The IPPC Directive
and its implementation
Alexandre Paquot
European Commission
Environment Directorate-General
Phare Capacity building New MS – Prague workshop
11 April 2005
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1- Key elements of the IPPC Directive
2- Key transposition and implementation
issues
3 - Next steps
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Purpose of IPPC
IPPC is about permitting !!
Both industry operators and authorities
should take an integrated look at the
overall environmental impacts of the
installation before making decisions on
how it should be operated
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IPPC: Environmental scope
emissions
to air
emissions
to water
prevention
and control
of accidents
noise
emissions
to land
waste prevention
and recovery
vibration
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heat
energy
efficiency
odour
Key provisions of the Directive



integrated permitting procedure
Emission Limit Values based on Best
Available Techniques (BAT)
exchange of information on BAT and
associated monitoring

transboundary polluting effects

public access to information (eg EPER)

possible Community emission limit values
(incineration and large combustion plants)
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Future milestones
Adoption of
IPPC Communication
MS implementation reports
to be submitted
Jan 2003 June 2003 Sep 2003
May 2004
Enlargement
Commission reports
on implementation of
Directive
June 2004
Jan 2005
Amendment
allowing greenhouse gas
emission trading
comes in effect
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Sep 2006
June 2005
Dec 2005
Amendment
strengthening
public participation comes
in effect
June 2007
Oct 2007
First
edition of
all BREFs
should be
ready
Latest compliance date
for existing
installations
BAT
best
available
techniques
most effective
in achieving a
high general
level of
protection of
the
environment
as a whole
developed on a scale to
be implemented in the
relevant industrial
sector, under
economically and
technically viable
conditions, advantages
balanced against costs
the technology
used and the
way the
installation is
designed, built,
maintained,
operated and
decommissioned
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IPPC and BAT



BAT is a dynamic concept
Integrated approach and BAT definition
imply trade-off decisions
Member States and their competent
authorities are ultimately responsible for
these decisions
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From BREF to Permit
condition

BAT (in BREFs)
Descriptive
+

Local considerations
according to Article 9(4)
MS right to choose how

BAT-based permit or
General Binding
Rules
Legally binding
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BAT Information Exchange

required by Directive (Art 16 paragraph 2)

purpose to support licensing authorities



published BAT Reference Documents (BREFs) for each
sector
BREFs should be taken into account by the licensing
authorities
21 BREFs finalised / 32 in total to be finalised around
the end of 2005
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State of transposition



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Delays for transposition in EU 15
1st Court Case against Austria for
incomplete transposition
Infringement procedures against 5 MS (FR,
DE, NL, DK, LUX) – more to follow
Difficulties in MS with pre-existing
permitting procedure
On-going study of conformity check in new
MS
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State of implementation
• Establishment of
integrated permitting
systems
• Progress needed to meet
full implementation by 30
October 2007
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Number of IPPC permits (EU15)
Number permits (2002)
Permits "substantial" change
4750
Existing installations (permits?)
43943
Permits new installations
795
0
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10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
Number of IPPC permits per MS
(2002)
10000
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
LU
EL
AT
IE
PT
FI
SE
Existing installations (permits?)
Permits new installations
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DK
BE
NL
ES
FR
UK
DE
Permits "substantial change"
IT
Quality of permits ?


In 80 installations under EPER, a particular
installation represents 10% of emissions of
a particular pollutant !!!
DG ENV to check compliance in a sample of
permits (study in 20 installations in 2005)
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Other implementation issues
• Determination of permit
conditions based on BAT –
use of the BREFs?
• Monitoring and reporting of
emissions - information of the
public
• Regular reconsideration and
review of permits
• Inspection
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How to support implementation?
• BREFs
• future EU guidelines
on list of activities and
term “installation”
• IMPEL (exchange of
information – best
practice)
• Capacity building and
dissemination strategies
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IPPC Review in 2006

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No radical changes to be proposed in short
term
Thematic strategies (air, soil, waste) and other
EU policies (dioxins)
Technical review (clarification of scope,
possible scope extension eg ‘aquaculture’,
other issues)
Assessment of possible streamlining of
existing legislation on industrial emissions and
possible NOx, SO2 emission trading schemes
Incentives to go beyond regulatory compliance
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Concluding remarks on the IPPC
Directive



Flexible, goal-setting legislation =
opportunity for environment + industry
Heavily dependent on “good faith” (on
behalf of industry operators and authorities)
Complements other instruments (EQS-based,
voluntary / market-based, economic
instruments)

High level of protection of the environment

Real challenge for existing and new MS !
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More information?
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/ippc
/index.htm
http://eippcb.jrc.es/
Commission / Germany IPPC conference : 2022 September 2005 (Dresden)
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