1991 No. 472
The Environmental Protection (Prescribed Processes and Substances) Regulations 1991
The Secretary of State for the Environment as respects England, the Secretary of State for Wales as respects Wales and the Secretary of State for Scotland as respects Scotland in excercise of the powers under section 2 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990and all other powers enabling them in that behalf make the following Regulations:—
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Citation, application and commencementCitation, application and commencement
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Environmental Protection (Prescribed Processes and Substances) Regulations 1991.
(2) These Regulations shall come into force in England and Wales on 1st April 1991 and in Scotland on 1st April 1992.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Environmental Protection Act 1990;
“background concentration” has the meaning given to that term in regulation 4(7);
“Part A process” means a process falling within a description set out in Schedule 1 hereto under the heading ‘Part A’ and “Part B process” means a process falling within a description so set out under the heading ‘Part B’; and
“particular matter” means grit, dust or fumes.
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Prescribed ProvisionsPrescribed Provisions
3.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of these Regulations, the descriptions of processes set out in Schedule 1 hereto are hereby prescribed pursuant to section 2(1) of the Act as processes for the carrying on of which after the prescribed date an authorisation is required under section 6.
(2) Schedule 2 has effect for the interpretation of Schedule 1.
(3) In paragraph (1), the prescribed date means the appropriate date set out or determined in accordance with Schedule 3.
Exceptions
4.—(1) Subject to paragraph (6), a process shall not be taken to be a Part A process if it has the following characteristics, namely—
(i)
(i) that it cannot result in the release into the air of any substance prescribed by regulation 6(1) or there is no likelihood that it will result in the release into the air of any such substance except in a quantity which is so trivial that it is incapable of causing harm or its capacity to cause harm is insignificant; and
(ii)
(ii) that it cannot result in the release into water of any substance prescribed by regulation 6(2) except in a concentration which is no greater than the background concentration; and
(iii)
(iii) that it cannot result in the release into land of any substance prescribed by regulation 6(3) or there is no likelihood that it will result in the release into land of any such substance except in a quantity which is so trivial that it is incapable of causing harm or its capacity to cause harm is insignificant.
(2) Subject to paragraph (6), a process shall not be taken to be a Part B process unless it will, or there is a likelihood that it will, result in the release into the air of one or more substances prescribed by regulation 6(1) in a quantity greater than that mentioned in paragraph (1)(i) above.
(3) A process shall not be taken to fall within a description in Schedule 1 if it is carried on in a working museum to demonstrate an industrial process of historic interest or if it is carried on for educational purposes in a school as defined in section 114 of the Education Act 1944or, in Scotland, section 135(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980.
(4) The running on or within an aircraft, hovercraft, mechanically propelled road vehicle, railway locomotive or ship or other vessel of an engine which propels it shall not be taken to fall within a description in Schedule 1.
(5) A process shall not be taken to fall within a description in Schedule 1 if it is carried on as a domestic activity in connection with a private dwelling.
(6) Paragraphs (1) and (2) do not exempt any process described in Schedule 1 from the requirement for authorisation if the process may give rise to an offensive smell noticeable outside the premises where the process is carried on.
(7) In these regulations, “background concentration” means any concentration of the relevant substance which would be present in the release irrespective of any effect the process may have had on the composition of the release and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, includes such concentration of the substance as is present in:—
(a)
(a) water supplied to the premises where the process is carried on;
(b)
(b) water abstracted for use in the process; and
(c)
(c) precipitation onto the premises on which the process is carried on.
Enforcement
5.—(1) The descriptions of processes set out in Schedule 1 under the heading ‘Part A’ are designated pursuant to section 2(4) of the Act for central control.
(2) The descriptions of processes set out in Schedule 1 under the heading ‘Part B’ are so designated for local control.
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Prescribed substances: release into the air, water or landPrescribed substances: release into the air, water or land
6.—(1) The description of substances set out in Schedule 4 are prescribed pursuant to section 2(5) of the Act as substances the release of which into the air is subject to control under sections 6 and 7 of the Act.
