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MEANING OF "INSTALLATION"
63. The third consultation paper explained that the draft regulations would follow the Directive definition of an "installation" and offered guidance on the interpretation of this definition. Consultees sought further guidance on this interpretation and suggested that worked examples might prove helpful. These are set out below. The purpose of this discussion is to indicate what is, and what is not, covered by IPPC. For each installation, a variety of different permit structures would be possible, ranging from a single permit covering the whole installation, to a collection of permits covering the separate parts of it. The draft regulations allow for this and leave it to the discretion of the regulators to determine the most appropriate configuration of permits.
64. The IPPC Directive definition is :
"Installation" shall mean :
(1) a stationary technical unit where one or more activities listed in Annex I are carried out; and
(2) any other directly associated activities which have a technical connection with the activities carried out on that site and which could have an effect on emissions and pollution.
65. To satisfy the first limb of this definition plant or machinery must satisfy 3 criteria :
(1A) The plant or machinery must be a "unit" where one or more activities listed in Annex I are carried out;
(1B) The unit must be stationary whilst in operation;
(1C) The unit must be a technical unit.
66. For the purpose of criterion (1A), "unit" can be taken to mean something which is functionally self contained in the sense that the unit - which may consist of one component or a number of components functioning together - can carry out the Annex I activity or activities on its own.
67. Where, however, there are two or more such units on the same site which are technically connected with each other those units should be regarded as a single technical unit for these purposes. This brings in criterion (1C). Two such units can be said to be technically connected if they are both on the same site and carry out successive steps in one integrated industrial activity or one of the Annex I activities is directly associated with the other are both units are served by the same directly associated activity.
68. The result is that plant or machinery will constitute a technical unit if -
(a) it consists of a single functionally self contained unit carrying out an Annex 1 activity or a number of such activities on its own and without any technical connection with any other such units; or
(b) it consists of a number of such functionally self contained units which are technically connected so that each such unit should be regarded as a sub-unit of a single integrated technical unit.
69. Where a functionally self contained unit carrying out an Annex I activity is technically connected to another unit which does not carry out an Annex I activity the two units will not fall under (b). In this case (a) will apply but the second unit which is not carrying out an Annex I activity may still form part of the installation by virtue of the second limb (i.e. as a directly associated activity).
70. Criterion (1B) rules out mobile sources, but not necessarily mobile plant.
71. An installation consists of the stationary technical unit identified under the first limb of the definition plus any activities which satisfy the second limb. For an associated activity to satisfy the second limb, and thus be part of the installation, 3 criteria must be satisfied :
(2A) The activity must be directly associated with the stationary technical unit;
(2B) The activity must have a technical connection with the Annex I activities carried out in or by the stationary technical unit;
(2C) The activity must be capable of having an effect on emissions.
72. Criterion (2A) : This criterion requires that the activity is carried out on the same site as the stationary technical unit and that the activity serves the stationary technical unit (ie. there is an asymmetrical relation whereby the activity serves the stationary technical unit but not vice versa). If an activity (e.g. a waste tip) serves a stationary technical unit carrying out an Annex I activity and some other industrial unit or units on a different site or outside of Annex 1 then the activity will only be directly associated with the stationary technical unit if that unit is the principal user of the activity.
73. Criterion (2B) : There are 4 types of directly associated activity which may be said to have a technical connection with a stationary technical unit:
(a) input activities concerned with the storage and treatment of inputs into the stationary technical unit;
(b) intermediate activities concerned with the storage and treatment of intermediate products during the carrying on of the Annex I activities - this might apply particularly where the stationary technical unit consists of a number of sub-units with the product of one sub-unit being stored or treated prior to being passed on to the next sub-unit in the production chain;
(c) output activities concerned with the treatment of waste (or other emissions, like manure) from the stationary technical unit;
(d) output activities concerned with the finishing, packaging and storage of the product from the stationary technical unit.
These activities have a technical connection in the sense that they are integral parts of the overall industrial activity. Often there will also be a physical connection (conveyor belt, pipeline etc) but this does not have to be the case.
74. Criterion (2C) : The Directive refers to the directly associated activities having an effect on emissions and pollution. This covers activities which have an effect on emissions and pollution from the associated Annex I activities and activities which have an effect on emissions and pollution in their own right.
WORKED EXAMPLES
Example 1: Three combustion plants discharging through a common stack.
Limb (1): This constitutes one unit. None of the individual plants can be regarded as a unit because, viewed individually, none of them are functionally self contained - the stack is an essential component of the combustion plant (criterion (1A)). So the 3 combustion plants form 3 components of one stationary technical unit.
Example 2: Three combustion plants discharging through a common stack plus one combustion plant discharging through its own stack.
Limb (1): This constitutes two stationary technical units even if all of the plants are on the same site and operated by the same operator.
Example 3: A chemical plant served by an effluent treatment works on the same site.
Limb (1): In this example the chemical plant is the stationary technical unit.
Limb (2): The effluent treatment works will satisfy limb (2) of the definition in relation to the stationary technical unit because it is a directly associated activity (under criterion (2A)) with a technical connection with the stationary technical unit (under criterion (2B)).
