Proposal for a Council Directive on ambient air quality assessment and management (94/C 216/04) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(94) 109 final - 94/0106(SYN)

(Submitted by the Commission on 4 July 1994)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130s, paragraph 1, thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

In cooperation with the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Whereas the fifth action programme of 1992 on the environment foresees amendments to existing legislation on air pollutants and extension of the list of regulated air pollutants and requires the establishment of long term objectives;

Whereas in order to protect the environment as a whole and human health, concentrations of harmful air pollutants shall be limited and ambient air quality objectives set;

Whereas the numerical values for the ambient air quality objectives shall be based on the findings of work carried out by international scientific groups active in the field;

Whereas the ambient air quality needs to be assessed against quality objectives;

Whereas the needs for the assessment of the ambient air quality in the European Community have to be proportional to the degree of pollution;

Whereas the strategy for this assessment has to be linked to the air pollution levels and to the size of populations and ecosystems exposed to these levels;

Whereas, at a regional scale and in order to optimize the cost effectiveness of prevention measures, greater flexibility for ambient air quality management is foreseen in order to follow sustainable development;

Whereas in order for assessment of ambient air quality based on measurements made in Member States to be comparable, the location and number of sampling points and methods of measurement shall be specified when values are set for ambient air quality objectives;

Whereas to allow for the use of other techniques of estimation of ambient air quality besides direct measurement it is necessary to define the criteria for use and required accuracy of these techniques;

Whereas the general rules set up under the present Directive have to be completed by others specific to the individual substances covered;

Whereas in order to protect the environment as a whole and human health it is necessary that Member States take action when limit values are exceeded in order to comply with these values within the time fixed;

Whereas these actions require time to be implemented and become effective, permitted margins of exceedance of the ambient air quality objectives may need to be set;

Whereas areas may exist in Member States where levels are greater than the limit value but within the allowed margin of exceedance; whereas ambient air quality shall not be allowed to deteriorate significantly or permanently and the limit value shall be complied with within the time specified;

Whereas the setting of alert thresholds at which precautionary measures should be taken by the public will make it possible to limit the impact of pollution episodes on health;

Whereas in order to facilitate handling and comparison of data received, this shall be provided to the Commission in standardized form;

Whereas the implementation of a wide and comprehensive policy for ambient air quality assessment and management needs to be based on strong technical and scientific grounds and permanent exchange of views with the Member States;

Whereas in order to provide the Commission with the necessary assistance with these matters, an advisory committee shall be set up;

Whereas in order to manage the information collected and to evaluate exceedances of the limit value and the actions being taken in Member States, the Commission will act with the assistance of the advisory committee;

Whereas in order to promote the reciprocal exchange of information between Member States and the European Environment Agency (EEA), the Commission with the EEA shall publish a report on ambient air quality in the European Community every three years;

Whereas Directives on air quality already exist; whereas the substances covered by Directives 80/779/EEC, as amended by Directive 89/427/EEC, 82/884/EEC, 85/203/EEC and 92/72/EEC shall be addressed first,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Objectives - Scope

The general aim of this Directive is to define the basic principles of a common strategy to:

- establish objectives for ambient air quality in the European Community designed to limit or prevent harmful effects the environment as a whole and to human health,

- assess the ambient air quality in Member States in a uniform manner,

- make available to the public information on ambient air quality,

- maintain good ambient air quality and improve poor ambient air quality.

