Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 April 2001 providing for minimum criteria for environmental inspections in the Member States
Date: 2001-04-04
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: EU Member State, EU programme, action programme, environmental monitoring, environmental policy, environmental protection

27.4.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL

RECOMMENDATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 4 April 2001

providing for minimum criteria for environmental inspections in the Member States

(2001/331/EC)

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,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (1),

Having regard to the opinion of
Regions (2),

the Committee of

the

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (3), and in the light of the joint text approved
by the Conciliation Committee on 8 January 2001,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

the Governments of

The resolution of the Council and of the Representatives
of
the Member States, meeting
within the Council, of 1 February 1993 on a
Community programme of policy and action in relation
to the environment and sustainable development (4) and
the Decision of the European Parliament and the Council
on its review (5) emphasised the importance of imple-
mentation of Community environmental
law through
the concept of shared responsibility.

The Commission Communication of 5 November 1996
to the Council of the European Union and the European
Parliament on implementing Community environmental
in particular paragraph 29 thereof, proposed the
law,

(1) OJ C 169, 16.6.1999, p. 12.
(2) OJ C 374, 23.12.1999, p. 48.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 16 September 1999 (OJ C
54, 25.2.2000, p. 92), Council Common Position of 30 March
2000 (OJ C 137, 16.5.2000, p. 1) and Decision of the European
Parliament of 6 July 2000 (not yet published in the Official
Journal). Decision of the European Parliament of 1 February 2001
and Council Decision of 26 February 2001.

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

establishment of guidelines at Community level in order
to assist Member States in carrying out inspection tasks,
thereby reducing the currently-existing wide disparity
among Member States'

inspections.

for

in its resolution of 7 October 1997 on
The Council
the drafting,
implementation and enforcement of
Community environmental law (6) invited the Commis-
sion to propose,
further consideration by the
Council, in particular on the basis of the work of the
European Union network for the implementation and
enforcement of environmental
law (IMPEL), minimum
criteria and/or guidelines for inspection tasks carried out
at Member State level and the possible ways in which
their application in practice could be monitored by
in order to ensure an even practical
Member States,
application and enforcement of environmental
legisla-
tion, and the Commission's proposal has taken into
account a paper produced by IMPEL in November 1997
and entitled ‘Minimum Criteria for Inspections’.

The European Parliament by its resolution of 14 May
1997 on the Commission's Communication called for
Community legislation on environmental
inspections,
and the Economic and Social Committee and the
Committee of the Regions gave favourable opinions on
the Commission's Communication and stressed the
importance of environmental

inspections.

Different systems and practices of
inspection already
exist in Member States and should not be replaced by a
system of inspection at Community level, as was consid-
ered in the Council resolution of 7 October 1997, and
Member States should retain responsibility for environ-
mental

inspection tasks.

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6) OJ C 321, 22.10.1997, p. 1.

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

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The European Environment Agency can advise the
Member States on developing, setting up and extending
their systems for monitoring environmental provisions
and can assist the Commission and the Member States in
monitoring environmental provisions by giving support
in respect of the reporting process, so that reporting is
coordinated.

(14)

The data and documentation provided by industrial
operators registered under the Community eco-manage-
ment and audit scheme could be a useful source of
information in the context of environmental inspections.

(15)

In order to draw conclusions from site visits, regular
reports should be established.

The existence of inspection systems and the effective
carrying out of inspections is a deterrent to environ-
mental violations since it enables authorities to identify
breaches and enforce environmental laws through sanc-
tions or other means; thus inspections are an indispens-
able link in the regulatory chain and an efficient instru-
ment to contribute to a more consistent implementation
and enforcement of Community environmental legisla-
tion across the Community and to avoid distortions of
competition.

(16)

Reporting on inspection activities, and public access to
information thereon, are important means to ensure
through transparency the involvement of citizens, non-
governmental organisations and other interested actors
in the implementation of Community environmental
legislation; access to such information should be in line
with the provisions of Council Directive 90/313/EEC of
7 June 1990 on the freedom of access to information on
the environment (1).

There is currently a wide disparity in the inspection
systems and mechanisms among Member States in terms
not only of their capacities for carrying out inspection
tasks but also of the scope and contents of the inspec-
tion tasks undertaken and even in the very existence of
inspection tasks in a few Member States, and this is a
situation which cannot be considered satisfactory with
reference to the objective of an effective and more
consistent
implementation, practical application and
enforcement of Community legislation on environ-
mental protection.

It is necessary, therefore, to provide, at this stage, guide-
lines in the form of minimum criteria to be applied as a
common basis for the performance of environmental
inspection tasks within the Member States.

