CELEX: 51996PC0440
Language: en
Date: 1996-09-03
Title: Re-examined proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE on the Control of Major Accident Hazards involving Dangerous Substances

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                   COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
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                                                    Brussels, 03 09 1996
                                                    COM(%) 440 final
                                                    94/0014 (SYN)
                               Re-examined proposal for a
                                COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
                     on the Control of Major Accident Hazards
                          involving Dangerous Substances
               (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 189 c (d)
                                    of the EC Treaty)
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                            EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
 On 26 January 1994, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Directive on
the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances.
 The Economic and Social Committee adopted its opinion on 2 June 1994 (OJ C 295,
 22.10.94, p83).
The European Parliament delivered its opinion, on first reading, on 16 February 1995
 (OJ C 56, 6.3.95, p80).
The Commission prepared an amended proposal (COM(95) 240 final - 94/0014
 (SYN)), which was formally sent to the Council on 19 June 1995.
The Council formally adopted its common position on the proposal on 19 March 1996.
The European Parliament examined the Council's common position at second reading
on 16 July 1996 and approved it subject to 27 proposed amendments.
The Commission has examined the amendments proposed by the European
Parliament at second reading, incorporating a number of them into the present
reexamined proposal.
The Commission's position on each of the amendments approved by Parliament at
second reading is as follows.
Amendments 1 and 42 are already covered 'in principle' by recitals 5 and 6 in the
common position. However, the text can be further improved in the reexamined
Proposal by more explicit reference to effective cooperation with third countries outside
the EU. In this respect, it is recognised that the UN/ECE Convention on the
Transboundary effects of industrial accidents is particularly relevant. A new recital 6a
as well as amendments to Articles 3, 13 and Annex IV have been proposed.
Amendments 2, 3, 17 and 18 propose recitals or text changes relevant to the
exclusions listed in Article 4 of the Directive. Regarding amendment 2, a more
detailed text has been included on pipelines within recital 11. The amendments
related to waste landfill sites and intermediate storage associated with transport
activities have been rejected as these areas will be subject to specific proposals
where necessary.
Amendments 4, 39, and 40 seek to strengthen the provisions in the common position
 relating to inspection systems. These amendments have been accepted in principle
and a new recital 13a and text changes to Article 18 have been incorporated in the
 reexamined proposal.
Amendment 5 referring to provision of training for the authorities responsible for
 ---pagebreak--- external emergency plans has been accepted by proposing a new recital 13b.
Amendments 7, 11, 14, 27, 36 and 41 all refer to the need to fully address 'near major
accidents' as well as major accidents. This was already recognised in Annex VI of
the common position but further text has been added to recital 21 and Article 9(5) to
enhance the coverage of this important aspect.
Amendment 13 has been accepted in principle to recognise Parliament's concerns that
the definition used in the common position is much narrower than the original
Commission Proposal. It was not considered appropriate to simply revert to the
original Proposal as this gave rise to significant uncertainty about the practical
application of such a wide definition. However, the text in Article 2(1) has been
improved in the reexamined proposal to make clear that certain chemical storage
facilities should be covered, not just the 'process'.
Amendments 10, 25, 37, 44 and 45 have been accepted and text changes have been
proposed accordingly to recital 19, Articles 9(4) and 17(1) as well as to Annexes l(2)
and VI, point 4.
Amendments 8 and 9 proposed recitals which did not directly correspond with the
 provisions contained in the common position have been rejected.
 Amendments 20 and 24, involving deadlines for notification and submission of safety
 reports, were not accepted as the text in the common position was viewed as more
 appropriate for practical implementation.
Amendment 28 proposed certain criteria associated with derogations for
 establishments 'incapable of creating a major accident hazard'. It has not been
 considered appropriate to accept this amendment as the development of complete and
 consistent criteria will be a task for a special expert group.
