Constructing and Operating an Industrial Facility - Assignment Example

Report to Client on the Legal Liabilities of Constructing and Operating an Industrial Facility Table of Contents Introduction 3 The Preliminary Site Conceptual Model 3 2. A. Identifying and Explaining Site Activities Subject To Environmental Permitting Requirements 9 B. Explain the Type of Environmental Permit(S) Required For the Site Activities, With Reference To the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2010 (As Amended) 12 C. Discuss the Key European Community Directive Requirements That Apply To Site Operations Including Any Relevant Technical Requirements or Emission Limit Values 13 D. Identify the Principal Technical Guidance That Would Be Used To Determine Permit Conditions for Site Activities 14 Conclusion 15 References 16 Introduction Green waste Systems limited has obtained a site, which was a scrap yard for the establishment of waste management site. The waste management company will be established to reduce the level of contamination in the surroundings. The company is planning to manage the waste and construct an industrial facility for dealing with waste material and attainting recyclable products. The intention of the company is to make a plant that will be able to maintain and manage around 26000 tonnes of waste per year. The waste collected from the district of Greater Manchester will be managed. The proposal is to recycle the waste material and then provide the product for use by removing the contaminants. It is observed that that the storage capacity for the provided plant will be about 500 tonnes. The plant will include various energy recovery plants such as dryer, gasification chambers, flue gas, steam boiler and also turbine hall. The paper intends to provide a legal advice regarding the proposed preliminary site conceptual model. 1. The Preliminary Site Conceptual Model The table below provides a review of the site to understand its potential impact of the contaminants in the area. Contaminant Pathway Receptor Risk Screening Criteria Information Needed To Confirm PPL Method For Gathering Information Organic as well explosive organic compounds, Petroleum hydrocarbon compounds inside soils and underground water Inhalation of vapour → Through Surface runoff→ Migration through liquid flow → Absorption through direct contact→ Uptake by Plants→ Workers and the end users The surface water drainage The surface water drainage and Aquifer Workers as well as end users Flora and fauna Severity is medium for workers and severe for the end users Probability low likelihood for workers and unlikely for end users Risk is moderate as well as low due to inhaling of the vapour For surface water the severity is mild, probability is low likelihood and risk is low Liquid flow the severity is mild, probability is low likelihood and the risk is low For the direct contact the severity is medium for workers and severe for the end users. Probability is low likelihood and unlikely foe workers and end users respectively For flora and fauna severity is minor, probability is low likelihood and negligible risk The pollutant linkage is unlikely for every aspect with a revised low and moderate risk for all in the site Secondary Resources Semi metals and non metals like bits of plastic and glasses Ingestion through direct contact or touch→ Passage by the help of water and dust→ Workers and the end users Surface drainage Aquifer Flora and fauna Severity medium for workers and end users, probability low likelihood for workers and unlikely for end users Risk moderate as well as low for workers and end users For surface drainage and aquifer the severity is mild, probability is low likelihood and risk low For flora and fauna the severity is mild, probability is low likelihood and risk low The pollutant linkage is unlikely for every element with low as well as negligible risk Secondary Resources Metal, which are toxic found under the soil and water Through Inhaling fugitive dust→ Absorption through direct contact→ Passage through surface run off → Passage through water → Uptake by Plant→ Workers as well as the end users Workers as well as the end users Surface drainage Surface drainage and Aquifer Local flora as well as fauna Severity is medium for both workers and end users Probability is low likelihood and unlikely for workers and end users respectively along with low risk For direct contact the severity can be medium for both Probability low likelihood and unlikely as well as risk low for workers and end users respectively For surface run severity is mild, probability is low likelihood and risk low Passage through water the severity is mild, probability is low likelihood and the risk is low For fauna the severity is minor, probability is low likelihood and risk very low The linkage is unlikely and the risk is low and negligible for every element Secondary Resources Polychlorinated Biphenyls, acids such as arsenic, chloroform. The Aggressive substances   In direct contact with the materials of construction used in the land→ Through direct contact in the airways and waterways→ Underlying foundations as well as structures The buried activities The severity is medium, probability is likely and the probability is moderate The pollutant linkage is likely with moderate revised risk Secondary Resources Other ground gases made of natural strata Moves through excavation→ Migration through development→ The workers and end users Severity is severe for both workers and users Probability is low likelihood for workers and unlikely for end users Risk is moderate for both Pollutant linkage is unlikely with moderate and low risk Secondary Resources Asbestos present in the ground Inhaling through fugitive dust→ Through direct contact→ Dumping ground→ Workers End users Workers of the sites End users in contact Workers severity is severe and medium for users Low likelihood and unlikely probability for workers and users respectively Risk is moderate The pollutant linkage is low likelihood and unlikely Revised risk is moderate and low Secondary Resources Mercury Migration of mercury into the wastewater stream→ Spillage of mercury in working environment and wards → Workers of the sites as well as the end users Site workers Severity will be