IED Principles
BAT reference documents and exchange of information
Articles 14 to 16 of the IED require that BAT conclusions, adopted in a Commission implementing decision re the reference for setting permit conditions and that emission limit values do not exceed the emission levels associated with the best available techniques as described in those BAT conclusions. This a clear step ahead compared to the IPPC Directive where the role of BAT was not defined in such a clear manner.
What constitutes BAT is decided based on the exchange of information (The European Commission adopted a Guidance document for the exchange of information under IED, which lays down rules concerning guidance on the collection of data and on the drawing up of BAT reference documents and on their quality assurance as required by Article 13(3)(c) and (d) of the IED: Commission Implementing Decision 2012/119/EU) stipulated by Article 13. This exchange shall take place between the Member States, industries concerned and environmental NGOs. This is the so called Sevilla Process, which helps to determine BAT for a wide range of different industrial sectors. Furthermore, the Commission shall establish and regularly convene a forum (has been created as a formal expert group through Commission decision (2011/C 146/03).) composed of representatives of the Member States, industries and environmental NGOs (Article 13 (3)).
This results in the adoption and publication by the Commission of the BAT conclusions and BAT Reference Documents (BREFs), as required by Article 13 (6). BREF or ‘BAT reference document’ means a document, resulting from the exchange of information organised pursuant to Article 13, drawn up for defined activities and describing, in particular, applied techniques, present emissions and consumption levels, techniques considered for the determination of best available techniques as well as BAT conclusions and any emerging techniques, giving special consideration to the criteria listed in Annex III to Directive 2010/75/EU. A similar concept definition was applicable under the IPPC Directive (Article 16 (2) IPPPCD).
With the aim of an increased uptake of BAT in permit conditions (which was identified as one of the key objectives of the IED review exercise), the IED introduced the novel element BATC or ‘BAT conclusions’. This terms refers to a legally binding measeure containing the parts of a BREF laying down the conclusions on best available techniques, their description, information to assess their applicability, the emission levels associated with the best available techniques, associated monitoring, associated consumption levels and, where appropriate, relevant site remediation measures. BAT conclusions are adopted via Commission Implementing Decisions by the Committee procedure established under Article 75 of the IED. BAT conclusions also establish the so-called BAT-AELs, i.e. the emission levels associated with the use of the best available techniques.