Guidelines to Statutory Order on the Licensing of Waste Water Discharges 7. Discharge of waste water into watercourses, lakes or the sea7.1 General provisions of the Environmental Protection Act
7.1 General provisions of the Environmental Protection Act Section 27 and section 28 of the Environmental Protection Act Section 27(1) of the Environmental Protection Act is a general ban on introducing pollutants into the aquatic environment. However, waste water may be discharged into watercourses, lakes or the sea subject to licensing. The allocation of competence between regional and local authorities is defined in section 28(1) and (2) of the Environmental Protection Act and further specified in Part 7 of the Statutory Order. When issuing licences for the discharge of waste water, it is important to ensure that the discharge does not impede the achievement of the objectives set for the receiving water body. The water quality objectives are set out in the regional plans worked out by the regional authorities. In addition to a discharge licence, establishing an outfall for the discharge of waste water into the sea also requires permission to install a pipeline in the seabed. This permission is granted by the Danish Coastal Authority ("Kystinspektoratet"), in accordance with the sovereignty exercised by the government over the marine territory and pursuant to Statutory Order No. 352 of 6 May 1994 from the Ministry of Transport on the powers vested in the Danish Coastal Authority. 7.2 Application procedure Submission of application The application for a licence to discharge waste water must be submitted to the local council, cf. section 13(1) of the Statutory Order. In cases where the regional council is the competent authority, cf. section 28 of the Environmental Protection Act, the local council must transfer the application to the regional council in accordance with section 13(2) of the Statutory Order. Duties of the local council In connection with transferring an application to the regional council, the local council should comment on the application’s compliance with municipal, local and waste water plans, etc. In this connection, the local council should pay attention to whether the application concerns a licence for discharging waste water to waters located in an area set out for sewering or an area for which percolation of waste water is planned. The property to which the application relates may be located within the catchment area of a public waste water system, in which case the local council should ensure that the area in question is identified in the waste water plan as one in which the local authority is prepared to revoke the duty to connect waste water to the public waste water system, cf. section 32(1)(ii) of the Environmental Protection Act. Necessary information The competent authority decides the kind of information that must be made available in connection with the application, cf. section 13(3) of the Statutory Order. Generally, the information required includes data on the total quantities of water and substances discharged and on substance concentrations, as well as information concerning the treatment measures to be implemented in order to respect the objectives set for the water body concerned. Privated shared waste water systems In respect of private shared waste water systems, the local council must take particular care to ensure that the project does not conflict with the requirements for sound and appropriate urban development, cf. section 13(4)(i) of the Statutory Order, and that the project can be implemented in compliance with the waste water plan and the guidelines concerning water quality and ground water protection established in the regional plan, cf. section 13(4)(ii) of the Statutory Order. Competence disputes If there is any doubt as to which of the two authorities is the competent authority in any given case, the regional council decides which is the competent authority. Discharge of heavy metals and other environmentally incompatible substances Applications for permission to discharge waste water containing heavy metals and other environmentally incompatible substances must be considered on the basis of Statutory Order No. 921 of 8 October 1996 on quality standards for water bodies and emission standards for certain dangerous substances discharged into watercourses, lakes and the sea, see Chap. 16 below. 7.3 Competence of the local council 7.3.1 Domestic waste water Pursuant to section 14(1)(i) of the Statutory Order, the local council has competence to issue waste water discharge licences for installations capable of serving 30 person equivalents or less, including surface run-off. Such licences typically apply to the discharge of domestic waste water from single properties outside sewered areas, but may also govern the discharge from several properties of a total load corresponding to max. 30 p.e. via a private shared waste water system. The local council is also the licensing authority for discharges from public waste water systems having a capacity corresponding to max. 30 p.e. In addition, the local council is generally empowered to license the discharge of sanitary waste water from commercial enterprises representing a load corresponding to max. 30 p.e., since this type of waste water is also covered by the definition of domestic waste water. However, the following is an exception from this principal rule: 7.3.2 Process waste water representing max. 30 p.e. The local council is also the issuing authority in the case of installations having a capacity of max. 30 p.e., including surface run-off, established at commercial or industrial enterprises that discharge waste water whose content of pollutants can be expressed in p.e. in accordance with the definition given in section 2.1.4 above, cf. section 14(1)(ii) of the Statutory Order. However, the exception described in section 7.3.1 above also applies in such cases. 