Example 4: Two chemical plants served by the same effluent treatment works.
Limb (1): Each chemical plant is functionally self contained given that they can both produce chemicals without being attached to an effluent treatment works (criterion (1A)) (whereas in Example 1 the combustion plants have to operate with a stack). They will therefore generally be treated as two separate stationary technical units. If, however, the 2 chemical plants and the effluent treatment works are on the same site then the two chemical installations will be technically connected and so will form one (integrated) stationary technical unit and that unit (plus the treatment works) will form the installation (see paragraph 66 above).
Limb (2): If the effluent treatment works is not on the same site as either of the chemical installations it will not satisfy limb (2) because of criterion (2A). It will therefore not be part of the installation.
If the effluent treatment works is on the same site as only one of the installations it will satisfy limb (2) in relation to that installation if that installation is the principal user of the works.
Example 5: A power station served by its own landfill (which is below the Directive threshold) on the same site.
Limb (1): The power station is the stationary technical unit.
Limb (2): The landfill site will satisfy limb (2).
Note that if the landfill is part of the installation it will be regulated under the PPC regime not the waste management licence regime.
Example 6: A power station served by its own landfill (which is above the Directive threshold) on the same site.
Limb 1: This constitutes one single technical unit (see paragraph 66 above).
Limb 2: Any associated activities, such as stockpiling and recovering coal, handling ash and treating and releasing cooling water, which are directly associated with the stationary technical unit will also be part of the installation.
Example 7: A power station where coal is stored on site.
Limb (1): The power station is the stationary technical unit.
Limb (2): The storage of coal will satisfy limb (2) and will thus be a directly associated activity and part of the installation along with the stationary technical unit.
Example 8: An integrated oil refinery.
Limb (1): If the oil refinery carries out a number of Annex I activities using plant which is highly integrated and interdependent limb (1) will dictate that the whole collection is one stationary technical unit.
Example 9: A cement clinker manufacturing plant with an on site quarry.
Limb (1): The cement clinker plant is the stationary technical unit.
Limb (2): The quarry will not satisfy limb (2) unless it has a technical connection with the stationary technical unit. Quarrying the raw materials may be one step further removed than the input activities referred to in paragraph 72 above.
Example 10: Combined heat and power plant ("CHP") with a thermal input of more than 50MW serving a light industrial estate engaged in none Annex I activities.
Limb (1): The CHP plant is the stationary technical unit.
Limb (2): None of the units on the industrial estate will be directly associated activities because they do not meet criteria 2A in that they do not serve the CHP plant; it is the CHP plant which serves them.
Example 11: CHP (over 50 MW) within an organic chemical manufacturing complex which uses electricity from the CHP and also uses steam from it as a feed for chemical reactions. The CHP also provides heat and electricity to the onsite office block.
Limb (1): The stationary technical unit consists of the combustion activity and the chemical manufacturing activity. The CHP is an integral part of the organic chemical manufacturing complex and both types of Annex 1 activity can together be described as one technical unit.
Limb (2) : The office block is not an associated activity, because it is served by the CHP rather than the reverse and therefore criterion 2A is not met.
Example 12: An IPPC installation for the intensive rearing of pigs or poultry where manure from the installation is spread on adjacent fields
Limb (1): The building or buildings in which the animals are housed will be the stationary technical units. The fields are not part of the stationary technical unit.
(Note that all animal houses which are on the same site in which IPPC activities are carried out by the same operator count towards the threshold). Conditions must be attached to the permit for these installations governing the handling of manure, but these do not apply to third parties who might take the manure.
Limb (2): Directly associated activities like such as a slurry handling system will be part of the installation.
(Note that conditions will be attached to the permit governing the handling of manure but that these will not apply to third parties who might take the manure).
Example 13: Integrated Iron and Steel Works
Iron ore and coal are supplied by ship and stored in stockpiles. Coal is converted to coke in a series of coke ovens. A biological effluent treatment plant is used to abate the wastewater from this process. Iron ore, limestone and coke are sintered before being transferred to the blast furnaces. Molten iron is run off into mobile containers. The iron process produces a slag that is run off and solidified. Molten iron can be desulphurised before being converted to steel or converted directly into steel. These processes produce slags that are scraped off into dedicated carriers. The molten slat is solidified; the residual metal separated and returned to the iron and steel process. The non-metalics are sent for disposal to the on site landfill. The molten steel is cast into slabs that are then heat treated and rolled into steel coils. The coils can then be galvanised for improved corrosion resistance. Waste waters from the iron and steel and the rolling processes is treated in a common effluent system before being discharged to the local bay. Solid wastes from the steel works processes are sent for disposal on the dedicated landfill.
Limb (1): All of the Annex 1 activities are part of the integrated process and are technically connected so can be described as one stationary technical unit.
Limb (2) Associated activities such as iron ore off-loading through to coil storage and the ancillary activities of power generation, slag handling, metal recovery, effluent treatment and landfill all serve the stationary technical unit (criterion 2A) and are connected to the main steel production process.
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