Sittings · Document
On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on reporting of environmental data from industrial installations and establishing an Industrial Emissions Portal
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety · Rapporteur: Radan Kanev
PR_COD_1amCom
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***III Ordinary legislative procedure (third reading)
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Amendments to a draft act
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Amendments by Parliament in the form of a consolidated text
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DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION
on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on reporting of environmental data from industrial installations and establishing an Industrial Emissions Portal
(COM(2022)0157 – C90145/2022 – 2022/0105(COD))
(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)
– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2022)0157),
– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 192 paragraph 1 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90145/2022),
– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
– having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee of 14 July 2022,
– having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 17 October 2022,
– having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,
– having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A90000/2022),
1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;
2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;
3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.
Amendment 1
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
(10) The reporting requirements should apply at ‘installation level’ in order to implement synergies between the Portal and databases on environmental pressures from industrial installations, including those covered by Directive 2010/75/EU, and to ensure coherence with, and support to, the implementation of that Directive.
(10) The reporting requirements should apply at ‘installation level’, or, in cases where Article 4(2) of Directive 2010/75/EU applies and a permit covers two or more installations or parts of installations operated by the same operator on the same site, at permit level, in order to implement synergies between the Portal and databases on environmental pressures from industrial installations, including those covered by Directive 2010/75/EU, and to ensure coherence with, and support to, the implementation of that Directive.
Or. en
Amendment 2
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
(13) The Portal should also include data on the use of water, energy and raw materials by the concerned installations to allow monitoring of progress towards a circular, highly resource-efficient economy
(13) The Portal should also include basic data on the use of water, energy and raw materials by the concerned installations, provided that the extent of those data does not exceed what is necessary to allow monitoring of progress towards a circular, highly resource-efficient economy and that the inclusion of those data on the Portal does not lead to the disclosure of confidential business information or commercially sensitive information.
Or. en
Amendment 3
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
(15) Operators of installations should also report information concerning the production volume, number of employees and operating hours of the concerned installation as well as information on accidents that have led to releases, in order to enable the contextualisation of reported data on pollutant releases and off-site transfers of waste and waste water.
(15) Operators of installations should also report general information concerning the production volume and operating hours of the concerned installation, as well as information on accidents that have led to releases, provided the extent of that information does not exceed what is necessary to enable the contextualisation of reported data on pollutant releases and off-site transfers of waste and waste water and that such reporting does not lead to the disclosure of confidential business information or commercially sensitive information.
Or. en
Amendment 4
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
(27) It should be possible for the Commission to update the list of industrial or agricultural activities in relation to which reporting requirements apply. The Commission should therefore be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty amending Annex I to this Regulation to add activities that have, or are expected to have, an impact on health or the environment and to align the Annex with amendments to the Protocol.
deleted
Or. en
Amendment 5
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
1. The Portal shall include data on:
1. The Portal shall include non-confidential data on:
Or. en
Amendment 6
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point a
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
(a) installation, including the installation's parent company where applicable, and its geographical location, including the river basin;
(a) installation, or a group of two or more installations or parts of installations covered by the same permit in accordance with Article 4(2) of Directive 2010/75/EU, including the installation's parent company where applicable, and its geographical location, including the river basin;
Or. en
Amendment 7
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
1. The operator of each installation that undertakes one or more of the activities specified in Annex I, which meet the applicable capacity thresholds specified in that Annex, shall report annually, to its competent authority, the following data, unless that data is already available to the competent authority:
1. The operator of each installation, or of a group of two or more installations or parts of installations covered by the same permit in accordance with Article 4(2) of Directive 2010/75/EU, that undertakes one or more of the activities specified in Annex I, which meet the applicable capacity thresholds specified in that Annex, shall report annually, to its competent authority, the following data, unless that data is already available to the competent authority:
Or. en
Amendment 8
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
(d) use of water, energy and raw materials;
(d) use of water, energy and raw materials, other than confidential business information or commercially sensitive information and only to the extent necessary for general monitoring purposes;
Or. en
Amendment 9
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point e
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
(e) information allowing contextualisation of the data reported under points (a) to (d), including production volume, number of employees, number of operating hours, and information on accidents that have led to releases;
(e) information, other than confidential business information or commercially sensitive information, to the extent necessary for allowing contextualisation of the data reported under points (a) to (d), including production volume, number of operating hours, and information on accidents that have led to releases;
Or. en
Amendment 10
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
2. Where the releases referred to in paragraph 1, point (a), or off-site transfers of pollutants referred to in paragraph 1, point (c), do not exceed the applicable threshold values specified in Annex II, or where off-site transfers of waste do not exceed the thresholds set out in paragraph 1, point (b), the operator of the installation concerned shall declare, in its report, that releases or off-site transfers are below those values or thresholds.