7.3.3 Surface run-off According to section 14(1)(iii) of the Statutory Order, the local council is empowered to issue licences for separate discharge of surface run-off, including from parking grounds accommodating max. 20 cars. Run-off from parking grounds for more than 20 cars, roads and railways is outside the local council’s competence and thus within that of the regional council. For a definition of surface run-off, see section 2.1.3 above. 7.3.4 Copy to the regional council A copy of the decisions made by the local council should be sent to the regional council for information and to assist the regional council in its supervision of the waters located in the region and its planning of objectives for their use and quality. 7.4 Competence of the regional council Under section 15 of the Statutory Order, the regional council has the authority to issue waste water discharge licences in cases where this authority is not vested in the local council, i.e. in all cases not expressly mentioned in section 14 of the Statutory Order. 7.4.1 Major public waste water systems The competence to issue discharge licences for public waste water systems having a capacity of more than 30 p.e. lies with the regional council. When a local council wants to obtain a licence to establish a new installation for waste water disposal or increase the volume discharged from an existing waste water system, it must submit an application to the regional council, cf. section 15 of the Statutory Order and section 28(1) of the Environmental Protection Act. The application must be based on the waste water plan adopted by the local authority. 7.4.2 Enterprises Licences for the discharge of waste water from enterprises not subject to approval under Part 5 of the Environmental Protection Act are also issued by the regional council under section 15 of the Statutory Order, provided that the capacity of the waste water system concerned exceeds 30 p.e. Licences for the discharge of waste water from enterprises subject to approval are issued in accordance with the provisions of Part 5 of the Environmental Protection Act and are described separately in section 7.5 below. 7.4.3 Surface run-off from roads and railways The competence to issue licences for the discharge of surface run-off from roads and railway areas is always vested in the regional council. With respect to parking grounds, the regional council is the licensing authority in cases involving run-off from paved areas for the parking of more than 20 cars. 7.4.4 Overflow from combined sewer systems Licences for the discharge from areas with a combined sewer system of diluted waste water (a mixture of surface water and waste water) resulting from rain events are issued by the regional council. Overflows may be discharged either directly via a weir installed in a discharge pipe, or via basins connected to the discharge pipe. Overfalls installed at waste water treatment plants, for example to receive overflows of partially treated waste water, are either subject to special conditions stipulated in the plant’s general discharge licence or to a separate discharge licence issued specifically for the overflow facility. Overflows may, for example, be installed after the physical treatment stage of a physico-biological treatment facility. Generally, collecting and storing the first four to six millimetres of the inflow in detention basins will be sufficient to ensure that sediments present in the collecting system is discharged into the treatment plant. The capacity of the individual basins must be calculated from an assessment of the rate of overflow and the sensitivity of the receiving water body. 7.5 Discharge from enterprises subject to approval As a principal rule, the authority to issue licences for the discharge of waste water from enterprises included on the list of enterprises subject to approval, cf. section 34(3) of the Environmental Protection Act, lies with the regional council. In the case of listed, a-labelled enterprises discharging waste water directly into watercourses, lakes or the sea from waste water systems with a capacity in excess of 30 p.e., the full authority to issue approvals and carry out supervision is transferred to the regional council, cf. section 3(2) of Statutory Order No. 794 of 9 December 1991 on the approval of listed activities as amended ("the Approval Order"). The authority is also transferred to the regional authority if the waste water discharged by listed, but non-a-labelled enterprises is not comparable to domestic waste water. Part 5 of the Environmental Protection Act In the case of enterprises subject to approval by the regional authority, discharge licences are issued by the regional council under Part 5 of the Environmental Protection Act, cf. section 34(3) of the said Act, whereby the discharge licence becomes part of the overall approval granted to the enterprise. Consequently, this type of approval is subject to an eight-year period of legal protection, cf. section 41(4) of the Environmental Protection Act. However, this does not apply to requirements stipulated as a result of new or revised quality standards for substance loads encompassed by Statutory Order No. 921 of 8 October 1996. However, licences for the discharge of waste water equal to or less than 30 p.e. from enterprises that are subject to approval and are operated by the regional council are issued by the local council. The local council is the approving authority for enterprises subject to approval that discharge more than 30 p.e. of waste water and are operated by the regional council. Nevertheless, the regional council retains the licensing authority, see the Guidelines to the Approval Order. 