Introduction to Fire Safety Management

pollution control (IPC), and those listed as Part B are
regulated by the relevant local authority (LA).
This system is slowly being replaced by one of
integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC). IPPC
regulation will cover installations currently regulated
under the existing IPC and LA systems but will extend
integrated control to many more industrial companies
and will regulate the installation rather than the process.
Operators of the most potentially environmentally
polluting processes (Part A processes) have to apply
for authorisation from the Environment Agency prior to
operating the process and under the system of integrated
pollution control (IPC) they must consider the total
environmental impact of all releases to air, water and land
in their application. The operator must advertise their
application and the details are held in a public register
which is available for the public to inspect. Exclusions
from this public register may only be granted on grounds
of commercial confi dentiality or national security.
In granting a licence to operate Part A processes,
the Environment Agency must include conditions to
ensure that:
➤ The ‘best available techniques not entailing excessive
costs’ (BATNEEC) are used
➤ If a process involves release into more than one
medium (e.g. air and water), the operator uses the
‘best practicable environmental option’ (BPEO) to
achieve the best overall environmental solution
➤ The operator complies with any directions given by
the Secretary of State for the Environment or other
applicable requirements or standards.
BATNEEC – best environmental technique not
entailing excessive cost
BATNEEC strikes a balance between the best available
technology and management techniques with what the
industry sector can generally afford. In reducing emissions
to the lowest practicable level, account will be
taken of local conditions and circumstances, both of the
process and the environment.
The ‘BAT’ refers to:
➤ Best – the most effective in ‘preventing, minimising
or rendering harmless polluting emissions’
➤ Available – does not necessarily imply that the
technology is in general use but that it is generally
accessible
➤ Techniques – refers both to technology or the process
and how it is operated.
The concept of ‘BAT’ consists not just of the technology
but the whole process and includes matters such
as staff numbers, working methods, training, supervision
and the manner of operating the process.
Summary of key legal requirements
BATNEEC is usually expressed as emission limits for
the particular substances released by a process.
Best practicable environmental option
The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
states that the aim of ‘BPEO’ is:
To fi nd the optimum combination of available
methods of disposal so as to limit damage
to the environment to the greatest extent
achievable for a reasonable and acceptable
total combined cost to industry and the public
purse.
Operators are required to monitor their emissions and
report these to their relevant enforcing authority (EA) on
an annual basis. If the EA believes that the operator is
breaching their conditions of authorisation, they may
serve enforcement notices to:
➤ Revoke the authorisation
➤ Specify steps that must be taken with a time limit for
compliance
➤ Prohibit the process.
Ultimately, the EA may initiate criminal proceedings for
a breach of the EPA with a maximum fi ne of £20 000 for
summary cases and an unspecifi ed fi ne and/or up to two
years’ imprisonment for indictable cases.
In a similar way to the HSW Act, the onus of proving
that BATNEEC and BPEO are achieved rests with the
accused.
15.6.3 Part 2: Waste on land
The EPA replaced previous controls in the Control of
Pollution Act 1974. It introduced changes in both the
waste management licensing system and the bodies
responsible for waste regulation and disposal. Local
authorities remain the key enforcement bodies, but with
extra demands on the waste disposal industry and all
producers or handlers of waste.
It is not possible for a producer of waste to rid
themselves of it simply by handing it over to another.
Anybody who carries, keeps, treats, or disposes of
waste, or who acts as a third party and arranges matters
such as imports or disposal must satisfy a ‘duty of care’.
This requires the duty holder to take all reasonable
steps to keep waste safe. If waste is given to someone
else, the duty holder must ensure that they are authorised
to take it and can transport, recycle or dispose of it safely.
The duty of care does not apply to domestic
householders unless the waste is from somewhere else,
e.g. the householder’s workplace or someone else’s
premises.
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