Environmental Administration and Legislation,

1. Environmental Administration and Legislation

Mikkeli University
of Applied Sciences
Autumn 2016

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REVISION
What did you learn last week?
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In the environmental permit process
there are two key participatory
opportunities*.
1) The first enables participation before the
permit decision is made, and therefore
has the potential to affect the decisionmaking process.
2) The second key participatory opportunity
is through judicial review, once the
decision has been made.
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Registration procedures
Finland as example
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6. Registrations

Businesses must also register certain activities with the
environmental authorities, even where they will only occur
temporarily, e.g.
– activities that will lead to noise and vibrations,
– experimental and exceptional operations that could have negative
environmental impacts.
– the clean-up of contaminated soils must be registered according
Registration is a lighter procedure than a permit.
Why is there such a tool?
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7. Activities that will lead to noise and vibrations

• Operators must notify the municipal
environmental protection committees in writing
of measures or events causing temporary noise
or vibration, if there is reason to expect that such
noise or vibration will be especially disturbing.
• If such projects involve the territories of several
municipalities, the notification must be submitted
to the Centre for Economic Development,
Transport and the Environment whose territory
the noise or vibration will mainly occur.
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8. Activities that will lead to noise and vibrations

• A notification is not required on activities that
require an environmental permit or concern the
household of a private person, the Defence
Forces' activities …
• The notification shall be made in good time
before taking the measure or starting the activity,
but not less than 30 days in advance.
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9. Experimental activities

• A written notification on experimental
activities shall be made to the competent
environmental permit authority at the latest
30 days before starting the activity.
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10. Exceptional Operations

• If an accident, production disturbance,
demolition of a structure or equipment or some
other corresponding factor causes emissions
or generates waste that may pose an
immediate and manifest risk of environmental
pollution…the operator responsible for the
activity or the holder of the waste must notify a
supervisory authority of the incident without
delay.
• If for an unforeseen reason observance of the
permit regulation is impossible for a limited
period, the operator must notify the
supervisory authority of the matter.
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11. Remediation of contaminated soils

• An environmental permit is required for the remediation
of contaminated extractable land resources.
• Action may, however, be initiated to restore soil in a
contaminated area or to remove contaminated soil
material for remediation elsewhere by making the
relevant notification to the Centre for Economic
Development, Transport and the Environment if:
– the extent of the contaminated soil and the degree of
contamination have been adequately established;
– remediation observes an approved method in general
use; and
– the activity does not result in any other pollution of the
environment.
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BAT
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– the permit application – the actual activity
• Including assessment of BAT
– the given statements and opinions
– reply given by the operator
– relevant environmental legislation
• Including land use planning and EIA!
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14. BAT- history

• Concept of BAT first used in the UK “Salmon
Fishery Act 1861”
• Best available techniques not entailing excessive
costs (BATNEEC) introduced with the 1984 Air
Framework Directive (AFD)
• In the US similar concept found in the CWA and
CAA
• Included in the first IPPC directive (96/61/EC)
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15. BAT

“The most effective and advanced stage in
the development of activities and their
methods of operation which indicate the
practical suitability of particular techniques
for providing in principle the basis for
emission limit values designed to prevent
and, where that is not practicable, generally
to reduce emissions and the impact on the
environment as a whole”
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16. … to ”break it down”

• "techniques" shall include both the technology
used and the way in which the installation is
designed, built, maintained, operated and
decommissioned,
• "available" techniques shall mean those
developed on a scale which allows
implementation, under economically and
technically viable conditions,
• "best" shall mean most effective in achieving a
high general level of protection of the
environment as a whole.
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17. Who determines what is good enough?

• The European IPPC Bureau produces
reference documents on BAT, called
BREFs.
• BREFs are the main reference documents
used by competent authorities in Member
States when issuing operating permits for
the installations that represent a significant
pollution potential in Europe.
• Where do BREFs come from?
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18. Who determines what is good enough?

BAT information exchange is carried out by
national technical working groups (BAT working
groups), which are composed of representatives
from industry and permit authorities and inspectors
– the group chair acts as the national member
in the corresponding Technical Working
Group (TWG) at EU level information
exchange.
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19. Who determines what is good enough?

– National BAT Working Groups comment on
draft BREFs prepared by the EIPPCB and
gather other relevant background information.
– Results of National BAT information exchange
for different industrial sectors are published as
National BAT technology reports and many of
them have been sent for background
information for BREF's preparation.
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20. IPPC Bureau

The European Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control
Bureau was set up to organise an exchange of information
between Member States and industry on BAT, associated
monitoring and developments in them.
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“Where the competent authority sets permit conditions on
the basis of a best available technique not described in any
of the relevant BAT conclusions, it shall ensure that
technique is determined by giving special consideration to
the criteria listed in Annex III…”
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22. Criteria for determining best available techniques

1. the use of low-waste technology;
2. the use of less hazardous substances;
3. the furthering of recovery and recycling of
substances generated and used in the
process and of waste, where appropriate;
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23. Criteria for determining best available techniques

4. comparable processes, facilities or
methods of operation which have been tried
with success on an industrial scale;
5. technological advances and changes in
scientific knowledge and understanding;
6. the nature, effects and volume of the
emissions concerned;
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24. Criteria for determining best available techniques

7. the commissioning dates for new or existing installations;
8. the length of time needed to introduce the best available
technique;
9. the consumption and nature of raw materials (including
water) used in the process and energy efficiency;
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25. Criteria for determining best available techniques