This strategy shall cover:

- the procedure and the criteria by which ambient air quality objectives are required to be set at Community level,

- the types of ambient air quality objectives foreseen,

- methods of carrying out ambient air quality assessment,

- the actions/measures required when and where the ambient air quality objectives are exceeded,

- the information required pursuant to this Directive.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Directive:

1. 'ambient air` means outdoor air in the troposphere, excluding workplaces and indoors;

2. 'pollutant` means any substance introduced directly or indirectly by man into the ambient air and which are listed in Annex I, ;

3. 'level` means the concentration in ambient air or the deposition rate of a pollutant on surfaces in a given time;

4. 'assessment` means any method used to measure, compute, predict or estimate the level of a pollutant in the ambient air;

5. 'quality objective` means a limit value or alert threshold which when exceeded is subject to the conditions laid down in the following Articles;

6. 'limit value` means a quality objective fixed with the aim of preventing harmful effects on environment and/or health which shall not be exceeded and beyond which actions shall be taken by the Member States as laid down in this Directive;

7. 'permitted margin or exceedance` means the percentage of the limit value by which this value might be exceeded according to the conditions laid down in the following Articles;

8. 'alert threshold` means a quality objective beyond which there is a risk to human health in the event of short term exposure and at which immediate steps shall be taken by the Member States as laid down in this Directive;

9. 'agglomeration` means an area where the population and/or the economic activities are sufficiently concentrated that it is necessary for ambient air quality to be assessed and managed;

10. 'zone` means any other delimited geographical area;

11. 'area of poor air quality` means an agglomeration or a zone in which the levels of a given pollutant are higher than the limit value plus the permitted margin of exceedance and where measures shall be taken to ensure that the limit value is achieved within the time limit specified;

12. 'area of improving air quality` means an agglomeration or a zone in which the levels of a given pollutant are higher than the limit value but lower than the limit value plus the permitted margin of exceedance and where care should be taken in order not to increase air pollutant concentrations in a continuing way; in these areas, measures shall be taken to ensure that the limit value is reached within the time limit specified;

13. 'area of good air quality` means an agglomeration or a zone in which the levels of a given pollutant are lower than the limit value and where the levels are to be kept below this value.

Article 3

Implementation - Responsibilities

For the implementation of the provisions of this Directive, the Member States shall:

- designate those national, regional or local authorities which are to be responsible for the implementation of this Directive, as well as the accrediation of laboratories and inform the Commission thereof,

- inform the Commission which laboratories or institutes are to be responsible in line with the requirements of European standards for quality assurance, for assessing and for estimating ambient air quality,

- inform the Commission which central authority is responsible for the coordination on their territory of Community-wide quality assurance programmes organized by the Commission,

- make the necessary provisions to ensure that the abovementioned laboratories/institutes organize systematic internal quality controls including measuring sites,

- carry out at regular intervals an analysis of the methods of assessment for examining the quality of ambient air, especially with regard to actual levels compared to the objectives, and modify it if it no longer corresponds to the provisions in force relating to the quality of air.

Article 4

Setting of the ambient air quality objectives

1. For those substances listed in Annex I, the Commission, after consultations with the advisory Committee referred to in Article 12, shall submit to the Council proposals for the setting of the ambient air quality objectives according to the following timetable:

- no later than 31 December 1996 for substances 1 to 5,

- in accordance with Article 8 of Directive 92/72/EEC for ozone,

- as soon as possible and no later than 31 December 1999 for substances 7 to 14.

For the other substances not listed in Annex I, the Commission shall submit to the Council proposals for limit values and alert thresholds if, on the basis of scientific progress and taking into account the guidelines in Annex II, the environment and/or human health in the European Community have to be protected against their effects; these proposals will be made after consultations with the advisory Committee.

2. At the time of setting the ambient air quality objectives, time limits for compliance shall be fixed and criteria shall be established for:

(a) the measurement:

- the location of the sampling points,

- the minimum number of sampling points,

- the measuring techniques;

(b) the use of other techniques for assessing ambient air quality.

These criteria shall be established in respect of each substance and according to the size of agglomerations or the pollution level in agglomerations or zones where the ambient air quality is assessed.

3. If necessary and in order to take into account the existing levels of a given pollutant at the time of setting quality objectives as well as the time needed to implement measures aiming at improving the ambient air quality, a temporary permitted margin of exceedance shall also be set by the Council for the limit value.

This margin shall be reduced each year by a constant factor allowing the limit value to be reached within the time limit referred to in paragraph 2.

