The meaning of BATNEEC: interpreting excessive costs in UK industrial pollution regulation

The paper examines how the concept of ‘excessive costs’ has been interpreted in the implementation of industrial pollution control in the UK. Since 1984, industrial air pollution regulation in the EU has been guided by the framework concept of Best Available Technology Not Entailing Excessive Costs (BATNEEC). With the introduction of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive in 1996, this has been replaced by the concept of Best Available Techniques (BAT). Despite the absence of the NEEC qualification, IPPC BAT includes excessive costs in its definition of ‘available’. Both concepts require interpretation and both devolve potentially controversial decisions to the level of the individual site regulator. A central issue in interpreting ‘excessive costs’ is the relative importance of environmental cost–benefit analysis versus the ability of a sector to ‘afford’ environmental improvements. Also important is how such concepts can be operationalized by regulators who lack resources and depend upon industry for information. The paper provides a historical account of how these issues have been dealt with in the UK and argues that the key difficulties are far from being resolved. The paper concludes by assessing the implications for the future implementation of IPPC. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fuzzy Logic Model for the performance benchmarking of sugar plants by considering best available techniques

This paper deals with the problem of performance benchmarking of traditional beet sugar plants, by considering Best Available Techniques (BAT) for beet sugar production, as determined by the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive. A Fuzzy Logic Model, based on fuzzy set theory, was constructed for this purpose, in order to compare the performances of sugar plants within the sector's best standards, as expressed in the Reference Document on BAT.The effectiveness of the model was tested in the case study, in which three sugar plants were benchmarked against the BAT regarding the consumption of energy, water, raw materials and the production of wastes, wastewater, by-products and the main product. The model was recognized as helpful for the benchmarking needs of sugar plants. In addition, by integrating BAT Reference Document analysis into the model, it provides IPPC permitting authorities with an objective method and uniform BAT benchmarks to manage permitting process.     

Implementation of the European IPPC Directive—BAT guidelines for the cement industry in Cyprus

The European Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive 96/61/EC aims to introduce a European-wide system of integrated prevention and control of pollution in order to secure a high level of protection to the environment as a whole. It places obligations on the Member States (MS) to introduce controls that ensure operators comply with the Directive. In this framework, as a part of the implementation process leading to formal accession of Cyprus to the European Union, the National Technical University of Athens has examined all documents related to the Best Available Techniques (BATs) published by Institutes and Organisations, such as the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies in Spain, the Environmental Protection Agency in Ireland, the World Bank Group and the Ministry for the Environment, Planning and Public Works in Greece. A series of guidelines were developed for the application of BATs for 14 categories of the Cypriot industry that fall into the IPPC Directive. The concept of BATs plays a central role in the Directive because it provides a basis for setting Emission Limit Values (ELVs) as well as the principal benchmark for determining the obligations of industrial operators in respect of pollution prevention and control. This paper presents the guidelines for cement manufacture in Cyprus.     

污染防治攻坚战实施阶段性成效评估研究

污染防治攻坚战是党的十九大提出的我国全面建成小康社会决胜时期的“三大攻坚战”之一,以解决人民群众反映强烈的大气、水、土壤污染等突出问题为重点,全面加强环境污染防治。为客观评估污染防治攻坚战实施成效,本研究构建了污染防治攻坚战评估指标体系与方法,基于环境监测数据、生态环境综合业务调度平台等数据,采用比较法、耦合协调指数等方法,从目标指标、重点任务、政策制度和经济绩效4个维度,对2018—2020年的污染防治攻坚战实施阶段性成效开展评估。结果显示：攻坚战实施成效显著,全面完成规定的13项目标指标,重点任务完成情况总体较好,有效地促进了环境经济协调发展,推动生态环境治理体制机制更加完善。然而,我国生态环境质量改善成效仍不稳固,结构性、根源性、趋势性压力尚未根本缓解,本文建议“十四五”时期应从绿色低碳转型、减污降碳协同增效、关键领域突破、环境治理体系和治理能力等方面深入打好污染防治攻坚战,持续改善生态环境质量。     

关于《水污染防治法》修订中加强经济政策手段的思考

"十二五"以来,我国对水污染防治运用经济政策手段进行了积极探索。党和国家出台的政策文件、新修订的《中华人民共和国环境保护法》以及《水污染防治行动计划》等都对水污染防治经济政策手段的制定和实施提出了新的要求。因此,亟需在未来《水污染防治法》的修订过程中加强对相关经济政策手段的规定,给予相关手段明确的法律地位,充分发挥经济政策在水污染防治中的重要作用。为此,本文建议着眼于"十三五"及未来更长一段时期水环境质量改善以及水污染防治形势和突出问题,以推动构建和实施系统、协调和高效的水污染防治经济政策体系为目标,结合党和国家相关文件、法律、行动计划的最新要求,借鉴国际上通过立法保障水污染防治经济政策手段制定和实施的经验,重点从投融资政策、税费和价格政策、排污交易政策等三个方面对现行《水污染防治法》进行修订、补充和完善。具体建议包括:一是完善关于财政投入和融资渠道的相关规定,要求加大水污染防治财政投入和补贴力度、鼓励水污染防治第三方治理方式和PPP模式以及建立流域上下游(跨界)生态补偿机制等;二是完善对于环境税(费)和其他价格机制的相关规定,增加关于环境保护税的说明等;三是增加逐步推行重点水污染物排污权交易的条款等。     

