The Offshore Combustion Installations (Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2013

Made: 22nd April 2013

Laid before Parliament: 25th April 2013

Coming into force: 19th May 2013

Whereas the Secretary of State has consulted the persons required to be consulted by section 2(4) of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 ;

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 2 and 7(9) of that Act, makes the following Regulations:

PART 1 — Introduction

Citation, commencement and review

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• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Offshore Combustion Installations (Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2013 and come into force on 19th May 2013.

• (2) The Secretary of State must from time to time—

• (a) carry out a review of these Regulations;

• (b) set out the conclusions of the review in a report; and

• (c) publish the report.

• (3) The report must in particular—

• (a) set out the objectives intended to be achieved by these Regulations;

• (b) assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved; and

• (c) assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved in a less burdensome way.

• (4) The first report under this regulation must be published before the end of the period of five years beginning on the date these Regulations come into force.

• (5) Reports under this regulation are afterwards to be published at intervals not exceeding five years.

Interpretation

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• (1) In these Regulations—

• “the 2010 Directive” means Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control)(Recast) ;

• “Annex 1” means Annex I of the MCPD;

• “Annex 2” means Annex II of the MCPD;

• “Annex 3” means Annex III of the MCPD;

• “available techniques” means those techniques developed on a scale which allows implementation under economically and technically viable conditions, taking into consideration the costs and advantages, whether or not the techniques are used or produced in the United Kingdom, the offshore area or the relevant gas area, as long as they are reasonably accessible to the operator;

• “best” means most effective in achieving a high general level of protection of the environment as a whole;

• “best available techniques” means the most effective and advanced stage in the development of activities and their methods of operation which indicates the practical suitability of particular techniques for providing the basis for emission limit values and other permit conditions designed to prevent and, where that is not practicable, to reduce emissions and the impact on the environment as a whole;

• “carbon dioxide storage or unloading platform” means any fixed or floating structure—used for or in connection with an activity within section 17(2) of the Energy Act 2008 (“a section 17(2) activity”) but not including—a structure the principal purpose of which is an activity within section 17(2)(c) of that Act; ora floating structure unless it is being maintained on station during the course of a section 17(2) activity; andwhere the section 17(2) activity is licensed under section 18 of that Act by the Oil and Gas Authority;

• “combustion installation” means a relevant platform, or a complex of relevant platforms permanently inter-connected by bridges, equipped with offshore combustion plant;

• “combustion plant” means any technical apparatus in which fuels are oxidised in order to use the heat generated;

• “diesel engine” means an internal combustion engine which operates according to the Diesel cycle and uses compression ignition to burn fuel;

• “dust” means particles, of any shape, structure or density, dispersed in the gas phase at the sampling point which may be collected by filtration after representative sampling of the gas to be analysed, and which remain on the filter after drying;

• “EIA Directive” means Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council;

• “emerging technique” means a novel technique that, if commercially developed, could provide—a higher general level of protection of the environment; orat least the same level of such protection and higher cost savings,compared to existing best available techniques;

• “emission” means—in relation to a large combustion installation, the direct or indirect release of a pollutant listed in Schedule 2 from individual or diffuse sources in the installation into the air or water;in relation to a medium combustion plant, the discharge of substances from a medium combustion plant into the air;

• “emission limit value” means—in relation to a large combustion installation, the mass, concentration or level of an emission, which may not be exceeded during one or more periods of time;in relation to a medium combustion plant, the permissible quantity of a substance contained in the waste gases from the combustion plant which may be discharged into the air during a given period;

• “enforcement notice” means, except in regulation 38, a notice given by the Secretary of State under regulation 30;

• “existing medium combustion plant” means a medium combustion plant—put into operation before 20 December 2018; orfor which a permit was granted before 19 December 2017, provided that the plant is put into operation no later than 20 December 2018;

• “fuel” means any liquid or gaseous combustible material;

• “gas engine” means an internal combustion engine which operates according to the Otto cycle and which uses spark ignition to burn fuel;

• “Gas Importation and Storage Zone” has the same meaning as it has in section 1(5) of the Energy Act 2008 ;

• “gas storage or unloading platform” means any fixed or floating structure situated in the relevant gas area —used for or in connection with an activity within section 2(3) of the Energy Act 2008 except where the principal purpose of the structure is an activity within section 2(3)(e) of that Act; butexcluding a floating structure which is not being maintained on station during the course of an activity to which paragraph (a) applies;

