COMMON POSITION (EC) No 7/2000

adopted by the Council on 25 November 1999

with a view to adopting Directive 2000/.../EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... on the incineration of waste

(2000/C 25/02)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(3),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(4),

Whereas:

(1) the fifth environment action programme: Towards sustainability - A European Community programme of policy and action in relation to the environment and sustainable development, supplemented by Decision No 2179/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(5) on its review, sets as an objective that critical loads and levels of certain pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2), heavy metals and dioxins should not be exceeded, while in terms of air quality the objective is that all people should be effectively protected against recognised health risks from air pollution; that programme further sets as an objective a 90 % reduction of dioxin emissions of identified sources by 2005 (1985 level) and at least 70 % reduction from all pathways of cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) emissions in 1995;

(2) the Protocol on persistent organic pollutants signed by the Community within the framework of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) Convention on long-range transboundary air pollution sets legally binding limit values for the emission of dioxins and furans of 0,1 ng/m3 TE (toxicity equivalents) for installations burning more than three tonnes per hour of municipal solid waste, 0,5 ng/m3 TE for installations burning more than one tonne per hour of medical waste, and 0,2 ng/m3 TE for installations burning more than one tonne per hour of hazardous waste;

(3) the protocol on heavy metals signed by the Community within the framework of the UN-ECE Convention on long-range transboundary air pollution sets legally binding limit values for the emission of particulates of 10 mg/m3 for hazardous and medical waste incineration and for the emission of mercury of 0,05 mg/m3 for hazardous waste incineration and 0,08 mg/m3 for municipal waste incineration;

(4) the international agency for research on cancer and the World Health Organisation indicate that some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are carcinogenic; therefore, Member States may set emission limit values for PAHs among other pollutants;

(5) in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty, there is a need to take action at the level of the Community; the precautionary principle provides the basis for further measures; this Directive confines itself to minimum requirements for incineration and co-incineration plants;

(6) further, Article 174 provides that Community policy on the environment is to contribute to protecting human health;

(7) therefore, a high level of environmental protection and human health protection requires the setting and maintaining of stringent operational conditions, technical requirements and emission limit values for plants incinerating or co-incinerating waste within the Community; the limit values set should prevent or, where that is not practicable, reduce as far as possible negative effects on the environment and the resulting risks to human health;

(8) the Communication from the Commission on the review of the Community strategy for waste management assigns prevention of waste the first priority, followed by reuse and recovery and finally by safe disposal of waste; in its Resolution of 24 February 1997 on a Community strategy for waste management(6), the Council reiterated its conviction that waste prevention should be the first priority of any rational waste policy in relation to minimising waste production and the hazardous properties of waste;

(9) in its Resolution of 24 February 1997, the Council also underlines the importance of Community criteria concerning the use of waste, the need for appropriate emission standards to apply to incineration facilities, the need for monitoring measures to be envisaged for existing incineration plants, and the need for the Commission to consider amending Community legislation in relation to the incineration of waste with energy recovery in order to avoid large-scale movements of waste for incineration or co-incineration in the Community;

(10) it is necessary to set strict rules for all plants incinerating or co-incinerating waste in order to avoid transboundary movements to plants operating at lower costs due to less stringent environmental standards;

(11) the Communication from the Commission - Energy for the future: renewable sources of energy - White paper for a Community strategy and action plan takes into consideration in particular the use of biomass for energy purposes;

(12) Council Directive 96/61/EC(7) sets out an integrated approach to pollution prevention and control in which all the aspects of an installation's environmental performance are considered in an integrated manner; installations for the incineration of municipal waste with a capacity exceeding three tonnes per hour and installations for the disposal or recovery of hazardous waste with a capacity exceeding 10 tonnes per day are included within the scope of the said Directive;

(13) compliance with the emission limit values laid down by this Directive should be regarded as a necessary but not sufficient condition for compliance with the requirements of Directive 96/61/EC; such compliance may involve more stringent emissions limit values for the pollutants envisaged by this Directive, emission limit values for other substances and other media, and other appropriate conditions;

(14) industrial experience in the implementation of techniques for the reduction of polluting emissions from incineration plants has been acquired over a period of ten years;

(15) Council Directives 89/369/EEC(8) and 89/429/EEC(9) on the prevention and reduction of air pollution from municipal waste incineration plants have contributed to the reduction and control of atmospheric emissions from incineration plants; more stringent rules should now be adopted and those Directives should accordingly be repealed;

(16) the distinction between hazardous and non-hazardous waste is based principally on the properties of waste prior to incineration or co-incineration but not on differences in emissions; the same emission limit values should apply to the incineration or co-incineration of hazardous and non-hazardous waste but different techniques and conditions of incineration or co-incineration and different monitoring measures upon reception of waste should be retained;

(17) Member States should take into account Council Directive 1999/30/EC of 22 April 1999 relating to limit values for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and lead in ambient air(10) when implementing this Directive;

(18) there may be grounds to provide for specified exemptions to the emission limit values for some pollutants during a specified time limit and subject to specific conditions;

(19) criteria for certain sorted combustible fraction of non-hazardous waste not suitable for recycling, should be developed in order to allow the authorisation of the reduction of the frequency of periodical measurements;

(20) a single text on the incineration of waste will improve legal clarity and enforceability; there should be a single directive for the incineration and co-incineration of hazardous and non-hazardous waste taking fully into account the substance and structure of Council Directive 94/67/EC of 16 December 1994 on the incineration of hazardous waste(11); therefore Directive 94/67/EC should also be repealed;

(21) Article 4 of Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste(12) requires Member States to take the necessary measures to ensure that waste is recovered or disposed of without endangering human health and without harming the environment; to this end, Articles 9 and 10 of that Directive provide that any plant or undertaking treating waste must obtain a permit from the competent authorities relating, inter alia, to the precautions to be taken;

(22) the permit for an incineration or co-incineration plant shall also comply with any applicable requirements laid down in Directives 91/271/EEC(13), 96/61/EC, 76/464/EEC(14), 1999/.../EC(15) and 1999/31/EC(16);

(23) the co-incineration of waste in plants not primarily intended to incinerate waste should not be allowed to cause higher emissions of polluting substances in that part of the exhaust gas volume resulting from such co-incineration than those permitted for dedicated incineration plants and should therefore be subject to appropriate limitations;

(24) high-standard measurement techniques are required to monitor emissions to ensure compliance with the emission limit values for the pollutants;

(25) the introduction of emission limit values for the discharge of waste water from the cleaning of exhaust gases from incineration and co-incineration plants will limit a transfer of pollutants from the air into water;

(26) provisions should be laid down for cases where the emission limit values are exceeded as well as for technically unavoidable stoppages, disturbances or failures of the purification devices or the measurement devices;

(27) in order to ensure transparency of the permitting process throughout the Community the public should have access to information with a view to allowing it to be involved in decisions to be taken following applications for new permits and their subsequent updates; the public should have access to reports on the functioning and monitoring of the plants burning more than three tonnes per hour in order to be informed of their potential effects on the environment and human health;

(28) the Commission should present a report both to the European Parliament and the Council based on the experience of applying this Directive, the new scientific knowledge gained, the development of the state of technology, the progress achieved in emission control techniques, and on the experience made in waste management and operation of the plants and on the development of environmental requirements, with a view to proposing, as appropriate, to adapt the related provisions of this Directive;

(29) the measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive are to be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(17);

(30) the Member States should lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the provisions of this Directive and ensure that they are implemented; those penalties should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Objectives

The aim of this Directive is to prevent or, where that is not practicable, to reduce as far as possible negative effects on the environment, in particular pollution by emissions into air, soil, surface water and groundwater, and the resulting risks to human health, from the incineration and co-incineration of waste.

