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As a reminder, a ministerial decree on general requirements (AMPG) concerns facilities classified for environmental protection (ICPE) subject to registration or declaration. It sets out, for each ICPE category in the nomenclature, provisions applicable to classified facilities subject to these categories.
The decree of December 5, 2016 (*) defines the general requirements applicable to all ICPEs subject to declaration under categories of the nomenclature for classified facilities for which no specific AMPG existed.
The following 32 ICPE categories are thus covered by the provisions of this transversal AMPG: 1414.2.c, 1450.2, 1532.3, 2113.2, 2130.2.b, 2171, 2175.2, 2180.2, 2230.2, 2240.2, 2252.2, 2311.2, 2321, 2355, 2410.B.2, 2420.2.b, 2445.2, 2630.3, 2631.2, 2640.2.b, 2690.2, 2915.b.2, 4310.2, 4320.2, 4321.2, 4440.2, 4441.2, 4442.2, 4705.2, 4706.2, 4716.2, and 4801.2 (**).
The essential aspects of pollution and risk prevention for all these facilities are regulated therein.
Applicability of the decree to new and existing facilities
The decree is fully applicable to new facilities declared from 1st January 2017.
The decree does not apply to existing classified facilities (i.e., declared before January 1, 2017) subject to a prefectural decree on general or special requirements.
For existing installations without a prefectural order, some of the provisions apply according to the following schedule:
As of January 1st, 2017:
- Title 1: General provisions except for 1.1 (installation compliance), 1.3 (declaration content), and 1.4 (classified installation file) for existing installations operating under acquired rights
As of January 1st, 2018:
- Title 3: Operation and maintenance except for 3.3 and 3.5
- 4.3: Location of risks
- Title 7: Waste except for 7.3
- Title 9: Site restoration at end of operation
As of January 1st, 2019:
- 2.2: Aesthetics and cleanliness
- 3.3: Product knowledge - labeling
- 3.5: Inventory of hazardous products
- 4.1: Personal protection
- 5.1.1: Water/SDAGE compatibility
- 5.1.3: Withdrawals
- 5.4: Discharged volumes
- 5.9: Monitoring of discharged pollution
- 7.3: Waste storage
As of January 1st, 2020:
- 2.6: Ventilation
- 2.7 and 2.8: Electrical installations and earthing
- 2.11: Retention basins
- 4.2: Firefighting equipment
- 4.4: Equipment for use in explosive atmospheres
- 4.6: Safety instructions
- 5.5: Emission limit values
- 5.7: Accidental pollution
- 5.8: Spreading
- Title 6: Air-Odours except 6.1.2
- Title 8: Noise and vibrations
- Title 10: Specific provisions applicable to certain headings except 10.3
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Thus, the articles of the decree not listed in the table above, namely articles 2.1, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.9, 2.10, 4.5, 5.1.2, 5.2, 5.3, 5.6, 6.1.2 and 10.3, are not applicable to existing installations.
It should be noted that, for classified installations falling under heading 2130, only part of the decree is applicable to them: the general provisions, measures concerning electrical installations, operation and maintenance, waste, and site remediation.
The provisions of the decree are also applicable to installations subject to declaration (referred to by one of the headings concerned by this AMPG) included in an establishment that comprises at least one installation subject to the authorization regime, provided that these installations are not governed by the prefectural authorization decree.
Classified installations: content of the decree of 5 December 2016
The decree first defines the general applicable provisions: installation compliance, notification to the prefect in case of significant modification, the content of the declaration, the Classified Installation file, the declaration of accident or accidental pollution, change of operator, and cessation of activity.
The decree sets out provisions regarding siting and layout: siting rules, landscape integration, prohibition of premises occupied or inhabited by third parties, fire performance of premises, accessibility for emergency and fire services, ventilation, electrical installations, equipment earthing, boiler room, containment of work areas and premises, and retention basins.
Specific provisions apply to certain headings:
- for headings 2113, 2130 and 2420 regarding the installation siting distance
- and for headings 1450, 1532, 2230, 2240, 2311, 2321, 2410, 2420 and 2640 regarding fire performance.
Regarding the operation and maintenance of the installation, facilities must notably comply with the following provisions: the appointment of a competent person for operational oversight, the prohibition of unrestricted access for unauthorized persons, knowledge of products (particularly via safety data sheets), labeling in accordance with the CLP regulation, cleanliness of premises, and the maintenance of a register of hazardous product stock status.
Regarding risks, measures related to personal protection, firefighting equipment, risk identification, equipment usable in explosive atmospheres, work permits, and safety instructions are established.
The decree also sets out provisions concerning the following water-related points: compatibility with the SDAGE (Water Development and Management Master Plan), coordination with the water nomenclature (IOTA), withdrawals, water consumption, the collection network, stormwater drainage, measurement of discharged volumes, discharge limit values, prohibition of groundwater discharge, and prevention of accidental pollution. Furthermore, spreading is authorized, under certain conditions, only for headings 2113, 2130, 2171, 2180, 2230, 2240, 2252, 4705 and 4706. For other headings covered by the decree, the spreading of waste, effluents, and by-products is prohibited. Annex II sets out the technical provisions to be applied for spreading. It notably determines the thresholds for trace metallic elements and organic substances beyond which waste, effluents, and by-products cannot be spread, as well as the elements for characterizing the agronomic value of effluents or waste and soils to be considered in a preliminary spreading study.
Installations subject to headings 2230, 2240, 2252, 2311, 2630, 2631 and 2640 must, furthermore, implement measures related to monitoring discharged pollution.
Provisions regarding air and odors are stipulated by the decree: atmospheric discharge points, including the prohibition of diluting effluents without authorization and the height of the discharge point, limit values, and discharge conditions.
The decree also regulates the topic of waste: management, circuit control (registration obligations, declaration of waste production and treatment, and traceability stipulated in the Environmental Code), waste storage, hazardous waste (including tracking slips), and the prohibition of open-air burning of liquid, solid, and gaseous waste.
The decree sets noise limit values and addresses noise and vibrations from vehicles and construction machinery, as well as the operator's monitoring of noise pollution.
Finally, the decree addresses the restoration of the site at the end of operation, with the objective of eliminating any remaining hazards, particularly concerning hazardous products, waste, and tanks that contained products likely to pollute water.
Specific provisions regarding the cooling and storage of charcoal are applicable to installations subject to heading 2420.
For newly declared installations subject to heading 2915, specific provisions apply to the generator and heat exchangers depending on whether they are in the same room or not.
Conclusion
Operators of existing installations (declared before 1st January 2017) and falling under a heading covered by this AMPG must identify and implement, if not already done, the provisions applicable to them since 1st January 2017. They will then need to prepare for the next three deadlines:st January 2018, 1st January 2019, and 1st January 2020.
(*) : Order of December 5, 2016, concerning the requirements applicable to certain classified installations for environmental protection subject to declaration [Official Journal of December 11, 2016]
(**) :