Reporting requirement under IED

Reporting of the results involves summarizing and presenting the data collected during the monitoring process and related information in an effective way which will help for compliance assessment in a simple manner. The different elements required in reporting of the monitoring results are presented in Figure 6-4.

Figure 6-4: Overview of system design for emission reporting process under IED

6.2.2.1 Data collection

Data collection must be done based on the guidelines of an operating permit. The operating permit contains schedules which state how, when, by whom and to whom the data needs to be reported and what type of data is acceptable. For example: calculated, measured, estimated.

Data collection must be done in the units described by the permit and if required, the values must be changed to the standard condition of temperature and pressure. The standard forms must be used to record the concentration values of the pollutant. These forms are usually available in paper/electronic medium along with prescribed reporting format of different elements as presented in Figure 6-4.

The forms contain a column for providing operation details. For example: emission point location from where the pollutant was emitted, prevailing process, abatement equipment used etc. These forms require inclusion of the test method used for monitoring, sampling and analysis of the pollutant along with the date and time of recorded data. The reference number for internationally approved test method must be mentioned in the form. In case, if other testing method is used in agreement with the environment agency, the appropriate identification of the method must be stated. For example: gas chromatography provided by xyz. Data reporting requires mention of uncertainties and limitation in the measurement. Examples include details of detection limit of instruments, number of samples etc. Some other details such as reference period as explained in monitoring requirement along with sample date and time of each measurement need to be included.

6.2.2.2 Data management & presentation

Permits usually specify how and when the data need to be reported to the environment agency.

The details of different tools such as software packages or statistical methods used for analysis and condensation of the data can be provided with the reported data. Data must be systematically archived so that records of the past data is readily available and easily traceable during internal/external verification and audit purposes. The presentation of data can set the results in context by showing the trends over time. Comparisons of the results with corresponding ELV’s can help in understanding the amount of deviation in concentration of pollutant in relation with the ELV. This analysis helps in taking necessary measures to bring down pollutant concentration by changing operating parameters such as temperature, pressure etc.

7 Discussion

7.1 Environmental regulations in Europe and the US

In the EU and the US, the responsibility of framing and implementing environmental policies is divided between the central government and the member states. In this study, the environmental regulations affecting stationary source of pollutants (heavy industry) are studied and compared. In case of climate change policies, important initiatives and commitments to reduce emissions of GHG have been implemented in the EU member states within the framework of EU-ETS. By contrast, in the US, there is no regulation from central government to reduce GHG emissions but there exist GHGRP which defines mandatory requirement for monitoring and reporting of GHG emissions in the US. The monitoring requirements for EU-ETS in the EU and GHGRP in the US are quite similar. But when it comes to commitment for the reduction of GHG emissions, the gap between climate change policies in the EU and the US is substantial due to no reduction requirements in GHGRP.

Previous government in the US had introduced a clean power plan to reduce GHG emissions from oil & gas fired power plants by upto 30% below 2005 levels by 2030 [24]. The clean power plan was developed to comply with the GHG reduction commitments agreed in the Paris agreement under UNFCCC [24]. However, the present government in the US has pulled out of the Paris agreement under UNFCCC [59]. The decision of the US government to pull out of the agreement contributes to huge uncertainty around the world for meeting GHG reduction commitments under UNFCCC. This is the area of concern and it would be interesting to follow the developments about how different countries move forward when it comes to following the Paris agreement.

Air quality standards in the EU are little more stringent than in the US [16]. Also, the EU has included heavy metals and PAH’s in their air quality monitoring requirements but these compounds are not included in the US [16]. To maintain these air quality standards, several directives and regulations exist both in the EU and the US [16, 39]. These regulations control the emission of pollutants to air, water and land from stationary and mobile sources. In the EU, the air quality directive requires the member state to consult with each other in achieving air quality standard across the EU. But there is no mechanism outside the NECD to ensure that the different member states work together for solving the issue of air quality [39].

In the US, the federal government under the EPA can implement compulsory regional planning programs between the states to develop cross border co-operation [39]. However, there are some member states in the EU and the US that don’t fulfill the requirement of these air quality standards [9]. A major difference between environmental regulations in the EU and the US is seen in the area of compliance [19, 39]. The US has a mandatory compliance systems in place

which is strictly enforced by the EPA in the form of severe penalties [19, 39]. On the other hand, the EU has weak enforcement mechanism to comply with the regulations [19, 39].

In this study, the guidelines of regulations for stationary source of pollutants was studied with the example of an aluminum industry in the Europe. The objective was to understand the quantification methodology prescribed under the EU-ETS and the IED in the EU. The study suggests that there exists a good framework for monitoring and restricting the emission of pollutants from heavy industry (aluminum industry) in the EU. Environmental regulations in the US also have a good mechanism to restrict the emissions of these pollutants. However, how exactly these regulations are implemented in the US was excluded from the scope of this study due to the current change of environmental policies.