This aim shall be met by means of stringent operational conditions and technical requirements, through setting emission limit values for waste incineration and co-incineration plants within the Community and also through meeting the requirements of Directive 75/442/EEC.

Article 2

Scope

1. This Directive covers incineration and co-incineration plants.

2. The following plants shall however be excluded from the scope of this Directive:

(a) Plants treating only the following wastes:

(i) vegetable waste from agriculture and forestry;

(ii) vegetable waste from the food processing industry;

(iii) wood waste with the exception of:

- wood waste that may contain halogenated organic compounds or heavy metals as a result of treatment;

- treated wood originating from building and demolition waste;

(iv) cork waste;

(v) waste excluded from the scope of Directive 75/442/EEC pursuant to Article 2(1) of that Directive;

(vi) waste resulting from the exploration for, and the exploitation of, oil and gas resources from off-shore installations and incinerated on board the installation;

(b) experimental plants used for research, development and testing in order to improve the incineration process and which treat less than 50 tonnes of waste per year.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive:

(1) "waste" means any solid or liquid waste as defined in Article 1(a) of Directive 75/442/EEC;

(2) "hazardous waste" means any solid or liquid waste as defined in Article 1(4) of Council Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991 on hazardous waste(18).

For the following hazardous wastes, the specific requirements for hazardous waste in this Directive shall not apply:

(a) combustible liquid wastes including waste oils as defined in Article 1 of Council Directive 75/439/EEC of 16 June 1975 on the disposal of waste oils(19) provided that they meet the following criteria:

(i) the mass content of polychlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons, e.g. polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) or pentachlorinated phenol (PCP) amounts to concentrations not higher than those set out in the relevant Community legislation;

(ii) these wastes are not rendered hazardous by virtue of containing other constituents listed in Annex II to Directive 91/689/EEC in quantities or in concentrations which are inconsistent with the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 4 of Directive 75/442/EEC; and

(iii) the net calorific value amounts to at least 30 MJ per kilogram;

(b) any combustible liquid wastes which cannot cause, in the flue gas directly resulting from their combusting, emissions other than those from gasoil as defined in Article 1(1) of Directive 93/12/EEC(20) or a higher concentration of emissions than those resulting from the combustion of gasoil as so defined;

(3) "mixed municipal waste" means waste from households as well as commercial, industrial and institutional waste, which because of its nature and composition is similar to waste from households, but excluding fractions indicated in the Annex to Decision 94/3/EC(21) under heading 2001 that are separately at source and excluding the other wastes indicated under heading 2002 to that Annex;

(4) "incineration plant" means any stationary or mobile technical unit and equipment dedicated to the thermal treatment of wastes with or without recovery of the combustion heat generated. This includes the incineration by oxidation of waste as well as other thermal treatment processes such as pyrolysis, gasification or plasma processes in so far as the substances resulting from the treatment are subsequently incinerated.

This definition covers the site and the entire incineration plant including all incineration lines, waste reception, storage, on site pre-treatment facilities, waste, fuel, and air-supply systems, boiler, facilities for the treatment of exhaust gases, on-site facilities for treatment or storage of residues and waste water, stack, devices and systems for controlling incineration operations, recording and monitoring incineration conditions;

(5) "co-incineration plant" means any stationary or mobile plant whose main purpose is the generation of energy or production of material products and:

- which uses wastes as a regular or additional fuel, or

- in which waste is thermally treated for the purpose of disposal.

If co-incineration takes place in such a way that the main purpose of the plant is not the generation of energy or production of material products but rather the thermal treatment of waste, the plant shall be regarded as an incineration plant within the meaning of point 4.

This definition covers the site and the entire plant including all co-incineration lines, waste reception, storage, on site pre-treatment facilities, waste, fuel and air-supply systems, boiler, facilities for the treatment of exhaust gases, on-site facilities for treatment or storage of residues and waste water, stack devices and systems for controlling incineration operations, recording and monitoring incineration conditions;

(6) "existing incineration or co-incineration plant" means an incineration or co-incineration plant:

(a) which is in operation and has a permit in accordance with existing Community legislation before ...(22), or

(b) which is authorised or registered for incineration or co-incineration and has a permit issued before ...(23) in accordance with existing Community legislation, provided that the plant is put into operation not later than ...(24); or

(c) which, in the view of the competent authority, is the subject of a full request for a permit, before ...(25), provided that the plant is put into operation not later than ...(26);

(7) "nominal capacity" means the sum of the incineration capacities of the furnaces of which an incineration plant is composed, as specified by the constructor and confirmed by the operator, with due account being taken, in particular, of the calorific value of the waste, expressed as the quantity of waste incinerated per hour;

(8) "emission" means the direct or indirect release of substances, vibrations, heat or noise from individual or diffuse sources in he plant into the air, water or soil;

(9) "emission limit values" means the mass, expressed in terms of certain specific parameters concentration and/or level of an emission, which may not be exceeded during one or more periods of time;

(10) "dioxins and furans" means all polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans listed in Annex I;

(11) "operator" means any natural or legal person who operates or controls the plant or, where this is provided for in national legislation, to whom decisive economic power over the technical functioning of the plant has been delegated;

(12) "permit" means a written decision (or several such decisions) delivered by the competent authority granting authorisation to operate a plant, subject to certain conditions which guarantee that the plant complies with all the requirements of this Directive. A permit may cover one or more plants or parts of a plant on the same site operated by the same operator;

(13) "residue" means any liquid or solid material (including bottom ash and slag, fly ash and boiler dust, solid reaction products from gas treatment, sewage sludge from the treatment of waste waters, spent catalysts and spent activated carbon) defined as waste in Article 1(a) of Directive 75/442/EEC, which is generated by the incineration or co-incineration process, the exhaust gas or waste water treatment or other processes within the incineration or co-incineration plant.

Article 4

Application and permit

1. Without prejudice to Article 11 of Directive 75/442/EEC or to Article 3 of Directive 91/689/EEC, no incineration or co-incineration plant shall operate without a permit to carry out these activities.

2. Without prejudice to Directive 96/61/EC, the application for a permit for an incineration or co-incineration plant to the competent authority shall include a description of the measures which are envisaged to guarantee that:

(a) the plant is designed, equipped and will be operated in such a manner that the requirements of this Directive are met, taking into account the categories of waste to be incinerated;

(b) the heat generated during the incineration and co-incineration process is recovered as far as practicable;

(c) the residues will be minimised in their amount and harmfulness and recycled where appropriate;

(d) the disposal of the residues which cannot be prevented, reduced or recycled will be carried out in conformity with national and Community legislation.

3. The permit shall be granted only if the application shows that the proposed measurement techniques for emissions into the air comply with Annex III and, as regards water, comply with Annex III(1) and (2).

