The concept of Best Available Techniques (BAT) was introduced as a key principle in the IPPC Directive 96/61/EC (Directive 2008/1/EC codified version). This Directive has been incorporated into Irish law by the Protection of the Environment Act 2003. To meet the requirements of this Directive, relevant sections of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 and the Waste Management Act 1996 have been amended to replace BATNEEC (Best Available Technology not entailing Excessive Costs) with BAT. Thus, for activities falling within the scope of the Directive and regulated by these Acts, BAT must be applied.
BAT is defined in Section 5 of Environmental Protection Agency Acts, 1992 and 2003, and Section 5(2) of the Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2005, as the “most effective and advance stage in the development of an activity and its methods of operation, which indicate the practical suitability of particular techniques for providing, in principle, the basis for emission limit values designed to prevent or eliminate or, where that is not practicable, generally to reduce an emission and its impact on the environment as a whole”, where:
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A range of BAT associated emission level values (ELV) indicate levels achievable through the use of a combination of the process techniques and abatement technologies. The licensee must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Agency, during the licensing process, that the installation/facility will be operated in such a way that all the appropriate preventative measures are taken against pollution through the application of BAT and justify the application of other than the most stringent ELV in the range.
At the installation/facility level, the most appropriate techniques will depend on local factors. A local assessment of the costs and benefits of the available options may be needed to establish the best option. The choice may be justified on:
The overall objective of ensuring a high level of protection for the environment as a whole will often involve making a judgment between different types of environmental impact, and these judgments will often be influenced by local considerations. On the other hand, the obligation to ensure a high level of environmental protection including the minimisation of long-distance or transboundary pollution implies that the most appropriate techniques cannot be set on the basis of purely local considerations.
The guidance issued in these Notes in respect of the use of any technology, technique or standard does not preclude the use of any other similar technology, technique or standard that may achieve the required emission standards and is demonstrated to the Agency to satisfy the requirement of BAT. In the identification of BAT, emphasis is placed on pollution prevention techniques rather than end-of-pipe treatment.
The IPPC Directive 96/61/EC and the Environmental Protection Agency Acts 1992 and 2003 (Section 5(3)), require the determination of BAT to consider in particular the following, giving regard to the likely costs and advantages of measures and to the principles of precaution and prevention:
The BAT guidelines on this web page are not the sole basis on which BAT associated licence emission level values are to be set, since information form other sources will also be considered. Such information includes site-specific environmental and technical data, plant financial data and other sources of relevant information.
The BAT guidance documents are presently under review by the Agency. Guidance documents on this web page are presently regarded as BAT for the purposes of Agency IPPC and Waste licensing. Guidance documents will be updated and replaced as such documents become available.
