1. Air Quality Framework Directive

Directive 96/62/EC on ambient air quality assessment and management, known as the Air Quality Framework Directive, aims to set the basic principles of a common strategy which:

• Defines and establishes objectives for ambient air quality in the Union in order to avoid, prevent or reduce harmful effects on human health and the environment as a whole
• Assesses the ambient air quality in Member States on the basis of common methods and criteria
• Produces adequate publicly available information about ambient air quality and ensures that it is available to the public by means of alert thresholds, etc.
• Maintains ambient air quality where it is good and improves it in other cases.

2. Industrial Pollution Control and Risk Management

These directives and regulations cover three areas: control of industrial emissions, control of major accident hazards, and environmental audits and eco-labelling.

The first area includes directives, which establish requirements for permits for the operation of certain industrial facilities so as to control releases to air and water and wastes. The directives include the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive 96/61/EC (IPPC), the Emissions from Large Combustion Plants Directive 88/609/EEC covers emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates and establishes targets for the reduction of total emissions from each Member State, and the Air Pollution from Industrial Plants Directive 84/360/EEC – a framework directive which will be replaced by the much broader IPPC Directive in 2007.

The second area covers the Seveso Directive 96/82/EC, named after a town in Italy that was the site of a major accidental release of toxic gas. This directive, which has been a model for similar legislation outside of Europe, requires industrial plan operators to identify major accident hazards and take steps to control them and to limit their effects. It replaced the previous Directive 82/501/EEC in 1999.

The third area covers the regulations on Eco-management and Audit Scheme EMAS 1836/93/EEC and on eco-label 880/92/EEC. The EMAS Regulation encourages the voluntary participation of industrial plants in the development of internal environmental management systems and audit programmes as a means to improve their environmental performance. The eco-label Regulation establishes a EU eco-label award scheme, which is intended to promote the design, production, marketing and use of products with a reduced environmental impact during their entire life cycle. The eco-label gives consumers information about the environmental impacts of products.

3. Large Combustion Plant Directive

Law in force (July, 2001): 88/609/EEC: Council Directive of 24 November 1988 on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants.

In 1988 agreement was reached on the Large Combustion Plant Directive (88/609/EEC) which commits member states to specific reductions in emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from large fossil fuel burning plant (50 MW or more), mainly power stations, whose original operating licence was granted before 1 July 1987.

The 1988 Directive did not cover sulphur dioxide emissions from new solid fuel plant between 50-100 MW since agreement could not be reached on the limit to be applied to these plants. In June l994 Environment Ministers adopted a common position on an amendment to this Directive, COM(92) 563. This sets an emission limit of 2000 mg/m3 for such plant (i.e. those authorised to start after 1 July 1987). Proposals for a Directive covering emissions from small (up to 50 MW) combustion plant are under discussion.

A proposal for a directive to replace that of 1988 for controlling the emissions of sulphur and nitrogen oxides from large combustion plants (those with a capacity of more than 50 MW) was put forward by the EU Commission in July 1998. For June 2001, the Council and the Parliament are in the final stage of negotiation to arrive at a compromise both on this and the NEC (national emissions ceiling) directive.

EU abbreviations:

EC European Community (Acronym use at that time, not to be confused with
the present usage EC = European Commission)
EEC European Economic Community
EU European Union
LCP Large Combustion Plants

Source:

[1] Homepage of Environmental Software and Services (ESS), http://www.ess.co.at/
[2] EU Environmental Information and Legislation Database.
http://kola.dcu.ie/~environ/welcome.htm