Large Combustion Plants Regulations, 2003

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 644/2003
• Year: 2003

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 10 and 51 of the Air Pollution Act 1987 (No. 6 of 1987) and by sections 6 and 53 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (No. 7 of 1992) for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive 2001/80/EC(1 ) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 concerning the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants hereby makes the following Regulations:-
	Citation and Commencement	1 (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Large Combustion Plant Regulations 2003.
(2) These Regulations come into operation on 27 November 2003.
	Interpretation	2 (1) In these Regulations:
“the 1963 Act” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act 1963 (No. 28 of 1963);
“the 1987 Act” means the Air Pollution Act 1987 (No. 6 of 1987);
“the 1992 Act” means the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (No. 7 of 1992);
“the 2000 Act” means the Planning and Development Act 2000 (No. 30 of 2000);
“the Agency” means the Environmental Protection Agency established under section 19 of the 1992 Act;
“the Commission” means the Commission of the European Communities;
“the Directive” means Council Directive 2001/80/EC;
the “1996 Directive” means Council Directive 96/61EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control(2 )
“rated thermal input” means the operating thermal input of a plant designated by the manufacturer of the plant;
“the Minister” means the Minister for the Environment. Heritage and Local Government;
“Type A plant” means a combustion plant for which a permission under Part IV of the 1963 Act, or Part III of the 2000 Act, or a licence or revised licence under Part III of the 1987 Act, has been granted on or after 1 July 1987 and for which an application for a licence or revised licence under Part IV of the 1992 Act is considered by the Agency to have been made before 27 November 2002, and provided a licence or revised licence under Part IV of the 1992 Act is granted and the plant is put into operation no later than 27 November 2003;
“Type B plant” means a combustion plant for which a permission under Part IV of the 1963 Act, or Part III of the 2000 Act, or a licence or revised licence under Part III of the 1987 Act, has been granted on or after 1 July 1987, and for which an application for a licence or revised licence under Part IV of the 1992 Act, is made after the coming into operation of these Regulations, or for which a licence or revised licence under Part IV of the 1992 Act has been granted but the plant has not been put into operation on or before the 27 November 2003;
“Type C plant” means a combustion plant for which a permission under Part IV of the 1963 Act has been granted before 1 July 1987.
(2) In these Regulations -
(a) any reference to an article or sub-article which is not otherwise identified is a reference to an article or sub-article of these Regulations;
(b) any reference to an Annex which is not otherwise identified is a reference to an Annex of the Directive;
(c) a letter, word, phrase or symbol which has been assigned a meaning by the Directive, or is used in the Directive, has that meaning where the context requires except where otherwise indicated.
(3) In these Regulations, a reference to an enactment shall be construed as a reference to the enactment as amended by any subsequent enactment, including these Regulations.
	Combustion plants to which these Regulations apply	3 (1) These Regulations, subject to sub-article 2, shall apply to combustion plants designed for production of energy, the rated thermal input of which is equal to or greater than 50 MW, irrespective of the type of fuel used (solid, liquid or gaseous).
(2) These Regulations shall not apply to:
(a) plants which make direct use of the products of combustion in manufacturing processes;
(b) plants in which the products of combustion are used for the direct heating, drying, or any other treatment of objects or materials e.g. reheating furnaces, furnaces for heat treatment;
(c) post-combustion plants i.e. any technical apparatus designed to purify the waste gases by combustion which is not operated as an independent combustion plant:
(d) facilities for the regeneration of catalytic cracking catalysts:
(e) facilities for the conversion of hydrogen sulphide into sulphur;
(f) reactors used in the chemical industry;
(g) coke battery furnaces;
(h) cowpers;
(i) any technical apparatus used in the propulsion of a vehicle ship or aircraft;
(j) a gas turbine for which an application for a licence under Part IV of the 1992 Act is considered by the Agency to have been made before 27 November 2002 and provided a licence is granted and the plant is put into operation no later than 27 November 2003;
(k) a gas turbine used on an offshore platform; or
(l) plant powered by diesel, petrol and gas engines.
