Please note: This article concerns French legislation. The requirements described may not apply in other countries.
We invite you to review the latest regulatory developments concerning Installations Classified for Environmental Protection (ICPE). The nomenclature for ICPE was indeed modified by two decrees published at the end of 2017 [1] : around thirty ICPE headings were modified and 11 were deleted.
Two decrees amended the ICPEnomenclature in November 2017. These decrees:
- delete the last 3 headings of the old nomenclature (Nos. 47, 70, and 195);
- eliminate potential double classifications for certain activities, particularly those covered by both 2000-series and 3000-series (IED) headings whose scopes overlapped;
- introduce a declaration regime within headings that previously only provided for an authorization regime without a threshold;
- clarify the wording of several headings.
Deleted ICPE headings
- 47 - manufacture of aluminum sulfate and manufacture of alums;
- 70 - treatment of baths and sludge from metal pickling using nitric acid;
- 195 - ferrosilicon storage;
- 2225 - sugar confectionery, sugar refineries, malting plants (activities already covered by heading 3642);
- 2226 - starch plants, potato starch plants, dextrin plants (activities already covered by heading 3642);
- 2270 - manufacture of butyric, citric, glutamic, lactic and other food-grade organic acids (activities already covered by heading 3642);
- 2310 - retting or scutching of flax, hemp and other textile plants (activity already covered by heading 2260);
- 2352 - manufacture of tanning extracts (activity already covered by heading 2260);
- 2525 - melting of mineral substances, including for the production of mineral fibers (activity already covered by heading 3650);
- 2542 - manufacture of coke (activity already covered by heading 3130);
- 2620 - workshops for the manufacture of organic sulfur compounds (activities already covered by heading 3410, c).
Amended ICPE headings
Agricultural activities, animals
| Heading | Description | Changes |
| 2150 | Breeding of beetles, flies and orthopterans | - Introduction of a declaration regime
|
| 2175 | Storage of liquid fertiliser in containers with a unit capacity of 3,000 litres or more | - The declaration regime now applies exclusively where total capacity exceeds 100 m3
|
Agri-food
| Heading | Description | Changes |
| 2220 | Preparation or preservation of plant-based food products | - Exclusion of facilities already classified under heading 3642
|
| 2221 | Preparation or preservation of animal-based food products | - Exclusion of facilities already classified under heading 3642 and of pet food manufacturing
- Introduction of periodic inspection by an approved body for the declaration regime (DC)
|
| 2230 | Treatment and processing of milk or dairy products | - Exclusion of facilities already classified under headings 3642 and 3643
|
| 2240 | Extraction and processing of vegetable oils, animal fats and fatty substances | - Exclusion of facilities already classified under headings 3642 and 3410
- Removal of the periodic inspection requirement for the declaration regime where the facility operates for a maximum of 90 days/year and its production capacity is > 200 kg/day but ≤ 20 t/day
|
| 2260 | Grinding, crushing, screening of plant substances and natural organic products | - Exclusion of facilities already classified under heading 3642
- Replacement of the concept of "installed power of all fixed machinery involved in the facility's operation" with "maximum power of all fixed machinery that may operate simultaneously in the facility"
|
| 2275 | Production of yeast and other fungal products for food use | - Scope extended to the production of fungal products for food use, excluding cultivated mushrooms and facilities already classified under heading 3642
- Introduction of the declaration regime with periodic inspection (DC) where production capacity is > 200 kg/day but ≤ 2 t/day
|
Textiles, leather and hides
| Heading | Description | Changes |
| 2321 | Workshops manufacturing fabrics, felt, knitted goods, machine-made lace, cordage, rope and twine | - Replacement of the concept of "power installed to supply all machinery" with "maximum power of all machinery that may operate simultaneously in the facility"
|
| 2350 | Tanneries, fellmongeries, and any operation involving the preparation of hides and skins | - Exclusion of facilities already classified under heading 3630
- Introduction of the declaration regime with periodic inspection (DC) where production capacity is > 100 kg/day and < 5 t/day
|
| 2360 | Workshops manufacturing footwear, leather goods, or processing hides and skins | - Replacement of the concept of "power installed to supply all machinery" with "maximum power of all machinery that may operate simultaneously in the facility"
|
Wood, paper, cardboard, printing
| Heading | Description | Changes |
| 2410 | Woodworking and similar combustible materials | - Exclusion of facilities already classified under heading 3610
- Replacement of the concept of "power of all machinery present in the facility" with "maximum power of all machinery that may operate simultaneously in the facility"
|
| 2430 | Pulp preparation | - Exclusion of facilities already classified under heading 3610, a
- Removal of the distinction between chemical pulp preparation and other pulps
- Authorisation threshold lowered to 10 t/day
- Introduction of the declaration regime with periodic inspection (DC) where production capacity is > 1 t/day and ≤ 10 t/day
