CHAPTER IVDISPOSAL OF WASTE AND MERCURY WASTE

Article 11Waste

Without prejudice to point (5) of Article 2 of this Regulation, mercury and mercury compounds, whether in pure form or in mixtures, from any of the following large sources shall be considered to be waste within the meaning of Directive 2008/98/EC and be disposed of without endangering human health or harming the environment, in accordance with F1legislation which, immediately before IP completion day, implemented that Directive:

  1. (a)

    the chlor-alkali industry;

  2. (b)

    the cleaning of natural gas;

  3. (c)

    non-ferrous mining and smelting operations;

  4. (d)

    extraction from cinnabar ore F2....

Such disposal shall not lead to any form of reclamation of mercury.

Article 12Reporting on large sources

1.

Economic operators within the industry sectors referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of Article 11 shall send, each year by 31 May, the following to the competent F3authority:

(a)

data on the total amount of mercury waste stored in each of their installations;

(b)

data on the total amount of mercury waste sent to individual facilities undertaking the temporary storage, the conversion and, if applicable, solidification of mercury waste, or the permanent storage of mercury waste that underwent conversion and, if applicable, solidification;

(c)

the location and contact details of each facility referred to in point (b);

(d)

a copy of the certificate provided by the operator of the facility undertaking the temporary storage of mercury waste, in accordance with Article 14(1);

(e)

a copy of the certificate provided by the operator of the facility undertaking the conversion and, if applicable, the solidification of mercury waste, in accordance with Article 14(2);

(f)

a copy of the certificate provided by the operator of the facility undertaking the permanent storage of mercury waste that underwent conversion and, if applicable, solidification, in accordance with Article 14(3).

2.

The data referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 shall be expressed using the codes laid down in F4Commission Decision 2000/532/EC.

3.

The obligations laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall cease to apply to an economic operator of chlor-alkali installations from one year after the date that all mercury cells operated by the economic operator have been decommissioned in accordance with Implementing Decision 2013/732/EU and all mercury has been handed over to waste management facilities.

Article 13Storage of mercury waste

1.

F5Mercury waste may be temporarily stored in liquid form provided that the specific requirements for the temporary storage of mercury waste F6pursuant to the relevant regulations are complied with and that such storage occurs in above-ground facilities dedicated to and equipped for the temporary storage of mercury waste.

The F7... first subparagraph shall cease to apply as from 1 January 2023.

F8In the first subparagraph, “relevant regulations” means—

a)

for England and Wales, the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016;

b)

for Scotland, the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003.

2.

The F9appropriate authority may, by regulations, extend the period allowed for temporary storage of mercury waste referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article by up to three years.

3.

Prior to being permanently disposed of, mercury waste shall undergo conversion and, where intended to be disposed of in above-ground facilities, conversion and solidification.

Mercury waste that underwent conversion and, if applicable, solidification shall only be permanently disposed of in the following permanent storage facilities licensed for disposal of hazardous waste:

(a)

salt mines that are adapted for the permanent storage of mercury waste that underwent conversion, or deep underground hard rock formations providing a level of safety and confinement equivalent to or higher than that of such salt mines; or

(b)

above-ground facilities dedicated to and equipped for the permanent storage of mercury waste that underwent conversion and solidification and that provide a level of safety and confinement equivalent to or higher than that of the facilities referred to in point (a).

Operators of permanent storage facilities shall ensure that mercury waste that underwent conversion and, if applicable, solidification is stored separately from other waste and in disposal batches in a storage chamber that is sealed. F10...

Article 14Traceability

1.

Operators of facilities undertaking the temporary storage of mercury waste shall establish a register including the following:

(a)

for each shipment of mercury waste received:

  1. (i)

    the origin and amount of that waste;

  2. (ii)

    the name and contact details of the supplier and the owner of that waste;

(b)

for each shipment of mercury waste leaving the facility:

  1. (i)

    the amount of that waste and its mercury content;

  2. (ii)

    the destination and intended disposal operation of that waste;

  3. (iii)

    a copy of the certificate provided by the operator of the facility undertaking the conversion and, if applicable, the solidification of that waste, as referred to in paragraph 2;

  4. (iv)

    a copy of the certificate provided by the operator of the facility undertaking the permanent storage of the mercury waste that underwent conversion and, if applicable, solidification, as referred to in paragraph 3;

(c)

the amount of mercury waste stored at the facility at the end of each month.

