Clean Air (Emission Permits) Regulations (5752-1992)

Clean Air (Emission Permits) Regulations 1 This is an unofficial translation. The binding version is the official Hebrew text. Readers are consequently advised to consult qualified professional counsel before making any decision in connection with the enactment, which is present ed in translated for their general information only. By my power under sections 18(b), 19 and 81 of the Clean Air Law, 5768-2008 (hereinafter – the Law), I make the following Regulations: Chapter One: Interpretation Definitions 1. In these Regulations – "Permit application" – an emission permit application within its meaning in section 18 of the Law, an application to renew an emission permit within its meaning in section 25 of the Law, and an application to make a significant operation change within its meaning in section 27 of the Law. "The Directive" – Directive 2008/1/EC of the European Community concerning integrated pollution prevention and control, as amended from time to time, as published on the European Community website (hereinafter – the EC website). "Permit" – an emission permit. "Applicant" – an owner of an emission sources, and in the matter of an application to transfer a permit – the owner of the emission source and the owner of a proposed emission source. "Reference documents" – reference documents of the European Community prepared pursuant to the Directive, concerning best available techniques, as updated from time to time and published on the EC website ("BREF"). "Focal source" – a chimney, vent and such like device, intended for the emission of pollutants into the air. Chapter Two: Emission Permit Application Emission Permit Application 2. (a) An owner of an emission source shall submit to the Commissioner an application for a permit according to Form 1 in the First Schedule, fully completed, and shall attach the accompanying documents according to Chapter Three. (b) The application and any attached material shall be submitted in three printed copies, plus another copy in digital format. The Commissioner may request additional copies of the application from the applicant, and he may request the applicant to submit the application in a computerized format as indicated by him, enabling computerized processing of the information. (c) The following shall be attached to the application – (1) Confirmation of payment of the permit application fee in accordance with section 30 of the Law. (2) An affidavit signed by the owner of the emission source and the manager of the emission source, according to Form 2 in the First Schedule. Application Submission Confirmation 3. (a) Where the Commissioner received a permit application, and a preliminary examination conducted by him shows that the application contains the particulars and the documents required under section 18 of the Law and under these Regulations, he shall give the applicant written confirmation of the submission thereof (hereinafter – submission confirmation) within 21 days from the receipt of the application. (b) Where the Commissioner finds that a permit application does not contain the particulars and documents which are required, in his opinion, for a decision on the application, either before or after issuing the submission confirmation, he shall notify the applicant to that effect and shall request the missing particulars and documents. (c) If the applicant fails to provide particulars and documents as stated in subregulation (b) within the time 1 Kovetz HaTakanot (Collection of Regulations) 6904, 5771 (July 1, 2010), p. 1334 (Correction of error in Kovetz HaTakanot 6915, 5770, p. 1456). directed by the Commissioner, the applicant shall be deemed to have withdrawn his application. Additional Information and Documents 4. If an applicant for a permit fails to provide additional information and particulars requested by the Commissioner under section 18(c)(1) of the Law, within the time and in the manner directed by the Commissioner, the Commissioner may refuse the application and he may return it to the applicant without any further examination, and the applicant shall be deemed to have withdrawn his application. Information the Disclosure of Which Could Harm the State's Security 5. (a) Where an applicant holds a confirmation from a senior security official as stated in section 21(d)(1) of the Law, according to which publication of information from the permit application could harm the State's security (hereinafter – security confirmation), the applicant shall submit the information which is the subject of the security confirmation to the Commissioner, in a separate document on which it is indicated, in a conspicuous manner, that it contains information that is confidential for reasons of State security and that may not be published, and shall attach thereto a copy of the security confirmation. (b) The applicant shall submit a copy of the application without the details of the information to which the security confirmation refers, and an additional copy of the application including the details of the information to which the notice refers, said details marked in color in a conspicuous manner. Notice Concerning a Trade Secret 6. (a) An applicant's notice, as stated in section 21(d)(2) of the Law, that the disclosure of particulars in the application could reveal a trade secret (in this regulation – the notice), shall be submitted in the manner set out below: (1) The applicant shall submit a copy of the application without the details of the information to which the notice refers, and an additional copy of the application including the details of the information to which the notice refers, marked in color in a conspicuous manner. (2) The details of the information to which the notice relates shall be submitted together with the notice and in a separate document attached to the application. (3) The applicant shall attach to the notice documents and opinions in support of the facts set out in the notice, as well as a declaration signed by the owner of the emission source verifying the facts contained in the notice. (b) The details of the information which are the subject of the notice shall not be published by the Commissioner as long as he has not decided in regard thereto. (c) If the Commissioner decides to reject the notice, and that the information in respect of which it was submitted may be published, he shall notify the applicant to that effect and set out the reasons for his decision. However, the Commissioner shall not publish the information until 45 days have elapsed from the delivery of his decision to the applicant. (d) Where the Commissioner determines, after he decided