Industrial Processes Working Group

Mission Statement

The Group aim to provide a uniform approach by member authorities, to the control of industrial processes in the Manchester area through the enforcement of the relevant pollution control legislation and the provision of high quality customer services for protecting peoples' health and the environment.

The Group operates in the following ways:

• organisation of meetings and training workshops;
• consultation across member authorities;
• development of best practice procedures for use by member authorities;
• practical implementation of consistent GM policies through the pollution control officers of member authorities; benchmarking of environmental permitting procedures and development of best practice guidance;
• liaison and consultation with external bodies including the Environment Agency and the Government on related pollution issues;
• compilation of data and emissions from industrial processes for the GM Emissions Database EMIGMA.

History

The important work area of industrial pollution control was formalised within a specialised working group in the summer of 1994. Since then, the output has been more effective liaison between officers engaged in the regulation of 'industrial' air pollution and a more proactive approach to the practical issues surrounding this continually developing area of pollution control.

The Environmental Protection Group has however, been a focus for liaison and development of practice for authorised industrial processes since the implementation of the (then) new powers under Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which for the first time brought emissions to air from a wide range of industrial activities under the direct control of local authorities. The control was by means of an authorisation issued by the local authority to operate the industrial process and accompanied by specific conditions setting out standards for the operation of the plant and its emissions to air. In the wider Manchester area, there are over 1000 processes controlled in this way, ranging from iron foundries, cement storage installations, incinerators and paint spraying operations to waste oil burners and petrol filling stations.

Historical work areas have included:

• coordination of information on industrial processes across member authorities
• collaboration on procedures for authorisation of Petrol Filling Stations
• response to the Government's study on the performance of local authorities with respect to the authorisation of Part B processes - 'Local Authority Progress in Implementing the Local Air Pollution Control Regime' (The Cardinal Report)
• Formal consultation responses to Government's proposals for implementation of Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) and more recently the Environmental Permitting Regime

Current Work Areas

The current work within the Group is being carried out within the context of the EU Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) which was implemented in this country by the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999. Under the old legislation (Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) Part A processes were controlled by Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) by the Environment Agency while Part B processes were controlled for emissions to air by local authorities.

Under IPPC, emissions to air from Part B processes will continue to be controlled by local authorities and the very large installations (now referred to as Part A1s) will continue to be controlled by the Environment Agency. However there will also be a number of small to medium size installations which will be classified as Part A2 and will be under the control of local authorities. In April 2008, all processes were transferred to the Environmental Permitting Regime which continues the Part A1, A2 and B classifications of industrial processes but includes waste management licenses within the same permit system to simply the process and reduce the administrative burden on businesses.

For more information on the new regime, visit the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs web site at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/lapc/default.htm

Whilst the current work of the Group is being progressed within the context of the new regime, the aims of the Group remain the same and are focussed on activities which seek to provide a high quality, cost effective service and include:

• Benchmarking of work areas associated with industrial authorisations for MAPAC local authorities, including inspection methodology and authorisation standards
• Development and implementation of a code of the best practice for permitting of industrial processes for member authorities
• Liaison with the regional office of the Environment Agency on Environmental Permitting issues of common interest
• Co-ordination of information relating to industrial processes and their emissions to air across the Greater Manchester Area
• Collection and collation of technical data about emissions from industrial processes for EMIGMA (Emission Monitoring Information in the Greater Manchester Area)

Practical training and sharing of officer expertise is an important aspect of the collaborative work of the group and this includes, the identification of priority areas for training and sharing of practical experience of regulatory issues. For example, a two day emission monitoring course developed in conjunction with the National Environmental Technology Centre, (which is part of AEA Technology plc) has provided the specialised training needed by officers for the auditing of stack emission monitoring required of many authorised processes.

Future Work Areas

The regulatory controls over industrial processes continue to progress with further refinements in the Environmental Permitting Regime and the related Solvent Emissions Directive. Large petrol stations are installing Stage 2 vapour recovery in the coming months while the Process Guidance Notes that set out the standards of operation of the industrial processes are being reviewed and updated in the light of recent developments.

Continuous improvement of services within individual local authorities remains a priority. A joint MAPAC consultation exercises with customers and operators of processes to find out what they think about our services (and how we could make our services better in the future) has been carried out. Feedback from this exercise and further benchmarking studies with member authorities is being used to develop improved practice and procedures for the control of pollution from industrial processes and improved customer services.

Other information

The working group is recognised as an integral part of wider pollution issues facing member authorities - the Industrial Processes group for example collated information on emissions to air from industrial processes as part of MAPAC's co-ordinated approach to its air quality review and assessment responsibilities.

Each local authority maintains a register of the industrial processes in their areas. For further information contact the relevant local authority. Contact details via the member authorities page.

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