The merged IMPEL projects on the implementation of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) and Best Available Techniques (BAT) in cement industry held their first meetings in Logroño, Spain, and Vienna, Austria in March. The structure and work programme of the ongoing cooperation with the IMPEL “Doing the right things in permitting and inspections” project (DTRT) were also topics of the meetings.
Priorities for 2018
In December 2017 the IMPEL General Assembly in Tallinn, Estonia, decided to merge the two projects “Mutual joint visits of industry inspectors and regulators to achieve a level playing field implementation of the IED” and “Workshop on the use of BAT-Conclusions in the cement production industry” of the Industry and Air Expert Team and that the cooperation with the project “Doing the right things” of the Cross Cutting Expert Team should continue.
This year’s priorities for the coordinated actions include:
- a joint IED inspection programme
- the development of training material together with DTRT project
- first trainings on IED implementation
- advancement of the guidance on waste water inspection under IED
- application of BAT in the permitting process, and
- the implementation of the new BAT conclusions for the cement industry in permitting and inspection.
Joint inspections on industrial emissions provisions
The meeting in Logroño, Spain, held from 13-15 March gathered more than 30 regulators from 22 countries. This is a clear indicator that there is need for exchange on topics between the European competent authorities with responsibility for IED implementation.
Ahead of this meeting, four inspectors from Belgium, Estonia, Portugal and Turkey joined an inspection of a waste oil treatment plant in La Rioja, Spain. Further mutual joined inspections are planned for the meetings in Scotland and Austria (cement industry).
Capacity building through mutual joint inspections is a cornerstone of industrial environmental compliance assurance. It is therefor intended to develop an “Exchange of Inspectors Programme” with own budget for joint inspections of installations falling under: steel production, refining of crude oil, waste processing, energy production, aluminium production, rearing of pigs, feed production and chemical industry. During these inspections inspectors from the host country are joined by inspectors from IMPEL member countries to exchange expert views and learn from each other. The results are then compiled and used to improve the inspections.
Inter-active handbook and training on the IED
In the last three years the common understanding of problems and solutions of IED implementation within the project group has grown intensely. Guidance and good practice examples that have already been developed in the first years of the project and from other projects, will be put into a form that is useful for training of permit writers and inspectors. Based on this, fact sheets will be developed for an internet application on guidance for permitting and inspection together with the DTRT project. A package of training material will be compiled and put on the internet for direct use of competent authorities. A first face to face training session will already start in 2018 and shall be organised like the IRAM trainings which had been carried out several times per year since 2012 in IMPEL member countries.
Preparations workshop BAT in cement industry
The decision of March 26th, 2013 establishing the best available techniques (BAT) conclusions under Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions for the production of cement, lime and magnesium oxide has led to intensive discussions between authorities and operators of clinker and cement producers in several countries in Europe. IMPEL is planning of workshop on this matter on the 4th and 5th of October 2018 in Austria. The workshop is open for competent persons coming from the permitting authority as well as inspectorates.
The goals of the workshop are to:
- facilitate experience and information exchange
- share best practice examples (procedures, preparation) for updating permits
- present new trends in cement & clinker manufacturing, emission monitoring and emission trends
- discuss the use of waste (as a substitute for conventional fuels and as secondary raw material)
- discuss the performance of environmental inspections
The IMPEL team preparing this workshop, developed a questionnaire on this matter. Members from Finland, Romania, Spain, UK and Austria had fruitful discussions concerning the state of the art and the environmental requirements for the cement industry in the EU. Based on a draft questionnaire prepared by Austria, the team created a list of questions, which should be answered by competent persons from the permitting part and the inspection part.