Environmental Authorizations (AIA/AUA)
Some typology of Plants are required, for their operation, to respect a set of emission permissions.
The term emission is defined as the direct or indirect release of substances, vibrations, heat or noise from individual or diffuse sources of the Plant into the air, water or land. The law prescribes emission thresholds above which an Integrated Environmental Authorization (IEA) procedure is mandatory.
Different companies need an IEA authorization to comply with the principles of Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) stated by the European Union as of the Directive 96/61/EC now merged into the European Directive 2010/75/EU.
In Italian legislation, IEA authorization is compulsory for the activities listed in Annex VIII (Part II) of D.Lgs.152/2006 (recently amended by D.Lgs 46/2014), including:
• Energy activities;
• Production and processing of metals;
• Mineral industry;
• Chemical industry;
• Waste management
• Other activities (paper industries, textile and tanning activities, slaughterhouses, poultry flocks and pig herds, carbon production, …)
The Single Environmental Authorization (SEA) is a provision established by Italian DPR 59 of March 13, 2013.
SEA procedure incorporates in a single document several environmental permits required by sector regulations.
DPR 59 identifies a core of seven permissions that can be incorporated in the AUA study, with the possible inclusion of other permits which may be requested by regional legislation:
a) Waste water discharges as of D.Lgs. 152/2006;
b) Agronomic use of livestock manure, of waste waters from oil mills and of waste waters as referred in article 112 of D.Lgs. 152/2006;
c) Atmospheric emissions caused by plants referred to in article 269 of D.Lgs. 152/2006 (ordinary authorization);
d) Atmospheric emissions caused by facilities and activities referred to in article 272 of D.Lgs. 152/2006 (general permissions);
e) Noise impact as prescribed in Law 447/1995;
f) Purification process sludge utilization in agriculture as in article 9 of D.Lgs. 99/1992;
g) Disposal of non-hazardous waste carried out in the place of production as referred in article 215 of D.Lgs. 152/2006 and/or Waste recovery activities as in article 216 of D.Lgs. 152/2006.
SEA procedure is applied to production facilities not subject to IEA and also to small and medium enterprises according to DM of April 18, 2005.
Objectives of the work
VDP aims to provide assistance to Companies or Institutions managing facilities subject to Environmental Authorization procedures such as AIA (Autorizzazione Integrata Ambientale - Integrated Environmental Authorization IEA) and AUA (Autorizzazione Unica Ambientale - Single Environmental Authorization SEA). From the early stages of information collection VDP ensures compliance with Laws and Regulations (including mandatory forms) in order to obtain the Authorization needed.
Regarding the construction and operation of installations and/or facilities, it may be necessary to proceed with an IEA or a SEA procedure, on the basis of the project features and size, as established by national and local laws.
Moreover, the nature of planned measures might require also an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). In this case it is essential to coordinate IEA and EIA activities with the relevant authorities.
Since the beginning of the Authorization procedure, VDP objective is to support the Proponent in preparing the mandatory documentation to submit to competent institutions in order to optimize the process.
Offered services
Concerning the documentation to be submitted for the achievement of the Integrated Environmental Authorization (IEA), it is important to note that D.Lgs. 46/2014 prescribes a mandatory implementation of the Baseline Report.
On the basis of the Baseline Report contents, defined by article No.5 of D.Lgs. 46/2014, the services offered by VDP relate to analyses of soil and groundwater quality, with reference to the presence of hazardous substances, in order to compare pre and post-construction situations.
Such contents shall include at least:
• The current use of the site;
• The past use of the site (if possible);
• Measurements regarding soil and groundwater quality at the moment of Baseline Report elaboration (if available);
• Alternatively, new measurements regarding soil and groundwater quality which take into account the possibility of a contamination caused by hazardous substances related to the project implementation;
• Mandatory data defined by other laws or regulations.
In preparing the Baseline Report, the guidelines recently issued by the European Commission (article 22, paragraph 2 of Directive 2010/75/EU) will be taken into account.
For IEA procedures and in particular cases of Single Environmental Authorizations, an Inter-services Conference is compulsorily convened by the Relevant Administration. For this reason, our Company provides support and technical and scientific assistance, even in institutional settings, to ensure to the Proponent a rapid and effective response to authorization requirements.
Because of the project nature, it can happen that the planned interventions are subject to both EIA and IEA procedures; in this case VDP provides expertise, effectiveness and a coordinated preparation of the procedures. It also guarantees support to the Proponent in the presentation of requests and construction permits to the relevant authorities.