新时代我国土壤环境规划思路初探

在我国生态文明建设大背景下,土壤环境污染问题正受到广泛关注。如何通过规划手段加强土壤污染防控和管治,已成为学术界和管理部门的共同关注点。本文结合《土壤污染防治行动计划》和《土壤污染防治法》,对新时代土壤环境规划的基本概念和编制框架进行了探索,通过对土壤环境规划思路、基本内容、编制步骤等问题的讨论,为新时代土壤环境规划的深入开展提出建议,包括:加快健全土壤环境规划的规范和标准,为规划提供技术支撑;加强土壤环境规划的作用和地位,促进土壤环境规划与水、大气环境规划的融合;进一步完善土壤环境法律法规,构建土壤环境规划保障体系等。     

关于固体废物污染环境防治法修改的研究思考

2019年6月,《中华人民共和国固体废物污染环境防治法（修订草案）》（以下简称草案）经国务院审议通过,并初次提请全国人大常委会审议。草案修订力度之大,值得充分肯定。同时,草案还存在不少提升空间,需要进一步深入研究。本文以习近平生态文明思想为引领,按照中央全面依法治国委员会第二次会议提出的加强立法统筹、立改废释并举要求,剖析了当前我国固体废物环境管理及其立法修法中面临的挑战,以及存在的突出问题;并从明确固废污染防治立法原则、强化政府统筹管理、明确各部门职责、强化区域统筹、完善跨区域转移监管机制、统筹国内外相关法律法规及政策文件等方面提出了完善草案的建议,以期为我国固废管理决策和草案修改提供参考。     

生态环境部体制下农业面源监管的难点与应对建议

农业面源污染治理对完成好"水污染防治行动计划"、"大气污染防治行动计划"具有举足轻重的作用。从农业废水面源污染现状来看,畜禽养殖业排污在农业源中占绝对优势,且全国仍有90%以上的分散养殖畜禽未得到综合整治,整治力度亟需进一步加强;农业废气面源污染主要来源于秸秆焚烧,已成为重污染天气的帮凶之一,近年来秸秆综合利用率有所提升但仍存在秸秆焚烧现象。"监督指导农业面源污染治理"是生态环境部的新职能,新职能带来新挑战:由于农业源具有分布分散、受地域等因素影响较大、治理的责任主体不明确等特点,以工业污染治理为核心的环境管理体系"难以作为";另一方面,基层监管工作缺少数据、缺少人员,现有基层环保队伍承接新职能的能力明显不足。为此,提出应对建议:一是建立适应农业面源特点的环境管理体系,二是采取多种手段强化农业面源的环境监管,三是推动各级政府加大农业面源治理力度,通过规范农业生产的清洁化水平,从源头控制农业面源污染产生量和排放量。     

《大气污染防治法(修订草案)》第四十五条正当性审视

第十二届全国人大常委会第十二次会议初次审议了国务院提请审议的《大气污染防治法(修订草案)》,修订草案第四十五条拟授权省、自治区和直辖市人民政府可以采取机动车限行措施,其正当性引起社会的激烈讨论。机动车限行涉及公民所有权的限制,授权的合法性与正当性应受到公法上法律保留原则和比例原则的审查。草案第四十五条未区分高排放与低排放机动车、常态限制与临时限制,模糊地授权地方立法,不符合法律创设的目的性及必要性要求,第四十五条必须进一步明确授权范围。     

Adoption of European Union's IPPC Directive to a textile mill: Analysis of water and energy consumption

The present study was undertaken as part of the first application and evaluation of the BREF (Best Available Techniques; BAT Reference Document) Textile Document within the context of the European Union's Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive to a large scale textile mill in Turkey. The BAT requirements for the denim manufacturing textile mill were selected in cooperation with the factory management. Detailed mass balance calculations were conducted to evaluate the overall effect of the selected BAT options. The initial findings indicated that the adoption of the selected BAT options resulted in considerable savings in water and energy consumption in the mill. Besides the installation of flow meters and use of semi-counter current rinsing in the most water-intensive processes, minimization of wash waters in the water softening plant, reuse of the concentrate stream from the reverse osmosis plant and compressor cooling waters provided a 29.5% reduction in the total specific water consumption of the mill, reaching the lower limits suggested by the BREF Textile Document. In terms of energy consumption, use of waste heat from finishing wastewater streams in heating up the wash waters, heat insulation and maintenance applications in addition to BAT measures taken for water minimization reduced specific energy consumption by 9% achieving the limits set by the BREF Textile Document.     