7.6 Conditions stipulated in discharge licences 7.6.1 Emission standards Quality objectives for the receiving water body When issuing a licence for waste water discharge, the competent authority must define the emission standards to be met by the licensee, in order to ensure that the discharge does not impede the achievement of the quality objectives established by the regional council for the water body concerned, cf. section 13(4)(ii) of the Statutory Order. The purpose of fixing emission standards is to ensure that the waste water discharged meets the biological or chemical water quality standards that apply below a certain dilution zone to be defined by the approval authority. The effects of a continuous discharge of waste water into, say, a watercourse will typically have to be assessed on the basis of the average minimum flow in the watercourse, calculated at full mixing level and taking into account the existing background concentration of the substances to be discharged. When assessing discharges that take place only in connection with rain events, allowance should be made for the fact that in such circumstances the flow will exceed the average minimum value. With regard to stipulating emission standards for discharges from single properties in rural areas, see section 11.5 below. Maps Each discharge licence issued should be accompanied by a map drawn up in a suitable scale, for example 1:1,500), that shows the siting of the enterprise on the property, and, if appropriate, a survey map showing the location of the property, for example, in scale 1:4,000. Permissible volumes etc. The discharge licence must specify the permissible volume of the discharge and the permissible concentration and/or quantities of pollutants, and any variations likely to occur on an hourly, diurnal or weekly basis. In this connection, the issuing authority must ensure that the watercourse has sufficient capacity to receive the discharge, cf. section 3(3) of Statutory Order no. 424 of 7 September 1983 on watercourse regulation etc., including rehabilitation of watercourses; see also section 3.3.1 above. Thus, a discharge may not cause more frequent or heavier flooding than that likely to be caused by run-off from the natural catchment area of the watercourse. Monitoring In addition, conditions for monitoring should be stipulated in the discharge licence, including internal control measures, in accordance with the guidelines described in section 7.6.2 below. The format in which monitoring data are to be made available to the supervisory authority and others should also be indicated in the licence. Time limit The conditions stipulated in the discharge licence should include a time limit within which the licence must be used. When licences are changed and new or revised conditions stipulated, a transition period is often defined to allow some time before the new conditions become effective. This also applies where existing conditions are changed in connection with an enforcement notice. Fixed-term licences In special circumstances, a discharge licence may be issued for a limited period, after which it must be reconsidered, cf. section 50(2) of the Statutory Order. Fixed-term licences may be issued, for example, where the quality objectives for the water body in question have not been finally decided, or where an existing licence has to be reconsidered for some other reason. Special training may be required for operations managers working at private shared installations > 1,000 p.e. When issuing discharge licences for private shared waste water systems having an approved capacity of more than 1,000 p.e., the regional county may stipulate that the operations manager must have completed the special training pursuant to the provisions of Statutory Order No. 533 of 20 June 1992 concerning training for operational staff employed at waste water treatment plants. In any case, this training is mandatory on all operations managers employed at municipal waste water treatment plants. 7.6.2 Sample-taking and analytical methods The discharge licence must stipulate terms and conditions for sample collection and analytical methods. For details, see Statutory Order No. 637 of 30 June 1997 concerning quality control of environmental measurements by accredited laboratories, certified individuals, etc. 7.6.3 Effluent monitoring Monitoring method Pursuant to Part 19(2) of the Statutory Order, discharges from treatment plants that are subject to national emission standards (see Part 8 of the Statutory Order) must be monitored in accordance with the Danish Standard (DS) in force at any given time. It is also recommended to monitor discharges from other treatment plants in accordance with the current Danish Standard, although this may not be required under the Statutory Order. Small plants generally take too few samples to be able to use the Danish Standard, according to which at least six samples must be collected. In such cases, monitoring may be carried out, for example, by calculating a simple average, supplemented, if necessary, with an absolute max. emission standard equal to, say, twice the statutory value. For industrial enterprises with separate outfalls, it is also recommended to base discharge monitoring on the applicable Danish Standard. For industrial enterprises whose waste water discharge is subject to large variations of flow, monitoring may alternatively be carried out according to the method described in Danish EPA’s Environmental Guidelines No. 1/1981 on the monitoring of separately discharged industrial effluents. Flow-proportional sampling Where possible, samples should be taken by flow-proportional methods. However, since this method is not always suitable under conditions of low, and perhaps widely varying, rates of flow, time-based sampling may be used in such circumstances. In exceptional cases, the inspection may be based on grab sampling. Number of samples The number of samples to be collected is generally determined according to the volume of the discharge and its impact on the receiving water body. The sensitivity of the type of plant concerned is also taken into account. The national standards for the minimum acceptable number of samples are stated in Chap. 8.3 below. Method of analysis The samples are analysed according to the methods described in Statutory Order No. 637 of 30 June 1997. If this Statutory Order does not include the relevant