New Delhi: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has directed state pollution control boards to adopt a revised classification of industries with a new category, blue, for so-called “essential environmental services” such as those engaged in maintaining landfills or biomining.
“The new category of the EES will be termed “Blue Category sector” and as an incentive for the essential services an additional two years validity for consent to operate (as per the Pollution Index) will be provided,” CPCB said in a letter to the states.
The category also includes waste to energy plants and some compressed biogas plants -- essentially any utility required for management of environmental concerns arising from domestic/household activities which otherwise will have large littering potential, according to CPCB .
CPCB first wrote to all state pollution control boards in February directing all state boards to adopt the new classification. Thereafter, CPCB again wrote to state boards on March 25 adding certain compressed biogas plants in the blue category.
According to CPCB, the new classification is based on “precautionary principle” or potential of industries to pollute the environment. As per the revised methodology, the category of the sector is decided based on the following ranges of Pollution Index: Red: PI> 80; Orange: 55≤PI<80; Green: 25
CPCB’s report titled “Classification of Sectors into Red, Orange, Green, White and Blue Categories” attached to its letter to state boards states that the PI of waste to energy plant is 97.6 (applicable for red category) . It is, however, in blue category, possibly because of the service it provides. The consent validity of red category industries is five years.
Blue category industries are required to meet all prescribed environmental norms/rules notified from time to time and the pollution index shall continue to be calculated as per the formula, CPCB said.
Further in its March 25 letter, CPCB said CBG plants based on various feedstock like municipal solid waste, agro-residue, energy crops/grass/weeds, etc apart from industrial/ process waste have littering potential and thus such feed stock based CBG plants may be considered under blue category. CBG plants based on industrial or process waste will continue to be in red category.
Further all industries which have demonstrated the successful implementation of environmental management measures and verified by the committee, shall be eligible for the incentives, under the new classification. These incentives are mainly increasing the validity of permits.
CPCB did not immediately respond to HT’s queries on how the new classification will help in regulation of pollution from industries; why waste to energy plants are categorised as blue; and which industries from the red category have now been moved to other categories?
Last year, the Union government tweaked environment-related approvals processes to lay down that those industries that have secured an environmental clearance (EC) will no longer need a consent to establish (CTE), a decision it said was meant to remove dual compliance. Additionally, non-polluting white category industries have been exempted from obtaining both CTE and consent to operate (CTO) from state pollution control boards.
