The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive and its implications for the environment and industrial activities in Europe

The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive has been for the first time published in 1996 (Council Directive 96/61/EC). It was amended in 2008 and now it has been replaced by the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) n.75/2010. The IPPC Directive represents one of the main important policy tool of European Union to manage the emissions of industrial activities and to achieve a higher level of protection of environment as a whole. The Directive asks to the Competent Authorities to issue an unique permit for the industrial installations where are included limits, monitoring frequencies and operational requirements referred to all environmental aspects (water emissions, air emissions, soil, etc.) In literature we can find several studies about policies assessment. In this framework we can observe that not so many authors have studied the IPPC Directive. In addition the papers related to the assessment of the IPPC Directive are referred mainly to discuss about the effectiveness of the Directive in the implementation of Best Available Techniques (BAT) and the improvement of environmental performance of the companies in the scope of the Directive. Besides the few papers or technical reports focused on the implementation of the IPPC Directive from a legislative and administrative perspective have never studied in depth the contents of the issued permits. The objective of our paper is to bridge this gap presenting the results of an empirical research carried out by the authors in the framework of an European project named MED IPPC NET. The authors investigated 62 IPPC permits of landfill sector issued in seven European Regions: Andalusia and Valencia (Spain), Tuscany, Piedmont and Sicily (Italy), West Macedonia (Greece) and Slovenia. The research aimed to identify the differences in the Emissions Limit Values, monitoring frequencies, operational requirements imposed to installations of the same sector but with permits issued in different Competent Authorities. The results demonstrate relevant disparities not always justifiable by the flexibility given by the Directive to the Member States and Competent Authorities to implement the Directive.

The European Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive 96/61/EC aims to introduce a European-wide system of integrated prevention and control of pollution in order to secure a high level of protection to the environment as a whole. It places obligations on the Member States (MS) to introduce controls that ensure operators comply with the Directive. In this framework, as a part of the implementation process leading to formal accession of Cyprus to the European Union, the National Technical University of Athens has examined all documents related to the Best Available Techniques (BATs) published by Institutes and Organisations, such as the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies in Spain, the Environmental Protection Agency in Ireland, the World Bank Group and the Ministry for the Environment, Planning and Public Works in Greece. A series of guidelines were developed for the application of BATs for 14 categories of the Cypriot industry that fall into the IPPC Directive. The concept of BATs plays a central role in the Directive because it provides a basis for setting Emission Limit Values (ELVs) as well as the principal benchmark for determining the obligations of industrial operators in respect of pollution prevention and control. This paper presents the guidelines for cement manufacture in Cyprus.

Integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC)

Integrated environmental permit through Best Available Techniques: evaluation of the fish and seafood canning industry

Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC)

Integrated pollution prevention and control—the Finnish approach

The principles introduced by the Directive Concerning Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) (currently known as the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU)) are innovative and have raised interests in the framework of the literature debate on environmental regulation. Many articles describe and analyze the application of the Directive in European countries, but only a few articles focus on how the interest for the Directive’s principles, including the integrated approach, have reached countries outside the European Union. This paper aims to contribute to this topic, describing the experience of the authors in carrying out an EU-funded project on transferring the IPPC approach and Best Available Techniques (BAT) concepts to three Arab countries, i.e., Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. The paper presents the experience referring to two sectors falling within the scope of the IPPC Directive: the textile and dairy sector. The objectives, methodologies, activities and experiences are described and can be used and valorized to integrate the IPPC approach and BAT concepts in the current environmental legislation of the three countries.

This paper describes how Directive 96/61/CE -- Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) has introduced the principle of pollution prevention and control by using the Best Available Techniques (BAT). The necessity to revamp the plants according to the highest European standards is also discussed. The definition and identification of what can be considered the BAT for an existing plant is a very complex and difficult process. In order to identify environmentally critical aspects and impacts a detailed plant and process performance analysis is needed; a complete benchmarking with European and BREF performances is also needed. TRR in order to meet these requirements has developed a methodology that has been tested on several Italian plants in IPPC authorization request: Pollution Reduction Analysis (PRA). PRA will be described in this paper, showing some application examples. The PRA is a detailed process and emission parameter analysis allows one to pinpoint the instruments to meet the emission targets defined by BAT, choosing between the different alternative technologies proposed. The analysis allows one to pinpoint deviations/anomalies, causes and technical interventions that can produce useful results for the environment, for consumption reduction and an optimization of the resources used.