mild, probability likely with moderate or low risk The pollutant linkage is likely with revised risk which is moderate as well as low Secondary Resources Mercury Migration of mercury into the wastewater stream→ Spillage of mercury in working environment and wards → Workers of the sites as well as the end users Site workers Severity will be mild, probability likely with moderate or low risk The pollutant linkage is likely with revised risk which is moderate as well as low Secondary Resources 2. A. Identifying and Explaining Site Activities Subject To Environmental Permitting Requirements Environment needs to be well protected to mitigate the health related issue, which are being faced globally. For the safety of the environment a proper regulation and rules need to be implemented. In this regard, Environmental Permitting Regime needs to provide proper regulation for the safety and monitoring of the surrounding environment (Environment Agency, 2011). The objective of the Environmental Permitting Regime is to safeguard the environment, so that the policies related to government are attained. The regime also focuses on reducing the environmental hazards for greater effectiveness. It is to be noted that the environment regime covers various aspects related to Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations 2000 and Waste Management for its greater efficiency and effectiveness (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2010). It is to be noted that there are various facilities that need an Environment Permit for an effective progression. The regulation depicts an overall framework, which reflects about the requirement of the facility and also the exemption. The activities, which necessitate an environmental permission, are jointly known as ‘regulated facilities.’ Contextually, seven forms of regulated facility are there, which are different from others and are known as classes. Moreover, with regard to the aspect of waste management there are few operational regulations, which are reflected as ‘excluded waste operations’. These operations are not considered as regulated facilities. There are also few facilities, which are excluded from the need to acquire environmental permit due to the compliance of few elements such as the registration. It is to be noted that when the facility is registered they are exempted from the need of regulated facilities. Furthermore, with reference to radioactive substances, few activities as observed do not need permission even though they are not subjected to any form of exemption. Moreover, it is noteworthy to state that for the radioactive substances the word exempt is implemented in a varied manner wherein the registration is not mandatory. As aforementioned there are seven forms of classes in relation to environmental permitting as mentioned below: Installation Waste Operations Mobile plants Mining waste operations Radioactive substances activity Water discharge activity and Ground water activity The above elements are depicted below in a form of regulated facilities site: (Source: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2010) Furthermore, in relation to the environmental permitting requirement, it is to be noted that regulated facility is required depending on several aspects. For instance, any ‘stand alone water discharge activity’ can be surrendered with the help of notification. However, water discharge activity, which is carried in a form of operation require application for surrender. It is vital to state in this regard that one regulator is applicable for one site for greater protection and control over the environment. Moreover, on 1st October 2013, the mining waste operation and the need for permission came to an end, with the enactment of the Guidance on the Mining Waste Directives. Thus, it can be stated that the environmental permission requirement depends on various aspects and is an important consideration for the effectiveness of the environment at large (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2010). B. Explain the Type of Environmental Permit(S) Required For the Site Activities, With Reference To the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2010 (As Amended) With reference to the environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2010 (As Amended) there are few changes regarding the requirement for the site activities. Contextually, the local government authorities need to implement few rules and regulations to reduce the pollution level. The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales Regulations) 2010 along with Pollution Prevention & Control Act 1999 contributes towards the development and the protection of the environment. Permits are provided by the regulation to the industries, which follows the rules stated and takes measures to reduce environmental hazards. A permit is a form of written description, which provides information regarding the minimization of the pollution. A permit implies that the industry will maintain the standard and regulations of the government as mentioned. As per the amendment of the 2010 regulation, it is observed that few rules have altered with regard to industry installation. It is observed that the need for the regulation requirement have reduced considerably for the one which operates in anaerobic digestion installations as well as mobile plants. Moreover, the regulation requirements have also reduced for the “one who burn waste derived fuel that has ceased to be waste” (National Assembly for Wales, 2014). The amendments have made the process of transfer permit easier for the establishment of the waste. Moreover, few alterations have been made with regard to the activities stated above in the 2010 regulation of Wales. The amendment regulation was made effective from 20the February 2013. In this context, the seven directives of Environmental Permitting Regulations have been replaced by the Industrial Emissions Directives. A series of regulations have been taken into consideration. Moreover, few new regulations have been incorporated regarding installation and the prior principles have been strengthened. Also few regulatory responsibilities have also changed wherein single permits are now applicable for few activities for the