	Common Stack	4 Where two or more Type A or Type B plants are installed in such a way that taking technical and economic factors into account, their waste gases could be discharged through a common stack, the combination formed by such plants shall be regarded as a single plant for the purposes of these Regulations. 5 In considering an application for, and the granting of, a licence or revised licence under Part IV of the 1992 Act for a Type B plant, or a plant provided for in article 6, the Agency shall examine the technical and economic feasibility of providing for the combined generation of heat and power.
	Alteration or reconstruction	6 (1) Where a proposed alteration to, or reconstruction of, a combustion plant would add at least 50 MW rated thermal input to the capacity of the plant, the emission limit values specified in article 7 for Type B plant shall apply to the alteration or reconstruction on the basis of the thermal capacity of the entire plant, except in the case of plants covered by articles 11(2) and 12.
(2) Where the operator of a combustion plant is envisaging a change according to Articles 2(10)(b) and 13(2) of the 1996 Directive, the emission limit values specified in article 7 for Type B plant shall apply.
	Emission Limit Values	7 (1) The emission limit values relating to SO2, NOx and dust for Type A and Type C plants shall be as set out in the First Schedule and for Type B plants as set out in the Second Schedule.
(2) The emission limit values specified in paragraph 1, subject to the requirements of the First and Second Schedules, shall have effect from the coming into operation of these Regulations.
	National Emission Reduction Plan	8 (1) Notwithstanding article 7, the Minister may define and notify to the Commission a national emission reduction plan, hereinafter referred to as “the plan”, for Type C plants.
(2) The plan shall:-
(a) take into account compliance with the ceilings as set out in Annexes I and II;
(b) reduce the total annual emissions of NOx, SO2 and dust from Type C plants to the levels that would have been achieved by applying the relevant emission limit values specified in article 7 to those plants operating in the year 2000, on the basis of each plant's actual operating time, fuel used and thermal input averaged over the last five years of operation up to and including 2000;
(c) ensure the closure of a plant included in the plan shall not result in an increase in the total annual emissions from the remaining plants covered by the plan;
(d) not exempt a plant from the provisions laid down in relevant Community legislation including the 1996 Directive; and
(e) comprise objectives and related targets, measures and timetables for reaching these objectives and targets, and a monitoring mechanism.
(2) The Agency shall have the functions, duties and responsibilities for the implementation of the plan.
	Exemption for Type C Plants	9 (1) Notwithstanding articles 7 and 8, Type C plants may be exempted from the emission limit values specified in article 7, and the requirements of a plan defined in article 8, where the operator of a plant undertakes, in a written declaration submitted to the Agency by 30 June 2004, not to operate the plant for more than 20,000 operational hours commencing on 1 January 2008 and ending no later than 31 December 2015.
(2) The operator shall submit each year to the Agency a record of the used and unused time allowed for the plant's remaining operational life in accordance with paragraph 1.
(3) From 1 January 2008 the Agency shall report annually to the Commission those plants exempted under paragraph 1 together with the records obtained under paragraph 2. 10 (1) Notwithstanding article 7:-
(a) the emission limit value relating to sulphur dioxide shall be 800 mg/Nm3, in the case of a Type A and Type C plant with a rated thermal input equal to or greater than 400 MW, which is not operated for more than the following number of hours per year, calculated on a rolling average over a period of 5 years:-
(i) 2.000 hours until 31 December 2015:
(ii) 1.500 hours from 1 January 2016.
(2) The Agency shall report annually to the Commission any application of paragraph 1.
	Multi-Firing Units	11 (1) Where two or more fuels are used simultaneously in a multi-fuel firing unit the emission limit values for the type of combustion plant concerned shall be determined as specified in the Third Schedule.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph 1, in the case of a multi-firing unit in a refinery in which the distillation and conversion of residues from the refining of crude oils for own consumption will be used alone or simultaneously with other fuels, the emission limit values for the plants concerned shall be as specified in the Fourth Schedule.
(3) In the case of a multi-fuel firing unit involving the alternate use of two or more fuels, the relevant...