Appeal against an environmental permit or single permit decision

• Any applicant for an environmental permit, a single permit or any representative of an applicant
• Any other natural or legal person who can demonstrate an interest, for example, a resident or the owner of a property near the operation covered by the permit.

Submitting your appeal: what you need to do

1. You have 20 calendar days from the date of the decision (if you are the permit applicant) or its posting (if you are a person demonstrating an interest).
2. Pay the EUR 25.00 administration fee in advance.
3. Complete the appeal form
4. Send the form and proof of payment to the "Appeals" Technical Civil Servant at:

Bénédicte Heindrichs

Director-General

Wallonia Public Service Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment

Avenue Prince de Liège, 15

5100 Namur (Jambes)

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• by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt
• by any similar means that allows the dating of your sending and receipt, regardless of the mail service used
• by hand-delivery against acknowledgement of receipt

Processing and follow-up of your file

5. The "Appeals" Technical Civil Servant acknowledges receipt of your appeal within five calendar days and notifies the municipalities that examined the permit application, the Technical Civil Servant and the Delegated Civil Servant (in the case of a single permit).
6. The "Appeals" Technical Civil Servant will re-interview the bodies involved to obtain their opinion if they deem it necessary. They also decide whether to hold another public enquiry.
7. The "Appeals" Technical Civil Servant draws up the synthesis report based on any opinions and results of the public enquiry received, and sends it to the Walloon Government. They inform the operator and the applicant(s) that the synthesis report has been forwarded to the Government.
8. The Walloon Government sends its decision:

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• to the operator
• to the applicant(s)
• to the municipalities where a public enquiry was carried out
• to the consulted authorities
• to the Technical Civil Servant responsible for the area
• to the local Delegated Civil Servant (if the appeal concerns a single permit)
• to the Police and Inspections Department of SPW Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment

9. The municipality informs the public of the appeal decision

The deadline for submitting your appeal is 20 calendar days.

This period begins:

If you are the permit applicant, from:

• receipt of the decision
• the expiry date of the deadline for notifying the decision, if this deadline has not been met

If you are not the applicant, i.e. any other person, from:

• the first day on which the municipality posts the decision; if several municipalities post the decision, the 20-calendar-day period runs from the first day of posting of the decision by the last municipality to do so.

The deadline for processing an appeal depends on the class of permit applied for:

• Receipt and dispatch of your opinion by the Technical Civil Servant: five calendar days
• Synthesis report by the Technical Civil Servant and submission to the Government: 70 calendar days (Class 1) and 50 calendar days (Class 2).

This deadline may be extended by 30 calendar days by the Technical Civil Servant, in the case of an Environmental Permit, or jointly by the Technical Civil Servant and the Delegated Civil Servant, in the case of a Single Permit.

• Sending of the Government decision:
• 100 calendar days (Class 1) and 70 calendar days (Class 2) from the date of the competent authority's decision or non-decision by default
• 30 calendar days (Class 1) and 20 calendar days (Class 2) from receipt of the synthesis report if sent on time

• Informing the public of the appeal decision by posting: 20 calendar days

When a public enquiry is held in the context of an appeal, the deadlines for investigation are suspended for the duration of the enquiry.

Who can submit an appeal?

• Any applicant for an environmental permit, a single permit or any representative of an applicant
• Any other natural or legal person who can demonstrate an interest, for example, a resident or the owner of a property near the operation covered by the permit.

Appeals may also be submitted by Technical Civil Servants, Delegated Civil Servants and municipalities.

What is the deadline?

The deadline for submitting an appeal is 20 calendar days.

This period begins:

If you are the permit applicant, from:

• receipt of the decision
• the expiry date of the deadline for notifying the decision, if this deadline has not been met

If you are not the applicant, i.e. any other person, from:

• the first day on which the municipality posts the decision; if several municipalities post the decision, the 20-calendar-day period runs from the first day of posting of the decision by the last municipality to do so.