The readiness of industry to transition to cleaner production ranges from 40 to 90% depending on the sector.
In 2021, the concept of “automated monitoring system” (AMS), which monitors emissions of pollutants into the environment at the main stationary emission sources, found its place in the Kazakh regulatory framework. With further transfer of data to the information system of the authorized body in real time.
The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan has developed criteria for the installation of ASM. The list includes the following characteristics:
gross emission of pollutants into the atmosphere of 500 or more tons per year from one stationary organized source;
for sources at stations operating on solid and liquid fuel – 50 MW or more , for those operating on gas – 500 MW or more ;
for the discharge of waste water, discharge into a water body or onto the terrain, with the exception of evaporation ponds and storage ponds.
These criteria included the largest enterprises, which account for the bulk of emissions into the environment. From January 1, 2023, these enterprises were to begin implementing ASM in production.
“As of today, 62 out of 91 enterprises required to install ASM have already been installed. 34 of them are connected to the digital platform of the authorized body, 28 enterprises are at the connection stage, 12 enterprises are working on installing ASM and plan to complete it by the end of this year. At the same time, 17 enterprises plan to introduce ASM in 2026-2029 due to lack of funding. We are talking about 12 public utilities and five energy companies. The issue of financing the introduction of ASM at these enterprises is being considered by akimats as part of environmental protection measures through environmental payments,” said Yerbolat Kozhikov , Chairman of the Committee for Environmental Regulation and Control on the Modern Emission Monitoring System , speaking at a press conference in the Central Communications Service.
He specified that following the inspection of enterprises for the implementation of the ASM, 18 entities were fined for violating the schedule for installing the system for a total of 9.6 million tenge.
The implementation of the ASM is regulated by the Environmental Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated January 2, 2021 (Article 184, paragraph 2, subparagraph 3; Article 186, paragraph 4), as well as by the order of the Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated June 22, 2021 No. 208 “On approval of the Rules for maintaining an automated system for monitoring emissions into the environment during industrial environmental control”. By the way, the latter document imposes on enterprises the obligation to transmit data “on the results of measurements of emissions (concentrations) of pollutants for every 20 minutes.”
According to the current legislation, three types of inspections are carried out in relation to entities: preventive control without a visit, preventive control with a visit, and inspection for compliance with legal requirements. Administrative measures are taken only based on the results of inspections for compliance with legal requirements.
“The committee is currently working on the issue of amending some legislative acts (the Environmental Code, the Entrepreneurial Code, the Code of Administrative Offenses, and the ASM Rules). In particular, it is necessary to add a provision to paragraph 3 of Article 174 of the Environmental Code and Article 144 of the Entrepreneurial Code that the absence of ASM data transmission in real time for more than 24 hours will be grounds for appointing unscheduled inspections . At the same time, control over the execution of the order to eliminate the identified violations should also be grounds for conducting an unscheduled inspection. At the same time, it is necessary to amend Article 328 of the Code of Administrative Offenses regarding fines issued based on the results of preventive monitoring without a visit. That is, when the ASM shows excess emissions for more than 24 hours, the authorized body, without visiting business entities, can fine one or another entity ,” the head of the department said.
At the same time, the process of transferring industrial enterprises to the principles of best available technologies (BAT) is underway.
According to Yerbolat Kozhikov, as part of the reform on the transition to BAT, the government has approved 16 reference books on the current situation, which fully cover the top 50 large enterprises. The transition involves two stages: obtaining comprehensive permits from 2025 by large enterprises with the largest emissions, and obtaining comprehensive permits from 2031 by the remaining enterprises.
“For the top 50 Category I facilities, an action plan has been developed and is being implemented, which provides for a reduction in emissions by 366 thousand tons by 2029. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of readiness for the transition to BAT principles. Such criteria as the current state of treatment facilities, if any, the efficiency of the equipment in operation, and the technologies used in production were taken into account. By industry, readiness ranges from 40 to 90%,” the head of the environmental regulation committee said.
Thus, the lowest level of readiness – 40% – is noted in the electric power industry. At the level of 60% readiness is in the ferrous metallurgy and chemical industry. The situation is slightly better in the oil and gas production industry – 65% readiness. The cement industry, non-ferrous metallurgy, and precious metals production are 70% ready for BAT. The leaders in this area are oil refining companies, whose readiness is estimated at 90% .
“The projected reduction in emissions into the environment by the top 50 enterprises is 50.1% (on average, by 960 thousand tons per year). This is subject to compliance with all technological indicators and conscious participation of businesses in activities that reduce the negative impact on the environment,” noted a representative of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
He specified that in order to consolidate the intentions to switch to the principles of BAT, a mechanism for concluding memoranda between economic entities (business), the state and the Atameken NCE is proposed. Such memoranda will be concluded at the state and regional levels.
Source – Informburo.kz
https://informburo.kz/stati/kak-reguliruyutsya-vybrosy-vrednyx-veshhestv-v-okruzayushhuyu-sredu-krupnymi-kompaniyami-v-kazaxstane
