Classified installations for the protection of the environment (PCI)

Installations classified for the protection of the environment (PCI) are subject to registration when the following 2 conditions are met:

• They pose serious health, public safety and environmental hazards or disadvantages.
• These dangers and disadvantages can in principle be prevented by compliance with general requirements.

To check if the PCI is subject to registration, the company should consult the PCI nomenclature. These are the facilities " E ’:

Nomenclature of PCIs and IOTAs

National Institute of Industrial Environment and Risks (Ineris)

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If the installation project is covered by more than one heading, the most stringent regime applies: authorization, registration, then declaration.

Pre-Registration Environmental Assessment

Audit of the Environmental Assessment Submission

Prior to the application for registration, the holder of the project submitted for registration must check if your project is subject to an environmental assessment.

To determine whether a project is routinely subject to environmental assessment, is not, or may be subject to environmental assessment (case-by-case review), consult the environmental assessment nomenclature :

Nomenclature of projects subject to environmental assessment

Legifrance

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It is also possible to question the prefecture (DREAL or DDPP, depending on the project).

Implementation of the environmental assessment

The project is:

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Subject to environmental assessment

The different environmental assessment steps are:

• The development of a environmental impact assessment report (impact assessment for projects, environmental impact report for plans and programs) by the project developer
• The conduct of planned consultations, including consultation of the environmental authority (the prefecture), which gives an opinion on the project, plan, program and the environmental impact assessment report, and public consultation
• Theexamination by the prefecture the information contained in the assessment report and received in the course of the consultations

What is environmental assessment?

Ministry of the Environment

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The environmental assessment must be filed via an online service :

Consultation and submission of projects for impact assessment (Environmental Assessment)

Raw biodiversity data

Proponents of projects that have carried out an environmental assessment must pouring raw biodiversity data acquired in the course of evaluation studies and of measures to monitor environmental impacts, in particular those relating to avoidance, reduction or compensation measures.

The release of raw biodiversity data, acquired in the course of evaluation studies, must be carried out:

• Before the start of the public participation procedure where required
• Before the decision referred to in that subparagraph, where no public participation procedure is required

This payment shall take place via environment-projects.gouv.fr or via the online service Depobio :

Depobio: platform for the legal deposit of biodiversity data

Please note

The capture or disbursement of raw biodiversity data, acquired during environmental impact monitoring measures, should be within 6 months after completion of each data acquisition campaign.

The environmental assessment must be completed before the applicant can apply for registration.

Subject to case-by-case examination

The request must be made by completing the dedicated form and forwarding it to the prefecture (DREAL or DDPP, depending on the project).

How do I contact the relevant department at the prefecture?

The service to contact is:

• For agricultural or agri-food sector PCIs: the Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations (DDPP)

Who shall I contact

Pivot Local What is your city or postal code ? Example: Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes or 95200

• Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations (DDPP)

• For other PCIs: the Regional Directorate for Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL)

Who shall I contact

• Regional Directorate for Environment, Planning and Housing (Dreal)

The operator will then be subject or not to an environmental assessment.

Not subject to environmental assessment

The operator may apply directly for registration.

Application for registration dossier

The applicant for registration can inquire about the teleprocedure and the preparation of the application file via the guide to preparing the teleregistration application procedure.

The template files referred to in this guide are available online:

• Warrant of deposit (e.g. where a design office files the application on behalf of the future operator)
• Parcels (If the list of parcels is deposited via a file instead of the online table)
• Geographical references (If information is provided via a file instead of the online table)

Where an operator proposes to put into service several installations subject to registration on the same site, a single application for registration may be submitted for all such installations.

Building permits and land clearance

When the installation of an installation requires a building permit, the application for registration must be accompanied or completed within 10 days of the submission of the file by a justification for the submission of the application for a building permit. Obtaining a building permit is not a registration.

When the installation of an installation requires clearance to be obtained, the application for registration must be accompanied or supplemented within 10 days of the dispatch of the file by a justification for the submission of the application for authorization to land. Obtaining clearance to land shall not be equivalent to registration.

