OECD Workshop on the Use of Best Available Technologies and Environmental Quality Objectives Paris, 9 - 11 May 1996

487 Pages·1999·2.973 MB·English

by  OECD

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Environmental permits have played a major role in improving
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100 government experts, regulators, permit writers, industry permit n – I n
holders and other private sector representatives from OECD I 1
Member and Observer countries in Europe, North America and the o l.
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Asia-Pacific region. Considering the wide range of policies,
practices and viewpoints discussed, the workshop represented a c
significant step toward a mutual international understanding of the
strengths and weaknesses of current environmental permitting
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approaches to environmental permitting in OECD countries. It o
presents the main features of the laws, regulations, policies and
practices governing the negotiation and delivery of industrial
permits in eighteen OECD Member countries, the European Union
and other international organisations.
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(97 1999 03 1 P) FF 580 -
ISBN 92-64-16193-7 99
ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
FOR INDUSTRIAL PERMITTING
Vol. 1
Approaches and Instruments
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960, and which came into force
on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shall promote
policies designed:
– to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in
Member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the
world economy;
– to contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as non-member countries in the process of
economic development; and
– to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non-discriminatory basis in accordance
with international obligations.
The original Member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany,
Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The following countries became Members subsequently
through accession at the dates indicated hereafter: Japan (28th April 1964), Finland (28th January 1969),
Australia (7th June 1971), New Zealand (29th May 1973), Mexico (18th May 1994), the Czech Republic
(21st December 1995), Hungary (7th May 1996), Poland (22nd November 1996) and Korea (12th Decem-
ber 1996). The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD (Article 13 of the
OECD Convention).
(cid:211) OECD 1999
Permission to reproduce a portion of this work for non-commercial purposes or classroom use should be obtained through the
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translate all or part of this book should be made to OECD Publications, 2, rue Andre´-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France.
FOREWORD
Permitting systems for industry are an integral part of environmental
regulations in OECD countries. By requiring facilities to operate in an
environmentally-sound manner, permits help prevent environmental pollution and
ensure that facility operators or enterprises adopt and pay for their own pollution
control measures. However, there still remain many opportunities to improve
permitting systems so that they can contribute more effectively to longer-term
objectives such as sustainable development and resource conservation.
In late 1993, the OECD Environment Directorate launched a Project on
Environmental Requirements for Industrial Permitting. The project involved three
distinct phases: (i) a survey of permitting legislation, regulations and practices in
OECD countries; (ii) the preparation of case studies of four industrial sectors
(pulp and paper, metal finishing, oil refining, and iron and steel); and (iii) an
international workshop on environmental permitting of industrial facilities which
was held in May 1996. The main objectives of the project were:
-- to increase international understanding of how different countries’
environmental requirements for industrial point sources were established and
applied;
-- to examine the combined use of best available technology (BAT)
requirements and environmental quality objectives (EQO) in setting permit
conditions for industrial sources; and
-- to develop policy recommendations for integrated and preventive approaches
in environmental permitting, including increased use of cleaner technologies.
The project publications come in three volumes covering each of these
phases. Volume 1 contains the policy study of the entire project. It attempts to
shed light on how current permitting strategies influence the choices of
technology and processes by permittees. In addition, the report suggests how
combinations of instruments may be applied to improve current approaches. The
study reaffirmed the critical importance of environmental permitting for
preventing and controlling pollution in the context of new strategies and tools for
improving the environmental performance, such as integrated approaches, life
cycle assessment, and the expanded use of economic instruments. Volume 2
contains the proceedings of the international workshop and the summaries of the
sectoral case studies, while Volume 3 presents the results of the survey on
regulatory approaches. Two of the sectoral case studies, i.e. those in the pulp and
paper, iron and steel sectors include detailed country profiles, and therefore are
published as separate OECD documents.
The report is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the
OECD.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The OECD would like to acknowledge the important assistance and support
provided by government officials and experts from OECD Member countries
during the preparation of this report. The project was also supervised by the
“BAT-EQO” Advisory Panel, which included Delegates to the Pollution
Prevention and Control Group from the following participating countries: Karel
de Brabander and Bruno de Kerckhove (Belgium), James Riordan (Canada),
Robert Droop and Jan Suurland (Netherlands), Antero Honkasalo (Finland), Horst
Mierheim (Germany), David Mottershead (United Kingdom), Rick Picardi
(United States), and Leopoldo Rubinacci (European Commission). Valuable input
was also obtained from experts participating in the OECD Workshop on
Environmental Requirements for Industrial Permitting held in Paris in May 1996.
