Solvent Emissions (Scotland) Regulations 2004: guidance

Guidance on the Solvent Emissions (Scotland) Regulations 2004

10. IDENTIFICATION OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE UNDER SED

10.1 Introduction

The SER 2004 has acted to amend the PPC 2000 definition of "substantial change in operation" as follows:

"substantial change in operation" means, in relation to an installation or mobile plant, a change in operation which, in the opinion of SEPA, may have significant negative effects on human beings or the environment or which in itself constitutes the carrying out of an activity falling within Schedule 1 exceeding any threshold capacity therein, and shall include (except in relation to Part 1 of Schedule 3):

(i) in relation to a small SED installation which does not fall wholly within the scope of the IPPC Directive, a change of the nominal capacity leading to an increase of emissions of volatile organic compounds of more than 25 per cent;

(ii) in relation to all other SED installations which do not fall wholly within the scope of the IPPC Directive, a change of the nominal capacity leading to an increase of emissions of volatile organic compounds of more than 10 per cent".

"Small SED installation" means an SED installation which falls within the lower threshold band of items 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 13, 16 or 17 of Annex IIA to the SED or, for other activities of Annex IIA, which have a solvent consumption of less than 10 tonnes per year.

A substantial change which falls under the terms of the SER 2004 may be treated as 'new' or 'existing'. Figure 4 below provides a simplified explanation of this process.

10.2 'New' Substantial Change

Where an installation undergoes a substantial change or comes within the scope of the SED for the first time following a substantial change;

That part of the installation which undergoes the substantial change shall be treated as a 'new' installation unless it fulfils the criteria to be considered as 'existing' (see below section). Where a substantial change is treated as 'new' that part of the installation will have to comply with the requirements of the SED prior to coming into operation and an application for substantial variation should be made.

10.3 'Existing' Substantial Change

A substantial change shall be treated as 'existing' where the following criteria are met:

Where the total mass emission of VOC from the SED installation after the substantial change is less than or equal to:

The total mass emission of the installation prior to the change

PLUS

The calculated additional mass emission of the changed part of the installation had it fully complied with the SED VOC requirements immediately (i.e. those requirements being either emission and fugitive limits, or total emission limits, or the reduction scheme, as appropriate).

In such circumstances an application for a non-substantial variation should be made. Where a substantial change is treated as existing then compliance with the majority of SED obligations is not required until 31 October 2007.

Figure 4 provides a summary of how to determine substantial change and identify whether the status of the substantial change should be considered as "new" or "existing" under SER 2004.