Community environmental
legislation obliges Member
States to apply requirements in relation to certain emis-
sions, discharges and activities; minimum criteria on the
organisation and carrying out of inspections should be
met in the Member States, as a first stage, for all indus-
installations and other enterprises and facilities
trial
whose air emissions and/or water discharges and/or
waste disposal or
to
authorisation, permit or licensing requirements under
Community law.

recovery activities are subject

(11)

Inspections should take place taking into account the
division of responsibilities in the Member States between
authorisation and inspection services.

(12)

In order to make this system of inspections efficient,
Member States should ensure that environmental inspec-
tions activities are planned in advance.

(17) Member States should assist each other administratively
in operating this recommendation. The establishment by
Member States in cooperation with IMPEL of reporting
and advice schemes relating to inspectorates and inspec-
tion procedures would help to promote best practice
across the Community.

(18) Member States should report to the Council and the
Commission on their experience in operating this
recommendation and the Commission should regularly
inform the European Parliament.

(19)

(20)

(21)

(22)

The Commission should keep the operation and effec-
tiveness of
review and
this recommendation under
report
thereon to the European Parliament and the
Council as soon as possible after the receipt of the
Member States' reports.

Further work by IMPEL and Member States, in coopera-
tion with the Commission, should be encouraged in
respect of best practices concerning the qualifications
and training of environmental

inspectors.

In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and
proportionality as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty, and
given the differences in inspection systems and mech-
anisms in the Member States,
the
proposed action can best be achieved by guidance set
out at Community level.

the objectives of

In the light of the experience gained in the operation of
this recommendation and taking account of
IMPEL's
further work, as well as of the results of any schemes
provided for in this recommendation, the Commission
should, upon receipt of Member States' reports, give
consideration to developing the minimum criteria in
terms of
their scope and substance and to making
further proposals which might include a proposal for a
directive,

if appropriate,

(13)

Site visits form an important part of environmental
inspection activities.

(1) OJ L 158, 23.6.1990, p. 56.

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HEREBY RECOMMEND:

I

Purpose

Environmental inspection tasks should be carried out in the
Member States, according to minimum criteria to be applied in
the organising, carrying out, following up and publicising of
the results of such tasks, thereby strengthening compliance
with, and contributing to a more consistent implementation
law in all
and enforcement of Community environmental
Member States.

II

Scope and definitions

— checking the premises and the relevant equipment
(including the adequacy with which it is maintained)
and the adequacy of the environmental management at
the site,

— checking the relevant records kept by the operators of

controlled installations.

3.

Environmental inspections, including site visits, may be:

(a) routine, that is, carried out as part of a planned inspections

programme; or

(b) non-routine, that is, carried out in such cases in response to
complaints,
in connection with the issuing, renewal or
modification of an authorisation, permit or licence, or in
the investigation of accidents, incidents and occurrences of
non-compliance.

4. (a) Environmental inspections may be carried out by any
public authority at either national, regional or local
level, which is established or designated by the Member
State and responsible for the matters covered by this
recommendation.

1. (a) This recommendation applies to environmental inspec-
tions of all industrial installations and other enterprises
and facilities, whose
and/or water
discharges and/or waste disposal or recovery activities
are subject to authorisation, permit or licensing require-
ments under Community law, without prejudice to
specific inspection provisions in existing Community
legislation.

emissions

air

(b) For the purposes of this recommendation, all the instal-
lations and other enterprises and facilities referred to in
point (a) are ‘controlled installations’.

2.
inspection’

For the purposes of this recommendation, ‘environmental
is an activity which entails, as appropriate:

(a) checking and promoting the compliance of controlled
installations with relevant environmental requirements set
out in Community legislation as transposed into national
legislation or applied in the national legal order (referred to
hereinafter as ‘EC legal requirements’);

(b) monitoring the impact of controlled installations on the
environment to determine whether further inspection or
enforcement action (including issuing, modification or
revocation of any authorisation, permit or
is
required to secure compliance with EC legal requirements;

licence)

(c) the carrying out of activities for

the above purposes

including:

— site visits,

— monitoring achievement of environmental quality stan-

dards,

— consideration of environmental audit reports and state-

ments,

— consideration and verification of any self monitoring
carried out by or on behalf of operators of controlled
installations,

— assessing the activities and operations carried out at the

controlled installation,

legislation, delegate

(b) The bodies referred to in point (a) may, in accordance
with their national
tasks
provided for in this recommendation to be accom-
plished, under their authority and supervision, to any
legal person whether governed by public or private law
provided such person has no personal interest in the
outcome of the inspections it undertakes.

the

(c) The bodies referred to in points (a) and (b) are defined as

‘inspecting authorities’.

