Requirements have been approved for creating a system of automatic control of emissions/discharges of pollutants

Pepeliaev Group advises that in March 2019 the Russian Government has adopted a number of regulatory instruments setting the requirements for creating a system of automatic control and requirements for equipment and for technical tools to measure, record, document and transfer the information about emissions/discharges.

Please be reminded that on 1 January 2019 article 67(9) of the Law on Environmental Protection[1] came into force. This obliges enterprises operating facilities of category I to equip stationary sources of emissions and discharges of pollutants accumulating on certain types of equipment[2] with automatic tools to measure and record the indicators of emissions and discharges of pollutants as well as technical tools to document and transfer information about the indicators of emissions and discharges of pollutants to the state register of facilities having an adverse effect on the environment.

Directive No. 428-r of the Russian Government dated 13 March 2019

The types of technical tools, equipment or the aggregate of them (units) have been approved at facilities of category I whose stationary sources of emissions and/or discharges of pollutants are to be equipped with automatic tools to measure and record the indicators of emissions and/or discharges of pollutants as well as with technical tools to document and transfer information about the indicators of the emissions (section I) and/or discharges (section II) of pollutants (the document came into force on 13 March 2019).

• Section I contains 22 items, including: gas treatment units and outlet gas incinerators used in the production of coke, oil and natural gas processing; sulphur and sulphuric acid recovery units used in the manufacturing of oil products; units for burning and agglomerating iron ore and non-ferrous metal ores; units to produce cast iron and steel, nickel, copper and aluminium as well as ceramic products; furnaces to produce glass, cement clinker and lime; units used at enterprises of organic and inorganic chemicals; units, drier drums and granulating mills used in the production of mineral fertilizers; units to produce cellulose and wood pulp, paper and cardboard; boilers to burn sour gas in the production of cellulose and paper; and units to burn waste of different hazard classes and biological and medical waste[3].
• Section II contains only one item: effluent discharge outlets, including deep-water outlets into bodies of water, except for effluent discharge outlets for the water accumulating at facilities at which activity is carried out that relates only to the production of coke, crude oil and/or natural gas, the processing of natural gas, production and concentration of iron ores, supply of electric energy, gas and vapour, production of pharmaceutical substances, and processing of surfaces, items or products.

Resolution No. 262 of the Russian Government dated 13 March 2019

The Rules have been approved for creating and operating the system of automatic control of emissions and/or discharges of pollutants (the document came into force on 23 March 2019) that provide for the following.

• The system is created on the basis of the relevant programme.
• A stationary source of emissions/discharges is included in the Programme if:
• the emissions contain one of the 9 pollutants listed in clause 8 of the Rules and the mass emission of such a pollutant exceeds the values set out in the Rules;
• the discharge of the sewage runoff is over 15% of the total amount of the sewage runoff from facilities of category I;
• tools and methods are available to measure the concentration of pollutants under the conditions when stationary sources of emissions/discharges are operated.
• The system of automatic control is accepted into service directly at the operation facility in the presence of the representatives of the local office of the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources.
• The total duration of breaks in the operation of the system of automatic control related to technical repair, servicing and checking must not exceed 28 calendar days a year. The duration of the total shutdown of technical equipment (a stationary source of emissions/discharges) is not taken into account when the duration of the breaks in the operation of the system is calculated.
• In the case of a shutdown of automatic measuring tools or a shutdown of the principal technological equipment, the system of automatic control should ensure that the results of the measurement and recording of the emission/discharge indicators are saved and that the time and date are registered when the automatic measuring tools and the principal technological equipment shut down and when they return to operation.