4. The permit granted by the competent authority for an incineration or co-incineration plant shall:

(a) list explicitly the categories of waste which may be treated. The list shall use at least the categories of waste set up in the European waste catalogue (EWC), if possible, and contain information on the quantity of waste, where appropriate;

(b) include the total waste incinerating or co-incinerating capacity of the plant;

(c) specify the sampling and measurement procedures used to satisfy the obligations imposed for periodic measurements of each air and water pollutants.

5. The permit granted by the competent authority to an incineration or co-incineration plant using hazardous waste shall in addition to paragraph 4:

(a) list the quantities of the different categories of hazardous waste which may be treated;

(b) specify the minimum and maximum mass flows of those hazardous wastes, their lowest and maximum calorific values and their maximum contents or pollutants, e.g. PCB, PCP, chlorine, fluorine, sulphur, heavy metals.

6. Without prejudice to the provisions of the Treaty, Member States may list the categories of waste to be mentioned in the permit which can be co-incinerated in defined categories of co-incineration plants.

7. Without prejudice to Directive 96/61/EC, the competent authority shall periodically reconsider and, where necessary, update permit conditions.

8. Where the operator of an incineration or co-incineration plant for non-hazardous waste is envisaging a change of operation which would involve the incineration or co-incineration of hazardous waste, this shall be regarded as a substantial change within the meaning of Article 2(10)(b) of Directive 96/61/EC and Article 12(2) of that Directive shall apply.

Article 5

Delivery and reception of waste

1. The operator of the incineration or co-incineration plant shall take all necessary precautions concerning the delivery and reception of waste in order to prevent or, where not practicable, reduce as far as possible negative effects to the environment, in particular the pollution of air, soil, surface water and groundwater as well as odours and noise, and direct risks to human health. These measures shall meet at least the requirements set out in paragraphs 3 and 4.

2. The operator shall determine the mass of each category of waste, if possible according to the EWC, prior to accepting the waste at the incineration or co-incineration plant.

3. Prior to accepting hazardous waste at the incineration or co-incineration plant, the operator shall have available information about the waste for the purpose of verifying, inter alia, compliance with the permit requirements specified in Article 4(5). This information shall cover:

(a) all the administrative information on the generating process contained in the documents mentioned in paragraph 4(a);

(b) the physical, and as far as practicable, chemical composition of the waste and all other information necessary to evaluate its suitability for the intended incineration process;

(c) the hazardous characteristics of the waste, the substances with which it cannot be mixed, and the precautions to be taken in handling the waste.

4. Prior to accepting hazardous waste at the incineration or co-incineration plant, at least the following reception procedures shall be carried out by the operator:

(a) the checking of those documents required by Directive 91/689/EEC and, where applicable, those required by Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the supervision, and control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the European Community(27) and by dangerous-goods transport regulations;

(b) the taking of representative samples, unless inappropriate, e.g. for infectious clinical waste, as far as possible before unloading, to verify conformity with the information provided for in paragraph 3 by carrying out controls and to enable the competent authorities to identify the nature of the wastes treated. These samples shall be kept for at least one month after the incineration.

5. The competent authorities may grant exemptions from paragraph 2, 3 and 4 for industrial plants and undertakings incinerating or co-incinerating only their own waste at the place of generation of the waste provided that the requirements of this Directive are met.

Article 6

Operating conditions

1. Incineration plants shall be operated in order to achieve a level of incineration such that the slag and bottom ashes total organic carbon (TOC) content is less than 3 % or their loss on ignition is less than 5 % of the dry weight of the material. If necessary appropriate techniques of waste pre-treatment shall be used.

Incineration plants shall be designed, equipped, built and operated in such a way that the gas resulting from the process is raised, after the last injection of combustion air, in a controlled and homogeneous fashion and even under the most unfavourable conditions, to a temperature of 850 [deg ]C, as measured near the inner wall or at another representative point of the combustion chamber as authorised by the competent authority, for two seconds. If hazardous wastes with a content of more than 1 % of halogenated organic substances, expressed as chlorine, are incinerated, the temperature has to be raised to 1100 [deg ]C.

Each line of the incineration plant shall be equipped with at least one auxiliary burner. This burner must be switched on automatically when the temperature of the combustion gases after the last injection of combustion air falls below 850 [deg ]C or 1100 [deg ]C as the case may be. It shall also be used during plant start-up and shut-down operations in order to ensure that the temperature of 850 [deg ]C or 1100 [deg ]C as the case may be is maintained at all times during these operations and as long as unburned waste is in the combustion chamber.

During start-up and shut-down or when the temperature of the combustion gas falls below 850 [deg ]C or 1100 [deg ]C as the case may be, the auxiliary burner shall not be fed with fuels which can cause higher emissions than those resulting from the burning of gasoil as defined in Article 1(1) of Council Directive 75/716/EEC, liquefied gas or natural gas.

2. Co-incineration plants shall be designed, equipped, built and operated in such a way that the gas resulting from the co-incineration of waste is raised in a controlled and homogeneous fashion and even under the most unfavourable conditions, to a temperature of 850 [deg ]C for two seconds. If hazardous wastes with a content of more than 1 % of halogenated organic substances, expressed as chlorine, are co-incinerated, the temperature has to be raised to 1100 [deg ]C.

3. Incineration and co-incineration plants shall have and operate an automatic system to prevent waste feed:

(a) at start-up, until the temperature of 850 [deg ]C or 1100 [deg ]C as the case may be or the temperature specified according to paragraph 4 has been reached;

(b) whenever the temperature of 850 [deg ]C or 1100 [deg ]C as the case may be or the temperature specified according to paragraph 4 is not maintained;

(c) whenever the continuous measurements required by this Directive show that any emission limit value is exceeded due to disturbances or failures of the purification devices.

4. Conditions different from those laid down in paragraph 1 and, as regards the temperature, paragraph 3 and specified in the permit for certain categories of waste or for certain thermal processes may be authorised by the competent authority, provided the requirements of this Directive are met. Member States may lay down rules governing these authorisations. The change of the operational conditions shall not cause more residues or residues with a higher content of organic pollutants compared to those residues which could be expected under the conditions laid down in paragraph 1.

Conditions different from those laid down in paragraph 2 and, as regards the temperature, paragraph 3 and specified in the permit for certain categories of waste or for certain thermal processes may be authorised by the competent authority, provided the requirements of this Directive are met. Member States may lay down rules governing these authorisations. Such authorisation shall be conditional upon at least the provisions for emission limit values set out in Annex V for total organic carbon and CO being complied with.

In the case of co-incineration of their own waste at the place of its production in existing bark boilers within the pulp and paper industry, such authorisation shall be conditional upon at least the provisions for emission limit values set out in Annex V for total organic carbon being complied with.

All operating conditions determined under this paragraph and the results of verifications made shall be communicated by the Member State to the Commission as part of the information provided in accordance with the reporting requirements.

5. Incineration and co-incineration plants shall be designed, equipped, built and operated in such a way as to prevent emissions into the air giving rise to significant ground level air pollution; in particular, exhaust gases shall be discharged in a controlled fashion and in conformity with relevant Community air quality standards by means of a stack the height of which is calculated in such a way as to safeguard human health and the environment.

6. Any heat generated by the incineration or the co-incineration process shall be recovered as far as practicable.

7. Infectious clinical waste should be placed straight in the furnace, without first being mixed with other categories of waste and without direct handling.

8. The management of the incineration or the co-incineration plant shall be in the hands of a natural person who is competent to manage the plant.

