Rules for developing technological standards are approved
Pepeliaev Group advises that on 15 April 2019 the Rules for developing technological standards relating to emissions/discharges of pollutants take effect. They are approved by the Russian Government's Resolution No. 89 dated 14 February 2019.
We remind that on 1 January 2019 new rules regulating negative environmental impact (the “NEI”) [1] came into force. According to them legal entities and individual entrepreneurs conducting economic and/or other activities at facilities of category I[2] are charged with an obligation[3] to develop technological standards as a part of an application for a comprehensive environmental permit (the “CEP”) [4].
The rules for developing technological standards provide for the following.
The technological standards are developed:
- for facilities that have an adverse impact (the “AIF”) or parts of them (the “technological standardisation facilities”);
- for facilities where technological processes are implemented/planned to be implemented, equipment is used, techniques and methods for manufacturing products or performing works or services are applied that are described in the information and technical reference guides on the best available techniques (the “BAT Reference Guides”);
- with regard to pollutants for which technological indicators of the BAT are determined (“marker substances”).
The calculation of technological standards should involve:
- identifying technological standardisation facilities and marker substances based on technical documents[5] being analysed and they being compared with the BAT Reference Guides, and a list should be compiled of 1) the technological standardisation facilities which have been identified and 2) the marker substances[6];
- determining technological indicators for emissions/discharges of marker substances for each technological standardisation facility to assess whether they conform to technological indicators of the BAT, including
- determining indicators for emissions/discharges of marker substances for each stationary source of emissions or each discharge of waste water within the technological standardisation facility, by using:
2) details of the emission/discharge inventory,
3) results of the industrial environmental control (the “IEC”);
- calculating annual gross emissions and annual weight of discharges of each marker substance for the technological standardisation facility: as a total of weights of the marker substance emitted from all the stationary sources/ a total of weights of the marker substance discharged as a part of all waste water discharges, or by applying the material balance method[7], which is used in case of the emission/discharge of pollutants after they have been collected from several sources;
- estimating an annual output of products as an indicator of the maximum output of products per year for several years (not more than five) preceding the year in which the technological standards are calculated;
- calculating relative weights of emissions/discharges of each marker substance per unit of products manufactured by dividing annual gross emissions/annual weight of discharges of each marker substance by the annual output of products;
- determining the technological standards, in this case the value of the technological standards for emissions/discharges of the marker value:
1) is taken as equal to relative weights of emissions/discharges of this substance;
2) is determined by multiplying the technological indicator for the emissions/discharges by the annual output of products, if the technological indicator for the emissions/discharges of the marker substance is less than or equal to the BAT indicator;
3) is determined by multiplying the BAT indicator by the annual output of products, if the technological indicator for the emissions/discharges of the marker substance is above the BAT indicator.
- if the BAT technological indicators for emissions/discharges are determined as concentrations of marker substances, the technological indicators and the technological standards are established in the following manner:
- the highest concentration value of this substance in emissions/discharges of the technological standardisation facility is taken as the technological indicator, such emissions/discharges being determined by using
2) details of the emission/discharge inventory,
3) the IEC results;
- if the technological indicator is less than or equal to the BAT indicator, the value of the technological standard for this substance (tons per year) is determined by multiplying the relative weight of emissions/discharges of this substance by the annual output of products;
- if the technological indicator is above the BAT indicator, the value of the technological standard for this substance (tons per year) is determined by multiplying the BAT technological indicator by the annual volume of the gas mixture or the annual waste water discharge determined according to the programme for increasing environmental efficiency.
