CHAPTER 4 METHODOLOGY
7.4 RECOMMENDATIONS
The experiences and the lessons drawn from direct observation of the drum reprocessing CP project implementation process and from the detailed analyses of the selected CP project case studies underpin the recommended approaches to eThekwini Municipality for incorporating CP in regulating odour producing industries through the ST permitting process.
7.4.1 Recommendation 1: General cleaner production strategy
Details of a general CP strategy that could be applied by eThekwini Municipality in regulating promoting and enforcing CP practices among all stakeholders in eThekwini are presented in Table 7.1.
Table 7.1: General CP strategy recommended for eThekwini Municipality
Objectives Activities
Enforce uniform regulatory standards
· Rolling out ST permitting to all eThekwini Metro areas will ensure uniform enforcement of ST requirements to industry. This process will ensure more industries complying and reducing not only odorous emissions but various aspects and impacts as targeted by the ST permit.
· Set uniform CP based environmental standards for odours and related incidents. The setting of these standards needs to be accompanied by monitoring and enforcement.
This would ensure wide spread implementation of CP options by industry across the eThekwini Municipality.
Development of a policy or · CP policy or guidelines can be developed to provide direction to the application of CP
guidelines including protocols for conducting CP audits, quantification of impacts, developing CP related odour reduction plans for incorporation into ST permits, odour emissions incidents reporting and documentation. The development process should engage the various stakeholders in order to ensure quality and informed process with stakeholder inputs.
· The policy or guidelines should be developed in line with provincial and National CP strategic goals.
Effective compliance
monitoring and enforcement
· The National CP strategy can be used in guiding the setting and imposing of uniform penalties for non-complying industries.
· Ensure annual reporting of odour reduction plans, such as odour sources inventory, progressive improvement plans, incident reporting and indicators to measure progress of improvement plans.
· Ensure timeous renewal of ST permits. This ensures close monitoring of the industry operations, assess performance in terms of ST permit targets and set new goals informed by the permit review process.
· Develop and update a database of odour producing industries. Such a database will inform the EHS of the level of impact and identify industry sector to be targeted.
· Set annual targets for industry ST permitting. The new ST process allows for annual reporting of performance by industry. The ST targets can be categorized into annual objectives for reporting on an annual basis.
· Conduct ongoing monitoring surveys to identify new odour producing industries for permitting.
· Establish industry sector-based Clubs to identify and implement sector-based CP related odour reduction plans with realistic targets and measures for progressive improvement.
· Issue compliance notices and process prosecutions to non-complying industries.
· Withdraw permits to non-complying industries. This will keep industry on their toes as they require the permit to attract business.
· Communities in close proximity should be educated on odour recognition.
· Complaints should be linked to GIS and Meteorology data for source identification.
· Regular analyses of complaint data for intervention purposes.
Develop a local Cleaner Production Centre (LCPC)
LCPC should be responsible for :
· Developing and implementing CP promotion strategies. CP promotion should not only focus on local industries but be extended to industry at large through media involvement. This will assist local industry suppliers to comply with CP requirements and reduce costs.
· Managing and providing CP information. There is a great need for CP information for industry, regulators and communities. It has been observed in Chapter 5 that lack of
information is the barrier for successful implementation of CP projects. Information should be made available in many possible forms to all stakeholders.
· Providing technical training to build capacity amongst stakeholders i.e. industry, regulators, communities and political leaders. The centre may either employ CP experts or outsource the services. Knowledge transfer should include nature and preventive environmental practices. It is important that the level of information supplied is necessary and can be easily interpreted and applied by industry. It should be simple to understand and implement.
· Handling incentives and support schemes. Such schemes should focus on major odour producing industries subsidising their implementation of Best Available Technology.
· Promoting research & development. This should engage CP experts and researchers nationally and internationally to investigate new BAT and CP strategies that can help achieve success.
· Managing donor funding. There is a significant need especially in SMEs for funding CP projects. The centre should source funding from possible sources locally and abroad and channel the funding to meeting the main CP strategic goals.
· Publicity, award and recognition of well performing industries. Industries need to be acknowledged for best environmental performance such as CP projects initiatives, such a centre should ensure that this need is fulfilled.
· Implementing CP demonstration projects. This will assist in demonstrating benefits and advantages of implementing CP.
· The centre should be managed by well capacitated personnel or CP experts who will perform an advisory role to all stakeholders.
· The centre should for part of the economic development activities of the city.
Ensure co-operative governance
· Identify and form partnerships with relevant stakeholders (industry, all tiers of government, academic institutions, research groups, local and international funding organisations and community structures).
· Develop a CP multi-stakeholder forum formed by relevant stakeholders supported by political leaders to address CP issues and needs.
· Define roles and responsibilities for identified stakeholders.