4. When a Member State sets more stringent objectives, than those agreed by the Council, it shall inform the Commission thereof.

5. When a Member State intends to set quality objectives for substances not covered by ambient air quality objectives of the European Community it shall, before implementing these, inform in due time the Commission in order to allow examination of the need to act at Community level following the guidelines in Annex II.

Article 5

Assessment of ambient air quality

1. Once quality objectives are set, ambient air quality shall be assessed throughout the territory of the Member States according to the provisions of the following paragraphs.

2. Measurement is mandatory in the following areas:

- agglomerations of more than 250 000 inhabitants with a population density of more than 1 000 inhabitants/km2,

- areas of poor or impoving air quality.

3. provided that representative measurements or survey campaigns show that the levels in an area are below 75 % of the limit values, measurements combined with modelling might be used.

4. Provided that representative measurements or survey campaigns show that the levels in an area are below 50 % of the limit values, techniques of modelling or objective estimation, might be used alone to evaluate the levels.

5. In cases where substances shall be measured, this shall be carried out at fixed sites either continuously or by random sampling; the number of measurements shall be sufficient in order to allow the determination of the quality objectives.

Article 6

Improvement of ambient air quality - General requirements

Any actions taken in order to achieve the aims of this Directive shall not:

(i) induce additional pollution in another media;

(ii) have an adverse effect on the air at the workplace or the arrangements made for the protection of safety and health of workers at work.

Article 7

Improvement of ambient air quality - Measures applicable in areas of poor air quality

1. Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure that, within the time limits which will be fixed in the Acts referred to in Article 4, the limit values set at Community level are not exceeded.

2. Member States shall make short-term plans for actions to be taken in cases when an exceedance is forecast in order to reduce the likelihood of exceedance and to limit its duration.

3. In areas of poor air quality,

(a) Member States shall inform the Commission about:

(i) the occurrence of levels above the limit value plus the permitted margin of exceedance, the date(s) or period(s) of occurrence and the values recorded within three months after the end of each year;

(ii) the reasons for each occurence within six months after the end of each year;

(b) Member States shall take measures to ensure that a plan or programme shall be produced and implemented which shall result in the limit value being attained within the time limit fixed.

This plan or programme, which has to be made available to the public, shall at least specify the information listed in Annex III.

(c) Member States shall:

(i) send these plans or programmes to the Commission as soon as possible and at the latest within two years after the end of the year during which levels were observed;

(ii) inform the Commission annually of the progress in the implementation of the plan/programme.

4. In areas where levels of more than one pollutant exceed the quality objectives, Member States shall provide an integrated plan covering all substances concerned.

5. The Commission, assisted by the advisory Committee referred to in Article 12, shall regularly check the implementation of the plans/programmes submitted under paragraph 3 (b) by examining their progress and the trends in air pollution.

Article 8

Measures applicable in areas of improving ambient air quality

In areas of improving air quality, the necessary measures shall be taken to ensure that the requirements of Article 7 (1) shall be met.

The list of areas of improving air quality and information summarizing the levels assessed in these areas shall be transmitted to the Commission according to the requirements of Article 11.

Article 9

Requirement in areas of good air quality

Areas of good air quality shall be notified to the Commission and information summarizing the levels assessed in these areas shall be transmitted to the Commission according to the provisions of Article 11.

Article 10

Measures applicable when levels are above the alert thresholds

When the alert thresholds are exceeded, Member States shall take the necessary steps to inform the public (e.g. by means of radio, television and the press). Member States shall also forward to the Commission information about the levels recorded and duration of episode(s) within three months of their occurrence. A list of minimum details to be supplied to the public shall be specified together with the alert thresholds.