parameters, international standards should be used instead. In the absence of standards for the substances in question, analysis must be based on the best available rules and regulations. Today, there is no approved method for analysing discharges whose anticipated BOD5 load is too low to be determined using EN 1899-1:95. An ongoing study is trying to establish whether EN 1899-2:1995, which may be applied to receiving waters, may also be used for determining BOD5 in waste water samples with a biological oxygen demand between 0.5 mg/l and 6 mg/l. 7.7 Infiltration plants established in the proximity of watercourses, lakes and the sea Less than 25 meters The rules for waste water discharge described in this chapter also govern the establishment of infiltration plants with a clearance distance of less than 25 metres from watercourses, lakes or the sea, cf. section 16(1) of the Statutory Order. This is because the purifying effect of systems located close to a water body is assumed to be lower than that of other infiltration plants. Thus, nothing prevents the establishment of infiltration plant close to, for example, a watercourse, but from an administrative point of view, an application to this effect is equated with an application for a discharge licence, not with an application for the discharge of waste water into the ground under Part 12 of the Statutory Order. Nevertheless, the degree of treatment that can be achieved in an infiltration plant sited close to a watercourse will generally be significantly higher than by direct discharge via a settling tank. Water abstraction In addition to general concern for the quality objectives set for the receiving water body, the processing of such applications must also include examination/assessment of the prevailing hydrogeological conditions to ensure that the percolation of waste water will not expose water abstraction plants to any pollution risk, cf. section 16(2)(i) of the Statutory Order. Thus, where possible, a minimum acceptable clearance distance between the infiltration plant and abstraction plants for drinking water should be stipulated. In the case of abstraction plants not required to produce water of drinking water quality, the minimum clearance distance should preferably be 150 metres. Ground water resources Similarly, in considering an application for a licence to discharge waste water by percolation close to a watercourse, it is important to ensure that the discharge will not cause pollution of ground water resources that may be used for water abstraction. 7.8 Determination of capacity Conditions to be stipulated in the licence When issuing a discharge licence for a waste water system, the licensing authority, cf. section 17(1) of the Statutory Order, must define the capacity of the system in p.e., cf. the definition given in Chap. 2.1.7 above. Once the capacity of a system has been determined by the licensing authority, it is referred to as the ‘approved capacity’ of the system. For certain types of process waste water it is not possible to determine a capacity expressed in p.e., since such waste water is not comparable to domestic waste water. Nor is it is possible to determine the capacity of certain types of waste water systems, for example, installations handling separate and combined stormwater run-off. The capacity of a given waste water system is determined on the basis of the current municipal waste water plan, which shows both existing and planned catchment areas. However, the capacity fixed in the discharge licence is an administrative, not a measurable quantity, and may thus differ from the actual physical capacity of the system. Revision of licences Whenever new catchment areas are connected to a waste water system as the result of a revision of the municipal waste water plan, the discharge licence for the waste water system concerned must also be revised. This includes adjusting the capacity of the system. Disagreement about capacity In cases where the local council and the regional council disagree with regard to the capacity to be determined for a given waste water system, the final decision is made by the regional council, cf. section 17(2) of the Statutory Order. The decision made by the regional council is final and conclusive, cf. section 17(3). 7.9 Supervision and enforcement The regional council is the supervisory authority for public waste water systems discharging directly into watercourses, lakes and the sea, cf. section 55 of the Statutory Order. The regional council is also responsible for ensuring that operations managers of waste water systems are qualified under the provisions of Statutory Order No. 533 of 20 June 1992 concerning training for operations managers. Generally, the local council is the supervisory authority for private waste water systems, cf. section 55 of the Statutory Order. However, the regional council is the supervisory authority for enterprises subject to approval by the regional council, cf. section 55(2)(i) of the Statutory Order. Notwithstanding the above, the local council is the supervisory authority for enterprises operated by the regional council, cf. section 55(4) of the Statutory Order. The local council is the supervisory authority for enterprises that are subject to approval by the local council and discharge a waste water load of max. 30 p.e. The local council is the supervisory authority for enterprises that are subject to approval by the local council and are operated by the regional council. This applies regardless of the volume of the discharge. In cases where the licensing and the supervisory powers are vested in different bodies, the supervisory authority must refer any cases involving a violation of a licence to the licensing authority, which will then decide on the enforcement action to be taken. 7.10 Allocation of competence The table below shows the allocation of competence to issue discharge licences and supervise their enforcement. The table further indicates whether appeals may be lodged against the decisions made by these authorities. As a principal rule, the local council is competent to issue licences for the discharge of waste water from systems having a capacity of up to 30 population equivalents, whereas the regional council is the licensing authority for waste water systems with a capacity in excess of 30 p.e. Exceptions from this principal rule are indicated in the table. Correspondingly, the principal rule is that the local council supervises private waste water discharges. Any departures from this principal rule are indicated in the table. Table 7.1.
