Pollution from large combustion plants

Environmental Policy and Law, 14 (1985) the obligation Io comply with certain national provisions. 12 The 1994 Federal German bill concerning transport and waste disposal pro~idts that authorization for a Iransfrontier shipment shall not be granted ,vher¢ ¢stabllshed facts raise doubts as to the reliability of the applicant or persons responsible tot transport. 13 In the Seveso drums affair, Mannesman Italia which was contracted by Icmesa to eliminate the wa,te reimbursed Hoffman -- La Roche, owner of Icmesa for Ihe proper elimination CO~lS of the temporarily lost drums (3 million S~is~ Francs) although it initially subcontracted the operation~ to Spedilec.

T h e first International Conference on the Protection of the North Sea met in Bremen, Federal Republic of Germany, on 31 October and 1 November 1984. The Conference was opened by the Federal German Minister of the Interior, Dr. Friedrich Zimmermann, who welcomed the delegations of the eight North Sea coastal states (Belgium, Denmark, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom), as well as the member of the Commission of the European Community responsible for environmental protection. The Conference agreed that Dr. Zimmermann should take the chair of the meeting. Following adoption of the provisional agenda, an international drafting group was established to discuss technical questions on behalf of the plenum and to draft the Conference document. General statements on the environmental policy for the North Sea were made

21

The cost of recovery and disposal of hazardous waste dumped illegally is about $550.2.000 per tonnc while the cost of proper disposal ~.ould be around $100 per tonne. It will be noted that the liability of the generator intraduced by Section II of the French Act of 15th July 1975 has not become effective since the implementing decree defining approved disposers (Section 9) has not been published. In this connection see "seveso. des rdglements bien enlerrds", Acres, September 19830 page 11-19. Nevertheless, France has favoured the strict liability of the generator in discussions of the proposal for a Community regulation. S¢¢ also Report No. 487 of the French Senate (8th July 1983).

16 Under Article 36 of the Treaty of Rome restrictions and prohibitions may be applied on grounds o f "the protection or health and life of humans, animals or plants" p~ovided the)' do not constitute " a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade be. t~*'ecn Member slates". 17 The Oslo and London Conventions provide for ex post faclo notification of dumping permits but do not prosSde for any prior notification except in exceptional cases concerning substances the dumping or svhich is prohibited. ["2.

International North Sea Conference by all the delegations present and by several observers. In a special session, the heads of delegations thoroughly discussed technical questions of the draft Declaration that had not been settled up to then. In the final meeting of the plenum, the Chairman gave an account of the course and results of that session before the Conference unanimously ado'pted the Declaration and the Conclusions of the Conference on the Protection of the North Sea (see page 32 ). The heads of delegations and the member of the European Commission made their statements on the results of the Conference. The head of the British delegation proposed to invite all North Sea coastal states and the Commission of the European Community to a second International Conference on the Protection of the

North Sea, to be held in the United Kingdom in two to three years at the latest, and this suggestion was welcomed by all other heads of delegations. In a final address, the Chairman summed up the essential results of the Conference. He felt that it had been a visible success, as the Declaration was the basis for a stronger and more constructive cooperation for the protection of the North Sea. The discussions had been difficult at times and all the aims of each delegation had not been achieved, but the spirit of compromise had succeeded in reaching a common denominator acceptable for all participants. Subsequently, the Declaration was signed by the heads Gf delegations of the North Sea coastal states and the Commission of the European Community. []

R E G I O N A L ACTIVITIES EC

Pollution from Large Combustion Plants At the beginning of 1984, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee on the proposal for a Council Directive on the limitation of emissions of

pollutants into the air from large combution plants 1. At its meeting of 21 November 1984, the Committee adopted an opinion by a majority, with five abstentions. Under

Section 3, "Specific Comments" the Committee suggests thatAa the 'Definition' of combustion plants, in order to take more account of the different circumstances, the Cam-

