Guidelines to Statutory Order on the Licensing of Waste Water Discharges 9. Reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus loads discharged from major industrial enterprises9.1 The enterprises 9.1 The enterprises Enterprises subject to load reduction Part 9 of the Statutory Order sets out the measures to be implemented in connection with the licensing of the direct discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus to watercourses, lakes or the sea by major industrial enterprises. The provisions of this Part apply to the licensing of discharges from individual industrial enterprises or waste water systems, including shared industrial waste water systems, whose total annual post-treatment load exceeds 22 tonnes nitrogen or 7.5 tonnes phosphorus. Enterprises connected to a public outfall downstream of the treatment plant As a principal rule, enterprises connected to a public outfall downstream of a municipal treatment plant and located within the plant’s catchment area are subject to the conditions stipulated in a licence to connect to the public waste water system, cf. section 28(3) of the Environmental Protection Act. However, this rule does not apply to enterprises connected to the outfall from a municipal treatment plant, cf. section 20(2) of the Statutory Order, whose total annual discharge of waste water exceeds either 22 tonnes nitrogen or 7.5 tonnes phosphorus. Pursuant to section 20(2) of the Statutory Order, such enterprises are governed by the provisions of Part 9, i.e. are subject to the same rules as enterprises discharging directly into watercourses, lakes or the sea. The regional council’s issuing of a licence for such enterprises to connect its effluent to the municipal outfall is subject to the prior approval of the local council. Discharge of effluent from different enterprises via the same discharge pipe As a principal rule, two or more industrial enterprises discharging through the same pipe must obtain separate discharge licences. Other industrial effluents Industrial effluents representing a total annual load of less than 22 tonnes of nitrogen and 7.5 tonnes of phosphorus or containing only heavy metals and/or environmentally incompatible substances are not governed by the provisions of Part 9 of the Statutory Order, but by the general rules set out in Part 7. Fish farms discharging higher loads of nitrogen and phosphorus are not governed by the provisions of Part 9, but are regulated either under Statutory Order No. 204 of 31 March 1998 on freshwater fish farming or Statutory Order No. 640 of 17 September 1990 on salt water fish farming. 9.2 Definitions For the purposes of this Statutory Order, an ‘industrial waste water system’ means a waste water system (as defined in section 4(7) of the Statutory Order) that handles waste water from one industrial enterprise only. However, the system may also handle waste water effluent or parts of waste water effluents from other industrial enterprises, provided that it is for the sole purpose of optimising the performance of the system. ‘Industrial effluent’ means the total volume of waste water discharged into watercourses, lakes or the sea by a single industrial enterprise. ‘Shared industrial waste water systems’ are waste water systems that handle waste water from different industrial enterprises. In cases where such waste water systems also handle waste water from sources other than industrial enterprises, the effluent is subject to the provisions of Part 7 of the Statutory Order. For the purpose of calculating the total annual volume of an industrial effluent to determine whether it is subject to the provisions of Part 7 of the Statutory Order, the calendar year is normally used as reference period. Where appropriate, however, a different 12-month period may serve as reference, for example, where the production activities are subject to recurring seasonal variations. The reference period should be defined in the discharge licence, possibly in response to a motivated request included in the application. 9.3 Treatment standards Level of treatment According to section 21(1) and (2), the treatment effected in industrial waste water systems governed by Part 9 of the Statutory Order must, as a minimum, be based on the best available techniques. More stringent requirements may be introduced if the regional plan defines higher quality standards for the waters of the particular region. In such cases, enterprises may be required to reduce the substance load of their effluents to a level that does not prevent achievement of the quality objectives set for the receiving waters. This means that additional requirements for treatment/reduction may only be imposed on an enterprise if its effluent is one of the factors that prevent the quality target being met or maintained. 