Consultation on the draft UK notification to the European Commission to secure additional time to meet the limit values for particulate matter for certain zones/agglomerations in accordance with the Council Directive 2008/50/EC on Ambient Air Quality and Cleaner Air for Europe

Dear Consultee

We are writing to invite views on the UK’s draft time extension notification to the European Commission. Our intention is to secure, for eight areas across the UK, including Greater London, an exemption from the obligation to apply the limit values for particulate matter (PM10 - dust particles) until 2011, as provided for under the new Ambient Air Quality Directive (2008/50/EC) (2008 Directive). The draft notification forms and technical report are set out in the Commission’s recommended format and set out in detail how full compliance with the limit values (which came into force in 2005) will be achieved in these areas by the extended deadline.

The draft notification covers those parts of the UK where, following adjustments of air quality data in accordance with the 2008 Directive, and corrections following identification of general data issues, our annual compliance reports to the Commission still show some PM10 data higher than the limit value since 2005.  Under these circumstances the Commission expects Member States to submit a notification to extend the compliance deadline, in accordance with Article 22 (2) of the Directive.  

Following consultation, the notification will be finalised and submitted to the Commission. If the Commission does not raise objections within nine months of receipt of a Member State’s complete notification, a Commission decision will confirm the details of the parts of the Member State territory where additional time to meet the limit value has been agreed, recognising the latest compliance date is in June 2011.  If the Commission approves our notification, national legislation will be amended to reflect the extended attainment date for relevant zones/agglomerations.    

This consultation has been prepared by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in consultation with the Welsh Assembly Government. The Scottish Government is carrying out an identical consultation exercise in Scotland.

The following documents may be found on Defra’s website: www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/air-quality/index.htm

We welcome your views and comments on the proposals.

Responses

Please send responses by 10 March 2009  to our consultation email at euairquality@defra.gsi.gov.uk  or, if you wish to send in hard copy, to:

Alex Edelsten 
Atmospheric Quality and Industrial Pollution
Defra
Area 3C, Ergon House
17 Smith Square,
London SW1P 3JR

Tel: 020 7238 5298

Consultation criteria

This consultation is in line with the Code of Practice on Consultations. This can be found at  www.berr.gov.uk/bre/

When this consultation ends, we intend to put a copy of the responses in the Defra library at Ergon House, London. This is so that the public can see them.  Also, members of the public may ask for a copy of responses under freedom of information legislation.

If you do not want your response - including your name, contact details and any other personal information – to be publicly available, please say so clearly in writing when you send your response to the consultation.  Please note, if your computer automatically includes a confidentiality disclaimer, that won’t count as a confidentiality request.

Please explain why you need to keep details confidential.  We will take your reasons into account if someone asks for this information under freedom of information legislation. But, because of the law, we cannot promise that we will always be able to keep those details confidential. 

We will summarise all responses and place this summary on our website at www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/air-quality/index.htm .  This summary will include a list of names of organisations that responded but not people’s personal names, addresses or other contact details.

To see consultation responses and summaries, please contact the library at:

Defra
Information Resource Centre
Lower Ground Floor
Ergon House
17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR

Telephone: 020-7238-6575
Email: defra.library@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Please give the library 24 hours’ notice. There is a charge for photocopying and postage.

If you have any comments or complaints about the consultation process, please address them to Marjorie Addo, Defra’s Consultation Co-ordinator, Area 7C Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR, or email consultation.coordinator@defra.gsi.gov.uk.

Thank you for your help in this matter. If you have any queries please contact us as above.

Yours Sincerely

Helen Ainsworth
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

 

Page published: 27 January 2009