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22 mission should consider the possibility o f distinguishing not two but three types o f plant, amending Article 2 (definitions 11 and 12) to read: New plant: any combustion plant authorized and built after 1 January 1985; Existing plant: any combustion plant already in service the operation or construction of which was authorized before 1 January 1985; Plant under construction: any combustion plant whose construction was authorized in full or in part before 1 January 1985, but which has not yet come into service. Intermediate arrangements, which take account of individual projects and the progress of building work, could apply to the third type of plant. The Committee also calls for the other definitions in Article 2 (1 to 10) to be formulated more precisely in all the languages o f the Member States so as to take sufficient account o f the different situations and laws. The Committee proposes that the national programmes (Article 3.1) should include, in addition to control of emissions, a system for checking air quality and a network of acid deposition monitoring stations. The results of these activities should be communicated to the Commission (Article 9.2). It thinks it desirable that the national programmes should also provide m as is already the case in some States w for a survey of the types of fuel, their quality (calorific value, sulphur content) and the quantities consumed, together with forecasts for subsequent years. This information should be communicated to the Commission (Article 9.2). Whilst historical information on sulphur dioxide emissions is available for most countries, historical information on oxides o f nitrogen and dust is not. The Committee asks the Commission to state clearly how these emissions will be evaluated for the base year 1980.

Environmental Policy and Law, 14 (1985) Although the timescale and deadlines proposed by the Commission already constitute a valid basis for a solution, the Committee thinks that an attempt could be made to work out a more flexible timescale for the reduction, taking account of technical progress and other factors. For example Article 3.2 could provide for a two-stage reduction - - (a) from 1985 to 1990 and (b) from 1990 to 1995. The Committee recommends that the Commission do its utmost to reduce the time needed for drawing up national progi'ammes to a minimum if possible to one year. The Committee would also ask the Commission to review the rates of emission reduction (Article 3) so as to take more account of the special characteristics of certain sectors and plants - - e.g., traditional power stations and oil refineries without, however, favourirlg or discriminating against any particular sector. The Committee does not think there should be excessive or general exemptions (Article 7) which might favour some Member States or discriminate against others. Since large combustion plants have a long working life and problems of air pollution and acidification are worsening, the Committee takes the view that the Directive would be more effective if it laid down a special type of pollutant emission limit for existing plants as well. To avoid distortions of competition and wait-and-see attitudes which would militate against the installation o f new, more efficient plants, less harmful to the environment, it would be advisable to set sufficiently reasonable and flexible limit values for existing plants, applicable initially only to existing plants with a capacity of more than 100 MW; this could form part of a more general technical and economic solution involving gradual replacement o f old plants with new plants which are obliged to comply with the emission limits. Although the measures will come

into force five years later (in I990), the Committee thinks it necessary also to limit emissions from such plants. It recommends therefore that the Commission determine suitable solutions and limits in line with those suggested for existing plants. Bearing in mind that plants of less than 50 MW also contribute to pollution (up to 20°'/0 in some Member States), the emission limits laid down in the Directive should be applied as soon as possible to new plants of less than 50 MW. In order to take account of technological progress and of the problems which combustion plants will face in seeking to comply with emission limits, the Committee proposes that the Commission examine the possibility of a periodic adjustment (perhaps every three or five years), in the initial stage between 1986 and 1995, of the limit values set for 1985 to 1995 to take account o f any new technology which becomes available ('state of the art'), and of any other changes in the sectors concerned. Limit Values for SO2 and for Fuels The Committee points out that, if SO2 limit values are expressed in m g / n m a a brown-coal-fired power station will be able to emit up to 60% more than a comparable oilfired power station. It therefore recommends that the Commission express the limit values in such a way as not to discriminate between fuels. (A number of proposals are made for guidance on pages 23 and 25 o f the report). The Committee urges the Commission to propose reference methods for measuring SO2, NOx, dusts and other substances, and for calibrating the measuring instruments (Article 13). The Commission has correctly laid down that calculations may be used instead o f emission measurement in order to determine the SO2 concentration (Annex II 1). In the Committee's view, however, it should be made clearer that these

