European Union (Medium Combustion Plants) Regulations 2017

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 595/2017
• Year: 2017

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 29th December, 2017.

I, DENIS NAUGHTEN, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) (as amended by section 2 of the European Communities Act 2007 (No. 18 of 2007)) and for the purpose of giving effect to Directive (EU) 2015/2193 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015i , hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Medium Combustion Plants) Regulations 2017.

Entry into Force

2. These Regulations shall come into effect on 19 December 2017.

Interpretation

3. (1) A word or expression which is used in these Regulations and which is also used in the Directive has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these regulations as it has in the Directive.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

“Authorised Officer” means a person appointed in writing by the Agency;

“the Agency” means the Environmental Protection Agency established under section 19 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 (No. 7 of 1992);

“combustion plant” means any technical apparatus in which fuels are oxidised in order to use the heat thus generated;

“the Commission” means the Commission of the European Communities;

“the Directive” means Directive 2015/2193 of the European Parliament and Council on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from medium combustion plants;

“existing medium combustion plant” means a medium combustion plant put into operation before 20 December 2018 or for which a permit was granted before 19 December 2017 provided that the plant is put into operation no later than 20 December 2018;

“MCP Register” means the Register established pursuant to Regulation 6;

“medium combustion plant” means a combustion plant to which Regulation 4 applies;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment;

“new medium combustion plant” means a medium combustion plant other than an existing medium combustion plant;

“prosecutor” means the Agency or the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Scope

4. (1) These Regulations apply to combustion plants with a rated thermal input equal to or greater than 1 MW and less than 50 MW irrespective of the fuel that they use.

(2) These Regulations shall also apply to a combination formed by new medium combustion plants pursuant to Regulation 10 including a combination where the total rated thermal input is equal to or greater than 50 MW, unless the combination constitutes an Industrial Emissions activity for the purposes of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 as amended.

(3) These Regulations shall not apply to:

(i) any combustion plant which constitutes an Industrial Emissions activity for the purposes of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 as amended;

(ii) combustion plants to which the European Communities (Control of Emissions of Gaseous and Particulate Pollutants from Non-Road Mobile Machinery) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 ( S.I. No. 407 of 2012 ) apply;

(iii) on-farm combustion plants with a total rated thermal input less than or equal to 5 MW, that exclusively use unprocessed poultry manure, as referred to in Article 9(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and Council, as a fuel;

(iv) combustion plants in which the gaseous products of combustion are used for direct heating, drying or any other treatment of objects or materials;

(v) combustion plants in which the gaseous products of combustion are used for direct gas-fired heating used to heat indoor spaces for the purpose of improving workplace conditions;

(vi) post-combustion plants designed to purify the waste gases from industrial processes by combustion, and which are not operated as independent combustion plants;

(vii) any technical apparatus used in the propulsion of a vehicle, ship or aircraft;

(viii) gas turbines and gas and diesel engines, when used on offshore platforms;

(ix) facilities for the regeneration of catalytic cracking engines;

(x) facilities for the conversion of hydrogen sulphide into sulphur;

(xi) reactors used in the chemical industry;

(xii) coke battery furnaces;

(xiii) cowpers;

(xiv) crematoria;

(xv) combustion plants firing refinery fuels alone or with other fuels for the production of energy within mineral oil and gas refineries;

(xvi) recovery boilers within installations for the production of pulp.

(4) These Regulations shall not apply to research activities, development activities or testing activities relating to medium combustion plants.

Competent Authority

5. The Agency shall be the competent authority in the State for the purposes of the Directive and these Regulations.

Register

6. (1) The Agency shall cause to be established a register (the MCP register) for all medium combustion plants in the State falling within the scope of these Regulations;

(2) The Agency shall enter in the MCP register the information specified in Schedule 1 to these Regulations obtained pursuant to Regulation 8(1) and any other information that the Agency considers appropriate;

(3) The Agency shall make the information contained in the MCP register available to the public, including via the internet, in accordance with Directive 2003/4/EC.

Requirement to Register

7. (1)(a) A new medium combustion plant shall not be operated without being registered in the MCP register.

(b) As of 1 January 2024, an existing medium combustion plant with a rated thermal input of greater than 5 MW shall not be operated without being registered in the MCP register.

(c) As of 1 January 2029, an existing medium combustion plant with a rated thermal input of less than or equal to 5 MW shall not be operated without being registered in the MCP register.

(2) The operator of a medium combustion plant shall apply to the Agency for registration in the MCP register in accordance with the following time frames:

(a) at least two months prior to being put into operation in the case of new medium combustion plants;

(b) prior to 1 November 2023 in the case of existing medium combustion plants with a rated thermal input greater than 5MW;

(c) prior to 1 November 2028 in the case of existing medium combustion plants with a rated thermal input of less than or equal to 5MW.

Procedure for Registration and information to be supplied

8. (1) The operator of a medium combustion plant required to register under Regulation 7 shall inform the Agency of the operation of, or the intention to operate, the medium combustion plant, and provide the Agency with the information specified in Schedule 1 to these Regulations and such other information, including monitoring data, as the Agency may deem appropriate.

(2) The operator of a medium combustion plant shall inform the Agency without undue delay of any planned change to the plant which would affect the applicable emission limit values, and the Agency shall update the register, accordingly.

(3) The operator of a medium combustion plant shall provide the Agency with such further information related to the operation of the plant as the Agency may from time to time request.

(4) The Agency may prescribe a format for the submission of the information referred to in this Regulation.

Time frame for registration

9. (1) The Agency shall register a medium combustion plant within one month of the operator providing all the information required by the Agency under Regulation 8(1), and inform the operator of the registration.

(2) The Agency may prescribe a format for a Certificate of Registration.

Aggregation Rules

10. (1) A combination formed by two or more new medium combustion plants shall be considered to be a single medium combustion plant for the purposes of these regulations, and their thermal input shall be added together for the purpose of calculating the total rated thermal input of the plant, where:

(i) The waste gases of such medium combustion plants are discharged through a common stack; or

(ii) Taking into account technical and economic factors, the waste gases of such medium combustion plants could, in the opinion of the Agency, be discharged through a common stack.

(2) For the purposes of Regulation 10(1), individual combustion plants with a rated thermal input less than 1 MW should not be considered in the calculation of the total rated thermal input of a combination of combustion plants.

Emission limit values and conditions of operation

11. (1) Without prejudice to Part IV of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 as amended, where applicable, and subject to Regulation 11(6), the emission limit values set out in Schedule 2 of these Regulations shall apply to medium combustion plants in accordance with the time frames set out in this Regulation.

(2) From 1 January 2025, emissions into the air of SO2, NOx, and dust from an existing medium combustion plant with a rated thermal input greater than 5 MW shall not exceed the emission limit values set out in Tables 2 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 2 of these Regulations.

(3) From 1 January 2030, emissions into the air of SO2, NOx, and dust from an existing combustion plant with a rated thermal input of less than or equal to 5 MW shall not exceed the emission limit values set out in Tables 1 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 2 of these Regulations.

(4) From 20 December 2018, emissions into the air of SO2, NOx, and dust from a new medium combustion plant shall not exceed the emission limit values set out in Part 2 of Schedule 2 of these Regulations.

(5) In zones or parts of zones not complying with the air quality limit values laid down in the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 180/2011), the Agency shall...