 ---pagebreak---                                 REEXAMINED PROPOSAL FOR A
                                   COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
         on the Control of Major Accident Hazards involving Dangerous Substances
        (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 189 c(d) of the EC-Treaty)
              Common Position                                     Amended Text
                                          Recital 6a
                                                   Whereas the. Convention on the
                                                   TnnsbQUndary Effects of Industrial
                                                   Accidents of the Economic Commission
                                                   for Europe provides for measures
                                                   regarding the prevention of. preparedness
                                                   for and response to industrial accidents
                                                   capable of causing transboundary effects
                                                   as well as for international cooperation in
                                                   this field:
                                          Recital 11
Whereas, with due regard for the EC                Whereas, with due regard for the EC
Treaty and in compliance with the relevant         Treaty and in compliance with the relevant
Community legislation, Member States may           Community legislation, Member States may
retain or adopt appropriate measures for           retain or adopt appropriate measures for
transport-related activities at docks,             transport-related activities at docks,
wharves and marshalling yards, which are           wharves and marshalling yards, which are
excluded from this Directive, in order to          excluded from this Directive, in order to
ensure a level of safety equivalent to that        ensure a level of safety equivalent to that
established by this Directive; whereas the         established by this Directive; whereas the
problem of dangerous substances                    transmission of dangerous substances
transported bv pipeline reouires further           through pipelines and their storage also
                                                   have a potential to produce major
                                                   accidents: whereas it is not appropriate to
                                                   include such activities within the scope of
                                                   this Directive: whereas the Commission
                                                    shall, after collecting and evaluating
                                                    information about existing mechanisms
                                                    within the Community for regulating such
                                                    activities and the occurrence of relevant
                                                    incidents, prepare a communication setting
                                                    out the case, and most appropriate
 ---pagebreak---                                                          instrument, for action in this area;
                                         Recital 13a (new)
                                                         Whereas differences in the arrangements
                                                         for the inspection of establishments by the
                                                         competent authorities may give rise to
                                                         differing levels of protection: whereas it is
                                                         necessary to lay down at Community level
                                                         the essential requirements with which the
                                                         systems for inspection established by the
                                                         Member States must comply:
                                         Recital 13b (new)
                                                         Whereas Member States must take the
                                                         necessary measures to provide adequate
                                                         training for the authorities responsible for
                                                         drawing up external emergency plans and
                                                         taking the necessary decisions in cases of
                                                         major accidents;
                                               Recital 19
Whereas, in order to provide greater                     Whereas, in order to provide greater
protection for residential areas, areas of               protection from major accident hazards for
substantial public use and areas of                      centres of population and areas of
particular natural interest or sensitivity, it is        particular natural interest or sensitivity, it is
necessary for land-use and/or other                      necessary for land-use and/or other
relevant policies applied in the Member                   relevant policies applied in the Member
States to take account of the need, in the                States to take account of the need for
long term, to keep a suitable distance                    appropriate separation between such areas
between such areas and establishments                    and establishments presenting such
presenting such hazards and, where                        hazards and, where                  existing
existing establishments are concerned, to                 establishments are concerned, to take
take account of additional technical                      account of additional technical measures
measures so that the risk to persons is not               so that the risk to persons is not increased.
increased;                                                Such policies should include consultation
                                                          procedures between competent authorities
                                                          and planning authorities.
                                                Recital 21
Whereas, in order to provide for an                       Whereas, in order to provide for an
 information exchange and to prevent future               information exchange and to prevent future
 accidents of a similar nature, Member                    accidents of a similar nature, Member
 States should forward information to the                 States should forward information to the
 Commission regarding major accidents                     Commission regarding major accidents
 occurring in their territory, so that the                occurring in their territory, so that the
 Commission can analyse the hazards                        Commission can analyse the hazards
 involved, and operate a system for the                    involved, and operate a system for the
 ---pagebreak--- distribution of information concerning, in            distribution of information concerning, in
particular, major accidents and the lessons           particular, major accidents and the lessons
learned from them.                                    learned from them;              whereas this
                                                      information exchange should also cover
                                                      less serious accidents or 'near misses'
                                                      which Member States regard as being of
                                                      particular technical interest for preventing
                                                      major accidents and limiting their
                                                      consequences,
                                 Article 2(1) second paragraph
For the purposes of this Directive, the               For the purposes of this Directive, the
'presence of dangerous substances' shall              'presence of dangerous substances' shall
mean the actual or anticipated presence of            mean the actual or anticipated presence of
such substances in the establishment, or              such substances in the establishment, or
the presence of those which it is believed            the presence of those which it is believed
may be generated during loss of control of            may be generated during loss of
an industrial chemical process, in quantities         containment of an industrial chemical
equal to or in excess of the thresholds in            process and/or associated storage
Parts 1 and 2 of Annex I.                             facilities, in quantities equal to or in excess
                                                      of the thresholds in Parts 1 and 2 of Annex
                                                      I.
                                           Article 3 (9)
                                                      "Third countries" shall mean countries,
                                                      other than Member States, parties to the
                                                      Convention on the Transboundary Effects
                                                      of Industrial Accidents of the Economic
                                                      Commission for Europe, liable to be
                                                      affected in the event of a major accident
                                                      with possible transboundary effects
                                                       originating in an establishment under
                                                      Article 9,
                                            Article 9(4)
 Before the operator commences                         Before the operator commences
 construction or operation, or in the cases            construction or operation, or in the cases
 referred to in the second, third and fourth           referred to in the second, third and fourth
 indents of paragraph 3, the competent                 indents of paragraph 3, the competent
 authority shall within a reasonable period of         authority shall within a reasonable period
 receipt of the report:                                not exceeding one year of receipt of the
                                                       report:
 ---pagebreak---                                       Article 9(5) second indent
- at any other time at the initiative of the             - at any other time at the initiative of the
operator or the request of the competent                 operator or the request of the competent
authority, where justified by new facts or to            authority, where justified by new facts or to
take account of new technical knowledge                  take account of new technical knowledge
about safety matters and of developments                 about safety matters and of developments
in knowledge concerning the assessment                   in knowledge concerning the assessment
of hazards.                                              of hazards or to take account of
                                                         information arising from the analysis of
                                                         'near misses'.