9.4 Substance reduction What constitutes the ’best available techniques’? According to section 21 of the Statutory Order, emissions of nitrogen and phosphorus encompassed by Part 9 of the Statutory Order must be reduced to the lowest possible level using the best available techniques (BAT). According to the definition of this concept given in section 4(11) of the Statutory Order, this means the technology that is technically and financially achievable for the type of enterprise concerned. The BAT principle applies to both production and treatment activities. The ‘type of enterprise’ is determined by an overall assessment of the enterprise concerned. However, it may be difficult to classify large, complex enterprises and production activities as belonging to just any one type of enterprise. In such cases, each of the facilities that deliver waste water to the enterprise’s total effluent should be required to use what is deemed the best available techniques for the type of enterprise that is the closest equivalent to the particular facility. This is the minimum requirement to be met by enterprises applying for a discharge licence under the Statutory Order. As mentioned in section 9.3 above, further requirements may be stipulated in the licence, if this is necessary to achieve the quality targets set in the regional plans for the waters concerned. The minimum requirement of using the best available techniques in handling industrial effluents was established in connection with the adoption of the Aquatic Environment Plan in 1987. It was estimated that the large variations in type and ability to reduce the nitrogen and phosphorus loads in their effluents would make it difficult for several enterprises encompassed by the Plan (cf. section 20 of the Statutory Order) to meet the emission limit values fixed in the Plan for waste water discharged into municipal treatment plants (8 mg/l for nitrogen and 1.5 mg/l for phosphorus). As part of the efforts to reduce the nutrient loads discharged by major enterprises, such enterprises are therefore subject to more stringent requirements with regard to documenting reductions in their discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus by using the best available techniques. Section 22(1) of the Statutory Order contains a detailed description of the type of documentation/basic information to be submitted with applications for discharge licences. In addition, the regional council may require the applicant to provide further information, cf. section 22(3) of the Statutory Order, which, together with the basic information described above, will enable the regional council to decide whether to grant the application. In its capacity as licensing authority, the regional council must evaluate the individual enterprise’s use of the best available techniques by weighing the data submitted in each case against the aim of the Aquatic Environment Plan (which underlies Part 9 of the Statutory Order), viz. to reduce the quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus discharged with industrial effluents to the lowest possible level by means of the best available techniques. The regional council should base its evaluation, partly on the information submitted with the application, partly on the council’s own assessment of how this information compares with the results of studies conducted by public authorities and existing knowledge in the field. Sections 3 and 4 of the Environmental Protection Act The principle of an "integrated approach" is also implied in sections 3 and 4 of the Environmental Protection Act. It is not limited to listed (or IPPC) enterprises, but applies to pollution control in general. It is therefore also relevant to the public authorities’ conception of what, in broader terms, constitutes the best available techniques. Fixed-term licences to ensure compliance with the BAT principle A number of existing enterprises, which since 1987 have been encompassed by the Aquatic Environment Plan, have not yet fully implemented the Plan’s requirement with regard to using the best available techniques. Several of these enterprises are in the middle of an ongoing process initiated with the long-term goal of gradually, over a number of years, reducing the permissible effluent loads using the BAT principle established in the Aquatic Environment Plan. As part of this process, most of the participating enterprises have been granted a number of successive, fixed-term discharge licences. This option is generally available to the authorities in cases where a given enterprise is not immediately able to meet the requirements for using the best available techniques. 9.5 Effluent monitoring The supervisory authority is responsible for general monitoring of industrial effluents, including the annual quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus discharged with the waste water. Conditions for effluent monitoring must be stipulated in the discharge licence, cf. section 51(1) of the Statutory Order. Monitoring may be organised in compliance with the rules laid down in the Danish Standard for statistical effluent monitoring or any other monitoring method to be specified in the discharge licence. Effluents may, alternatively, be monitored under Danish EPA’s Environmental Guidelines No. 1/1981 on the monitoring of separately discharged industrial effluents. In this connection, it should be noted that, according to the monitoring programme described in the Aquatic Environment Plan, the effluents to be monitored are to be classified according to size into different sampling classes and a required minimum number of samples per year to be fixed for each class. 9.6 Transfer of competence With regard to transfer of competence, reference is made to section 7.5 on discharge from enterprises subject to approval and to section 7.10 on allocation of competence. 9.7 Legal protection Reference is made to section 7.5 on discharge from enterprises subject to approval. 9.8 Supervision and enforcement Reference is made to section 7.6 on supervision and enforcement. However, in cases where an enterprise not included on the list of enterprises subject to approval is encompassed by the provisions of this Part of the Statutory Order, the local council is the authority responsible for supervising the enterprise, including its compliance with the conditions stipulated in the discharge licence. 9.9 Right of appeal With respect to right of appeal, see section 7.12.
|