A) and SEIAA will ultimately approve or reject permission based on the recommendations made by the EAC and SEAC (for Category B).

The project proponent must submit an application to the State Board in the format prescribed, along with a copy of the environmental clearance, after receiving approval from the relevant authority (MoEF&CC or SEIAA, as applicable), in order to acquire Consent to Establish.

Industries are divided into Red, Orange, Green, White, and Exempted categories based on the amount of pollution and risk they pose. There are limitations on where these industries can be located. Prospective business owners may consider these limitations while choosing a location for their prospective industries.

• Red Category

1. Any industry or industrial activity that is not listed in the category lists and has a coal-fired boiler with a steam generating capacity greater than 5 Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) will be categorized as Red, pending approval from the Board's categorization committee.
2. Any industry or industrial activity employing a solid fuel-fired boiler (coal, wood, husk, etc.) regardless of capacity and an oil or gas-fuelled boiler >5 TPH will be classified as being in the Red category. 
3. The capacity of any unit's boilers, furnace, kiln, oven, or other equipment refers to the total capacity of each of these individual units. 
4. Environmental Clearance is mandatory for operations requiring EIA notice, followed by the board's "Consent to Establish" and "Consent to Operate" 
5. The Board's EMIS offers comprehensive data to assist project proponents in selecting a particular kind of activity within an industry category.

• Orange Category

1. Any industry or industrial activity that uses an oil- or gas-fired boiler with a capacity of more than 2 TPH and less than 5 TPH but is not listed in the Orange category list shall be evaluated for the Orange category with the agreement of the Board's Categorization Committee.
2. Boiler, furnace, kiln, oven, and DG set capacities in whatsoever unit refer to the combined capacities of the corresponding items. 
3. Environmental Clearance is a requirement for operations requiring EIA notice, followed by the board's "Consent to Establish" and "Consent to Operate"
4. The Board's EMIS provides detailed information to help project proponents choose a specific type of activity under an industry category.

• Green Category

1. Any industry or industrial activity that uses an oil- or gas-fired boiler with a capacity of less than 2 TPH but is not included in the category lists shall be evaluated for the green category with the consent of the categorization panel of the board.
2. Any business or industrial operation that uses an oil- or gas-fired boiler with a capacity under 2 TPH will be classified as green.
3. Boiler, furnace, kiln, oven, and DG set capacities in whatsoever unit refer to the combined capacities of the composition.
4. Environmental Clearance is a requirement for operations requiring EIA notification, followed by the Board's "Consent to Establish" and "Consent to Operate."
5. For the convenience of project proponents, detailed information for selecting a specific kind of activity under an industrial category is available in the Board's EMIS.

• White Category

1. For White Category industries, notification to the WBPCB is sufficient; consent is not required.
2. Any region in West Bengal may have industry or industrial activities as long as the local administration has granted site permission.

• Exempted Category

1. Any region in West Bengal may have industry or industrial activities as long as the local administration has granted site permission.
2. Industries and industrial activities included in the Exempted category are exempt from applying to the Board for "Consent to Establish" or "Consent to Operate."

How to Apply for a CTE/CTO?

Units obtaining a NOC or Consent to Operate need to submit their applications following the procedure mentioned on the WPCB website. Depending upon the categories and scale of industries, a CTE and CTO are granted by different authorities. Further, a CTE is valid for 7 Years.

The procedure for obtaining Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) in the State of West Bengal dealt with the West Bengal Prevention of Water Pollution Act,1969. Also, the provisions of the Board were formed in accordance with the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and Section 5 of the Air (P &CP) Act, 1981. The Project Proponent and Start-ups who are willing to run their business project must have to obtain consent before the establishment of the Project anywhere in the State of West Bengal. All the Projects, Industries, Non-industries units have been categorized under four categories that are Red, Orange, Green, and White according to the range under which it comes in the Pollution Index and Pollution Potential for Consent management. Since the given date of the project which is already in Operation needs to obtain Consent to operate and there is no need to obtain Consent to Establish permission as such Projects are already established and might be in operation.

Let’s Understand the Procedure:

• Connect with the Corpseed team.
• Provide necessary documents for the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) Consent/CTE/CTO
• We will assign a dedicated Consultant, an expert in managing the whole process of getting Consent/CTE/CTO from WBPCB
• Our Pollution Control expert will reach out to you and complete the procedure to obtain a Pollution License for your Business
• Our Expert Consultant will draft & apply with West Bengal State Pollution Control Board (WBPCB)
• We will deliver the CTE/CTO to you via email and courier

Restrictions on the Establishment of Project at a certain Location

The Project/Industries shall only be able to operate at a certain location such as in Ecologically Fragile areas/Protected areas/residential areas or colonies.

What Are the Documents Required for a CTE/CTO Application?

• Any land-related paperwork (The appropriate lease papers, land deed, porcha, rent agreement, and rent receipt)
• A self-certified Certificate of Gross Capital Investment 
• Site layout with a self-certified road map or route map
• The project Report contains information on the manufacturing process, raw materials, completed products, waste management plan, emissions, effluent, and machinery list
• Copy of Certificate of Consent (NOC) for Establishment 
• Reports of recent tests performed on emissions and wastewater

How Long Does a WPCB Issued NOC last?

A CTE issued by the WBPCB holds a validity period of 7 Years. After the expiration, it is free to be renewed. A CTO must be renewed and an application for the same needs to be submitted 120 days before the expiration of the previous certificate. Following are the terms certain industries need to apply for renewal-

• Green category: 7 years
• Orange category: 5 Years
• Red category: 5 Years

The fee of a Consent to Establish and Consent to operate depends on the project's gross capital investment in the project's land, buildings, and machinery.