• “gas turbine” means any rotating machine which converts thermal energy into mechanical work, consisting mainly of a compressor (a thermal device in which fuel is oxidised in order to heat the working fluid) and a turbine (including both open cycle and combined cycle gas turbines, and gas turbines in cogeneration mode, all with or without supplementary firing);

• “large combustion installation” means—a relevant platform; ora complex of relevant platforms permanently inter-connected by bridges,equipped with an offshore combustion plant which on its own or aggregated together with any other combustion plant on the same platform or complex has a rated thermal input which is equal to or greater than 50 megawatts;;

• “large combustion plant” means an offshore combustion plant with a rated thermal input equal to or greater than 50 megawatts, but does not include gas turbines and gas engines;

• “the MCPD” means Directive 2015/2193/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from medium combustion plants;

• ...

• “medium combustion installation” means—a relevant platform; ora complex of relevant platforms permanently inter-connected by bridges,which is not a large combustion installation and which is equipped with an offshore combustion plant that has a rated thermal input which is equal to or greater than 1 megawatt and less than 50 megawatts;;

• “medium combustion plant” means, subject to regulation 2A, an offshore combustion plant with a rated thermal input which is equal to or greater than 1 megawatt and less than 50 megawatts, but does not include—gas turbines, gas engines and diesel engines; orcombustion plant in which gaseous products of combustion are used for the direct heating, drying or any other treatment of objects or materials;

• “member State” includes Iceland and Norway;

• “mile” means nautical mile;

• “new medium combustion plant” means a medium combustion plant other than an existing medium combustion plant;

• “NOx” means nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide;

• “offshore area” means the areas comprising—the sea adjacent to England from the low water mark to the landward baseline of the United Kingdom territorial sea;the United Kingdom territorial sea adjacent to—England; andScotland, Wales and Northern Ireland except that part which extends seaward for 3 miles from the landward baseline; andthe sea in any designated area within the meaning of the Continental Shelf Act 1964 ,and includes the places above those areas and the bed and subsoil of the sea within those areas;

• “offshore combustion installation” means a medium combustion installation or a large combustion installation;

• “offshore combustion plant” means a combustion plant which is permanently installed on a relevant platform or complex of relevant platforms permanently inter-connected by bridges;

• “operating hours” means the time, expressed in hours, during which a medium combustion plant is operating and discharging emissions into the air, excluding start-up and shut-down periods;

• “operator” means a person who operates or controls, in whole or part, an offshore combustion installation;

• “permit” means a written permission granted by the Secretary of State to operate an offshore combustion installation;

• “petroleum” has the same meaning as it has in section 1 of the Petroleum Act 1998 ;

• “petroleum platform” means any fixed or floating structure situated in the offshore area and used for, or in connection with, the production of petroleum but excluding—a floating structure which is not being maintained on station during the course of production; ora structure the principal purpose of which is—to establish the existence of petroleum;to appraise the characteristics, quality or quantity of petroleum; orto appraise the characteristics or extent of any reservoir in which petroleum occurs;

• “pollution” means the direct or indirect introduction, as a result of human activity, of a pollutant listed in Schedule 2 into a medium, which may—be harmful to human health or the quality of the environment;result in damage to material property; orimpair or interfere with amenities and other legitimate uses of the environment;

• “prohibition notice” means, except in regulation 38, a notice given by the Secretary of State under regulation 31;

• “relevant date” means—20th December 2018, in relation to an offshore combustion installation equipped with new medium combustion plant;1st January 2024, in relation to an offshore combustion installation equipped with an existing medium combustion plant with a rated thermal input greater than 5 megawatts;1st January 2029, in relation to an offshore combustion installation equipped with an existing medium combustion plant with a rated thermal input of not more than 5 megawatts;

• “relevant gas area” means the areas comprising—the sea areas described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the definition of “the offshore area”; andthe sea in a Gas Importation and Storage Zone,and includes the places above those areas and the bed and subsoil of the sea within those areas;

• “relevant platform” means, as appropriate,—a carbon dioxide storage or unloading platform;a gas storage or unloading platform; ora petroleum platform;

• “secondary abatement” has the same meaning as it has in Article 7(4) of the MCPD;

• “surrender offer” has the meaning given in regulation 17(1);

• “techniques” includes both the technology used and the way in which the offshore combustion installation is designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned.