(2) The descriptions of substances set out in Schedule 5 are so prescribed as substances the release of which into water is subject to control under those sections.
(3) The descriptions of substances set out in Schedule 6 are so prescribed as substances the release of which into land is subject to control under those sections.
SCHEDULE 1
Regulation 3(1)
DESCRIPTIONS OF PROCESSES
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CHAPTER 1: THE PRODUCTION OF FUEL AND POWER AND ASSOCIATED PROCESSESCHAPTER 1: THE PRODUCTION OF FUEL AND POWER AND ASSOCIATED PROCESSES
Section 1.1 Gasification and associated processesSection 1.1 Gasification and associated processes
(a) (PART A) Reforming or refining natural gas.
(b) Odorising natural gas or liquified petroleum gas.
(c) Producing gas from coal, lignite, oil or other carbonaccous material or from mixtures thereof other than from sewage or the biological degradation of waste.
(d) Purifying or refining any product of any of the processes described in paragraphs (a), (b) or (c) or converting it into a different product.
In this Section, “carbonaceous material” includes such materials as charcoal, coke, peat and rubber.
Section 1.2 Carbonisation and associated processesSection 1.2 Carbonisation and associated processes
(a) (PART A) The pyrolysis, carbonisation, distillation, liquefaction, partial oxidation or other heat treatment of coal, lignite, oil, other carbonaceous material (as defined in Section 1.1.) or mixtures thereof otherwise than with a view to gasification or making of charcoal.
(b) The purification or refining of any of the products of a process mentioned in paragraph (a) or its conversion into a different product.
Nothing in paragraph (a) or (b) refers to the use of any substance as a fuel or its incineration as a waste or to any process for the treatment of sewage.
Section 1.3 Combustion processesSection 1.3 Combustion processes
(PART A) The following processes, if carried on primarily for the purpose of producing energy, namely—
(a) burning any fuel in a boiler or furnace with a net rated thermal input of 50 megawatts or more or in any of two or more boilers or furnaces with an aggregate net rated thermal input of 50 megawatts or more if they are so installed that waste gases may be emitted through a common stack;
(b) burning any fuel in a gas turbine or compression ignition engine with a net rated thermal input of 50 megawatts or more or any of two or more such turbines or engines with an aggregate net rated thermal input of 50 megawatts or more if they are so installed that waste gases may be emitted through a common or multi-flue stack;
(c) burning any of the following in an appliance with a net rated thermal input of 3 megawatts or more otherwise than as a process which is related to a Part B process—
(iii) any fuel manufactured from, or comprising, any other waste.
(PART B) The following processes if carried on primarily for the purpose of producing energy and not carried on in relation to any Part A process—
(a) burning any fuel in a boiler or furnace with a net rated thermal input of not less than 20 megawatts (but less than 50 megawatts);
(b) burning any fuel in a gas turbine or compression ignition engine with a net rated thermal input of not less than 20 megawatts (but less than 50 megawatts);
(c) burning as fuel, in an appliance with a net rated thermal input of less than 3 megawatts, waste oil or recovered oil;
(d) burning in an appliance with a net rated thermal input of less than 3 megawatts solid fuel which has been manufactured from waste by a process involving the application of heat;
(e) burning, in any appliance, fuel manufactured from, or including, waste (other than waste oil or recovered oil or such fuel as is mentioned in paragraph (d)) if the appliance has a net rated thermal input of less than 3 megawatts but at least 0.4 megawatts or is located with other appliances and all the appliances have an aggregate net rated thermal input of less than 3 megawatts but at least 0.4 megawatts.
In paragraph (c) of Part A and paragraph (e) of Part B, “fuel” does not include gas produced by biological degradation of waste; and for the purposes of this Section—
“net rated thermal input” is the rate at which fuel can be burned at the maximum continuous rating of the appliance multiplied by the net calorific value of the fuel and expressed as megawatts...