Resolution No. 263 of the Russian Government dated 13 March 2019

The requirements have been determined for the automatic tools to measure and record the indicators of emissions and/or discharges of pollutants and for the technical tools to document and transfer information about the indicators of emissions and/or discharges of pollutants (the document came into force starting from 23 March 2019), specifically:

• automatic tools to measure emissions must ensure the measuring and recording of:
• the concentration of pollutants in mg/m³;
• the volume flow rate of exit gas in m³/h;
• the pressure of the exit gas in kPa;
• the temperature of the exit gas in °C;
• the percentage of oxygen in the exit gas (if needed);
• the percentage of moisture in the exit gas (if needed).
• automatic tools to measure discharges must ensure the measuring and recording of:
• the concentration of pollutants in mg/m³;
• the volume flow rate of discharged sewage runoffs in m³/h;
• the temperature of discharged sewage runoffs in °C;
• the hydrogen ion exponent of discharged sewage runoffs in pH;
• chemical oxygen consumption amounts in mg/dm³;
• opacity;
• automatic measuring tools (for both emissions and discharges) must:
• ensure that information about the results of the measuring of emissions (average values for every 20 or 30 minutes) and the results of the measuring of discharges (average values for every 2 or 3 hours) is transferred to the technical documenting tools;
• remain functional and ensure the integrity of data in the case of a failure in the power supply system, emergency situations and accidents as well as in the case of a failure in the technological process;
• technical tools to document and transfer to the state register of facilities having an adverse effect on the environment, information on the indicators of emissions and/or discharges of pollutants include:
• software and technical devices of a legal entity or of an individual entrepreneur;
• the software tools of the register;
• the technical tools to document and transfer information must ensure:
• the acceptance of the information received from the automatic measuring tools;
• the transfer of the information about the results of the measuring of emissions (average values for every 20 or 30 minutes) and the results of the measuring of discharges (average values for every 2 or 3 hours);
• the storage for at least a year of the information accepted from and transferred to the register when the supply of energy from the external sources is changed;
• the saving of the transferred information and registration of the time and date when the automatic measuring tools shut down and return to operation in the case of a shutdown;
• identification and authorisation in the register of production facilities and of each specific source of emissions and discharges of pollutants;
• the validity of the information accepted and transferred and prevention of distortion of such information;
• the software tools of the register must perform the acceptance into the register and the recording of the information obtained from the automatic measuring tools and must store such information for at least 7 years.

The consequences of the regulation

From the moment when Federal Law No. 219-FZ[4] dated 21 July 2014 was adopted which adds clause 9 regarding the creation of the system of automatic control of emissions/discharges of pollutants to article 67 of the Law on Environmental Protection, enterprises operating facilities of category 1 have been in a state of uncertainty, since article 67(9) of the Law on Environmental Protection does not allow the list of persons to be accurately determined who must create a system of automatic control of emissions/discharges because it contains reference provisions.

The adopted items of legislation make things clearer by determining the conditions under which an enterprise operating facilities of category I becomes obliged to equip the stationary sources of emissions/discharges with relevant equipment and technical tools:

1. the equipment must be on the special list;

2. the value of the mass emission is exceeded with regard to at least one substance from the list provided in the Rules for creating and operating the systems of automatic control of emissions of pollutants and discharges of pollutants, or the amount of discharges exceeds 15% of the total amount of sewage runoff discharged from facilities of category I;

3. tools and methods are available to measure the concentration of pollutants under the conditions when stationary sources of emissions/discharges are operated.

Such conditions in the aggregate significantly limit the list of persons obliged to create a system of automatic control of emissions/discharges.

What to think about and what to do

We suggest that all persons concerned should analyse the provisions of the items of legislation adopted by the Russian Government and, if the operated equipment is in line with the set requirements, start preparing to create a system of automatic control. The timeframes for creating such system are set out in article 67(9)(4) of the Law on Environmental Protection:

• for major enterprises included in the special list[5], no later than the end of 2026;
• for other enterprises, if the above obligation applies to them, no later than 1 January 2029.

Help from your adviser

Pepeliaev Group lawyers are ready to help you to gain an understanding of the new regulatory rules, to advise you on issues relating to the changes in environmental legislation and to assist you in liaising with the controlling authorities in the case of a dispute.