我国土壤环境修复咨询服务业发展研究

2019年是《中华人民共和国土壤污染防治法》实施的第一年,2020年我国迎来了《土壤污染防治行动计划》的大考,“十三五”期间我国土壤环境修复产业市场规模接近6900亿元,下达中央土壤污染防治专项资金259.13亿元,主要用于示范性农田和工业场地修复、全国土壤环境调查以及土壤污染防治先行区建设等,资金整体落实情况较好。土壤环境修复产业是支撑我国土壤污染防治目标指标和各项任务完成的重要支撑和物质保障,产业发展状况和水平直接决定了目标和任务的完成水平。本文基于土壤环境修复政策指南和招投标数据库,从政策、市场、队伍、项目、模式、问题、展望等方面系统分析了2019年我国土壤环境修复咨询服务业发展状况、水平与特点,提出了修复咨询服务业发展中存在的主要问题,对未来发展趋势进行了预测分析,以期为全面了解我国土壤环境修复咨询服务市场、开展土壤环境管理和社会投资提供参考。     

Best available techniques (BAT) for the fruit and vegetable processing industry

Best available techniques (BAT) are an important reference point in the environmental permit regulation for industrial installations in the European Union Member States, which have to implement the integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC)-directive (96/61/EC). BAT correspond to the techniques and organisational measures with the best overall environmental performance that can be introduced at a reasonable cost. In the Flanders part of Belgium, BAT are usually determined at the sector level. The ‘Fruit and Vegetable Processing Industry’ [BAT for Fruit and Vegetable Processing Industry. Gent, Belgium: Academia Press, 1999] is one of the industries for which a BAT report has been drafted. In this paper, the main results of this study are presented. Special attention is given to the use of high quality water¹, as this is the key environmental issue of the industry.     

The setting of standards for agricultural nitrogen emissions: a case study of the Delphi technique

The Delphi technique is a means of aggregating the judgement of a panel of experts in order to improve the quality of decision-making. This paper provides a case study of the technique by undertaking a three-round Delphi study to determine a package of best available techniques to reduce nitrogen emissions from a poultry unit under the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (IPPC). Forms of nitrogen addressed included ammonia (NH3), nitrous oxide (N2O) nitrogen oxides (NOx), dusts and nitrate (NO3-), with the study providing a means to prioritise the pollution concerns on different spatial scales. The priority pollutant issues were the contribution of NH3 to eutrophication, the global cooling effect of NH4+ aerosol, the role of NH4+ as a vector for atmospheric transport of NOx and SO2, the contribution of N2O to global warming, and NO3- leaching. Reduced nitrogen (NHx) was rated as a priority on all scales, while N2O and NO3- were rated as priorities only on global and local scales, respectively. The study indicated the need for abatement techniques at each stage of poultry rearing and waste management, with particular attention to reduce NH3 emissions, reflecting the priority pollutant concerns. Measures identified by the panel include maintenance of dry litter, low emission removal of litter from housing and storage of litter under cover. Once the litter has left the farm, this should either be used as a biofuel for electricity generation or rapidly incorporated into agricultural soils. The amounts and timing of manure application should be tuned to crop needs. Uncertainties in the Delphi technique limit its suitability as a stand-alone decision making tool. However, the Delphi technique proved useful in identifying priority pollutant issues, areas of agreement, disagreement and where information is lacking. This demonstrates its use when dealing with the complex issues of prioritising pollution issues and abatement approaches.     

欧美经验对我国“十三五”大气污染防治战略的启示

当前,我国大气污染形势严峻,复合型污染特征突出。新修订的《中华人民共和国环境保护法》、《中华人民共和国大气污染防治法》、《环境空气质量标准》以及《大气污染防治行动计划》的发布和实施,对我国大气污染防治工作提出了更高要求。"十三五"时期是我国环境保护负重前行困难期和大有作为关键期,也是我国改善大气环境质量的攻坚期,需要系统谋划大气污染防治战略。欧盟和美国在制定大气污染防治战略时,以改善空气质量为核心,构建了涵盖一次污染物和二次污染物的多污染物目标体系,规定了环境浓度、排放量、直观感受(能见度)、健康以及管理等约束性指标,并且针对大气污染防治政策分析实施的成本与收益,开发相应的模型工具,基于收益成本比进行科学决策。本文对欧美环境规划和战略中的多污染物协同控制目标体系以及大气污染防治政策成本效益评估经验进行梳理,分析我国大气污染防治战略的现状和问题,并提出相关政策建议,以期为解决"心肺之患"、实现环保"十三五"总体目标提供参考。     