The amount of information gathering, fact checking and updating necessary to
produce the survey and analysis of permitting approaches for these countries was
substantial, and a great number of specialists in Member country administrations
were instrumental in helping ensure that this was done in a thorough and accurate
manner.
The project publications were compiled and written in the Pollution
Prevention and Control Division of the Environment Directorate. The main
responsibility for this work rested with Alain Rajotte and Laurent Renevier under
the direction and editorial oversight of Rebecca Hanmer, former head of division,
and Peter Wiederkehr. Environment Canada, the Ministry of the Environment of
the Netherlands, and the Department of Environment of the United Kingdom,
respectively, were responsible for carrying out the case studies on the pulp and
paper, metal finishing, and oil refining sectors. Input, assistance and advice by
past and present colleagues in the Environment Directorate are also
acknowledged. Emily Neighbour, Freda O’Rourke and Lyndia Levasseur ably
provided editing and logistical assistance. Layout and preparation of the final
draft was provided by Blake Ferris, an independent consultant to the Environment
Directorate.
The report was revised and approved by the OECD’s Pollution Prevention and
Control Group.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................11
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................19
1.1 Background........................................................................................................................19
1.2 Objectives of the study.......................................................................................................20
1.3 Scope of the study..............................................................................................................22
1.4 Availability of information................................................................................................23
1.5 Structure of the report........................................................................................................23
Chapter 2: ROLE AND OBJECTIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING............25
2.1 Development of policy principles and strategies...............................................................25
2.1.1 Basic policy principles and approaches.............................................................................25
2.1.2 International environmental conventions...........................................................................28
2.2 Regulatory framework for environmental permitting........................................................33
2.2.1 The application procedure..................................................................................................37
2.2.2 Pollution limits and permit requirements...........................................................................39
Chapter 3: FACTORS AND TRENDS IN PERMITTING APPROACHES........................41
3.1 The debate over the use of BAT and EQOs.......................................................................41
3.2 The use of BAT criteria......................................................................................................43
3.3 The use of EQO criteria.....................................................................................................48
3.4 The combined use of BAT and EQO.................................................................................51
3.5 The incorporation of economic considerations..................................................................53
3.6 Integrated approaches to permitting: emerging trends.......................................................55
Chapter 4: RESULTS OF THE BAT-EQO CASE STUDIES IN FOUR
INDUSTRIAL SECTORS.....................................................................................59
4.1 Overview of the sectoral case studies................................................................................59
4.1.1 The pulp and paper sector..................................................................................................61
4.1.2 The metal finishing case study...........................................................................................64
4.1.3 The oil refining case study.................................................................................................66
4.1.4 The iron and steel sector....................................................................................................68
4.1.5 Findings from permit samples............................................................................................71
4.2 Evolution of permitting strategies: some examples...........................................................74
4.2.1 Gradually tightening BAT-based ELVs.............................................................................75
4.2.2 Local EQOs as an impetus for setting effluent limits........................................................76
4.2.3 Handling non-compliance issues and reinforcing environmental improvements..............77
4.2.4 Lessons learned..................................................................................................................79
4.3 Strengths and limitations of permitting approaches...........................................................81
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Chapter 5: KEY ISSUES FOR IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING........83
5.1 Increasing the effectiveness of permitting systems ...........................................................83
5.1.1 Improving permitting procedures.......................................................................................83
5.1.2 Improving the effectiveness of BAT and EQOs approaches.............................................85
5.1.3 Long-term goal setting.......................................................................................................85
5.2 Improving environmental cost accounting for industrial facilities....................................85
5.3 Extending the scope of integrated permitting systems ......................................................87
5.4 Fostering technological innovation....................................................................................87
5.5 The critical role of public involvement..............................................................................88
Chapter 6: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................................91
6.1 Objectives and achievements of the permitting process....................................................91
6.2 Strengthening the links with other policy instruments ......................................................93
6.3 The components of effective permitting policies...............................................................95