Article 11

Transmission of the data - Reports

After adoption by the Council of the first proposal referred to in Article 4 (1):

1. Member States shall provide to the Commission:

(a) each year and at the latest three months after the end of each year, the list of areas of improving and good air quality;

(b) every three years and at the latest six months after each three-year period, the information on the levels required pursuant to Article 8;

2. the Commission shall publish:

(a) each year, a list of areas of poor air quality in the European Community;

(b) every three years, a report on the ambient air quality in the European Community. This report shall show in a summarized form the information received under Articles 7, 8, 9 and 10 as well as that relating to the activities set out in Article 3; it will also include the data collected following Decision . ./. . ./EEC setting up a reciprocal exchange of information and data collected from the networks and individual stations measuring atmospheric air pollution in the Member States;

3. the Commission shall call upon the expertise available in the European Environment Agency in drafting the report referred to in Article 11 (2) (b).

Article 12

The advisory committee

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee of an advisory nature composed of the representatives of Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.

2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion to the draft, within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote.

3. The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes.

4. The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the committee of the manner in which its opinion has been taken into account.

Article 13

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive before 31 July 1996.

When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such a reference at the time of their official publication. The procedures for such a reference shall be adopted by Member States.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 14

This Directive is addressed to the Member States and shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

ANNEX I

List of atmospheric pollutants to be taken into consideration within the framework for assessment and management of ambient air quality

1. Pollutants covered by EC Directives

1. Sulphur dioxide (SO2),

2. Nitrogen dioxide/Oxides (NO2/NOx),

3. Black smoke (BS);

4. Suspended particulate matter (SPM);

5. Lead (Pb);

6. Ozone (O3).

2. Other ambient air pollutants for consideration

7. Carbon monoxide (CO);

8. Cadmium (Cd);

9. Acid deposition;

10. Benzene (C6H6);

11. Poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) (Benzo-a-pyrene (BaP) as indicator);

12. Arsenic (As);

13. Fluoride;

14. Nickel (Ni).

ANNEX II

Guidelines for selecting air pollutants for consideration

1. Possibility, severity and frequency of effects; with regard to human health, the irreversible effects must be of special concern.

2. Ubiquity and abundance of the pollutant in the atmosphere.

3. Environmental transformations or metabolic alterations, as these alterations may lead to the production of chemicals with greater toxicity.

4. Persistence in the environment, particularly if the pollutant is resistant to environmental degradation and can accumulate in humans, the environment or food chains.

5. Impact of the pollutant:

- size of exposed population, living resources or ecosystems;

- existence of particularly sensitive targets.

The criteria established pursuant to Directive 67/548/EEC and its successive adaptations shall be taken into account for the selection.

ANNEX III

Information to be included in the local, regional or national programmes for improvement in the air quality

Information to be provided pursuant to Article 7 (3):

1. Localization of the exceedance:

- region,

- city (map),

- measuring station (map, geographical coordinates).

2. General information:

- type of area (city, industrial or rural area),

- estimate of the polluted area (km2) and of the population exposed to the pollution,

- useful climatic data,

- relevant data on topography,

- sufficient information on the type of targets requiring protection in the area.

3. Responsible authorities:

Names, addresses of persons responsible for the development and implementation of improvement plans.

4. Nature and assessment of pollution:

- concentrations observed over previous years (before the implementation of the improvement measures),

- concentrations measured since the beginning of the project,

- techniques used for the assessment.

5. Origin of pollution:

- list of the main emission sources responsible for pollution (map),

- total quantiy of emissions from these sources (tonnes/year),

- information on imported pollution in the area.

6. Analysis of the situation:

- details of those factors responsible for the excess (transport, formation),

- details of possible measures for improvement of air quality.

7. Details of those measures or projects for improvement which existed prior to the entry into force of this Directive, i.e.:

- local, regional, national, international measures,

- observed effects of these measures,

- funding set aside for these measures.

8. Details of those measures or projects adopted with a view to reducing pollution, following the entry into force of this Directive:

- listing and description of all the measures set out in the project,

- timetable for implementation,

- estimate of the improvement of air quality planned and of the expected time required to attain these quality objectives,

- funding required and funding available for the project.

9. Details, including a timetable, of the measures or projects planned or being researched for the long term.

10. List of the publications, documents, work, etc. used to supplement this Annex.