0378-777X/85/$3.30 © 1985 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)

Environmental Policy and Law, 14 (1985)

23

calculations (for every emission point) must be based on continuous, recorded measurements of the fuels used and the sulphur which they contain, or on an alternative method which is sufficiently

representative and reliable. In .such cases, besides the carrying-out of checks by means of individual measurements (as laid down in Article 15(2)), the emission limit values could be regarded as

In the wake of the disaster caused by the escape of methyl isocyanate gas from a factory in Bhopal, India in December last year, the European Parliament at its sitting on the 13th of December adopted two Resolutions 1 on the subject, which present some factors of especial interest to environmental lawyers. These factors surround the role of the Community in the "export" of dangerous processes to developing countries. The Parliament called upon the Commission of the European Communities to ensure that European enterprises with sub. sidiary companies operating in countries outside the Community. apply in those countries the same standards as to worker safety, public health and environmental protection as those applied inside the Community. Anticipating the criticism that this amounts to "environmental imperialism", the

EP

I OJ No C 49, 21.2.1984, p. I

Resolutions on Bhopal Disaster Parliament expressed its conviction that "the sovereignty of developing countries is in no way impaired thereby and that, on the contrary, firms based in the Community have a duty to ensure the highest safety standards in their foreign subsidiaries"2. The Resolutions also call upon the Commission to ensure that plants operated outside the Community are subject to environmental impact assessments, either by the "exporting firm" or by the appropriate licensing authority a, although the Parliament does not make any suggestions as to the manner in which the Commission can achieve this result in respect of installations situated outside the

EC Modification of Waste Oil Directive Proposed John Muir once made a remark to the effect that, when one attempts to isolate a particular matter, one invariably finds that it is connected to everything else in the universe. The Commission of the European Communities has made this discovery in connection with the Directive on the disposal of waste oils 1. This Directive obliges Member States to take steps to avoid the reckless use of resources by promoting the collection, regeneration and reuse of waste oils of mineral or synthetic origin and

having been complied with when these weighted calculations indicate that the average daily value has not been exceeded. []

was hailed in the mid-seventies as an admirable and encouraging recognition of the principle of maximising resource use. A number of difficulties, however, have raised their heads and the Commission has now sent to the Council a proposal for modifications to the Directive 2. The principal problem has been that the reuse of the oil itself has given raise to pollution. The rise in the price of many petrol products has encouraged the use o f waste oil for heating, especially in small undertakings where profit margins

Community countries. On a practical level, the Parliament also called on ihe Commission to make available to the authorities in developing countries the knowhow it has acquired in the course of drawing up the Directive on major industrial hazards 4, so that those authorities may take advantage of that knowledge in attempting to avoid future accidents. [] Malcolm J. Forster I RcsoluIIoI! on the poisonous ga~ disaster at Bhopal, India, O.J.No.CI2, p.83 (heraftcr Res. No. I); Resolution on the poison gas cacasfrophe in India, O.J.No.CI2, p. 84), (hereafter Res. No. 2), 14.1.1985, 2 Res. No.2. para. 3. 3 Res. No.I, para. 10; Res. No.2, para, S, Re~, No.2 also calls upon the Commission and the European Investment Bank to ensure thai projects which receive grants from Community funds are subjected to envitonn',ental Impact assessment - - para. 6. 4 Council Directive 82/501/EEC on major accident h a z a r d s of certain Industrial activities, O.J.No.L230. p. I.

are too small and technical expertise in fuel chemistry not sufficiently developed to permit of proper control. The archetype of such an undertaking is the small garage with a furnace burning crankcase oils, referred to in the Commission's answer to a Parliamentary question last yearL Such burning produces atmospheric pollution, both in gaseous form and as dust, of a highly hazardous nature. The Commission has therefore proposed that Member States prohibit the burning of waste oils in plants of less than 1 mega. thermal output (with some exceptions) and shift the emphasis of the implementation of the Directive to stress the regeneration of the oils rather than their combustion.

0378-777X/85/$3.30 © 1985 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)