Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on progress in implementing Regulation (EC) 166/2006 concerning the establishment of a European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR)

Pollutant release and transfer registers provide public access to emissions data concerning releases and off-site transfers of pollutants and waste and their trends for the most polluting industries. As such, they can assist public and private decision makers with the setting of priorities for cost-effective emissions reduction strategies as well as demonstrating progress in reducing pollution. Such registers can also assist in the monitoring of progress and compliance with certain national, EU or international obligations or agreements.

Regulation (EC) 166/2006 established the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) that implements the UNECE PRTR Protocol to the Aarhus Convention in the EU. It builds upon and expands the European Pollutant Emission Register (EPER) that was previously established in 2000.

The E-PRTR's main objective is to provide access to environmental information on the largest industrial facilities. Reporting obligations for emissions are linked specific types of industrial activity and pollutant thresholds set out in the Regulation with a view to address the major sources of industrial pollution, notably activities covered by Directive 2008/1/EC on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control. Reporting covers data on releases of any of the listed pollutants into the environment as a result of any human activities, whether deliberate, accidental, routine or non-routine, at the site of the facility and above the prescribed thresholds. The reported values are to be based on the best available information from measurements, calculations or estimations.

Article 17 of the E-PRTR Regulation calls on the Commission to review the Member States' emission reports submitted through the E-PRTR and, more generally, to provide an assessment of experience gained during the first three years of operating the register. This Report covers the first three years of implementation of the E-PRTR.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)111: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:111:FIN

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