What is an ICPE ? (Installation Classée pour la Protection de l'Environnement)(=Classified Company for Environmental Protection)

An ICPE is an institution whose activity may pose a risk or disadvantage to the human and natural environment. It may have an industrial or agricultural character.

Police of classified facilities

It derogates from the general police exercised by the Mayor in terms of public safety and health. It is managed by the Prefect on the proposal of the inspection of classified companies.
Due to the nature of the activity and the quantities concerned, the classified companies are grouped under headings within a nomenclature and are subject either to simple declaration to the Prefect or to registration with the Prefect. The registration system governed by the decree of 13 April 2010 constitutes an intermediary system between the authorisation and declaration systems. It aims to simplify and shorten the authorisation procedure for certain categories of classified companies (for example, covered warehouses, service stations, paper and cardboard depots...) which are subject to general national requirements. Public consultation does not require a public inquiry. The investigation periods are set at 5 months, extended if necessary by 2 months, in particular if a transition to CODERST is necessary in order to impose additional requirements on the operator; authorization which requires an environmental and health impact assessment, a public inquiry, an administrative inquiry, the opinion of an ad hoc commission (the C.O.D.E.R.S.T.; the Departmental Commission of Nature, Landscapes and Sites - training quarries) composed of the main services of the State, elected officials, associations, consular companies...

The State services concerned

The inspection of classified installations is organized by :
- Regional Directorate for Environment, Development and Housing (DREAL, ex-DRIRE) for all industrial establishments ;
- The Departmental Directorate for Population Protection (DDPP, ex-DSV) for all agricultural or livestock establishments ;

Sanctions

In the event of non-conformities, two types of sanctions may be imposed on unscrupulous operators :
- Criminal sanctions : offences transmitted to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for prosecution ;
- Administrative penalties ranging from the formal notice to the suspension of activity or the recording of an amount corresponding to the performance of the work.