The concept of Best Available Techniques (BAT) according to the European Industrial Emissions Directive (IED)

Transcription

1 The concept of Best Available Techniques (BAT) according to the European Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) Almut Reichart and Brigitte Zietlow German Federal Environment Agency

2 2 Overview: 1. Legal background: the European Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) 2. The definition and the determination of BAT 3. The content of BAT Reference Documents (BREFs) and BAT Conclusions 4. How are BAT Conclusions implemented? 5. Conclusions 6. Further information

3 3 1. Legal background: The European Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) from 2010

4 4 Legal background: the European Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) from 2010 Continuation of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive from 1996 same approach, but with stricter rules for implementation Incorporation of 6 former sector-specific EU Directives Large Combustion Plants, Waste Incineration, Solvents and three Directives on waste from the titanium dioxide industry The IED provides a common framework for the regulation of industrial emissions throughout the 27 EU Member States

5 5 Objectives of the IED: to prevent, to reduce and as far as possible to eliminate pollution arising from industrial activities based on the polluter pays and the precautionary principle taking into account, when necessary, specific local circumstances to avoid shifting of pollution from one environmental medium to another high level of protection for the environment as a whole to achieve a level playing field in the EU by aligning the environmental standards for industrial installations

6 6 The integrated approach(es) of the IED Cross-sectoral: covering all relevant industrial activities in the EU (as listed in Annex I of the Directive) Energy, metal, mineral, chemical, waste and other Industries Cross-media: addressing all environment media and impacts: Emissions into air, water and soil, waste management, energy efficiency, accident prevention Multi-pollutant: e.g. dust, NOx, SOx, heavy metals and dioxins for air emissions; BOD, COD, N, P, heavy metals and cyanides for water emissions

7 7 Main provisions of the IED (I): Each relevant industrial installation in the EU needs an environmental permit (in total: installations) The permits shall include: Emission limit values (ELVs) or equivalent parameters or technical measures ensuring an equivalent level of environmental protection Suitable emission monitoring requirements, including the obligation to report emission monitoring results to the CA requirements for regular maintenance as well as for other than normal operating conditions conditions for assessing compliance with the emission limit values

8 8 Main provisions of the IED (II): The emission limit values shall be based on the best available techniques, without prescribing the use of any technique or specific technology: The competent authority shall set emission limit values that ensure that, under normal operating conditions, emissions do not exceed the emission levels associated with the best available techniques as laid down in the decisions on BAT conclusions (Art. 15 para. 3) BAT conclusions do not prescribe the use of specific techniques, but a level of environmental protection that shall be achieved by the application of BAT!

9 9 Main provisions of the IED (III): Reconsideration and updating of permit conditions Within 4 years of publication of decisions on BAT conclusions (a) all the permit conditions for the installation concerned shall be reconsidered and, if necessary, updated to ensure compliance with the Directive, in particular regarding the emission levels associated with BAT; (b) and the installation has to comply with those permit conditions. BREFs shall be revised and updated at least every 8 years The IED provides for a continuous updating of permits and hence, if necessary, retrofitting of installations!

10 10 Main provisions of the IED (IV): Public participation and information Public participation in the permitting of installations Publication of permits, site inspection reports, monitoring results Reporting obligations for the Member States on how they implemented the Directive includes representative data on permit requirements such as ELVs Public participation and information (transparency) is used as an instrument for the propagation of BAT

11 11 2. The definition and the determination of BAT

12 12 The definition and the determination of BAT Definition of BAT according to Art. 3 para. 10 IED Best Available Technique = most effective with respect to the prevention and where that is not practicable the reduction of emissions and the impact on the environment as a whole = developed on a scale which allows implementation in the relevant industrial sector, under economically and technically viable conditions, taking into consideration the costs and advantages, whether or not it is used in the respective Member State = includes both the technology used and the way in which the installation is designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned

13 13 What is BAT for a particular industrial sector? (I) BAT for a particular industrial sector is identified by an information exchange process for each sector between EU Member States Industry concerned Environmental NGOs EU Commission Outcome of the information exchange process BAT Reference Documents for the sector (BREF) BAT conclusions

14 14 What is BAT for a particular industrial sector? (II) Technical Working Group (TWG) collects data comments on draft BREFs concludes on BAT Final draft BREF European IPPC Bureau (EIPPCB) in Sevilla, Spain validates & structures data prepares draft BREFs IED Forum (Member States, Industry & NGOs) expresses its opinion on the final draft BREF Art. 75-Committee (Member States only) adopts the BAT conclusions BAT Conclusions European Commission Formal decision of the BAT conclusions publishes both kinds of documents Final BREF

