Last update: 20/11/2007

IPPC in the European Union

EUROPEAN IPPC BUREAU IN BRUSSELS

The European Union’s Directorate-General for the Environment is responsible for all administrative acts implementing the IPPC Directive (Directive no. 96/61/EC). The Directorate-General for the Environment also coordinates a discussion group composed of experts of the Union’s member States called IPPC Expert Group.

EUROPEAN IPPC BUREAU IN SEVILLE

All industrial plants falling under Attachment I of the IPPC Directive must be authorized by October, 2007 and therefore new emission limit values need to be fixed for each plant. These are based on the identification of technological and managerial standards which respond to the use of Best Available Techniques (BAT).
When Best Available Techniques are evaluated the reference criteria that need to be taken into consideration, either generally or for specific cases, as well as the probable costs and benefits and the principles of precaution and prevention, are very general. For a more effective application their technical, economic and procedural aspects would need to be further deepened and a hierarchical approach would need to be developed, especially for more complex cases.
For this reason, to encourage exchange of information, the European Union has provided to improve the IPPC Directive implementation creating a specific office, which operates at the Community’s research centre of Seville. This office coordinates a series of technical groups, to which Italian delegates participate under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and Land Protection. These are in charge of preparing reference documents for the identification of Best Available Techniques, the so-called BAT reference documents (BRefs). The institutional reference for the establishment of the IPPC office is mentioned in paragraph 2, Article 16 (exchange of information) of the same Directive, which says:
"… The Commission organizes the exchange of information between member States and industries concerned on the Best Available Techniques, the relative control regulations and the relative developments. Every three years, the Commission publishes the exchange of information results…"
Legislative Decree no. 372/99 provides a better description of the national application of the exchange of information principle in paragraph 4 of Article 11, which says: "… The Ministry of Environment, in agreement with the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Handicraft, the Ministry of Health and the Permanent Conference for relations between the State, Regions and autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano, even making use of the Commission as per Article 3, paragraph 2, provides to ensure Italy’s participation in the exchange of information organized by the European Commission as regards Best Available Techniques and their development. This includes providing the relative control regulations and access to exchange of information results…"

THE IMPEL COMMUNITY NETWORK

The IMPEL (Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law) is a network of environmental administrations and agencies of member States that operates within the European Union. This network operates for projects described on the IMPEL web site and has produced several documents of interest for the IPPC Directive implementation.