Article 7

Air emission limit values

1. Incineration plants shall be designed, equipped, built and operated in such a way that the emission limit values set out in Annex V are not exceeded in the exhaust gas.

2. Co-incineration plants shall be designed, equipped, built and operated in such a way that the emission limit values determined according to or set out in Annex II are not exceeded in the exhaust gas.

If in a co-incineration plant more than 40 % of the resulting heat release comes from hazardous waste, the emission limit values set out in Annex V shall apply.

3. The results of the measurements made to verify compliance with the emission limit values shall be standardised with respect to the conditions laid down in Article 11.

4. In the case of co-incineration of untreated mixed municipal waste, the limit values will be determined according to Annex V, and Annex II will not apply.

5. Without prejudice to the provisions of the Treaty, Member States may set emission limit values for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or other pollutants.

Article 8

Water discharges from the cleaning of exhaust gases

1. Waste water from the cleaning of exhaust gases discharged from an incineration or co-incineration plant shall be subject to a permit granted by the competent authorities.

2. Discharges to the aquatic environment of waste water resulting from the cleaning of exhaust gases shall be limited as far as practicable, at least in accordance with the emission limit values set in Annex IV.

3. Subject to a specific provision in the permit, the waste water from the cleaning of exhaust gases may be discharged to the aquatic environment after separate treatment on condition that:

(a) the requirements of relevant Community, national and local provisions are complied with in the form of emission limit values; and

(b) the mass concentrations of the polluting substances referred to in Annex IV do not exceed the emission limit values laid down therein.

4. The emission limit values shall apply at the point where waste waters from the cleaning of exhaust gases containing the polluting substances referred to in Annex IV are discharged from the incineration or co-incineration plant.

Where the waste water from the cleaning of exhaust gases is treated on site collectively with other on-site sources of waste water, the operator shall take the measurements referred to in Article 11:

(a) on the waste water stream from the exhaust gas cleaning processes prior to its input into the collective waste water treatment plant;

(b) on the other waste water stream or streams prior to its or their input into the collective waste water treatment plant;

(c) at the point of final waste water discharge, after the treatment, from the incineration plant or co-incineration plant.

The operator shall take appropriate mass balance calculations in order to determine the emission levels in the final waste water discharge that can be attributed to the waste water arising from the cleaning of exhaust gases in order to check compliance with the emission limit values set out in Annex IV for the waste water stream from the exhaust gas cleaning process.

Under no circumstances shall dilution of waste water take place for the purpose of complying with the emission limit values set in Annex IV.

5. When waste waters from the cleaning of exhaust gases containing the polluting substances referred to in Annex IV are treated outside the incineration or co-incineration plant at a treatment plant intended only for the treatment of this sort of waste water the emission limit values of Annex IV are to be applied at the point where the waste waters leave the treatment plant. If this off-site treatment plant is not only dedicated to treat waste water from incineration, the operator shall take the appropriate mass balance calculations, as provided for under paragraph 4(a), (b) and (c), in order to determine the emission levels in the final waste water discharge that can be attributed to the waste water arising from the cleaning of exhaust gases in order to check compliance with the emission limit values set out in Annex IV for the waste water stream from the exhaust gas cleaning process.

Under no circumstances shall dilution of waste water take place for the purpose of complying with the emission limit values set in Annex IV.

6. The permit shall:

(a) establish emission limit values for the polluting substances referred to in Annex IV, in accordance with paragraph 2 and in order to meet the requirements referred to in paragraph 3(a);

(b) set operational control parameters for waste water at least for pH, temperature and flow.

7. Incineration and co-incineration plant sites, including associated storage areas for wastes, shall be designed and operated in such a way as to prevent the unauthorised and accidental release of any polluting substances into soil, surface water and groundwater in accordance with the provisions provided for in relevant Community legislation. Moreover, storage capacity shall be provided for contaminated rainwater run-off from the incineration or co-incineration plant site or for contaminated water arising form spillage or fire-fighting operations.

The storage capacity shall be adequate to ensure that such waters can be tested and treated before discharge where necessary.

8. Without prejudice to the provisions of the Treaty, Member States may set emission limit values for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or other pollutants.

Article 9

Residues

Residues resulting from the operation of the incineration and co-incineration plant shall be minimised in their amount and harmfulness. Residues shall be recycled, where appropriate, directly in the plant or outside in accordance with relevant Community legislation.

Transport and intermediate storage of dry residues in the form of dust, such as boiler dust and dry residues from the treatment of combustion gases, shall take place in such a way as to prevent dispersal in the environment e.g. in closed containers.

Prior to determining the routes for the disposal or recycling of the residues from incineration and co-incineration plants, appropriate tests shall be carried out to establish the physical and chemical characteristics and the polluting potential of the different incineration residues. The analysis shall concern the total soluble fraction and heavy metals soluble fraction.

Article 10

Control and monitoring

1. Measurement equipment shall be installed and techniques used in order to monitor the parameters, conditions and mass concentrations relevant to the incineration or co-incineration process.

2. The measurement requirements shall be laid down in the permit or in the conditions attached to the permit issued by the competent authority.

3. The appropriate installation and the functioning of the automated monitoring equipment for emissions into air and water shall be subject to control and to an annual surveillance test. Calibration has to be done by means of parallel measurements with the reference methods at least every three years.

4. The location of the sampling or measurement points shall be laid down by the competent authority.

5. Periodic measurements of the emissions into the air and water shall be carried out in accordance with Annex III, points 1 and 2.

Article 11

Measurement requirements

1. Member States shall, either by specification in the conditions of the permit or by general binding rules, ensure that paragraphs 2 to 12 and 17, as regards air, and paragraphs 14 to 17, as regards water, are complied with.

2. The following measurements of air pollutants shall be carried out in accordance with Annex III at the incineration and co-incineration plant:

(a) continuous measurements of the following substances: NOx, provided that emission limit values are set, CO, total dust, TOC, HCl, HF and SO2;

(b) continuous measurements of the following process operation parameters: temperature near the inner wall or at another representative point of the combustion chamber as authorised by the competent authority, concentration of oxygen, pressure, temperature and water vapour content of the exhaust gas;

(c) at least two measurements per year of heavy metals, dioxins and furans; one measurement at least every three months shall however be carried out for the first 12 months of operation. Member States may fix measurement periods where they have set emission limit values for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of other pollutants.

3. The residence time as well as the minimum temperature and the oxygen content of the exhaust gases shall be subject to appropriate verification, at least once when the incineration or co-incineration plant is brought into service and under the most unfavourable operating conditions anticipated.

4. The continuous measurement of HF may be omitted if treatment stages for HCl are used which ensure that the emission limit value for HCl is not being exceeded. In this case the emission of HF shall be subject to periodic measurements as laid down in paragraph 2(c).

5. The continuous measurement of the water vapour content shall not be required if the sampled exhaust gas is dried before the emissions are analysed.

6. Periodic measurements as laid down in paragraph 2(c) of HCl, HF and SO2 instead of continuous measuring may be authorised in the permit by the competent authority in incineration or co-incineration plants, if the operator can prove that the emissions of those pollutants can under no circumstances be higher than the prescribed emission limit values.

