System of integrated prevention and restriction of contamination (IPPC)
One of the tools used in the area of minimising the impacts of pollution of the environment in EU member states is practical implementation of the requirements of Council Directive EU 96/61/ES, on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control. The sense of this Directive, which was transposed into Czech legislation in the form of Act No. 76/2002 Coll., is to achieve a high level of protection of the environment as a whole. The main starting point for the achievement of this approach is not to assess impacts of activities on particular elements of the environment separately, but to find an optimal solution to possible impacts of activities on its quality and protection of human health. The IPPC system includes entirely new rules for permitting manufacturing activities and large industrial and agricultural operating units, including specification of requirements at the level of operated equipment. The industrial activities which are the subject of this Act include the energy and chemical industry, production and processing of metals, including surface treatment, production of paper and cellulose, processing of raw materials and some other activities, e.g. processing of waste. Concerning agricultural activities, this Directive affects mainly the areas of processing of meat and milk, large farms with animals, poultry etc. The basic subject of IPPC is so-called integrated permitting and permitting proceedings directing to its issuance and periodical renewal. The involvement of the public in the process of issuing of the mentioned permits is an important element within this procedure.
The Act on IPPC requires operators of selected technological equipment to apply for the issuance of an integrated permit for its operation. Such permits will be issued by Regional Offices or the Czech Ministry of the Environment and will replace a series of decisions according to environmental legislation.
According to the wording of the adopted Act, this permit will replace consents, standpoints, opinions and decisions issued up to now according to special legal regulations (e.g. Act No. 185/2001 Coll. (Wastes), Act No.86/2002 Coll. (Air), Act No. 254/2001 Coll. (the Water Act) and others). Without the mentioned integrated permit it will not be possible, according to the prepared Act, to issue a Building Permit according to Act No. 50/1976 Coll. In accordance with the wording of this Act, it is supposed that for all new equipment put into operation after 2003 the respective state administration bodies will require these permits. For existing facilities, investigation of their operation will be required in terms of the requirements of this Directive according to the deadlines stated in the Act no later than by 30 October 2007. This investigation will have to contain, in addition to technical aspects, also detailed description of measures for reduction of impacts on the environment (procedures stated for reduction or elimination of emissions into the air, measures preventing the origination of waste, monitoring of possible influences of individual parts of the environment and others).
DEKONTA is able to offer for operators of facilities which are the subject of the Act on IPPC a full spectrum of services, starting from initial investigation, consulting activity during the preparation of an application for an integrated permit or its processing, to its discussion with the state administration body issuing such permits.