• (2) A term used in these Regulations which is not defined in paragraph (1) and which is used in the 2010 Directive, has the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the 2010 Directive.

• (3) Subject to the exception in regulation 11A(b), any provision of the 2010 Directive referred to in these Regulations is to be read as if requirements imposed under the provision on a member State were requirements imposed on the Secretary of State.

PART 2 — Applications for permits and conditions in permits

Requirement for permits

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• (1) Subject to paragraph (2), a person must not operate an offshore combustion installation—

• (a) without a permit; and

• (b) otherwise than in accordance with the conditions in that permit.

• (2) Where a permit has yet to be granted in respect of an offshore combustion installation which is equipped with a medium combustion plant, paragraph (1) applies from the relevant date.

• (3) A person must apply for a permit in writing to the Secretary of State.

Applications for permits

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• (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (2) Where an application for a permit relates to the operation of a large combustion installation, the application must include a description of—

• (a) the offshore combustion installation (“the installation”) and its activities;

• (b) the relevant platform comprising the installation;

• (c) the materials, substances and energy used in or generated by the installation;

• (d) the sources of emissions from the installation;

• (e) the conditions of the site of the installation;

• (f) the nature and quantities of foreseeable emissions from the installation into each medium and any significant effects of the emissions on the environment;

• (g) the proposed technology and other techniques for preventing or, where this is not possible, reducing emissions from the installation;

• (h) where necessary, measures for the prevention and recovery of waste generated by the installation;

• (i) measures planned to monitor emissions into the environment;

• (j) to the extent not otherwise described, measures planned to comply with the principles listed in regulation 7(3); and

• (k) the main alternatives (if any) to the technology and techniques referred to in sub-paragraph (g) studied by the applicant, in outline.

• (3) Where an application for a permit relates to the operation of a large combustion installation, the application must be accompanied by a non-technical summary of the information which must be provided under paragraph (2).

• (4) Where an applicant has an environmental statement which contains information which must be provided under paragraph (2), the applicant may include the statement with the application in order to provide that information.

• (5) In paragraph (4), “environmental statement” has the same meaning as it has in regulation 3(1) of the Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, Production, Unloading and Storage (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2020.

Making applications publicly available

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• (1) Where the Secretary of State receives an application for a permit that relates to the operation of a large combustion installation, the Secretary of State must make publicly available a notice which contains the matters in paragraph (2)(“an application notice”).

• (2) The matters referred to in paragraph (1) are—

• (a) a copy of the application;

• (b) that representations by the public may be sent to the Secretary of State in respect of the application;

• (c) where those representations are to be sent;

• (d) the date by which those representations must be received, which must be no earlier than 4 weeks after the application notice is made public;

• (e) whether or not the operation of the offshore combustion installation which is the subject of the application—

• (i) is likely to have significant negative effects on the environment of a member State; and

• (ii) requires an environmental impact assessment or consultation with a member State before a decision in respect of the application can be made;

• (f) the possible decisions which may be made by the Secretary of State in respect of the application;

• (g) when such decisions are likely to be made; and

• (h) such other information as the Secretary of State considers relevant to the application.

• (3) Where the Secretary of State holds information which—

• (a) was not included in the application notice; and

• (b) the Secretary of State considers is relevant to the application,

the Secretary of State must make publicly available as soon as possible a notice which contains the matters in paragraph (4)(“a supplemental notice”).

• (4) The matters referred to in paragraph (3) are—

• (a) the additional information;

• (b) reference to the application notice and any previous supplemental notice;

• (c) where those notices are publicly available; and

• (d) any amendment of—

• (i) the date by which representations from the public must be received, which date must not be earlier than the date given for that purpose in the application notice; and

• (ii) the matters in paragraph (2)(e) or (g).

Applications for permits and variation of permits: effects on the environment of other member States

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• (1) This regulation applies where—

• (a) the Secretary of State considers that the operation of a large combustion installation which is the subject of an application under regulation 4 or a notice under regulation 12 is likely to have significant negative effects on the environment of a member State; or

• (b) a member State requests details of the operation of a large combustion installation which is the subject of such an application or notice.