· Develop and implement a communication system for odour complaints, emergencies,
queries and all stakeholders in collaboration with eThekwini Water and Sanitation.
Provide adequate financial resources
· Set a budget to implement the activities of the strategy, operation of the CP Centre and ensuring sufficient resource provision to implement the strategy goals.
· Ensure that the CP strategy is aligned with other programmes such as AQMP (Air Quality Management Plan) and eThekwini odour management strategy.
Monitoring and evaluation The following indicators can be used in evaluating successes:
· Evaluate odour complaints management and statistics.
· Evaluate the number of CP projects implemented by industry.
· Number of industries issued with CP based ST permit.
· Number of CP related training programmes succeeded.
· Number of enforcement activities succeeded
· Conduct follow up inspections and surveys.
7.4.2 Recommendation 2: Strategy for applying CP in the ST permitting process
In order to make recommendations to the ST permit, an existing permit of one of the industries in the eThekwini SDB was scrutinised to understand the current approach.
The ST permits are granted by eThekwini Municipality in accordance with the eThekwini Scheduled Trades and Occupations bylaws. The permit is developed using information supplied by the industry during the application and processing processes. The ST permit requires the permit holder (the company) to comply with the following requirements (Refinery Permit, 2004).
· Observe all general conditions requirements which highlight all prohibited practices and required practices in order to comply with the permit requirements. Such prohibited activities include alteration of the building without prior approval and, harmful emissions to human health and the environment.
Non-compliance with any permit conditions is an offence and can result in a permit withdrawal. This enforces the regulatory requirements to the permit holder.
· Establish an environmental management system (EMS) which gives effect to the principles of continuous improvement. The EMS should identify and quantify potential for environmental impact, prioritise the identified impacts, identify appropriate preventive and corrective measures, develop responsive management controls, systems and procedures including identification of improvement
· Projects to be added into the five year environmental improvement programme (EIP). This system allows for incorporation of odour management programmes.
· Provision of production capacity, register of all chemicals, investigation of the use of less hazardous substances and raw materials.
· Investigate CP processes and practices relevant to the operation with a view to reducing water, energy consumption, waste production, chemical usage, and emissions relating to processes. A brief summary of CP applications is required to be included in annual report with any identified CP project to be incorporated into the 5 year EIP.
· Provision of an environmental control performance indicating reduction targets for national priority pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and fugitive
emissions. The permit holder is required to specify prevention, control and monitoring of such emissions including developing greenhouse gases, smoke emissions and complaints management.
· Perform a waste study and report annually on identification of hazardous and non- hazardous waste, waste audit, waste management plans including recycling, re-use, record keeping, waste disposal methods. Waste reduction strategies should be included in the 5 year EIP.
· Monitoring programmes, such as measuring releases of air and noise emissions, in accordance with national and international acceptable standards including verification of measurements.
· The permit holder is required to report performance to the regulators on an annual basis in the form of an annual report and annual review meeting with regulators. Reporting should include: CP projects undertaken, performance in terms of the 5 year EIP, verification of monitoring results, waste study and emergency drills undertaken.
An assessment of this permit indicates that the eThekwini ST permit is comprehensive, detailed and ensures prevention, control, monitoring, evaluation and management of a wide range of environmental impacts to human health and environment. The permit also enforces the requirements of a CP approach to permit holders. It is noted that the permit provides for the control of some odour producing substances such as volatile organic compounds. It is observed that although some of the odour emitting substances can be controlled by the systems, no specific requirements have been stated with regards to odorous emissions. As the city is challenged by odour emissions especially in areas such as the JIC, the ST permitting of industries should include more provisions for odorous emissions control.
It is recommended that an additional section should be included in the current ST permitting process to make provision for the permit holder to prevent, control and manage odorous emissions from its operation.
The requirements should include:
· Odour is recognised as a priority like the other priority pollutants since the risk associated with the exposure to an odour is mostly unknown.
· Odour mapping which involves an audit to be carried out in an operation and identify all odour emitting substances, processes, activities and areas requiring attention.
· The permit holder, based on the audit results should develop a CP based odour management plan with set targets and time frames which also should include: investigation of applicable CP options to odour prevention, the use of non-odorous substances and application of the best available technology to reduce odour.
· Investigation of possible CP projects applicable to prevention and mitigation of odour emissions.
· The odour management plan should be incorporated into the 5 year EIP.
· An odour complaints management system should be developed and appropriately managed to provide data to be translated to useful information for gaps analyses and developing intervention plans.
· Set odour management performance indicators and baselines for targets and reporting.
· The permit holder should include odour management performance including odour complaints management in the annual report.
· An updated complaints register should be kept by the permit holder.
This will not only drive environmental sustainability but economic and social development as well. Funding should be provided to build capacity among the regulators, industry and more environmental consultants in the field of CP.