7. The reduction of the frequency of the periodic measurements for heavy metals form twice a year to once every two years and for dioxins and furans form twice a year to once every year may be authorised in the permit by the competent authority provided that the emissions resulting from co-incineration or incineration are below 50 % of the emission limit values determined according to Annex II or Annex V respectively and provided that criteria for the requirements to be met, developed in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17, are available. These criteria shall at least be based on the provisions of the second subparagraph, points (a) and (d).

Until 1 January 2005 the reduction of the frequency may be authorised even if no such criteria are available provided that:

(a) the waste to be co-incinerated or incinerated consists only of certain sorted combustible fractions of non-hazardous waste not suitable for recycling and presenting certain characteristics, and which is further specified on the basis of the assessment referred to in subparagraph (d);

(b) national quality criteria, which have been reported to the Commission, are available for these wastes;

(c) co-incineration and incineration of these wastes is in line with the relevant waste management plans referred to in Article 7 of Directive 75/442/EEC;

(d) the operator can prove to the competent authority that the emissions are under all circumstances significantly below the emission limit values set out in Annex II or Annex V for heavy metals, dioxins and furans; this assessment shall be based on information on the quality of the waste concerned and measurements of the emissions of the said pollutants;

(e) the quality criteria and the new period for the periodic measurements are specified in the permit; and

(f) all decisions on the frequency of measurements referred to in this paragraph, supplemented with information on the amount and quality of the waste concerned, shall be communicated on a yearly basis to the Commission.

8. The results of the measurements made to verify compliance with the emission limit values shall be standardised at the following conditions and for oxygen according to the formula as referred to in Annex VI:

(a) temperature 273 K, pressure 101,3 kPa, 11 % oxygen, dry gas, in exhaust gas of incineration plants;

(b) temperature 273 K, pressure 101,3 kPa, 3 % oxygen, dry gas, in exhaust gas of incineration of waste oil as defined in Directive 75/439/EEC;

(c) when the wastes are incinerated or co-incinerated in an oxygen-enriched atmosphere, the results of the measurements can be standardised at an oxygen content laid down by the competent authority reflecting the special circumstances of the individual case;

(d) in the case of co-incineration, the results of the measurements shall be standardised at a total oxygen content as calculated in Annex II.

When the emissions of pollutants are reduced by exhaust gas treatment in an incineration or co-incineration plant treating hazardous waste, the standardisation with respect to the oxygen contents provided for in the first subparagraph shall be done only if the oxygen content measured over the same period as for the pollutant concerned exceeds the relevant standard oxygen content.

9. All measurement results shall be recorded, processed and presented in an appropriate fashion in order to enable the competent authorities to verify compliance with the permitted operating conditions and emission limit values laid down in this Directive in accordance with procedures to be decided upon by those authorities.

10. The emission limit values for air shall be regarded as being complied with if:

(a) - none of the daily average values exceeds any of the emission limit values set out in Annex V(a), or Annex II,

- 97 % of the daily average value over the year does not exceed the emission limit value set out in Annex V(e) first indent;

(b) either none of the half-hourly average values exceeds any of the emission limit values set out in Annex V(b), column A or, where relevant, 97 % of the half-hour average values over the year do not exceed any of the emission limit values set out in Annex V(b), column B;

(c) none of the average values over the sample period set out for heavy metals and dioxins and furans exceeds the emission limit values set out in Annex V(c) and (d) or Annex II;

(d) the provisions of Annex V(e), second indent or Annex II, are met.

11. The half-hourly average values and the 10-minute averages shall be determined within the effective operating time (excluding the start-up and shut-off periods if no waste is being incinerated) from the measured values after having subtracted the value of the confidence interval specified in point 3 of Annex III. The daily average values shall be determined from those validated average values.

To obtain a valid daily average value is no more than five half-hourly average values in any day shall be discarded due to malfunction or maintenance of the continuous measurement system. No more than 10 daily average values per year shall be discarded due to malfunction or maintenance of the continuous measurement system.

12. The average values over the sample period and the average values in case of periodical measurements of HF, HCl and SO2 shall be determined in accordance with the requirements of Article 10(2) and (4) and Annex III.

13. The Commission, acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17, shall decide, as soon as appropriate measurement techniques are available within the Community, the date from which continuous measurements of the air emission limit values for heavy metals, dioxins and furans shall be carried out in accordance with Annex III.

14. The following measurements shall be carried out at the point of waste water discharge:

(a) continuous measurements of the parameters referred to in Article 8(6)(b);

(b) spot sample daily measurements of total suspended solids; Member States may alternatively provide for measurements of a flow proportional representative sample over a period of 24 hours;

(c) at least monthly measurements of a flow proportional representative sample of the discharge over a period of 24 hours of the polluting substances referred to in Article 8(3) with respect to points 2 to 10 in Annex IV;

(d) at least every six months measurements of dioxins and furans; however one measurement at least every three months shall be carried out for the first 12 months of operation. Member States may fix measurement periods where they have set emission limit values for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or other pollutants.

15. The monitoring of the mass of pollutants in the treated waste water shall be done in conformity with Community legislation and laid down in the permit as well as the frequency of the measurements.

16. The emission limit values for water shall be regarded as being complied with if:

(a) for total suspended solids (polluting substance number 1), 95 % and 100 % of the measured values do not exceed the respective emission limit values as set out in Annex IV;

(b) for heavy metals (polluting substances number 2 to 10) no more than one measurement per year exceeds the emission limit values set out in Annex IV; or, if the Member State provides for more than 20 samples per year, no more than 5 % of these samples exceed the emission limit values set out in Annex IV;

(c) for dioxins and furans (polluting substance 11), the twice-yearly measurements do not exceed the emission limit value set out in Annex IV.

17. Should the measurements taken show that the emission limit values for air or water laid down in this Directive have been exceeded, the competent authorities shall be informed without delay.

Article 12

Access to information and public participation

Without prejudice to Council Directive 90/313/EEC(28) and Council Directive 96/61/EC, applications for new permits shall be made available to the public to enable it to comment on them before the competent authority reaches a decision. That decision, including at least a copy of the permit, and any subsequent updates, shall also be made available to the public.

For incineration or co-incineration plants burning more than three tonnes per hour and notwithstanding Article 15(2) of Directive 96/61/EC, an annual report to be provided by the operator to the competent authority on the functioning and monitoring of the plant shall be made available to the public.

Article 13

Abnormal operating conditions

1. The competent authority shall lay down in the permit the maximum permissible period of any technically unavoidable stoppages, disturbances, or failures of the purification devices or the measurement devices, during which the concentrations in the discharges into the air and the purified waste water of the regulated substances may exceed the prescribed emission limit values.

2. In the case of a breakdown, the operator shall reduce or close down operations as soon as practicable until normal operations can be restored.

3. Without prejudice to Article 6(3)(c), the incineration plant shall under no circumstances continue to incinerate waste for a period of more than four hours uninterrupted where emission limit values are exceeded; moreover, the cumulative duration of operation in such conditions over one year shall be less than 60 hours. The 60-hour duration applies to those lines of the entire plant which are linked to one single flue gas cleaning device.

4. The total dust content of the emissions into the air of an incineration plant shall under no circumstances exceed 150 mg/m3 expressed as a half-hourly average; moreover the air emission limit values for CO and TOC shall not be exceeded. All other conditions referred to in Article 6 shall be complied with.