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................97
Publications list of the OECD Project
on Environmental Requirements for Industrial Permitting..........................................................99
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Major issues, policy responses and environmental results
in the Great Lakes region..............................................................................................29
Figure 2. Air pollution reductions achieved and forecast in OECD countries.............................30
Figure 3. Regulatory framework of environmental permitting in OECD countries....................32
Figure 4. Single-media and integrated permitting........................................................................33
Figure 5. Interaction of technology, economics, environmental and social policy factors..........42
Figure 6. Sequence of the combined use of EQS and BAT..........................................................52
Figure 7. Environmental protection through internalisation of externalities ...............................54
Figure 8. Extending integrated permitting approaches.................................................................57
Figure 9. Savings from recycling materials (iron) .......................................................................70
Figure 10. Decoupling of mill production and discharges
after application of BAT-based limits...........................................................................76
Figure 11. Decoupling of mill production and discharges under tight EQOs................................77
Figure 12. Achieving compliance through enforcement................................................................78
Figure 13. The environmental permitting cycle for industrial facilities ........................................82
Figure 14. Extending permitting.....................................................................................................92
Figure 15. Policy instruments for addressing material flows.........................................................94
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Regulatory approaches in the Baltic Sea and North Sea Conventions.........................27
Table 2. Relationship between policy principles,
regulatory approaches and technological response in OECD countries.......................31
Table 3. Criteria for facilities subject to permitting....................................................................35
Table 4. Legal status and determinants of permit conditions .....................................................37
Table 5. BAT criteria and ELVs in OECD countries..................................................................45
Table 6: Environmental Quality Objectives (EQOs) and standards (EQSs)
in OECD countries........................................................................................................49
Table 7. The industrial case studies: participating countries and permit samples......................60
Table 8. Permitting approaches in participating countries..........................................................73
LIST OF BOXES
Box 1. Elements of the application document for environmental permitting ..........................38
Box 2. The European Union’s
Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive ....................................56
Box 3. Relationships between regulation, science
and technological innovation in the pulp and paper sector...........................................62
Box 4. Small and medium-sized enterprises and the economic-ecological balance ................66
Box 5. Searching for flexibility and cost-efficiency in the oil refinery sector:
the air concentration “bubble concept”
as an integrated permitting tool in Belgium..................................................................68
Box 6. Pollution prevention and resource productivity
in the iron and steel industry: compatible objectives....................................................70
Box 7. Impact of permitting strategies and requirements
on pollution control and cleaner technologies..............................................................71
Box 8. Improving the performance of environmental permitting:
the United States’ experience........................................................................................84
Box 9. Main advantages of environmentally-oriented cost accounting systems......................86
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ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT
AOX: adsorbable organic halogens ISO 14000: the International
BAT: best available Organisation for
technology/techniques Standardisation’s (ISO)
voluntary environmental
BREF: BAT reference document
management scheme for
BATNEEC: best available techniques not industry
entailing excessive costs
IPC: Integrated Pollution Control
BDT: best demonstrated Act (the United Kingdom)
technology
IPPC: Integrated Pollution
BOD: biological oxygen demand Prevention and Control (EU
BOD7: biological oxygen demand Directive)
over 7 days LAAPC: Local Authority Air
BPEO: best practical environmental Pollution Control (the
option United Kingdom)
BPO: best practicable option LCA: life cycle assessment
CAA: Clean Air Act (USA) LRTAP: Convention on the Long-
Range Transboundary Air
CEPA: Canadian Environmental
Pollution
Protection Agency
NGO: non-governmental
COD: chemical oxygen demand
organisation
CWA: Clean Water Act (USA)
OSPARCOM: Oslo and Paris Commission
EAF: electric arc furnace
for the Protection of the
EIA: environmental impact North Sea and the North
assessment East Atlantic
ELV: emission limit value PAH: polycyclic aromatic
EMAS: ecomanagement and audit hydrocarbons
scheme adopted by EU PM10: particulate matter of 10
Council; requires specific micron size
reporting
PRTR: pollutant release and
EMS: environmental management transfer registers
systems
RCRA: U.S. Resource Conservation
EPA: U. S. Environmental and Recovery Act
Protection Agency
SMEs: small and medium-sized
EPR: extended producer/product enterprises
responsibility
SS: suspended solids
EQO: environmental quality
TA Luft: Technical Instruction on Air
objective
Pollution Control in
EQS: environmental quality Germany
standard
TSP: total suspended
EU: European Union particles/particulates
HAPs: hazardous air pollutants UNEP: United Nations
HELCOM: Helsinki Commission on the Environmental Programme
Protection of the Baltic Sea UNIDO: United Nations Industrial
IJC: International Joint Development Organisation
Commission on the Great US EPA: United States
Lakes Environmental Protection
ICPR: International Commission Agency
for the Protection of the VLAREM I & II:Flemish Implementation
River Rhine Decree (I & II) on
Environmental Protection
VA: voluntary agreement
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