Operators of facilities undertaking the temporary storage of mercury waste shall, as soon as the mercury waste is taken out of temporary storage, issue a certificate confirming that the mercury waste was sent to a facility undertaking disposal operations covered by this Article.

Once a certificate as referred to in the second subparagraph of this paragraph is issued, a copy thereof shall be transmitted without delay to the economic operators concerned referred to in Article 12.

2.

Operators of facilities undertaking the conversion and, if applicable, the solidification of mercury waste shall establish a register including the following:

(a)

for each shipment of mercury waste received:

  1. (i)

    the origin and amount of that waste;

  2. (ii)

    the name and contact details of the supplier and the owner of that waste;

(b)

for each shipment of mercury waste that underwent conversion and, if applicable, solidification leaving the facility:

  1. (i)

    the amount of that waste and its mercury content;

  2. (ii)

    the destination and intended disposal operation of that waste;

  3. (iii)

    a copy of the certificate provided by the operator of the facility undertaking the permanent storage of that waste, as referred to in paragraph 3;

(c)

the amount of mercury waste stored at the facility at the end of each month.

Operators of facilities undertaking the conversion and, if applicable, the solidification of mercury waste shall, as soon as the conversion and, if applicable, the solidification operation of the entire shipment is completed, issue a certificate confirming that the entire shipment of mercury waste has been converted and, if applicable, solidified.

Once a certificate as referred to in the second subparagraph of this paragraph is issued, a copy thereof shall be transmitted without delay to the operators of the facilities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and to the economic operators concerned referred to in Article 12.

3.

Operators of facilities undertaking the permanent storage of mercury waste that underwent conversion and, if applicable, solidification shall, as soon as the disposal operation of the entire shipment is completed, issue a certificate confirming that the entire shipment of mercury waste that underwent conversion and, if applicable, solidification has been placed into permanent storage in compliance with F11the relevant regulations, including information on the storage location.

Once a certificate as referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph is issued, a copy thereof shall be transmitted without delay to the operators of the facilities referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article as well as to the economic operators concerned referred to in Article 12.

F12(3A.

In paragraph 3, “relevant regulations” means—

a)

for England and Wales, the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016;

b)

for Scotland, the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003.

4.

Each year by 31 January, the operators of the facilities referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall transmit the register for the previous calendar year to the competent F13authority. The competent F14authority shall annually communicate each transmitted register to the F15relevant authority.

F16(5.

In paragraph 4, “relevant authority” means—

a)

for England and offshore installations in the English offshore area, the Secretary of State;

b)

for Scotland and offshore installations in the Scottish offshore area, the Scottish Ministers;

c)

for Wales, the Welsh Ministers;

and ‘offshore installation’, ‘English offshore area’ and ‘Scottish offshore area’ have the meanings given in Schedule 2 to the Control of Mercury (Enforcement) Regulations 2017.

Article 15Contaminated sites

1.

The F17Secretary of State shall organise an exchange of information with F18the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, the Scottish Ministers and the Welsh Ministers regarding the measures taken at national level to identify and assess sites contaminated by mercury and mercury compounds and to address the significant risks such contamination may pose to human health and the environment.

F192.

By 1st January 2021 the Secretary of State shall make the information gathered pursuant to paragraph 1 publicly available on the internet.

(3.

By 1st January 2021 the enforcing authority shall publish, in a manner which it considers appropriate, the particulars of remediation notices relating to sites contaminated by mercury and mercury compounds served by that authority in the register it keeps in accordance with section 78R of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

In the first subparagraph, “enforcing authority” has the meaning given in section 78A(9) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.