Article 14

Review clause

Without prejudice to Directive 96/61/EC, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council before 31 December 2008 based on experience of the application of this Directive, in particular for new plants, and on the progress achieved in emission control techniques and experience in waste management. Furthermore, the report shall be based on the development of the state of technology, of experience in the operation of the plants, of environmental requirements. The report shall, as appropriate, be accompanied by proposals for revision of the related provisions of this Directive.

Article 15

Reporting

The reports on the implementation of this Directive shall be established in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 5 of Council Directive 91/692/EEC. The first report shall cover at least the first full three-year period after(29) and comply with the periods referred to in Article 17 of Directive 94/67/EC and in Article 16(3) of Directive 96/61/EC. To this effect, the Commission shall elaborate the appropriate questionnaire in due time.

Article 16

Future adaptation of the Directive

The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17(2), amend Articles 10, 11 and 13 and Annexes I and III in order to adapt them to technical progress or new findings concerning the health benefits of emission reductions.

Article 17

Regulatory committee

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a regulatory committee.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.

3. The Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

Article 18

Repeal

The following shall be repealed as from(30):

(a) Article 8(1) and the Annex to Directive 75/439/EEC;

(b) Directive 89/369/EEC;

(c) Directive 89/429/EEC;

(d) Directive 94/67/EC.

Article 19

Penalties

The Member States shall determine penalties applicable to breaches of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive. The penalties thus provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The Member States shall notify those provisions to the Commission by(31) at the latest and shall notify it without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them.

Article 20

Transitional provisions

1. Without prejudice to the specific transitional provisions provided for in the Annexes to this Directive, the provisions of this Directive shall apply to existing plants as from(32).

2. For new plants, i.e. plants not falling under the definition of "existing incineration or co-incineration plant" in Article 3(6) or paragraph 3 of this Article, this Directive, instead of the Directives mentioned in Article 18, shall apply as from ...(33).

3. Stationary or mobile plants whose purpose is the generation of energy or production of material products and which are in operation and have a permit in accordance with existing Community legislation where required and which start co-incinerating waste not later than ...(34) are to be regarded as existing co-incineration plants.

Article 21

Implementation

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive not later than ...(35). They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by the Member States.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive.

Article 22

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 23

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at ...

For the European Parliament

The President

For the Council

The President

(1) OJ C 13, 17.1.1998, p. 6 and OJ C 372, 2.12.1998, p. 11.

(2) OJ C 116, 28.4.1999, p. 40.

(3) OJ C 198, 14.7.1999, p. 37.

(4) Opinion of the European Parliament of 14 April 1999 (OJ C 219, 30.7.1999, p. 249), Council common position of 25 November 1999 and Decision of the European Parliament of ... (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(5) OJ C 138, 17.5.1993, p. 5 and OJ L 275, 10.10.1998, p. 1.

(6) OJ C 76, 11.3.1997, p. 1.

(7) OJ L 257, 10.10.1996, p. 26.

(8) OJ L 163, 14.6.1989, p. 32. Directive as last amended by the Accession Act of 1994.

(9) OJ L 203, 15.7.1989, p. 50. Directive as last amended by the Accession Act of 1994.

(10) OJ L 163, 29.6.1999, p. 41.

(11) OJ L 365, 31.12.1994, p. 34.

(12) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 47. Directive as last amended by Commission Decision 96/350/EC (OJ L 135, 6.6.1996, p. 32).

(13) Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste water treatment (OJ L 135, 30.5.1991, p. 40). Directive as amended by Directive 98/15/EC (OJ L 67, 7.3.1998, p. 29).

(14) Council Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community (OJ L 129, 18.5.1976, p. 23). Directive as last amended by the Accession Act of 1994.

(15) Directive 1999/.../EC of ... establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (OJ L ...).

(16) Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (OJ L 182, 16.7.1999, p. 1).

(17) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(18) OJ L 377, 31.12.1991, p. 20. Directive as amended by Directive 94/31/EC (OJ L 168, 2.7.1994, p. 28).

(19) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 23. Directive as last amended by the Accession Act of 1994.

(20) Council Directive 93/12/EEC of 23 March 1993 relating to the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels (OJ L 74, 27.3.1993, p. 81). Directive as last amended by Directive 1999/32/EC (OJ L 121, 11.5.1999, p. 13).

(21) Commission Decision 94/3/EC of 20 December 1993 establishing a list of wastes pursuant to Article 1a of Council Directive 75/442/EEC on waste (OJ L 5, 7.1.1994, p. 15).

(22) Two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

(23) Two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

(24) Three years after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

(25) Two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

(26) Four years after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

(27) OJ L 30, 6.2.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2408/98 (OJ L 298, 7.11.1998, p. 19).

(28) Council Directive 90/313/EEC of 7 June 1990 on the freedom of access to information on the environment (OJ L 158, 23.6.1990, p. 56). Directive as amended by the Accession Act of 1994.

(29) Two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

(30) Five years after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

(31) Two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

(32) Five years after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

(33) Two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

(34) Four years after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

(35) Two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

ANNEX I

EQUIVALENCE FACTORS FOR DIBENZO-P-DIOXINS AND DIBENZOFURANS

>TABLE>

ANNEX II

DETERMINATION OF AIR EMISSION LIMIT VALUES FOR THE CO-INCINERATION OF WASTE

The following formula (mixing rule) is to be applied whenever a specific total emission limit value "C" has not been set out in a table to this Annex.

The limit value for each relevant pollutant and carbon monoxide in the exhaust gas resulting from the co-incineration of waste shall be calculated as follows:

>REFERENCE TO A GRAPHIC>

>TABLE>

Member States may lay down rules governing the exemptions provided for in this Annex.

II.1.

Special provisions for cement kilns co-incinerating waste

Daily average values (for continuous measurements) sample periods and other measurement requirements as in Article 7. All values in mg/m3 (dioxins and furans ng/m3). Half-hourly average values shall only be needed in view of calculating the daily average values.

The results of the measurements made to verify compliance with the emission limit values shall be standardised at the following conditions: Temperature 273 K, pressure 101,3 kPa, 10 % oxygen, dry gas.

II.1.1. C - total emission limit values

>TABLE>

Until 1 January 2008, exemptions for NOx may be authorised by the competent authorities for existing wet process cement kilns or cement kilns which burn less than three tonnes of waste per hour, provided that the permit foresees a total emission limit values for NOx of no more than 1200 mg/m3.

Until 1 January 2008, exemptions for dust may be authorised by the competent authorities for cement kilns which burn less than three tonnes of waste per hour, provided that the permit foresees a total emission limit values of not more than 50 mg/m3.

II.1.2. C - total emission limit values for SO2 and TOC

>TABLE>

Exemptions may be authorised by the competent authority in cases where TOC and SO2 do not result from the incineration of waste.

II.1.3. Emission limit value for CO

Emission limit values for CO can be set by the competent authority.

II.2.

Special provisions for combustion plants co-incinerating waste

II.2.1. Daily average values

Without prejudice to Directive 88/609/EEG and in the case where, for large combustion plants, more stringent emission limit values are set according to future Community legislation, the latter shall replace, for the plants and pollutants concerned, the emission limit values as laid down in the following tables (Cproc). In that case, the following tables shall be adapted to these more stringent emission limit values in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17 without delay.

Half-hourly average values shall only be needed in view of calculating the daily average values.

Cproc

>TABLE>

Until 1 January 2007 and without prejudice to relevant Community legislation, the emission limit value for NOx does not apply to plants only co-incinerating hazardous waste.

