Enter to open, tab to navigate, enter to select
Environmental Permitting Regulations transposing Industrial Emissions Directive come into force
Practical Law UK Legal Update 4-524-5000 (Approx. 5 pages)
Environmental Permitting Regulations transposing Industrial Emissions Directive come into force
by PLC Environment
| Published on 05 Mar 2013 • England, Wales |
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/390) were made on 20 February 2013 and largely came into force on 27 February 2013. (Free access.)
Speedread
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/390) were made on 20 February 2013. They largely came into force on 27 February 2013. The Regulations amend the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/675).
The new Regulations transpose the Industrial Emissions Directive in England and Wales (Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (Recast)).
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/390) (EP Amendment Regulations 2013) were made on 20 February 2013. There is also an explanatory memorandum.
The EP Amendment Regulations 2013 transpose the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) in England and Wales (Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (Recast)), by amending the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/675) (EP Regulations 2010).
The IED covers permitting and regulates activities at many industrial installations above certain capacity thresholds. These include a wide range of industrial installations under the Prevention Pollution and Control (PPC) regime, combustion plants, waste incineration plants, activities using organic solvents, and installations that produce titanium dioxide (see Practice note, EU Industrial Emissions Directive 2010: Structure and scope of the Industrial Emissions Directive).
The IED also strengthens the use of best available techniques (BAT) and reduces inconsistencies in how BAT is applied by different permitting and enforcing authorities across the EU.
The EP Amendment Regulations 2013 includes provisions amending the current Environmental Permitting (EP) regime by:
- Changing the waste management activities that are now subject to integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) requirements.
- Removing BAT requirements for waste incineration and co-incineration installations that are not subject to IPPC in England (that is, those installations with capacity below the thresholds set out in Schedule 1 to the EP Regulations 2010). However, in Wales, the BAT requirement for those installations will remain in place.
- Removing BAT requirements for solvent activities in England. However, the BAT requirement remains for installations in Wales.
- Introducing a device for incentivising early applications. The Welsh Government will also consider introducing an enforceable statutory deadline for permit applications and may propose a further amendment in respect of Wales.
The EP Amendment Regulations 2013 also makes some minor drafting changes. Provisions in the IED that cover oil and gas installations will be implemented separately.
For more information on the background to the changes, including the government consultation, see Legal update, Draft regulations to transpose Industrial Emissions Directive and consultation response. The Environment Agency (EA) has also produced a very useful guide to the changes, see EA: Industrial Emissions Directive (IED): What's changed?.
The EP Amendment Regulations 2013 came into force on 27 February 2013, except for:
- Schedule 13A, which only applies to existing waste incineration plants from 7 January 2014 (regulation 50). Schedule 13A implements the relevant parts of the IED relating to waste incineration plants, including permitting and emissions limits (see Practice note, EU Industrial Emissions Directive 2010: Chapter IV: requirements for waste incineration plants).
- Schedule 15A, which only applies to existing large combustion plants from 1 January 2016 (regulation 52). Schedule 15A implements the relevant parts of the IED relating to large combustion plants, including emissions limits, in particular for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates (see Practice note, EU Industrial Emissions Directive 2010: Chapter III: requirements for large combustion plants).
- Schedule 17A, which only applies to new installations producing waste titanium dioxide from 7 January 2014 (regulation 53). Schedule 17A implements the relevant parts of the IED relating titanium dioxide, including disposal and emissions limits (see Practice note, EU Industrial Emissions Directive 2010: Chapter VI: requirements for titanium dioxide production).
Schedules 13A, 15A and 17A all apply to new plants from 27 February 2013. Regulation 2 defines what is meant by existing plants.
Transposition of the IED in England and Wales has missed the deadline of 7 January 2013 by several weeks. The government has said that it hopes to produce consolidated EP regulations as soon as possible. It will also be producing updated guidance shortly.
The government is currently consulting on several other sets of EP Amendment Regulations 2013 (see Legal update, Defra consults on further Environmental Permitting amending regulations and on MRF regulations: Timing and naming of the various draft EP Amendment Regulations).
For more information on the:
- IPPC approach under the IED, see Practice note, EU IPPC regime and UK PPC regime.
- Changes to the EP regime required by the IED, see Practice note, EU Industrial Emissions Directive 2010.
- The EP regime in England and Wales, see Practice note, Environmental Permitting regime.
Sources: