Seveso III / COMAH 2015 Update. David Bagnall CEMHD Unit 2

Transcription

1 Seveso III / COMAH 2015 Update David Bagnall CEMHD Unit 2

2 Background Seveso III necessary as CHIP being replaced fully by CLP by June 2015 Commission took the opportunity with Seveso III to align with the Aarhus Convention and to modernise other aspects Seveso III adopted on 4 th July 2012 and must be implemented by 1 June 2015 The COMAH 2015 Consultation was launched on 2 May 2014 for eight weeks, concluding on 27 June The COMAH 2015 Consultation was slightly later than intended but still on track for delivery by 1 June 2015

3 Post COMAH 2015 Consultation The consultation was downloaded 4532 times and we received 145 responses The draft Regulatory Package has been signed off by our Minister and is in the Ministerial write-round process To be in force on 1 June 2015, Regulations will need to be laid before Parliament by 13 March 2015 L111 will be revised / replaced on a similar timescale

4 Key changes

5 Overall appearance and definitions The aim was to keep change to a minimum and preserve the standards in COMAH 1999 wherever possible Despite the similarities, COMAH 2015 will look different to COMAH 1999 as it follows the order of Seveso III There are some additional definitions in Seveso III / COMAH 2015 including elaborations on establishment and presence of dangerous substances We have also decided to use the Directive wording Upper Tier rather than Top Tier The Directive also has some built in transitional arrangements

6 Scope and application The new Regulations will be linked to the CLP Regulation rather than CHIP CLP has some changes in generic categories and movement of substances which may lead to the COMAH status of some sites changing It will be necessary to have inventory information in CLP Regulation terms to determine whether a site is in scope. So all sites will be required to re-notify.

7 Scope and application what this means Sites will need to update their inventories from CHIP CLP A small number of sites may change COMAH status as a result of this

8 Emergency Plans Fundamentals of the emergency planning system remain the same. However the new Regulations make explicit that LT sites are required to have appropriate internal emergency planning arrangements in place We are proposing to keep the current timescales for LAs to produce external emergency plans of 6 months rather than the two years given in the Directive Other Establishments brought into Upper Tier as a result of scope changes will have two years to provide their external emergency plan information rather than one

9 Emergency Plans (2) Proposal that Category 1 Responders (as per CCA 2004) could be compelled to take part in the testing of external emergency plans if their presence is considered necessary Emergency Plans what this means Sites brought into scope of COMAH through CLP changes will have longer to provide the relevant information for their external emergency plan Cat 1 responders may be compelled to participate in testing

10 Domino Effects Domino sites will be required to co-operate, as far as possible, with neighbouring sites including non-comah to share relevant information The Competent Authority will be required to, as far as possible, provide domino sites with any other relevant information it may hold

11 Domino Effects what this means Domino groups will need to take steps to seek co-operation with all neighbouring sites that could be relevant to a major accident hazard scenario Domino groups will, where available, receive additional information from the Competent Authority to aid the consideration of major accident hazard scenarios

12 Public Information Is the key difference between Seveso II and Seveso III The Commission chose to align the Directive with the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (known as Aarhus Convention) of which the UK is a signatory Aarhus is globally regarded as the benchmark for access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters Aarhus Convention structured around three pillars : Access to environmental information Public participation in environmental decision-making Access to justice in environmental matters

13 Public Information (2) All sites will have to make basic information about their sites permanently and electronically available UT sites will have to make additional information on top of the basic requirements permanently and electronically available UT sites will still be required to produce PIZ information and distribute it to persons likely to be affected by a major accident Further information including Safety Reports and inspection plans will have to be made available on request. Processes will be in place to allow for information to be redacted as required on the grounds of commercial confidentiality and national security

14 Public Information (3) Public information changes represent a major culture shift HSE are working with Home Office to ensure that National Security concerns are addressed Industry concerns around commercial confidentiality will also be addressed

15 Public Information what this means All sites will have to make essential information permanently and electronically available UT sites should consider what information in their Safety Reports would require redaction All sites should be aware that information can be requested by the public and there will be a presumption that it should be provided

16 Questions?