Until 1 January 2008, exemptions for NOx and SO2 may be authorised by the competent authorities for existing co-incineration plants between 100 and 300 MWth using fluidised bed technology and burning solid fuels provided that the permit foresees a Cproc value of not more than 350 mg/Nm3 for NOx and not more than 850 to 400 mg/Nm3 (linear decrease from 100 to 300 MWth) for SO2.

Cproc for biomass expressed in mg/Nm3 (O2 content 6 %):

"Biomass" means: products consisting of any whole or part of a vegetable matter from agriculture or forestry, which can be used for the purpose of recovering its energy content as well as wastes listed in Article 2(2)(a)(i) to (iv).

>TABLE>

Until 1 January 2008, exemptions for NOx may be authorised by the competent authorities for existing co-incineration plants between 100 and 300 MWth using fluidised bed technology and burning biomass provided that the permit foresees a Cproc value of not more than 350 mg/Nm3.

>TABLE>

II.2.2. C - total emission limit values

>TABLE>

C expressed in ng/m3 (O2 content 6 %). All average values measured over the sample period of a minimum of six hours and a maximum of eight hours:

>TABLE>

II.3. Special provisions for industrial sectors not covered under II.1 or II.2 co-incinerating waste

II.3.1. C - total emission limit values

C expressed in ng/m3. All average values measured over the sample period of a minimum of six hours and a maximum of eight hours:

>TABLE>

C expressed in mg/m3. All average values over the sample period of a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of eight hours:

>TABLE>

ANNEX III

MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES

1. Measurements for the determination of concentrations of air and water polluting substances have to be carried out representatively.

2. Sampling and analysis of all pollutants including dioxins and furans as well as reference measurement methods to calibrate automated measurement systems shall be carried out as given by CEN standards. If CEN standards are not available, ISO standards, national or international standards which will ensure the provision of data of an equivalent scientific quality shall apply.

3. At the daily emission limit value level, the values of the 95 % confidence intervals of a single measured result shall not exceed the following percentages of the emission limit values:

>TABLE>

ANNEX IV

EMISSION LIMIT VALUES FOR DISCHARGES OF WASTE WATER FROM THE CLEANING OF EXHAUST GASES

>TABLE>

Until 1 January 2008, exemptions for total suspended solids may be authorised by the competent authority for existing incineration plants provided the permit foresees that 80 % of the measured values do not exceed 30 mg/l and none of them exceed 45 mg/l.

ANNEX V

AIR EMISSION LIMIT VALUES

(a) Daily average values

>TABLE>

Exemptions for NOx may be authorised by the competent authority for existing incineration plants:

- with a nominal capacity of <= 6 tonnes per hour, provided that the permit foresees the daily average values do not exceed 500 mg/m3 and this until 1 January 2008,

- with a nominal capacity of > 6 tonnes per hour but <= 16 tonnes per hour, provided the permit foresees the daily average values do not exceed 400 mg/m3 and this until 1 January 2010,

- with a nominal capacity of > 16 tonnes per hour but < 25 tonnes per hour and which do not produce water discharges, provided that the permit foresees the daily average values do not exceed 400 mg/m3 and this until 1 January 2008.

Until 1 January 2008, exemptions for dust may be authorised by the competent authority for existing incinerating plants, provided that the permit foresees the daily average values do not exceed 20 mg/m3.

(b) Half-hourly average values

>TABLE>

Until 1 January 2010, exemptions for NOx may be authorised by the competent authority for existing incineration plants with a nominal capacity between six and 16 tonnes per hour, provided the half-hourly average value does not exceed 600 mg/m3 for column A or 100 mg/m3 for column B.

(c) All average values over the sample period of a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of eight hours

>TABLE>

These average values cover also gaseous and the vapour forms of the relevant heavy metal emissions as well as their compounds.

(d) Average values shall be measured over a sample period of a minimum of six hours and a maximum of eight hours. The emission limit value refers to the total concentration of dioxins and furans calculated using the concept of toxic equivalence in accordance with Annex I

>TABLE>

(e) The following emission limit values of carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations shall not be exceeded in the combustion gases (excluding the start-up and shut-down phase)

- 50 mg/m3 of combustion gas determined as daily average value,

- 150 mg/m3 of combustion gas of at least 95 % of all measurements determined as 10-minute average values or 100 mg/m3 of combustion gas of all measurements determined as half-hourly average values taken in any 24-hour period.

Exemptions may be authorised by the competent authority for incineration plants using fluidised bed technology, provided that the permit foresees an emission limit value for carbon monoxide (CO) of not more than 100 mg/m3 as an hourly average value.

(f) Member States may lay down rules governing the exemptions provided for in this Annex

ANNEX VI

FORMULA TO CALCULATE THE EMISSION CONCENTRATION AT THE STANDARD PERCENTAGE OXYGEN CONCENTRATION

>REFERENCE TO A GRAPHIC>

ES= calculated emission concentration at the standard percentage oxygen concentration

EM= measured emission concentration

OS= standard oxygen concentration

OM= measured oxygen concentration

STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS

I. INTRODUCTION

1. On 24 November 1997, the Commission sent the Council a proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 94/67/EC on the incineration of hazardous waste(1) and on 29 October 1998 a proposal for a Council Directive on the incineration of waste(2). Both proposals were based on Article 130s(1) of the Treaty.

2. The European Parliament delivered its opinion on 14 April 1999 which was confirmed under the co-decision procedure(3). The Economical and Social Committee delivered its opinion on the proposal amending Directive 94/67/EC on 29 April 1998(4) and on the proposal on the incineration of waste on 25 February 1999(5), whereas the Committee of the Regions gave its opinion on 10 March 1999(6).

3. Following these opinions, the Commission forwarded an amended proposal to the Council on 13 July 1999.

4. On 25 November 1999, the Council adopted its common position in accordance with Article 251(2) of the Treaty (former Article 189b).

II. OBJECTIVE

The aim of the Directive is to prevent or, where that is not practicable, to reduce as far as possible negative effects on the environment, in particular the pollution by emissions into air, soil, surface water and groundwater, and the resulting risks to human health, from the incineration and co-incineration of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. This aim should be met by way of stringent operational conditions and technical requirements and setting up emission limit values for waste incineration and co-incineration plants within the Community with a view to also meeting the requirements of the Directive on waste (75/442/EEC) and more in particular that Member States encourage waste to be prevented, reduced, recovered, used as a source of energy or disposed of without endangering human health and without using methods or processes which could harm the environment.

The proposed Directive seeks, in particular:

- to update existing Community legislation on the incineration of municipal waste according to factors such as technical progress,

- to extend existing Community legislation both to the incineration and co-incineration of all kinds of waste,

- to reduce considerably the releases of heavy metals, dioxins and furans,

- to introduce emission limit values for the discharge of water resulting from the cleaning of exhaust gases, and

- to achieve, as far as possible, recovery of the generated heat and the minimisation of residues resulting from the incineration process.

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION(7)

The Council's common position, whilst generally maintaining the approach proposed by the Commission, has added a series of provisions either to strengthen or to clarify it.

As requested by the European Parliament, the Council also agreed to merge:

- the existing Directive on the incineration of hazardous waste,

- the Commission's proposal amending the Directive (introducing emission limit values and associated conditions for the treatment of waste water), and

- the Commission's proposal on the incineration of waste to strengthen the provisions contained in existing legislation on municipal waste incineration, on the one hand, and to cover waste not within the scope of the existing Directive on the incineration of hazardous waste on the other.

Concerning the merge and subject to a specified transition period for NOx and heavy metal emissions caused by the incineration of hazardous waste, the Council accepted that for hazardous and non-hazardous waste the same emission limit values apply. More stringent provisions for hazardous waste are, however, kept for reception and storage purposes.

A. Amended Commission proposal

The Council adopted, either in full or in part and occasionally implicitly, all but two (amendment 24, last element, and amendment 64) of the 18 European Parliament amendments accepted by the Commission (eight of them being related to the merge). Moreover, the Council introduced into its common position fully or partly six other amendments not being retained in the Commission's amended proposal and two supplementary elements of amendments only partly accepted by the Commission. The latter concern Amendments 8 (only partly i.e. reference to the Directive on waste), 9 (last element, i.e. to exclude experimental plants for research and development purposes retaining, however, a higher threshold), 16 (implied because reflected in recital 13), 56 (i.e. including the European Parliament amendments proposed for the former paragraphs 4 and 5, currently paragraphs 4 and 2 respectively), 57 (linked to the emission limit values (ELVs) of Annex IV), 58 (first part: addition of "pH"), 30 (second part but for plants burning more than three tonnes per hour) and 43 (partly, i.e. for the process referred to and the retained ELV).

B. Innovations introduced by the Council

Article 2 - Scope

The Council decided it was appropriate to consider vegetable waste from the food processing industry and cork waste as biomass and, therefore, excluded them from the scope of the Directive.

Article 3 - Definitions

- hazardous waste

The Council is of the opinion that maintaining the text of the definition as it was stipulated in the existing hazardous waste Directive is justified and does not need to be altered.

- mixed municipal waste

The Council preferred to introduce such a definition for the purpose of Article 7(4).

- co-incineration plant

The Council added:

- the concept of the thermal treatment for the purpose of disposal (in the sense given in Directive 75/442/EEC),

- a sentence to ensure that the main purpose of a co-incineration plant is the production of material products or the generation of energy.

- existing incineration plant

The Council has specified this definition according to the state of the permit procedure.

- nominal capacity

The Council added this definition for the purpose of clarifying the calculation to be done to apply the emission limit values specified in Annex V(a) and (b).

Article 4 - Application and permit

The Council has added provisions:

- in paragraph 6: to enable Member States, which so wish, to list the type of waste in the permit which can be co-incinerated in defined categories of such plants,

- in paragraph 8: that the permit be adapted according to Article 12(2) of the IPPC-Directive if an operator of a plant incinerating non-hazardous waste envisages starting also to incinerate hazardous waste.

Article 6 - Operating conditions

The Council has:

- strengthened paragraph 2 by adding conditions for the co-incineration of hazardous waste, and

- added three paragraphs:

- paragraph 4: an exemption clause for existing bark boilers,

- paragraph 7: to secure handling of infectious clinical waste,

- paragraph 8: to ensure that the management of the plants shall be in the hands of a competent natural person.

Article 8 - Water discharges from the cleaning of exhaust gases

The Council specified that in the context of the proposed Directive and the processes it envisages the waste waters to be dealt with concern only those resulting from the cleaning of exhaust gases.

Moreover, the Council stressed that if waste waters are treated outside the plant (see new paragraph 5) this should be done according to strict conditions including, for example, the prohibition of dilution.

The Council also added an optional provision for Member States to set emission limit values for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) or other pollutants.

Article 11 - Measurement requirements

The Council added the same optional clause for air, as it did for water (under Article 8), to enable Member States to set emission limit values for PAHs or other pollutants.

Moreover, the Council added another optional clause (see paragraph 7) allowing competent authorities to deliver a permit granting the possibility to reduce the periodic measurements for heavy metals and dioxins and furans, but only under very strict conditions (e.g. the emissions should be significantly below the emission limit values determined in Annexes II or V). After 2005, however, such derogations can only be authorised if the emissions are 50 % below the emission limit values and if specific criteria have been developed according to the Committee procedure provided for by the Directive. It should be noted, however, that this new paragraph is to be read in conjunction with paragraph 13.

In paragraph 10 the Council introduced a 97 % daily average value over the year for the carbon monoxide emission limit value mentioned in Annex V(e).

In paragraph 16 (and corresponding Annex IV) the compliance figures and emission limit values into water have been changed to offer an alternative both for total suspended solids and heavy metals.

Article 14 - Review clause

The Council added a review clause asking the Commission to report before the end of 2008 both to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of the proposed Directive and the experience and progress achieved since its implementation, to be accompanied, if appropriate, by proposals for revision.

Article 15 - Reporting

The Council asked the Commission to elaborate an appropriate questionnaire in due time.

Article 16 - Future adaptation of the Directive

Some of the Annexes of the proposed Directive being of a political nature, (e.g. Annexes II, IV and V), the Council is of the opinion that their possible future adaptation should be done according to the co-decision procedure.

Article 20 - Transitional provisions

The Council added a new paragraph 3 to clarify that plants, which are producing products or generating energy and which have a permit where required by Community legislation, shall, if they start to co-incinerate waste not later than four years after the entry into force of the Directive, be regarded as existing co-incineration plants.

Annex II

The Council, rather than changing the emission limit values put forward by the Commission, has, because of difficulties for a certain number of plants which are related to cost/benefit considerations, opted for a set of exemption clauses which are limited in time either for certain kinds of existing processes or for plants with a determined capacity. The Council also added a clause (under Section II.2.1) to clarify the link with Directive 88/609/EEC on large combustion plants and possible future legislation for these plants and a definition for biomass to clarify the type of authorised "fuels" to be used.

Annex IV - Emission limit values for discharge of waste water from the cleaning of exhaust gases

The Council considers that, rather than following the Commission's approach for this Annex:

- instead of sum emission limit values for heavy metals, individual emission limit values for the different parameters should be fixed; some of the less relevant ones, as far as their pollution potential is concerned, have been deleted (Sb, Co, Mn and V),

- regarding total suspended solids, the possibility of choosing between two values accompanied by an exemption clause is more realistic in terms of feasibility and is, moreover, in line with Directive 91/271/EEC,

- regarding dioxins and furans, a lower value (0,3 ng/l) than the proposed one should be set.

Annex V - Air emission limit values

The Council, whilst leaving the emission limit values proposed by the Commission unchanged, added certain exemption clauses for existing plants for NOx and dust for specified time limits and/or according to capacity.

Annex VI - Formula to calculate the emission concentration at the standard percentage oxygen concentration

The Council added this standardised formula to facilitate the calculation of the emission concentration at the standard percentage oxygen concentration as referred to in Article 11(8).

The Commission has accepted the common position agreed upon by the Council.

(1) OJ C 13 of 17.1.1998, p. 6.

(2) OJ C 372 of 2.12.1998, p. 11.

(3) OJ C 219 of 30.7.1999, p. 249 and OJ C 279 of 1.10.1999, p. 274.

(4) OJ C 214 of 10.7.1998.

(5) OJ C 116 of 28.4.1999, p. 40.

(6) OJ C 198 of 14.7.1999, p. 37.

(7) The numbering of the recitals, Articles and Annexes follows those retained in the common position.