10. the need to prevent or reduce to a minimum the overall
impact of the emissions on the environment and the risks to
it;
11. the need to prevent accidents and to minimise the
consequences for the environment;
12. information published by public international
organisations.
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26. BAT SELECTION

The selection of Best Available Techniques consists in
finding the appropriate balance between environmental
performance and technical and economical availability.
This balance depends on a number of parameters, such as
the projects environmental requirements and goals,
technical constraints, stakeholders expectations and the
economic viability of the project.
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27. Practical definition of BAT

1. Scope and identify the alternative techniques under
consideration - refer to the BREF(s), relevant site-specific factors,
techniques not covered by BREF.
2. Compile an inventory of emissions and resource use for
each option - significant emissions/resource use, synergistic effects
bioaccumulation, changes within an emissions type
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28. Practical definition of BAT

3. Estimate environmental effects -may be weighted to reflect
closeness to environmental benchmark Practical definition of Best Available
Techniques.
4. Determine the technique that offers the highest level of
protection for the environment as a whole - equal weight to all
media? Short term vs long term impacts, ozone/global warming potential, noise
and vibration, odour etc -impact on resource use/waste
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29. Practical definition of BAT

5. Determine the costs for each alternative technique - what
is included and on what basis? -- economic assumptions eg amortisation period
6. Evaluate the alternatives - on what basis? e.g. Benchmark costs/kg
of pollutant Point of more rapidly increasing costs
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30. BAT as legislative tool

The requirement of BAT alone doesn’t do much, but
combined with permits is a handy tool for putting the
pressure for using the best alternative on those who cause
environmental impacts.
Reminder – authorities may require to amend a permit if a
new BAT is found.
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Environmental Monitoring and Reporting as
Legislative Instruments for Environmental
Protection
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32. Monitoring and Reporting

• Monitoring by the operator and by the supervising
authority.
• Set requirements for monitoring inspections.
• Reporting by the operator about the results of monitoring
environmental impacts and about improvements made as
required by the authorites (and/or permits)
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Monitoring and inspections
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34. Monitoring

• The operator is required to monitor
environmental impacts of the activity
• Supervising authority monitors compliance
with the permit regulations (conditions)
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35. Supervising authority monitoring

in Finland:
• Activities covered by environmental permits are monitored
throughout their life cycles, by the regional Centres for Economic
Development, Transport and the Environment and municipal
environmental protection officials.
•Environmental permits describe the specific operations of individual
facilities, and
• incorporate official limits defined for factors including emissions,
emission monitoring procedures and reporting. (www.ymparisto.fi)
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36. Monitoring plans

•Regional Centres for Economic Development,
Transport and the Environment annually publish
monitoring plans covering their environmental
permit monitoring work.
• These plans describe specific regional features,
needs, resources and objectives.
•The regional Centres for Economic Development,
Transport and the Environment are obliged to draft
such plans by Finland’s Environmental Protection
Act, but municipalities may also beneficially
adopt this practice.(www.ymparisto.fi)
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37. Monitoring inspections*

All facilities are subjected to scheduled inspections assessing
whether
• emissions are being duly monitored,
• facilities are operating according to their permit limits, and
•they are planning any actions that might require new permits.
•Facilities may also be inspected in response to complaints
from members of the public.”
(www.ymparisto.fi)
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Reporting
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39. Reporting

Basically two types of reporting is required:
1. Reporting results of monitoring environmental impacts
2. Reporting improvements made as required in
environmental permit, prior to review of permit
requirements
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40. Condition 10.1.

“The licensee shall carry out such sampling,
analyses, measurements, examinations,
maintenance and calibrations as set out in
Schedules:
–
–
–
–
–
Schedule 1: Monitoring of Emissions to Atmosphere.
Schedule 2: Monitoring of Emissions to Water.
Schedule 3: Waste Analysis.
Schedule 4: Surface Water Discharge Monitoring.
Schedule 5: Groundwater Monitoring
of this licence.”
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41. Condition 10.6.

“The licensee shall install on all emission points such
sampling points or equipment, including any data-logging or
other electronic communication equipment, as may be
required by the Agency.
All such equipment shall be consistent with the safe
operation of all sampling and monitoring systems.”
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42. Condition 10.8.

“The licensee shall, within three months of the date of grant
of this licence, install in a prominent location on the site a
wind sock, or other wind direction indicator, which shall be
visible from the public roadway outside the site.“
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43. Condition 11.1.

•“The licensee shall record all sampling, analyses,
measurements, examinations, calibrations and
maintenance carried out in accordance with the
requirements of this licence.“
•“The licensee shall record all incidents which affect the
normal operation of the activity and which may create an
environmental risk.” …
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44. Condition 11.4.

•The format of all records required by this licence shall be to
the satisfaction of the Agency.
•Records shall be retained on-site for a period of not less
than seven years and shall be available for inspection by
the Agency at all reasonable times.
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45. Condition 11.5.

“Reports of all recording, sampling, analyses,
measurements, examinations, calibrations and
maintenance as set out in Schedule 6(i) Recording
and Reporting to the Agency of this licence, shall be
submitted to the Agency Headquarters as specified in
this licence.
The format of these reports shall be to the
satisfaction of the Agency. One original and three
copies shall be submitted as and when specified.”
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