15 15 What is BAT for a particular industrial sector? (III) Sectoral (vertical ) BREFs e.g. Large combustion plants Cement and lime production Chemical industry (8 BREFs) Iron and steel production Pulp and paper industry Tanning industry Textile industry Waste treament Waste incineration e.g. Horizontal BREFs Industrial cooling systems Emissions from storage of dangerous and bulk materials Monitoring Economic & cross-media aspects

16 16 3. The content of BAT Reference Documents and BAT Conclusions

17 17 The content of BREFs and BAT Conclusions (I) General outline of the BREFs: Preface, Scope 1. General information about the sector concerned 2. Applied processes and techniques 3. Current emission and consumption levels 4. Techniques to consider in the determination of BAT 5. Best available techniques (BAT) conclusions 6. Emerging techniques 7. Concluding remarks and recommendations for future work References, Glossary of terms and abbreviations Annexes (dependent upon relevance and availability of information)

18 18 The content of BREFs and BAT Conclusions (II) Chapter 4 provides a lot of information on each Technique: Technical description Achieved environmental benefits Environmental performance and operational data Cross-media effects Technical considerations relevant to applicability Economics Driving force for implementation Example plants Reference literature

19 19 The content of BREFs and BAT Conclusions (III) Chapter 5 BAT conclusions is the core part of the BREF It will go through formal adoption by the EU Member States and then be published as a Commission Decision (a formal EU document) For this purpose, Chapter 5 / the BAT Conclusions contain the choice of techniques identified as BAT, including the emission levels associated with BAT, associated monitoring, associated consumption levels and, where appropriate, relevant site remediation measures concise descriptions of the techniques information to assess the applicability of the techniques; Any change in the BAT Conclusions in the adoption process will be reflected in Chapter 5 of the BREF when the final BREF is published

20 20 The content of BREFs and BAT Conclusions (IV) When emission levels associated with BAT are given, this is complemented with specifications on reference conditions, e.g. a reference oxygen content for waste gas from combustion processes the point of reference for waste water (before dilution, at the point of discharge into a sewage system or into a receiving water course) monitoring (e.g. measurement frequency, requirement for continuous monitoring) reference periods (e.g. spot measurement, daily or monthly average) Rules for compliance are not specified in the BAT conclusions, as they have to be defined in the permit (according to the monitoring obligations)

21 21 How to read the BAT Reference Documents (BREFs)? If you look for general information on the sector Start right from the beginning and benefit from the valuable information provided in whole BREF If you look for technical solutions for a special issue Start in the corresponding section of Chapter 4, where the Techniques to consider are presented If you are interested in environmental standards in the EU Start with the corresponding BAT conclusions in Chapter 5 If you want more information on the techniques mentioned in Chapter 5, look for the corresponding information in Chapter 4

22 22 4. How BAT Conclusions are implemented

23 23 How BAT Conclusions are implemented (III) In general, the BAT Conclusions have to be transposed to permit conditions by the Competent Authorities In order to facilitate the granting of permits, Member States may set requirements for certain categories of installations in general binding rules (Art IED) General binding rules shall also be based on the best available techniques, without prescribing the use of any technique or specific technology General binding rules have to be updated to take into account developments in best available techniques

24 24 How BAT Conclusions are implemented (II) Individual determination of BAT by the competent authority Mixed approach Definition of BAT in general binding rules

25 25 How to implement the BAT Conclusions? (III) Germany implements BAT via general binding rules, e.g. the Federal Immission Control Act and its subordinated Ordinances as well as the Technical Instructions for Air Quality Control (air emissions) The Waste Water Ordinance (water emissions) The relevant requirements from the general binding rules are then transposed into the permits by the CA Germany established standard procedures to update its general binding rules when new BAT conclusions are issued.

26 26 5. Conclusions

27 27 Conclusions (I) The IED sets up an integrated framework for the regulation of industrial emissions in the EU, aiming for a high level of protection for the environment as a whole BAT is a dynamic concept based on and promoting continuous improvements in environmental performance As the outcome of the information exchange on BAT, the BREF documents are a unique and valuable source of information for applicable techniques and their associated emission and consumption levels Taking into consideration the costs as well as the advantages, the techniques are developed on a scale which allows implementation in the relevant industrial sector, under economically and technically viable conditions

28 28 Conclusions (II) In order to achieve real improvements, emission limit values need to be complemented by adequate monitoring. We encourage you to benefit from the information provided in the BREFs; where processes currently applied in India are not covered in the BREF, it might be beneficial to initiate a similar information exchange process in your country. Harmonisation of environmental standards also helps to improve the quality of life in the regions concerned and to create a level playing field for the companies

29 29 Useful links All BREFs (and drafts) can be downloaded for free from: Industrial emissions website of the EU Commission European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) Sustainable production website of the German Federal Environment Agency

30 30 Thank you very much for your attention! and