Determination of ‘Best Available Techniques’ for Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control: A Life Cycle Approach

IPPC, BAT, and voluntary agreements

In the present study, several water recovery and end-of-pipe wastewater treatment alternatives were evaluated towards the evaluation of Best Available Techniques (BATs) for the management of wastewaters from a denim textile mill in accordance with the European Union's Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive. For this purpose, an assessment that translates the key environmental aspects into a quantitative measure of environmental performance and also financial analysis was performed for each of the alternatives. The alternatives considered for water recovery from dyeing wastewaters were nanofiltration (NF) with coagulation and/or microfiltration (MF) pre-treatment, ozonation or peroxone and Fenton oxidation. On the other hand, for the end-of-pipe treatment of the mill's mixed wastewater, ozonation, Fenton oxidation, membrane bioreactor (MBR) and activated sludge (AS) process followed by membrane filtration technologies were evaluated. The results have indicated that membrane filtration process with the least environmental impacts is the BAT for water recovery. On the other side, MBR technology has appeared as the BAT for the end-of-pipe treatment of the mill's mixed wastewater. A technical and financial comparison of these two BAT alternatives revealed that water recovery via membrane filtration from dyeing wastewaters is selected as the BAT for the water and wastewater management in the mill.

European directive 96/61/CE concerning integrated pollution prevention and control was completely received in Italy at the beginning of 2005 by D.Lgs. 59/2005. The contents of the directive are now widely applied within the authorization procedure of many industrial activities in Italy, such as pulp and paper production, cement factories, foundries, chemical installations and so on. The hardest decision that competent authorities have to take within the procedure relates to the definition of the emission limit values; these limit values and the equivalent parameters and technical measures shall be based on the so-called “best available techniques (B.A.T.)”. The directive 96/61/CE, art. 9, says that the emission limit values should be decided “taking into account the technical characteristics of the installation concerned, its geographical location and the local environmental conditions. In all circumstances, the conditions of the permit shall contain provisions on the minimization of long-distance or transboundary pollution and ensure a high level of protection for the environment as a whole.” In the present paper we try to define the proper emission limit values for nitrogen oxides emitted by a cement factory in Italy by comparing the costs of the techniques applied to control emissions with the environmental benefit arising from the reduction of the emissions. The assessment of the external costs associated to the impact of pollutants deriving from cement production has been carried out by using the ExternE approach, a research program of the European Commission based on atmospheric dispersion modelling, exposure-response functions and monetary valuations. On the other hand, the costs of the abatement technologies are assessed on the basis of the investment and operating costs reported for the cement industry.

By nature, oil and gas operations are sensitive to Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) requirements. Within the Norwegian Continental Self (NCS), it is mandatory to implement the Best Available Techniques (BAT) guidelines as required in the European Union’s Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) directive. The directive provides guidelines for selecting BAT in industrial activities while protecting the environment as a whole. One of the major challenges for an oil and gas operator is to satisfy the guidelines while confirming fitness for purpose with respect to the different technologies applied. Hence, the concept of technique qualification is paramount to reveal opportunities to improve system design, to minimize schedule risk and to reduce cost risks during operations by reducing uncertainties and increasing reliability. In this paper, we are concerned with the process of selecting a technique for supplying power from shore to an offshore unit. This paper discusses how we can give priorities to HSE concerns, while also satisfying financial objectives, in the context of implementing the BAT guidelines. The analysis aims to qualify the technique as a whole, considering the capability of satisfying the underlying objective of controlling environmental pollution.

The paper examines how the concept of ‘excessive costs’ has been interpreted in the implementation of industrial pollution control in the UK. Since 1984, industrial air pollution regulation in the EU has been guided by the framework concept of Best Available Technology Not Entailing Excessive Costs (BATNEEC). With the introduction of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive in 1996, this has been replaced by the concept of Best Available Techniques (BAT). Despite the absence of the NEEC qualification, IPPC BAT includes excessive costs in its definition of ‘available’. Both concepts require interpretation and both devolve potentially controversial decisions to the level of the individual site regulator. A central issue in interpreting ‘excessive costs’ is the relative importance of environmental cost–benefit analysis versus the ability of a sector to ‘afford’ environmental improvements. Also important is how such concepts can be operationalized by regulators who lack resources and depend upon industry for information. The paper provides a historical account of how these issues have been dealt with in the UK and argues that the key difficulties are far from being resolved. The paper concludes by assessing the implications for the future implementation of IPPC. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In order to reach an adequate level of environmental protection, the European Union has defined a set of common rules, in the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) directive, based on Best Available Techniques (BAT) for many pollutant installations. However, there is a problem: the IPPC does not suggest a way to meet BAT requirements for individual industrial units. Therefore, this paper presents the development of our environmental performance assessment methodology in order to transpose and facilitate the implementation of the IPPC directive locally. The approach offers a method to verify overall if an industrial installation conforms with BAT. This methodology is participatory and created with the advice of both industrial (from the metal finishing sector) and governmental (local, regional and national) representatives. This cognitive aid is designed to be updatable to deal with future regulatory and technical change. The participative approach plans to establish a decision support tool that is user friendly, effective and representative of the context involved. Finally, the case study is ongoing in the metal finishing sector.