For the purposes of this recommendation, an ‘operator of
5.
a controlled installation’
is any natural or legal person who
operates or controls the controlled installation or, where this is
to whom decisive
provided for
economic power over
the
functioning of
controlled installation has been delegated.

legislation,
technical

in national

the

III

Organisation

and

carrying

out

of

environmental

inspections

1. Member States should ensure that environmental inspec-
tions aim to achieve a high level of environmental protection
and to this end should take the necessary measures to ensure
that environmental inspections of controlled installations are
organised and carried out in accordance with points IV to VIII
of this recommendation.

2. Member States should assist each other administratively
in carrying out the guidelines of this recommendation by the
exchange of
information and, where appropriate,
inspecting officials.

relevant

3.
To prevent illegal cross-border environmental practices,
Member States should encourage, in cooperation with IMPEL,
the coordination of inspections with regard to installations and
activities which might have significant transboundary impact.

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In order to promote best practice across the Community,
4.
Member States may, in cooperation with IMPEL, consider the
establishment of a scheme, under which Member States report
and offer advice on inspectorates and inspection procedures in
Member States, paying due regard to the different systems and
contexts in which they operate, and report to the Member
States concerned on their findings.

(a) define the geographical area which it covers, which may be
for all or part of the territory of a Member State;

(b) cover a defined time period, for example one year;

(c) include specific provisions for its revision;

(d) identify the specific sites or types of controlled installations

covered;

IV

Plans for environmental inspections

1. Member States should ensure that environmental inspec-
tion activities are planned in advance, by having at all times a
plan or plans for environmental inspections providing coverage
of all the territory of the Member State and of the controlled
installations within it. Such a plan or plans should be available
to the public according to Directive 90/313/EEC.

2.
Such plan or plans may be established at national,
regional or local levels, but Member States should ensure that
the plan or plans apply to all environmental
inspections of
the
controlled installations within their territory and that
authorities mentioned in point II(4) are designated to carry out
such inspections.

Plans for environmental inspections should be produced

3.
on the basis of the following:

(a) the EC legal requirements to be complied with;

(b) a register of controlled installations within the plan area;

(c) a general assessment of major environmental issues within
the plan area and a general appraisal of the state of compli-
ance by the controlled installations with EC legal require-
ments;

(d) data on and from previous inspection activities,

if any.

4.

Plans for environmental

inspections should:

the relevant
(a) be appropriate to the inspection tasks of
authorities, and should take account of
the controlled
installations concerned and the risks and environmental
impacts of emissions and discharges from them;

(b) take into account relevant available information in relation
to specific sites or types of controlled installations, such as
reports by operators of controlled installations made to the
authorities, self monitoring data, environmental audit infor-
mation and environmental statements, in particular those
produced by controlled installations registered according to
scheme
the Community
(EMAS), results of previous inspections and reports of
environmental quality monitoring.

eco-management

and audit

Each plan for environmental

5.
minimum:

inspections should as a

(e) prescribe

for

the programmes

environmental
inspections, taking into account environmental risks; these
programmes
the
frequency of site visits for different types of or specified
controlled installations;

should include, where

appropriate,

routine

(f) provide for and outline the procedures for non-routine
in such cases in response to
incidents and occurrences of non-

environmental
complaints, accidents,
compliance and for purposes of granting permission;

inspections,

(g) provide for coordination between the different inspecting

authorities, where relevant.

V

Site visits

1. Member States should ensure that the following criteria
are applied in respect of all site visits:

(a) that an appropriate check is made of compliance with the
EC legal requirements relevant to the particular inspection;

(b) that if site visits are to be carried out by more than one
environmental
inspecting authority, they exchange infor-
mation on each others' activities and, as far as possible,
coordinate site visits and other environmental inspection
work;

(c) that the findings of site visits are contained in reports made
in accordance with point VI and exchanged, as necessary,
between relevant
and other
authorities, whether national, regional or local;

enforcement

inspection,

(d) that inspectors or other officials entitled to carry out site
visits have a legal right of access to sites and information,
for the purposes of environmental

inspection.

2. Member States should ensure that site visits are regularly
carried out by inspecting authorities as part of their routine
environmental
inspections and that the following additional
criteria are applied for such site visits:

(a) that the full range of relevant environmental

impacts is
in conformity with the applicable EC legal
examined,
requirements, the environmental
inspection programmes
and the inspecting bodies' organisational arrangements;

(b) that such site visits should aim to promote and reinforce
operators' knowledge and understanding of relevant EC
legal requirements and environmental sensitivities, and of
the environmental

impacts of their activities;

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(c) that the risks to and impact on the environment of the
controlled installation are considered in order to evaluate
the effectiveness of existing authorisation, permit or
licensing requirements and to assess whether improvements
or other changes to such requirements are necessary.

