The European Commission has recently published (6 May 2014) guidance on the preparation of
Baseline Reports as required under the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) to assess the
state of soil and groundwater contamination at installations covered by the Directive. The Baseline
Report will be used to assess the condition of the site upon closure, with the operator responsible to
remediate the site to the baseline condition taking account of the technical feasibility of doing so.
Summary of the Guidance
Key outline points from the guidance include:
• A strong emphasis is placed on the assessment of potential Sources of contamination from
both historic and current operations. A rigorous Source Audit will therefore be required to
itemise the quantities, properties, use and control of hazardous substances on the site in
order to assess (i) which of the hazardous substances are potential soil and groundwater
contaminants at the site; (ii) whether the site specific soil and groundwater conditions are
conducive to pollution occurring; and (iii) the specific risk control measures in place that
limit or prevent the release of the identified potential soil and groundwater contaminants.
• The Source Audit must consider both releases from incidents / accidents (e.g. ruptured
vessels, spills, underground leaks, etc.) and gradual pollution risks (e.g. leaking drains, leaks
from underground structures, small routine operational losses that accumulate over time,
etc.).
• Installations can be exempt from requiring a full Baseline Report, provided that there is
sufficient information from the Source Audit (described above) that demonstrates to the
regulator’s satisfaction that “there is no significant possibility for contamination of soil and
groundwater.”
• Conceptual Site Models (CSM) illustrating the relevant Source - Pathway – Receptor Linkages
will be an integral part of describing the site’s Baseline Condition. In the case of complex
installations where multiple sources may be present, several CSM may be required to
illustrate local site specific conditions.
• Existing soil and groundwater information can be used to prepare the Baseline Report,
provided that it is considered to be sufficient and representative to adequately characterise
the site. It must for example cover all of the identified potential hazardous substances that
could have caused or are causing soil and groundwater contamination and be considered
representative of the current condition at the time of the Baseline Report.
• Specific intrusive site investigation will be required where there is insufficient or no
information available on the soil and groundwater conditions. The Guidance notes that
the information can be collected from either targeted or non-targeted (i.e. randomised /
statistical approaches) but emphasises that it must be sufficiently robust to allow quantified
comparison with future conditions. The Guidance stops short of being overly prescriptive in
the exact scope of the investigation, allowing this to be agreed between the operator and
the regulator.
• The risks of contaminant migration on-to-site from surrounding activities are emphasised
within the Guidance as it will be the operator’s responsibility to demonstrate upon
surrender that they have not caused pollution while operating.
What activities require this assessment?
Baseline Reports will need to be considered and in majority of cases prepared for installations that
conduct activities listed in Annex I of the IED Directive (2010/75/EU). These relate to the familiar
IPPC class of activities such as Energy, Metals, Minerals, Chemicals, Waste and “Others” with
threshold values in some cases.
It could also be interpreted that the these assessments may be required for Annex VII, Part 1
Activities (Organic Solvents) as the definition of an “installation” within the directive includes
these categories of activity. Whereas Article 22 (Site Closure), which describes the requirements
for a Baseline Report, is contained with Chapter II of the Directive, which outlines the provisions
for Activities listed in Annex I. Some room for interpretation in this regard, however in practice it
would be extremely onerous to apply the Baseline Reporting requirement to the numerous SME
operators who now fall under the Organic Solvent category listed in Annex VII, Part 1, which includes
dry cleaning operators. Nonetheless, commercial property owners should take note where such
operations are conducted by tenants accordingly.
When is it required?
New operations – require a Baseline Report to be submitted before commencing operation.
Existing operations – require a baseline report before a permit is updated for the first time after 7
January 2013.
The guidance can be downloaded here
Baseline Reports as required under the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) to assess the
state of soil and groundwater contamination at installations covered by the Directive. The Baseline
Report will be used to assess the condition of the site upon closure, with the operator responsible to
remediate the site to the baseline condition taking account of the technical feasibility of doing so.
Summary of the Guidance
Key outline points from the guidance include:
• A strong emphasis is placed on the assessment of potential Sources of contamination from
both historic and current operations. A rigorous Source Audit will therefore be required to
itemise the quantities, properties, use and control of hazardous substances on the site in
order to assess (i) which of the hazardous substances are potential soil and groundwater
contaminants at the site; (ii) whether the site specific soil and groundwater conditions are
conducive to pollution occurring; and (iii) the specific risk control measures in place that
limit or prevent the release of the identified potential soil and groundwater contaminants.
• The Source Audit must consider both releases from incidents / accidents (e.g. ruptured
vessels, spills, underground leaks, etc.) and gradual pollution risks (e.g. leaking drains, leaks
from underground structures, small routine operational losses that accumulate over time,
etc.).
• Installations can be exempt from requiring a full Baseline Report, provided that there is
sufficient information from the Source Audit (described above) that demonstrates to the
regulator’s satisfaction that “there is no significant possibility for contamination of soil and
groundwater.”
• Conceptual Site Models (CSM) illustrating the relevant Source - Pathway – Receptor Linkages
will be an integral part of describing the site’s Baseline Condition. In the case of complex
installations where multiple sources may be present, several CSM may be required to
illustrate local site specific conditions.
• Existing soil and groundwater information can be used to prepare the Baseline Report,
provided that it is considered to be sufficient and representative to adequately characterise
the site. It must for example cover all of the identified potential hazardous substances that
could have caused or are causing soil and groundwater contamination and be considered
representative of the current condition at the time of the Baseline Report.
• Specific intrusive site investigation will be required where there is insufficient or no
information available on the soil and groundwater conditions. The Guidance notes that
the information can be collected from either targeted or non-targeted (i.e. randomised /
statistical approaches) but emphasises that it must be sufficiently robust to allow quantified
comparison with future conditions. The Guidance stops short of being overly prescriptive in
the exact scope of the investigation, allowing this to be agreed between the operator and
the regulator.
• The risks of contaminant migration on-to-site from surrounding activities are emphasised
within the Guidance as it will be the operator’s responsibility to demonstrate upon
surrender that they have not caused pollution while operating.
What activities require this assessment?
Baseline Reports will need to be considered and in majority of cases prepared for installations that
conduct activities listed in Annex I of the IED Directive (2010/75/EU). These relate to the familiar
IPPC class of activities such as Energy, Metals, Minerals, Chemicals, Waste and “Others” with
threshold values in some cases.
It could also be interpreted that the these assessments may be required for Annex VII, Part 1
Activities (Organic Solvents) as the definition of an “installation” within the directive includes
these categories of activity. Whereas Article 22 (Site Closure), which describes the requirements
for a Baseline Report, is contained with Chapter II of the Directive, which outlines the provisions
for Activities listed in Annex I. Some room for interpretation in this regard, however in practice it
would be extremely onerous to apply the Baseline Reporting requirement to the numerous SME
operators who now fall under the Organic Solvent category listed in Annex VII, Part 1, which includes
dry cleaning operators. Nonetheless, commercial property owners should take note where such
operations are conducted by tenants accordingly.
When is it required?
New operations – require a Baseline Report to be submitted before commencing operation.
Existing operations – require a baseline report before a permit is updated for the first time after 7
January 2013.
The guidance can be downloaded here
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