How to get pollution board consent certificate for precious metal plating, tin & zinc plating?

Introduction

We may often wonder about the way metal smiths unite various precious metals to other materials. This is done through a process known as precious metals plating for making the metal adhere to an underlying object, i.e, a substrate. This Metal Plating is a complex process requiring the immersion of the substrate into a special chemical solution that contains dissolved ions of the precious metal and then passing an electric current into the solution for depositing the metal ions onto the surface of the substrate.
What are Precious Metals?
Precious metals are chemical elements that occur naturally and are known for their rarity, high economic value and lustrous appearance. They are non-reactive compared to base metals, which are common and have lesser economic value. Hence, they do not oxidize nearly as quickly and are relatively malleable.
Precious metals are generally used for minting bullion coins and manufacturing fine jewelry but have multiple other industrial uses as well. Gold, silver, and platinum are the most widely recognized ones. The platinum family also includes: 
•    Rhodium
•    Palladium
•    Iridium
•    Osmium 
•    Ruthenium

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Important Registrations and Certifications for Precious Metal Plating 

The important registrations and certificates required to set up the factory for precious plating are as follows-

Determining the status of a legal entity
A business owner must first establish a business entity as per his resources, goals, and requirements which can be any of the following:
A sole proprietorship firm if a single individual is the business owner but generally unrecommended for a set up like a precious metal plating facility. 
A Private/Public Limited Company would be an ideal business structure for this kind of business activity as it allows the expertise and experience of other individuals to add up the overall expertise required for precious metal plating business.

Pollution Control Board Certifications for Nickel and Chrome Plating Business 

The precious metal plating process results in both air and water pollution thereby contaminating the environment when toxic and heavy materials are not rightly processed and disposed of. As per the Central Pollution Control Board guidelines, the business activity of metal plating is categorized as Red, which means that this activity generates high level of air or water or both types of pollution.  When such waste is released into the oceans or landfills, hazardous materials intoxicate the environment causing harm to wildlife and humans. In addition to that our waste management infrastructure gets disturbed when materials eligible for recycling go in the garbage bin instead of being reused or repurposed. As the metal plating is categorized as hazardous in nature and also require adequate effluent treatment equipment such as Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) for treatment of effluents generated during metal plating process. 

Consent to Establish (CTE)

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) was set up as a Statutory Organization in September 1974 as per the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and later, for the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. In the ensuing decades, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has slowly been passing the functions and responsibilities under the Water Act and Air Act to the State Pollution Control Boards in States and Pollution Control Committees in Union Territories. These State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in Union Territories are responsible to monitor, controlling, and reduce the level of Air and Water Pollution in their respective jurisdictions. 
The business owner is required to apply to the State Pollution Control Board to get the Consent to Establish (CTE) Certificate. After the CTE Certificate is secured, the building, machinery,etc. could be set up and installed. After this, the applicant is again required to apply online to State Pollution Control Board for the Consent to Operate (CTO). Once the CTO certificate is issued, the business is formally allowed to commence its operations. Also, as the process of precious metal plating, tin plating & zinc plating
is, one of the 17 highly polluting business activities, the business entity is required to install Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) and get it tested from the recognized laboratory. The business owner is also required to apply online for Hazardous Waste Management Authorization from State Pollution Control Board. This authorization certificate guarantees that the hazardous waste being generated in the process is suitably being disposed of by an authorized hazardous waste handling facility. 

The procedure of determination of the category of subject matters of the businesses – 

The determination process is typically based on scores. For measuring air pollution marks will be obtained by recognizing various air pollutants and scoring accordingly out of total marks of 40 and for water pollution such scoring will be similarly out of total marks of 40 and the remaining 20 marks out of 100 is allotted for measuring hazardous waste. 
If this score of business activity is higher than 60 then it is called a red category of business activity and so on.

How to apply for Pollution Control Certificate

The simple steps can be followed to understand the procedure of applying for a Pollution Control Certificate:
i)    The initial application is available on the online portal of any Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee. 
ii)    The applicant is required to submit the documents and submit Government fees for such applications. The fees for Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) under Air and Water Act largely depends on certain factors such as the type of business activity, commencement of such business, capital investment of the business, and the duration of Consent to Operate (CTO) validity.
iii)    The required documents relating to the details of the industry has to be scanned and uploaded while filling the online application and, in some cases, the physical copy of such application along with those scanned documents and receipt of the fees paid has to be sent by post to the Pollution Board Office or Pollution Committee office. 
The status of a pending application for Consent to Establish (CTE) or Consent to Operate (CTO) can be checked on the same online portal of SPCB or PCC. 

Consent to Operate

The industries categorized under red, orange, and green categories need to apply for consent to establish and consent to operate under the Air and Water Acts. The consent to operate/renewal shall be granted for 5 years for the precious metal plating industry as it comes under the orange category. The CTO validity for precious metal plating could be for one year per renewal application as this is a red category business activity.

Hazardous Waste Management Authorization 

Some of the Precious metal plating activities fall under the red category and require the Hazardous Waste Management Authorization and some of these activities also need emission control equipment.

Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Registration

The precious metal plating process does not use any type of plastics but in case a business entity is engaged in wrapping or packaging the finished products in plastic sheets or packages may require Plastic Waste Management Authorization as a bulk consumer. Registration for Plastic waste can be through CPCB under the Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules 2016 and an online portal has been launched in this regard. Producers, importers & Brand-owners are required to fulfill Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) for the plastic waste generated due to the products introduced by them in the market.

Ground Water Boring Permission 

The precious metal plating process requires the usage of large quantities of water and hence a large amount of wastewater. If the business owner is using a bore well for extraction and using this water in the industrial process or for domestic usage for workers, it needs permission for the groundwater boring being used. The permission to extract and use groundwater for commercial or industrial purposes is granted by the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) in the various Indian States or by the specific State Ground Water Management Authorities. For example, we have Haryana Water Resources Authority (HWRA) in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh Ground Water Department (UPGWD) in Uttar Pradesh, which grants permissions for groundwater abstraction in their respective States. 

Trademark Registration

The Trademark certificate can be acquired for which an application has to be made through the online portal of the Trademarks & Patents Office and such trademark must be distinct and innovative. Depending on the distinctiveness, the Registrar might approve and provide the certificate of registration of a trademark. Every 10 years you will have to renew the trademark of your firm.

Factory license 

The Factory License is a certification that a particular factory complies with the Municipal Laws and Labor Laws of a particular Municipal Area or a Gram Panchayat.  For acquiring the factory license, one has to make an application to the Office of the Directorate of Factories. The Factory License is issued for one year and it generally requires renewal after every 31st March of the Financial Year.