in regard to the information which is the subject of the notice, that publication of the application under section 21 of the Law necessitates the amendment of the application documents, he may direct the applicant to submit the application documents, amended in a manner allowing their publication according to his decision, and he may set a date for the submission of the amended documents. Application in Stages 7. (a) An applicant for a permit who wishes to submit his application in stages shall apply to the Commissioner prior to the submission thereof, setting out the stages in which he wishes to submit the application, explaining his request and attaching documents for verification of the details in the request. (b) The Commissioner may reject or approve the request and determine the particulars and documents which the applicant is required to include in each of the stages of the application and the times for the submission thereof. Chapter Three: Emission Permit Application Documents Information on the Emission Source 8. An emission application shall present general information about the emission source, including, inter alia, these matters: (1) A verbal description of the emission source, its boundaries, size and activity. (2) Permits and licenses that were issued for the emission source in accordance with the law in the area of environmental protection and prevention of hazards, including a business license under the Business Licensing Law, 5728-1968, a poisons permit under the Hazardous Substances Law, 5723-1993, and personal instructions under section 8 of the Abatement of Nuisances Law, 5721-1961. (3) Information about the surroundings of the emission source, including maps, inter alia indicating sensitive areas such as nature reserves, populations concentrations and places containing a sensitive population, such as children and sick people. Manner of Preparation of a Permit Application 9. (a) An applicant shall prepare and submit the permit application and the application documents as stated in these Regulations, according to the reference documents as well as models, examples, methods and professional procedures, all in accordance with the guidelines for handling emission permit applications, published by the Commissioner on the Ministry's website and available for perusal at the Commissioner's offices, which set out the information and particulars required, in the Commissioner's opinion, for deciding on the application. (b) For purposes of these Regulations, the applicant is permitted to submit the application documents according to the reference documents and according to the guidelines for handling permit applications that were in effect six months before the date of submission of the application, or, in the case of an emission source that was operating lawfully immediately prior to the inception date, the determining date as stated in section 94 of the Law. Processes Survey 10. (a) A permit application shall include a survey of all the processes, materials, activities, emission sources and facilities for reducing pollutant emissions (hereinafter – processes survey), and inter alia – (1) A description of the facilities and activities at the emission source, including production, storage and transport processes as well as a characterization of each facility and each activity. (2) A list of materials used in every facility and in every activity, including raw materials, intermediate materials, products and by-products, as well as details of the quantities of each material. (3) A list of materials emitted or likely to be emitted from any facility and from any activity. (4) The process of production of any pollutant, the ways of handling it and the source of its emission into the air. (5) A technical description of the emission treatment and reduction facilities. (b) A one-to-one identifying number shall be given to each of the components of the processes survey, to be used in a consistent and uniform manner in all the application documents. Air Emissions Survey 11. A permit application shall include an air emissions survey presenting the concentration of pollutants and the rate of their emission from the emission source, as set out below: (1) A focal emissions survey, showing the emission of any pollutant from any focal source of emission into the air, as set out below: (a) Details of the process and the emission source, and data on the emitted pollutant, including its name, concentration and emission rate. (b) Characterization and graphic presentation of the variance of the emission from a focal source into the environment over time. (c) Quantitative determination of the emissions. (2) A survey to evaluate non-focal emissions, showing the emission of pollutants from any non-focal sources, including – (a) Emissions from storage tanks and terminals, including emissions during storage, emissions due to a change in level of the stored material, emissions due to landing of floating roofs, emissions due to pressure and temperature differences, emissions during cleaning, emptying and filling of tanks. (b) Emissions from field sources, including emissions during collection, treatment and storage of industrial sewage, emissions from cooling towers, emissions from stacks, emissions during storage and transport of particulate matter, and emissions during the performance of activities in non-confined spaces. (3) A survey of pollutant emissions from equipment components at the emission source. (4) A survey of non-routine emissions, detailing and evaluating emissions that might occur curing the performance of activities such as deactivation and activation of installations, running in of a new installation, maintenance activities, as well as emissions that might occur during malfunctions. Environmental Survey 12. (a) A permit application shall include an environmental survey to assess the quality of the air in the surroundings of the emission source, including in areas not in the immediate vicinity of the emission source, that could be affected by pollutant emissions from the emission source. (b) An environmental survey as stated in subregulation (a) shall present the environmental status of pollutants emitted from the emission source relative to the ambient values, reference values and target values and shall include both the current status and the status after implementation of the best available technique as stated in regulation 15, as set out below: (1) The environmental survey shall include air pollutants emitted from the emission source for which ambient values were set under section 6 of the Law, and additional pollutants for which no ambient value was set but whose concentration