HELCOM RECOMMENDATION 13/5

Adopted 5 February 1992, having regard to Article 13, Paragraph b) of the Helsinki Convention 

PRINCIPLES FOR PERMITTING WASTEWATER DISCHARGES AND EMISSIONS FROM INDUSTRIAL PLANTS

THE COMMISSION,

RECALLING Article 6 of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 1974 (Helsinki Convention), in which the Contracting Parties undertake to endeavour to establish and adopt common criteria for issuing permits for discharges,

RECOMMENDS to the Governments of the Contracting Parties to apply the following principles of permitting:

1.The operator of the industrial plant has to submit in a form of application data and information to the responsible authority. The operator is recommended to negotiate with the responsible authority on the data required for the application before submitting the application to the authority (agreement on the scope of required information and surveys).

At least the following data and information ought to be included in the application:

General information

-name, branch, location, number of employees;

Actual situation and/or planned activities

-site of discharge and/or emission;

-type of production, amount of production and/or processing;

-production processes;

-type and amount of raw materials, agents and/or intermediate products;

-amount and quality of untreated wastewater and raw gas from all relevant sources

(e.g. process water, cooling water);

-treatment of wastewater and raw gas with respect to type, process and efficiency of pretreatment and/or final treatment;

-treated wastewater and raw gas with respect to amount and quality at the outlet of the pretreatment and/or final treatment facilities;

-amount and quality of solid and liquid wastes generated during the process and the treatment of wastewater and raw gas;

-treatment of solid and liquid wastes;

-information about measures to prevent process failures and accidental spills;

-present status and possible impact on the environment;

Alternatives and their various impacts ^*) if necessary

-other possible production processes;

-other possible raw materials, agents and/or intermediate products;

-other possible treatment technologies.

2.The responsible authority has to evaluate the present status and the potential impact of the planned activities on the environment.

3.The responsible authority after comprehensive assessment with special consideration of the above mentioned aspects issues the permit in which at least the following are laid down

-characterizations of all components (e.g. production capacity) which influence amount and quality of discharges and/or emissions;

-limit values for amount and quality (concentration and/or load) for direct and indirect discharges and emissions;

-instructions concerning:

-construction and safety;

-production processes and/or agents;

-operation and maintenance of treatment facilities;

-recovery of materials/substances and waste disposal;

-type and extent of control to be performed by the operator (self-control);

-measures to be taken in case of process failures and accidental spills;

-analytical methods to be used;

-schedule for modernization, retrofitting and investigations done by the operator;

-schedule for reports of the operator on monitoring/self-control, retrofitting and investigation measures.

4.The responsible authority or an independent institution authorized by the responsible authority has to

-inspect the amount and quality of discharges and/or emissions by sampling and analysing;

-control the attainment of the permit requirements;

-arrange monitoring of the various impacts of wastewater discharges and emissions into the atmosphere;

-review the permit when necessary.

Footnote:

^*)  concerning e.g. ecological, economic and safety aspects