LC: Local council 7.11 Variation of discharge licences Enforcement notice under section 30 of the said Act The competent authority, i.e. the body empowered to license waste water discharges, may issue enforcement notices ordering an operator to introduce measures for improved treatment quality pursuant to section 30 of the Environmental Protection Act. It is a condition for issuing an enforcement notice that the performance of the existing system is not environmentally sound, including that the effluent from the system is one of the factors that prevent fulfilment of the objectives set for the receiving water body. This means that, in order for the authority to issue an enforcement notice under section 30 of the Environmental Protection Act, the water body that receives the effluent from the system must be polluted to such a degree that the quality objectives set for the particular water body cannot be met. However, an enforcement notice may, in certain circumstances, be issued also where the water quality objectives are met. An example of such circumstances could be unsanitary conditions. In such cases, the enforcement notice is to be issued on grounds other than non-fulfilment of the quality objectives for the receiving water body. Variation of conditions under section 30 of the said Act Enforcement notices under section 30 of the Environmental Protection Act may also be issued to vary the conditions laid down in a licence granted under section 28 of the Environmental Protection Act, in cases where the previously stipulated conditions are deemed outdated, insufficient or inappropriate. Variation of conditions under section 72(2) of the said Act Pursuant to section 72(2) of the Environmental Protection Act, the supervisory authority may revise the conditions of a licence in order to improve both the enterprise’s internal control measures and the external supervision process. The aim of this provision is to make the supervision of polluting enterprises more effective. Thus, the supervisory authority is responsible for ensuring, on a current basis and in step with technological progress, that the individual licences contain the necessary requirements with regard to sampling, analyses and measurements, and that the data produced in the course of the enterprises’ internal control process are available to the supervisory authority at any time and in the most appropriate format. Section 72(2) also applies in cases where no conditions for internal control are stipulated in the licence under review. It is sufficient that technological progress has made it necessary to specify conditions for internal control in licences that do not already contain such requirements. However, section 72(2) does not authorise the stipulation of more stringent requirements in respect of emission limit values for chemical substances. Prohibition notice Prohibition notices may only be issued against a licence granted under section 28 of the Environmental Protection Act in cases where pollution cannot be remedied, cf. section 30(2) of the Environmental Protection Act, or where pollution causes an imminent health risk, cf. section 20(3) of the said Act. 7.12 Right of appeal Local council decisions Decisions made by the local council under section 14(1) of the Statutory Order cannot be brought before another administrative authority, cf. section 14(2) of the Order. It should be noted that appeals may be lodged against licences authorising the discharge of waste water from systems capable of serving up to 30 population equivalents from listed enterprises for which the local authority is the approval authority, as such licences are issued pursuant to Part 5 of the Environmental Protection Act, cf. section 34(3) of the said Act. Regional council decisions Decisions made by the regional council may be brought before the Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with the general provisions of section 91 of the said Act. Danish Danish-EPA decisions In certain circumstances, decisions made by the Environmental Protection Agency may be brought before the Environmental Appeal Board under Part 12 of the said Act. This applies to decisions in matters of major or general public importance relating to discharges from municipal waste water systems or waste water systems owned by commercial or industrial enterprises, cf. section 103(1)(ii) of the Environmental Protection Act. The Environmental Appeal Board decides whether it has jurisdiction in any given case, cf. section 103(2)(i) of the said Act. Decisions made by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to discharges from private shared waste water systems capable of serving more than 30 p.e. cannot be brought before the Environmental Appeal Board, cf. section 103(2)(i). Decisions made by the Environmental Protection Agency in cases involving an enforcement notice pursuant to section 72(2) of the Environmental Protection Act may be brought before the Environmental Appeal Board, provided that the decisions are integrated in a licence encompassed by section 103(1)(ii) of the said Act. Decisions made by the Environmental Protection Agency in the form of an enforcement notice on internal control measures pursuant to section 72(2) of the Environmental Protection Act cannot be brought before the Environmental Appeal Board, since the Board does not have jurisdiction in matters governed by section 72 of the said Act.
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