in the environment is increased relative to the reference or target value as a result of the emission source. (2) An environmental survey shall include data on the emission sources, a description of the environment and meteorological data, data on background concentrations in the surroundings of the emission source, a calculation of the dispersion of the pollutants using a model for current-status and future-status scenarios, and an analysis of the model's results. Discrepancies Survey 13. (a) A permit application shall include a survey presenting an analysis of existing discrepancies in the emission source compared to the best available techniques, as brought in the reference documents for best available techniques (hereinafter – discrepancies survey). (b) The discrepancies survey shall relate, inter alia, to the environmental management policy, energy efficiency, treatment and reduction technologies, procedures and maintenance, handling of mishaps and exceptional events, environmental sampling and monitoring and reporting. Selection of the Best Available Technique 14. (a) A permit application shall include the best available technology suggested in the reference documents, that results in maximum reduction in pollutant emissions into the air, from among all possible best techniques. (b) If the owner of an emission source wishes to select an alternative which is not the best available alternative as stated in subregulation (a), said owner shall present a survey, analysis and comparison between the proposed alternative and each of the alternatives suggested in the reference documents, that results in a higher reduction than the suggested alternative, including a detailed analysis of the economic efficiency and environmental impacts of each of them, and addressing inter alia these subjects: (1) Pollutant reduction rates in the environment. (2) Additional environmental implications, such as reduced human toxicity, energy consumption of each of the alternatives, greenhouse gas emissions, waste products and sewage produced in each of the alternatives, emission into the environment of acidic materials or materials that harm the ozone layer due to the implementation of each of the alternatives. Best Technique Implementation Plan 15. (a) A permit application shall include a plan for the implementation of the proposed best available technique as stated in regulation 14. (b) The plan as stated in subregulation (a) shall relate, inter alia, to the environmental management policy, proposed treatment and reduction technologies, energy efficiency, procedures and maintenance, handling of mishaps and exceptional events, environmental sampling and monitoring and reporting. Air Pollution Reduction Means Following an Alert 16. An emission permit application shall set out air pollution reduction means that will be activated at the emission source following an alert to the public regarding exceptionally high pollution levels as stated in section 8(c) of the Law. Exemption from Submitting Documents 17. Without derogating from the provisions of section 18(c)(2) of the Law, the Commissioner may exempt an applicant from submitting any of the application documents, if he considers that he possesses the necessary information for deciding on the application, provided that this does not affect the publication of the application under section 21 of the Law. Chapter Four: Emission Permit Rules and Criteria for Issuing an Emission Permit 18. (a) The Commissioner may refuse an application, accept it or accept it conditionally, taking into consideration each of these: (1) The matters set out in section 19(b) of the Law, as well as the application documents required under Chapter Three. (2) The emission source or the owner of the emission source is not complying with instructions he was given pursuant to the Business Licensing Law, 5728-1968, under section 8 of the Abatement of Nuisances Law, 5721-1961, or under any other law dealing with the protection of the environment and prevention of hazards. (b) A decision of the Commissioner to refuse an emission permit application shall set out the reasons for the decision. Transfer of an Emission Permit 19. (a) In this regulation, "transfer of an emission permit" – any change in the identity of the holders named in the permit, including the addition or removal of holders. (b) The owner of an emission source who wishes to transfer the emission permit held by him, shall submit to the Commissioner an emission permit transfer application, together with the person seeking to receive the permit, in accordance with the Second Schedule, at least four month before the planned date of the transfer. (c) Where an emission permit transfer application has been submitted pursuant to this regulation, it shall be deemed as temporarily approved for a period of no more than 90 days from the date of change of the ownership or up to the Commissioner's decision regarding the application, whichever is earlier. (d) The owner of an emission source who wishes to transfer a part of the activities included under the permit to another, and the person seeking to receive a part of the emission permit, shall submit to the Commissioner emission permit applications in accordance with these Regulations, unless the Commissioner has exempted them from the submission of such applications or from the submission of some of the application documents. (e) The Commissioner may request any information required by him for a decision on an application under subregulation (b), and he may approve the application conditionally or reject it. Conditions for an Expired Permit 20. Where a permit has terminated, whether because its term expired and it was not renewed or because the permit was revoked, and another emission permit has not been issued for the same source, the owner of the emission source shall be subject to the conditions in the permit, as long as all the facilities and materials present at the emission source have not been removed in accordance with the provisions of any law. Conditions for an Expired Permit 21. These regulations shall go into force on July 1, 2010 (19 Tammuz 5770). Transitional Provisions 22. In addition to that stated in regulation regarding an emission source that operated lawfully immediately prior to the inception of the law, the best technique implementation plan shall also include timetables for implementation. First Schedule 2 Second Schedule 3 June 22, 2010 (10 Tammuz 5770) G i l a d E r d a n Minister of Environmental Protection 2 The Schedules include various forms that were omitted by the "Dinim" system. 3 The Schedules include various forms that were omitted by the "Dinim" system.