For technological standardisation facilities that are planned to be commissioned, technological indicators for emissions/discharges of marker substances may not exceed the BAT technological indicators[8], and the annual values of the technological standards for each marker substance (tons per year) are determined as follows:
- if the BAT technological indicators are established as relative weights of emissions/discharges of marker substances per unit of products manufactured:
1) the value of the technological indicators is taken as equal to the relative weights of emissions/discharges of this substance;
2) the value is determined by multiplying the technological indicator for the emissions/discharges by an annual output of products, if the technological indicator is less than or equal to the BAT indicator;
- if the BAT technological indicators are established as concentrations of marker substances:
- the highest concentration value of this substance in emissions/discharges of the technological standardisation facility is taken as the technological indicator, such emissions/discharges being determined by using
2) details of the emission/discharge inventory,
3) the IEC results;
- if the technological indicator for emissions/discharges of the marker substance is less than or equal to the BAT indicator, the value of the technological standard (tons per year) is determined by multiplying the relative weight of emissions/discharges of this substance by the annual output of products.
Results of determining the above indicators for each technological standardisation facility are drawn up as tables.[9]
Technological standards for each marker substance for an AIF are determined as the total of technological standards of all technological standardisation facilities within the AIF.
Technological standards are revised after they have expired or when the CEP is updated.[10]
The annex to the calculations of technological standards may include data and documents supporting the calculations.[11]
What to think about and what to do
It is advisable that all the parties concerned analyse provisions of the Rules for developing technological standards because the deadlines, which the law[12] has set for obtaining the CEP, are drawing near:
- the largest enterprises included on the special list[13] are to file an application to obtain the CEP before the end of 2022;
- other enterprises of category I are to obtain the CEP on or before 1 January 2025.
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.
[1] Federal Law No. 219-FZ dated 21 July 2014 introduced amendments into Federal Law No. 7-FZ "On environmental protection" dated 10 January 2002 (the “Law on Environmental Protection”), under which the NEI is standardised subject to the NEI level of a facility.
[2] Criteria for classifying facilities that have an adverse effect on the environment as facilities of categories I, II, III and IV were approved by Resolution No. 1029 of the Russian Government dated 28 September 2015.
[3] And a right to develop them is introduced for parties that operate facilities of category II to obtain the CEP if there exist relevant information and technical reference guides on the best available techniques in the industry.
[4] Articles 23 and 31.1 of Federal Law No. 7-FZ “On environmental protection” dated 10 January 2002.
[5] Documents prescribing technological operations being implemented including design (engineering) documents, standard operating procedures, maintenance manuals (instructions), layouts, specifications and other operating documents for the existing facilities or design documents for the construction or reconstruction of a capital structure in case of facilities that are planned to be commissioned.
[6] With regard to which technological standards will be calculated for each technological standardisation facility and AIF.
[7] The material balance method is described in Reference Guide 22.1-2016 “General principles of the industrial environmental control and its metrological support” (available on the website of the Russian Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology known as Rosstandard http://burondt.ru/NDT/NDTDocsDetail.php?UrlId=815&etkstructure_id=1872).
[8] This is in line with the requirement of article 36(1) of the Law on Environmental Protection.
[9] Model tables are provided in the annex to the Rules for developing technological standards.
[10] Under article 31.1(14) of the Law on Environmental Protection, a CEP is to be updated partially or fully if technological processes of core operations are modified, equipment is replaced or raw materials are changed, which entail changes in the established volume or weight of emissions/discharges of pollutants.
[11]These may, among other things, include scientific research reports, formulas and calculations, tables containing auxiliary digital data, data obtained as a result of an inventory taken of stationary sources and emissions of pollutants into the air and adjustments of the inventory data, the results of the industrial environmental control and other materials.
[12] Article 11 (6 and 7) of Federal Law No. 219-FZ 'On amending the Federal Law ‘On environmental protection’ and certain items of Russian legislation' dated 21 July 2014.
[13] Order No. 154 of the Russian Ministry for the Protection of the Environment and Natural Resources dated 18 April 2018 adopts a list of facilities having an adverse effect on the environment which are included in category I and which account for at least 60 percent of the total emissions/discharges of pollutants in Russia (300 enterprises throughout Russia).