3. Member States should also ensure that non-routine site
visits are carried out in the following circumstances:

(a) in the investigation by the relevant inspecting authorities of
serious environmental complaints, and as soon as possible
after such complaints are received by the authorities;

(b) in the investigation of serious environmental accidents,
incidents and occurrences of non-compliance, and as soon
as possible after these come to the notice of the relevant
inspecting authorities;

(c) where appropriate, as part of

the determination as to
whether and on what terms to issue a first authorisation,
permit or licence for a process or activity at a controlled
installation or the proposed site thereof or to ensure the
compliance with the requirements of authorisation, permit
or licence after it has been issued and before the start of
activity;

(d) where appropriate, before the reissue, renewal or modifica-

tion of authorisations, permits or licences.

authorities through a complaint or otherwise, is carried out by
the relevant authority in order to:

(a) clarify the causes of the event and its impact on the envir-
onment, and as appropriate,
the responsibilities and
possible liabilities for the event and its consequences, and
to forward conclusions to the authority responsible for
enforcement,

if different from the inspecting authority;

(b) mitigate and, where possible, remedy the environmental
impacts of the event through a determination of the appro-
priate actions to be taken by the operator(s) and the
authorities;

(c) determine action to be taken to prevent further accidents,

incidents and occurrences of non-compliance;

(d) enable enforcement action or sanctions to proceed,

if

appropriate; and

(e) ensure that
actions.

the operator

takes appropriate follow-up

VIII

VI

Reporting on environmental

inspection activities

in

general

Reports and conclusions following site visits

1. Member States should ensure that after every site visit the
inspecting authorities process or store, in identifiable form and
in data files,
the inspection data and their findings as to
compliance with EC legal requirements, an evaluation thereof
and a conclusion on whether any further action should follow,
such as enforcement proceedings,
the
issuing of a new or revised authorisation, permit or licence or
follow-up inspection activities,
including further site visits.
Reports should be finalised as soon as possible.

including sanctions,

2. Member States should ensure that such reports are prop-
erly recorded in writing and maintained in a readily accessible
database. The full reports, and wherever this is not practicable
the conclusions of such reports, should be communicated to
the operator of the controlled installation in question according
to Directive 90/313/EEC; these reports should be publicly avail-
able within two months of the inspection taking place.

VII

Investigations of serious accidents, incidents and occur-
rences of non-compliance

1. Member States should report to the Commission on their
experience of the operation of this recommendation two years
after the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities, using, to the extent possible, any data
available from regional and local

inspecting authorities.

Such reports should be available to the public and should

2.
include in particular the following information:

(a) data about

the staffing and other

resources of

the

inspecting authorities;

(b) details of the inspecting authority's role and performance in
the establishment and implementation of relevant plan(s)
for inspections;

(c) summary details of the environmental inspections carried
out, including the number of site visits made, the propor-
tion of controlled installations inspected (by type) and esti-
mated length of time before all controlled installations of
that type have been inspected;

(d) brief data on the degree of compliance by controlled instal-
lations with EC legal requirements as appears from inspec-
tions carried out;

(e) a summary, including numbers, of the actions taken as a
result of serious complaints, accidents, incidents and occur-
rences of non-compliance;

Member States should ensure that the investigation of serious
accidents, incidents and occurrences of non-compliance with
EC legislation, whether these come to the attention of the

(f) an evaluation of the success or failure of the plans for
inspections as applicable to the inspecting body, with any
recommendations for future plans.

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IX

Review and development of the recommendation

1.
The Commission should review the operation and effec-
tiveness of this recommendation, as soon as possible after
receipt of the Member States' reports mentioned in point VIII
above, with the intention of developing the minimum criteria
further in terms of their scope in the light of the experience
gained from their application, and taking into account any
further contributions from interested parties, including IMPEL
and the European Environment Agency. The Commission
should then submit
to the European Parliament and the
Council a report accompanied, if appropriate, by a proposal for
a directive. The European Parliament and the Council will
consider such a proposal without delay.

The Commission is invited to draw up, as quickly as
2.
possible,
in cooperation with IMPEL and other interested
parties, minimum criteria concerning the qualifications of
inspectors who are authorised to carry out
environmental
inspections for or under
the authority or supervision of
inspecting authorities.

3. Member States should, as quickly as possible, in coopera-
tion with IMPEL, the Commission and other interested parties,
develop training programmes in order to meet the demand for
inspectors.
qualified environmental

X

Implementation

Member States should inform the Commission of the imple-
mentation of this recommendation together with details of
environmental inspection mechanisms already existing or fore-
seen not later than twelve months after its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Communities.

Done at Luxembourg, 4 April 2001.

For the European Parliament

For the Council

The President

N. FONTAINE

The President

B. ROSENGREN