                                               Article 13
 2.         The Member States concerned,                 2.           The Member States concerned,
 shall, at the same time, make available to               shall, at the same time, make available to
 the other Member States liable to be                     the other Member States and/or third
 affected in the event of a major accident                countries liable to be affected in the event
 originating in an establishment under                    of a major accident originating in an
 Article 9 sufficient information to enable               establishment under Article 9 sufficient
 emergency plans to be prepared where                     information to enable emergency plans to
 necessary and the same information as is                 be prepared where necessary and the
 disseminated at national level.            Such           same information as is disseminated at
  information shall be reviewed, repeated                  national level. Such information shall be
  and updated at the same intervals as are                 reviewed, repeated and updated at the
  laid down under paragraph 1.                             same intervals as are laid down under
                                                           paragraph 1.
  3.       Where the Member                State           3.         Where the Member State
  concerned has decided that an                            concerned has decided that an
  establishment close to the territory of                  establishment close to the territory of
  another Member State is incapable of                     another Member State or third country is
  creating a major-accident hazard beyond                  incapable of creating a major-accident
  its boundary for the purposes of Article                 hazard beyond its boundary for the
   11(6) and is not therefore required to                  purposes of Article 11(6) and is not
   produce an external emergency plan under                therefore required to produce an external
  Article 11(1), it shall so inform the other              emergency plan under Article 11 (1), it shall
   Member State.                                           so inform and consult with the other
                                                           Member State or third country.
                                    Article 17(1) first subparagraph
   Member States shall prohibit the use or                 Member States shall prohibit the use or
   bringing into use of any establishment,                 bringing into use of any establishment,
   installation or storage facility, or any part           installation or storage facility, or any part
   thereof if its or their continued use will              thereof if its or their continued use will
   involve an imminent risk of a major                     involve a serious risk of a major accident.
   accident.
 ---pagebreak---                                          Article 18(2)
2. The system of inspection specified in           2. The system of inspection specified in
paragraph 1 shall provide for a systematic         paragraph 1 shall comply with the following
programme of inspections for all                   conditions:
establishments. Unless the competent
authority has established a programme of           (a)         it Shall be managed and
inspections based upon a systematic                            implemented by suitably qualified
appraisal of the major-accident hazards of                     and trained persons:
the particular establishment concerned, the         (b)        there shall be a programme of
programme shall entail at least one on-site                    inspections             for     all
inspection made by the competent                               establishments.       Unless the
authority every twelve months of each                          competent        authority     has
establishment covered by Article 9.                            established a programme of
                                                               inspections based upon a
                                                               systematic appraisal of the major-
                                                               accident hazards of the particular
                                                               establishment concerned, the
                                                               programme shall entail at least
                                                               one on-site inspection made by
                                                               the competent authority every
                                                               twelve months          of     each
                                                               establishment covered by Article
                                                                9.
                                                    (c)        following each inspection a report-
                                                                including any necessary follow-up
                                                                action, shall be prepared by the
                                                                competent authority:
                                                    (d)         where      necessary,       every
                                                                inspection carried out by the
                                                                competent authority shall be
                                                                followed up with the management
                                                                of the establishment, within a
                                                                reasonable period following the
                                                                inspection.
                                     Article 18(3a) (new)
                                                     3a.     Member States shall inform the
                                                     Commission of the criteria they apply for
                                                     the establishment and management of
                                                     inspection programmes and procedures.
                                                     The Commission shall adopt, if necessary-
                                                     harmonized criteria under the procedure
                                                     laid down in Article 22.
                            Annex l(2), heading of columns 2 and 3
 Qualifying quantity     (tonnes)  for   the          Qualifying quantity (tonnes) of dangerous
 application of                                       substance as defined in Article 3(4). for the
                                                      application of
 ---pagebreak---                                       Annex IV, Point 2
(g)    Arrangements for the provision of          (g)        Arrangements for the provision of
        information to the emergency                         information to and for consultation
        services of other Member States in                   with the emergency services of
        the event of a major accident with                   other Member States and/or third
        possible        transboundary                        countries in the event of a major
        consequences.                                        accident with           possible
                                                             transboundary consequences.
                                Annex VI, Point 4, first indent
- damage to property in the establishment         - damage to property in the establishment:
or loss of production by the establishment:       at least ECU 2 million;
at least ECU 2 million;
          "V
                                                                                               9
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                                                    ISSN 0254- i 475
                                                            COM(96) 440 final
                                              DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                              14
                                    Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-444-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-78-08638-X
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