Environmental Pollution Challenges and Associated Planning and Management Issues Facing Offshore Oil and Gas Field Development in the UK

Reducing the environmental impact of offshore operations is one of the most pressing challenges facing the oil and gas industry in Europe today. A study was conducted to review the issues by literature search, and consultation with stakeholders and experts. It was clear from the literature search that considerable research had been dedicated to: protecting the marine environment; achieving compliance with legislative controls; assessing the technical and economic feasibility of platform disposal options; and ecological surveying. By comparison, considerably less research had been carried out in other important areas such as: assessing the impacts wastes returned to shore for disposal; identifying sustainable strategies for operations; and assessing and mitigating against adverse impacts from atmospheric emissions. It is clear that the environmental regulatory regime offshore will become tougher and have an increasing influence on offshore oil and gas field environmental planning and management. Future regulatory developments include: a streamlining of the offshore oil and gas environmental regulatory regime; the introduction of the Habitats Directive into the licensing system; and the Offshore Combustion Installations (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Regulations 1999. In addition, post Kyoto regulatory developments and societal concern over atmospheric pollution, will increasingly focus efforts on reducing the emission of global warming gases. These changes, coupled with the uncertainty over how resilient the environment is to perturbation, present a need to clearly manage environmental information.     

论静脉产业的法律调整

从静脉产业的概念入手，通过一系列的数据反映我国特别是河北省在工业固体废物、建筑垃圾、报废的机动车船、废旧家电、城市生活垃圾等静脉产业的实际状态和水平，并且探讨了调整静脉产业的现有法律制度及立法空白，提出了尽快出台《循环经济法》；修订《清洁生产促进法》和《固体废弃物污染防治法》；加紧制定《促进容器与包装分类回收法》、《家用电器回收法》、《建筑及材料回收法》、《食品回收法》、《垃圾回收利用法》及《绿色采购法》等立法建议。     

国家环境经济政策进展评估报告2018

2018年是环境经济政策建设取得重要进展的一年,《关于全面加强生态环境保护 坚决打好污染防治攻坚战的意见》等中央文件对环境经济政策建设提出了新形势需求,环境财政、环境价格、生态补偿、绿色金融等政策取得了阶段性突破,但是我国的环境经济政策体系仍不够完善,服务于生态文明建设以及环境质量改善的环境经济政策仍然存在结构性短缺,需要积极推进环保投融资、生态补偿等环境经济政策的创新运用,为环境质量改善、生态文明建设提供长效政策机制。     

对广东北江镉污染事件的立法评析—兼评《水污染防治法》

本文选取环境问题比较突出的水污染领域进行集中探讨，从分析“广东北江镉污染”这一具有典型意义的水污染突发事件入手，首先分析导致北江污染事件发生的具有普遍意义的共性原因，然后总结1996年《水污染防治法》存在的问题并提出修订法律的必要性，最后通过对2008年新修订的《水污染防治法》相关制度的解读与评说，来提出进一步完善新法的一些立法建议。     

光污染的立法思考

光污染作为一种新型的环境污染,对环境的危害和人类的影响越来越明显。我国在光污染防治方面的法律法规明显滞后,制定一部符合国情的《光污染防治法》和相应的光污染环境标准势在必行。     

The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990: A Policy Whose Time Has Come or Symbolic Legislation?

/ In 1990, the United States officially entered the era of pollution prevention with passage of the Pollution Prevention Act. This paper analyzes EPA's implementation of the Pollution Prevention Act from its passage in 1990 to the present. It examines the barriers EPA must overcome if it is to effectively integrate pollution prevention into its existing regulatory structure, including impediments created by statutory and organizational structure, the existing relationship between EPA and the groups it regulates, the fragmented implementation scheme of national environmental regulation, the balancing of conflicting demands advanced by powerful interests, industry's economic and technical concerns, and institutional inertia. It also examines issues such as industry commitment, the limits of prevention, and measurement concerns. The findings suggest that EPA's efforts at shifting to a pollution prevention regulatory ethic that holds primacy over pollution control are mixed. Its organizational structure, statutory authority, and incentives system still reflect a single-medium pollution control focus, appropriations for pollution prevention programs and activities are paltry compared to traditional pollution control programs, and participation in the program is voluntary. Yet, the findings also point to some promising programs that are working to institutionalize a pollution prevention regulatory ethic, and many states appear very committed to the concept.KEY WORDS: Pollution prevention; Source reduction; Pollution control; Alternative regulatory design; Barriers to implementation