protection of the environment (CHPA, 2014). C. Discuss the Key European Community Directive Requirements That Apply To Site Operations Including Any Relevant Technical Requirements or Emission Limit Values European Commission was established for protecting the environment from various pollutants. It was formed to safeguard as well as improve the environment for the future activities. This commission is effective as it forms various policies for the proper disposal of pollutants, so that the environment is protected. There are various directive requirements that are to be followed by the industries to protect the environment from the hazards. There are various forms of contaminants in the environment which are present in the environment due to the low maintenance of government standards regarding pollution minimization. The key policies of the directives are to maintain the industrial emission at large. In order to maintain the level of emission and waste various waste management activities are taking place. The European commission directives key requirement is to manage the waste and minimise pollution. This can be done with the help of Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) aspect (European Commission, 2014). In this regard, it can be stated that the commission undergoes various steps to reduce the industrial waste and emission rate. This IPPC initiative directive is helpful in meeting the requirements of the site. This directive follows steps embedded in the legislation to provide proper safety to the environment. The requirement of this directive is to also to reduce the unnecessary costs as well as administrative costs. Moreover, the key directives of EU are required for providing permission for the installation of integrated approach for minimising the atmospheric pollutants. Moreover, the requirement of the European Community Directive is when the industry is trying to operate in the site by maintaining the regulatory standards (European Commission, 2014). The directives are used to protect the environment by reducing emission. The requirement for the same is seen when implementing huge combustion plants, titanium dioxide production along with waste incineration. Installation for the industrial purpose requires permission for proper development and research. It is noted that the existing installation also requires these permission for its effective operations. This will imply that the industry will help in maintaining the environment by reducing the emission in air, water as well as land (Crown, 2012). D. Identify the Principal Technical Guidance That Would Be Used To Determine Permit Conditions for Site Activities The principal technical guidance that would be used to determine the permit condition for the site activities are observed through the guidance of Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Division of Environmental Remediation (DER). This guidance is important for the technical support and for determining solutions for the protection of the environment. This technical guidance is important and is responsible for maintaining the environment protection at large. They analyse the site helps in gaining permission for the industrial function by maintaining the standard. They help in identifying the waste disposal site required for the protection of the environment. The guidance provided by them assist the users in improving their project which involves the contaminated sites. These sites are usually monitored as well as administered by the DER for the safety of the environment. The guidance is vital to understand the scope and also to analyse the life cycle for the remedial program for managing the waste. This technical guidance is crucial for the installation of proper remedial program for the effectiveness of the process at large. It is important acquire proper idea about the area of concern and also contaminants for maintaining site activities through safeguarding the environment (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2014). Conclusion From the above analysis of the case, it can be comprehended that the success of the site depends on various aspects. It is important for the industries to maintain the standard of regulation by minimising the level of pollution and reducing the contamination level. There are various pollutants in the environment, which are to be protected through the help environment permitting guidance. A Preliminary Site Conceptual Model is developed to understand the pollutants and its pathway, receptors and its potential pollutant linkages. The various permitting requirements are developed for the plant site with regard to the environment protection. Moreover, the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2010 (amended) is also reflected upon to understand about the changes and the policies regarding the protection of environment. Thus, it can be stated that government regulations are important for the implementation of construction and industry facilities by eliminating challenges to environment from the contaminants through the help of waste management initiative. References CHPA, 2014. Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 made. News. [Online] Available at: http://www.chpa.co.uk/environmental-permitting-england-and-wales-amendment-regulations-2013-made_1240.html [Accessed December 20, 2014]. Crown, 2012. Industrial emissions Directive Draft EPR Guidance on Part A installations. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pp. 1-28. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2010. Environmental Permitting Guidance Core Guidance. For the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010, pp. 2-82. Environment Agency, 2011. How to Comply With Your Environmental Permit. Environment Agency, pp. 2-95. European Commission, 2014. The IPPC Directive. Environment. [Online] Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/industry/stationary/ippc/index.htm [Accessed December 20, 2014]. National Assembly for Wales, 2014. The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2012. Explanatory Memorandum, pp. 1-5. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2014. DER-10 / Technical Guidance for Site Investigation and Remediation. DEC Program Policy, pp. 1-226. Read More