Transitional National Plan derogations for Large Combustion Plants under the Industrial Emissions Directive: EEB legal challenge
Christian Schaible
elni Review 2014, Issue 1, pp. 13-19. https://doi.org/10.46850/elni.2014.002
The Industrial Emissions Directive (IPPC Recast) 2010/75/EU of 24 November 2010 has the objective to “lay down rules designed to prevent, or where this is not practicable, to reduce emissions into air, water and land and to prevent the generation of waste, in order to achieve a high level of protection of the environment taken as a whole.” (Article 1) setting out the so-called “integrated approach” to prevent negative impacts on all environmental media due to a certain industrial activity.
This article illuminates shortcomings of the Industrial Emissions Directive as regards transparency in the elaboration and evaluation of certain derogations for large combustion plants. The focus lies on an EEB action concerning a Greek derogation approval decision of the European Commission, which the NGO has since contested before the General Court on 18 June 2014.
References
- Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC), codified to Directive 2008/1/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008concerning integrated pollution prevention and control, OJ 2008 L 24/8.
- Commission implementing decision 2012/119/EU of 10 February 2012 laying down rules concerning guidance on the collection of data and on the drawing up of BAT reference documents and on their quality assurance referred to in Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on industrial emissions, OJ 2012 L 63/1.
- Directive 2001/80/EC of 23 October 2001 on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants, OJ 2001 L 309/1.
- Commission Decision 2013/687/EU of 26 November 2013 on the notification by the Hellenic Republic of a transitional national plan referred to in Article 32 of the IED, OJ 2013 L 317/35.
- Commission implementing decision 2012/115/EU of 10 February 2012 laying down rules concerning the transitional national plans referred to in Directive 2010/75/EU, OJ 2012 L 52/12.
- EEA technical report no 7/2013 ‘Reducing air pollution from electricity generating LCPs in the EU’.
- Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision- making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions and bodies, OJ 2006 L264/13.
- Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, done at Aarhus, Denmark, on 25 June 1998.
- Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment, OJ2001 L 197/30.