|
| 2440 | Manufacture of paper and board | - Exclusion of facilities already under heading 3610, b
- Removal of the authorisation threshold
- Introduction of a declaration regime with periodic inspection (DC) for a manufactured quantity exceeding 2 t/day
|
| 2450 | Printing works or graphic reproduction workshops | - Merger of sub-headings 2450-1 and 2450-2 into 2450-A, retaining the thresholds from 2450-2
|
Materials, ores and metals
| Heading | Description | Changes |
| 2510 | Quarrying or other extraction of materials | - Scope extended to other material extraction
|
| 2545 | Manufacture of steel, iron, cast iron, ferroalloys | - Replacement of the concept of "installed power of the furnace(s)" with "power of the furnace(s) that may operate simultaneously"
|
| 2546 | Processing of non-ferrous ores, smelting and refining of non-ferrous metals and alloys (industrial scale) | - Exclusion of facilities already classified under heading 3250
- Introduction of authorisation and declaration-with-periodic-inspection (DC) thresholds set at 2 t/day and 100 kg/day of production capacity respectively
|
| 2547 | Manufacture of silicon alloys or silicon carbide | - Replacement of the concept of "installed power of the furnace(s)" with "power of the furnace(s) that may operate simultaneously"
|
| 2560 | Mechanical working of metals and alloys | - Exclusion of facilities already classified under headings 3230a and 3230b
- Replacement of the concept of "installed power of all fixed machinery involved in the facility's operation" with "maximum power of all fixed machinery that may operate simultaneously in the facility"
|
| 2575 | Use of abrasive materials | - Replacement of the concept of "installed power of fixed machinery involved in the facility's operation" with "maximum power of all fixed machinery that may operate simultaneously in the facility"
|
Chemicals and allied products
| Heading | Description | Changes |
| 2630 | Manufacture of soaps and detergents | - Exclusion of facilities already covered under heading 3410, k
- Removal of the concepts of "industrial manufacturing" and "non-industrial manufacturing", replaced by "production capacity"
- Declaration and authorisation thresholds set at 1 t/day and 50 t/day respectively
|
| 2640 | Industrial manufacture of organic, mineral and natural dyes and pigments | - Exclusion of facilities already classified under heading 3410
|
| 2660 | Manufacture or reclaiming of polymers | - Exclusion of facilities already classified under heading 3410
- Introduction of declaration and authorisation thresholds set at 1 t/day and 10 t/day of production capacity respectively
|
Waste
| Heading | Description | Changes |
| 2793 | Facility for the collection, transit, consolidation, sorting or other treatment of explosive product waste | - Sub-heading 2793-1, c): declaration threshold now corresponds to a total equivalent quantity of active substance that may be present ≤ 100 kg, rather than strictly < 100 kg
- Sub-heading 2793-3: introduction of a declaration threshold for facilities where the destruction of munitions, mines, booby traps, devices and explosives is carried out by specialised units under the Ministry of Defence, set at 30 kg of active substance used per operation
|
Varnishes, paints, adhesives
| Heading | Description | Changes |
| 2940 | Application, curing, drying of varnish, paint, primer, adhesive, coating, etc. | - Replacement of the reference to heading 1521 with heading 4801 in the list of activities excluded from the scope
|
Hazardous substances and mixtures
| Heading | Description | Changes |
| 4708 | Arsenic trioxide, arsenious (III) acid and/or its salts | - Terminology corrected from "arsenic" to "arsenious"
|
| 4718 | Category 1 and 2 liquefied flammable gases (including LPG) and natural gas | Introduction of 2 sub-headings: - 4718-1 (Storage in transportable pressure vessels):
- Authorisation threshold set at 35 t (down from the previous 50 t)
- Declaration threshold kept at 6 t
- 4718-2 (Other types of storage):
- Authorisation threshold kept at 50 t
- Declaration threshold kept at 6 t
|
These amendments came into force on November 24, 2017, with the exception of those concerning heading 2630 (manufacture of soaps and detergents), which came into force on November 16, 2017.
As a reminder, a general requirements order establishes the provisions applicable to facilities subject to the declaration regime for each ICPE nomenclature heading concerned.
An order dated November 21, 2017, amended several general requirements orders to incorporate the latest changes to the nomenclature. Consequently, certain general requirements orders now apply to headings for which a declaration regime has been created:
- facilities subject to declaration under heading 2275, 2350, 2430, 2440, or 2546 are governed by the order of December 5, 2016.
- facilities subject to declaration under heading 2660 are governed by the general requirements order of January 14, 2000.
Conclusion
If you operate an ICPE, we advise you to check whether any of your ICPE headings have been modified and whether these changes require action on your part, such as: requesting grandfathering rights, requesting reclassification, verifying the capacities of the facilities taken into account, or new periodic inspection obligations.
[1] Decree No. 2017-1579 of November 16, 2017 [Official Journal of November 18, 2017] and Decree No. 2017-1595 of November 21, 2017 [Official Journal of November 23, 2017]
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