Scope of application of the IED
The scope of the IED is defined in Article 2: industrial activities with a major pollution potential referred to in Chapters II to VI. Article 2 (2) of the Directive, however, sets out that it does not apply to research activities, development activities or the testing of new products and processes.
The IED applies to:
- Chapter II (BAT-based permitting): activities listed in Annex I to the IED and, where applicable, reaching the capacity thresholds set out in that Annex (Article 10);
- Chapter III: combustion plants designed for production of energy, the rated thermal input of which is equal to or greater than 50 MW irrespective of the type of fuel used (Article 28);
- Chapter IV: waste incineration plants and waste co-incineration plants which incinerate or co-incinerate solid or liquid waste (Article 42); and
- Chapter V: dry-cleaning and other activities covered by the VOC Solvents Directive; these activities are those listed in Part 1 of Annex VII and, where applicable, reaching the consumption thresholds set out in Part 2 of that Annex (Article 56)
- Chapter VI: installations producing titanium dioxide (Article 66).
Temporal scope:
The IED entered into force on 6 January 2011 and had to be transposed into national legislation by Member States by 7 January 2013. The Directive contains a fairly complicated regime as regards its temporal scope:
- To new installations, combustion plants, etc. it applies from 7 January 2013.
- To existing installations, it applies from 7 January 2014 onwards (Article 82). This deadline is relevant for installations which were already covered by the IPPC Directive as well.
- For existing activities and installations which were not covered by the scope of the IPPC Directive previously, the application of the directive is postponed by 18 months, namely until 7 July 2015,
- In the case of existing large combustion plants, the application of Chapter III and Annex V of the IED (minimum requirements for large combustion plants) is postponed until 1 January 2016.
Annex I activities:
Chapter II of the IED contains the general rules for all activities listed in Annex I. This Annex I shows a great level of resemblance to Annex I to the IPPC Directive, however, a number of new activities have been included (e.g. installations for the production of wood-based panels, new waste management activities, installations for the gasification or liquefaction of fuels other than coal and with a rated thermal input of 20 MW or more, etc.).