2. Where the releases referred to in paragraph 1, point (a), or off-site transfers of relevant pollutants referred to in paragraph 1, point (c), do not exceed the applicable threshold values specified in Annex II, or where relevant off-site transfers of waste do not exceed the thresholds set out in paragraph 1,point (b), the operator of the installation concerned shall declare, in its report, that releases or off-site transfers are below those values or thresholds, taking into account standard deviation factors.
Or. en
Amendment 11
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
3. Operators shall obtain the data referred to in paragraph 1 by means of measurement. Where measurement is not practicable, operators shall use calculation. Where neither measurement nor calculation is practicable, operators may obtain the data by estimation.
3. Operators shall obtain the data referred to in paragraph 1 by means of measurement of pollutants relevant to the activity of the reporting installations. Where measurement is not practicable, operators shall use calculation. Where neither measurement nor calculation is practicable, operators may obtain the data by estimation.
Or. en
Amendment 12
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 6
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
6. The releases referred to in Annex II reported under paragraph 1, point (a), shall include all releases from all sources included in Annex I at the site of the installation.
6. The releases referred to in Annex II reported under paragraph 1, point (a), shall include all releases from all sources included in Annex I at the installation.
Or. en
Amendment 13
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 11 a (new)
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
11a. Where, pursuant to Article 4(2) of the Directive 2010/75/EU, a permit covers two or more installations or parts of installations operated by the same operator on the same site, the operator may comply with the reporting requirements established in this Article by submitting in a single report all data related to such installations, or such parts of the installations, covered by the same permit.
Or. en
Amendment 14
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
1. The Commission, assisted by the Agency, shall include in the Portal data on releases of pollutants from diffuse sources where such data exists and has already been reported by Member States.
1. The Commission, assisted by the Agency, shall include in the Portal relevant data on releases of pollutants from diffuse sources where such data exists and has already been reported by Member States.
Or. en
Amendment 15
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
When data is considered confidential by a Member State in accordance with Article 4(2) of Directive 2003/4/EC, the report referred to in Article 6(2) of this Regulation for the reporting year concerned shall indicate separately for each installation which data cannot be made public and provide the reasons for this.
When data is considered confidential by a Member State in accordance with Article 4(2) of Directive 2003/4/EC, the report referred to in Article 6(2) of this Regulation for the reporting year concerned shall indicate separately for each installation, or in a single report for a group of two or more installations or parts of installations in accordance to Article 5(11a) of this Regulation, which data cannot be made public and provide the reasons for this. Member States shall ensure that operators have the possibility of requesting confidential treatment of the data that are submitted.
Or. en
Amendment 16
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
1. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 15 in order to amend Annex I for one or more of the following purposes:
1. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 15 in order to amend Annex I to align it with the Protocol following the adoption of amendment to its annexes .
Or. en
Amendment 17
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – point a
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
(a) to add an industrial or agricultural activity which has, or is expected to have, an impact on health or the environment as a consequence of its pollutant releases, waste or waste water transfers or resource use; releases or transfers above the respective reporting thresholds, as set out in Article 5(1), point (b) and in Annex II, will be a primary factor in determining impact on health or the environment;
deleted
Or. en
Amendment 18
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – point b
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
(b) to align it with the Protocol following the adoption of amendment to its annexes.
deleted
Or. en
Amendment 19
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 2
Text proposed by the Commission
Amendment
2. The penalties referred to in paragraph 1 shall include fines proportionate to the turnover of the legal person or to the income of the natural person who has committed the infringement. The level of the fines shall be calculated in such a way as to make sure that they effectively deprive the person responsible for the infringement of the economic benefits derived from that infringement. The level of the fines shall be gradually increased for repeated infringements.
2. The penalties referred to in paragraph 1 shall include fines proportionate to the turnover of the legal person in the Member State where the infringement has taken place or to the income of the natural person who has committed the infringement. The level of the fines shall be calculated in such a way as to make sure that they effectively deprive the person responsible for the infringement of the economic benefits derived from that infringement. The level of the fines shall be gradually increased for repeated infringements.
Or. en
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) contains data reported annually by some 30,000 industrial facilities which cover 65 economic activities across the Union. This Regulation implements the 2006 Kyiv Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (‘Protocol’).
Every year, Member States send to the Commission a report containing data submitted by the operators of industrial facilities on the releases and transfers of each facility. The data are then published by the Commission on a public website, with the support of the European Environment Agency.
The E-PRTR has proven to be a pivotal knowledge base on releases from Union industrial activities. It has been welcomed by the stakeholders, especially after the Industrial Emissions Portal ( ‘Portal’) was created, linking it closely with Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions (‘Industrial Emissions Directive – IED’). The Portal, having replaced the E-PRTR website, brings together data on industrial activities reported under these two Union environmental laws.
With the present proposal, the Commission aims to further improve the E-PRTR by aligning reporting obligations set out in other environmental legislation by reporting of additional contextual information. The proposal of the Commission encompasses the following changes:
The Regulation’s sectoral scope is revised to be more consistent with activities covered by related environmental law. This concerns the IED in particular, but also Directive (EU) 2015/2193 on medium combustion plants (MCPD) and Council Directive 91/271/EEC on urban waste water treatment (UWWT Directive).
In the present report, as ENVI Rapporteur, I support this approach and do not file amendments that would compromise the proposal.
The Commission proposes that activities under the scope of the Regulation should be reported at installation level – as in the case of these other laws – rather than at facility level.
As a Rapporteur, I support this approach, as far as it is supported in the IED revision. The present report supports installation-level reporting, but takes into account the option, provided by Article 4(2) of the IED, which provides, that a single permit might cover two or more installations or parts of installations operated by the same operator on the same site. Therefore, I include this option throughout the report, including in the very definition of “installation” for the purposes of the Regulation.
The Commission, based on the EU Green Deal zero-pollution ambition, aims to cover all relevant pollutants. Certain pollutants are added to Annex II of the Regulation, including:
priority substances under the 2000/60/EC Water Framework Directive and the 2008/105/EU Surface Water Directive;
substances identified as of very high concern in Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH);
substances covered by Union law on groundwater and air quality, including the Groundwater Directive, the Ambient Air Quality Directive and Directive 2004/107/EC on the concentrations of certain pollutants in ambient air.
In the report, I support this ambition and file no amendments to Annex II.
To be consistent with Union policies on the circular economy and decarbonisation and to enable better environmental benchmarking, the Commission proposes that operators should report on production volume and complementary data, especially the use of resources (energy, water, and raw materials).
In my view, as Rapporteur, parts of these new requirements go too far from the initial scope of the Regulation, and overstep the objectives of Directive 2010/75/EU, thus creating unnecessary administrative burden and disproprotionally endangering confidentiality of business information. Therefore, I propose certain amendments, aiming to protect business information and to limit the scope of the information and data to what is necessary, maintaining the core of the Commission proposal.
In the legislative proposal, the Commission requests certain extensive delegation powers, corresponding with the delegation powers requested under the IED revision. Some of these delegation powers requested go beyond technical issues and touch upon the core task of the co-legislators. This is especially true for the proposal to delegate powers to the Commission to eventually include new agro-industrial activities in the scope of Annex I of the Regulation. As the ENVI Rapporteur on the proposal, and in line with the constant and consistent position of the Parliament as co-legislator and democratic institution, directly representing the citizens of the Union, in the report I express my reservations towards this legislative approach. Therefore, I propose the rejection of the provisions where delegating powers regard essential political questions, however agree to those that are necessary to deliver timely and effective technical solutions.