It is strongly recommended to get closer to the Regional Directorate of Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL) or the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT) to be accompanied upstream of the approach.

Registration procedure

The application for registration of PCI must be made front commissioning of the installation and start of all associated necessary works.

Advertising of the application dossier

The registration application file is made available to the public.

The applicant may inform the prefect by a single letter, in paper form, of the information provided in the application file which he justifies should remain confidential.

Public consultation

The public consultation starts no later than 30 days after receipt of the complete and regular file, except in exceptional cases relating, for example, to the nature, complexity, location or size of the project. In these exceptional cases, the order shall state the reasons for the decision.

The prefect shall, by order, fix the days and times when the file is open to public consultation and shall inform the applicant accordingly.

One notice to the public is posted or made public 2 weeks at least before the start of the public consultation.

The the file shall be made available to the public in the town hall of the location of the project and on the website of the prefecture for a period of 4 weeks. To this end, the applicant shall provide the prefect with an electronic version of his application file.

The the public may comment on a register opened for this purpose at the town hall of the location of the project, or send them to the prefect by letter or by electronic means, before the end of the period of public consultation. When the register expires, the mayor closes the register and sends it to the prefect who appends the observations sent to him.

Decision

The Prefect shall give a decision within 5 months from receipt of the complete file and regular. It may extend that period by two months, by reasoned order, in exceptional cases arising, for example, from the nature, complexity, location or size of the project.

In the absence of a decision within those time limits, the silence of the prefect constitutes a refusal decision.

3 types of decisions can be made:

Compliance with requirements

The operator shall comply with general risk prevention requirements. They shall be specified in orders of the ministry responsible for the environment.

The National Institute of the Industrial Environment and Risks (INERIS) proposes a themed regulatory aid providing access to the main statutory instruments which may relate to a given installation:

Access to AIDA's themed regulatory help

Reporting of pollutant emissions and waste generated

Operators of PCIs subject to authorization or registration shall submit by March 31 of each year, for each installation, reporting of pollutant emissions and waste from its installation.

Annual remote reporting of pollutant emissions

General case

The registration order shall fix the period for which registration is granted. In the absence of a fixed duration, it shall be granted for an unlimited period, as long as the PCI is not modified or discontinued.

Duration is systematically limited for the following PCIs:

• Quarrying facilities
• Inert waste storage facilities

Lapse after 3 years of cessation of activity

Except in cases of force majeure or a justified and accepted request for an extension of time, the validity of the registration terminates when the operation has been interrupted for more than 3 consecutive years.

The permanent cessation of exploitation may also be required by a formal notice issued by the prefect in the same circumstances.

The operator of a PCI shall declare as soon as possible to the inspection of classified installations accidents or incidents which have occurred as a result of the operation of that installation. This is compulsory for events likely to undermine risk prevention, in particular for the environment, health and public safety.

The operator shall transmit a accident report or, upon request, an incident report. It states, in particular:

• The circumstances and causes of the accident or incident
• The hazardous substances involved, if any
• Effects on people and the environment
• Emergency measures taken
• The measures taken or envisaged to prevent an accident or similar incident and to mitigate its effects in the medium or long term

If further investigation reveals new elements modifying or supplementing this information or the conclusions drawn from it, the operator must update the information provided and forward it to the prefecture.

The return to service may require a new authorization, registration or declaration by the prefect.

The modification of the activities or beneficiaries of the declaration is subject to specific regulations. The following cases are subject to special provisions:

• Changes, including changes in activity (volumes, nature, etc.)
• Business relocation, for which the steps are the same as for the most important changes
• The change of beneficiary

Termination of activity

Termination of activity consists of the following :

• Shutdown
• Security
• If necessary, determination of future use(s)
• Rehabilitation or rehabilitation

The operator shall notify the prefect of the date of permanent discontinuance of the installations at least 3 months before the discontinuanceand a list of the land concerned.

The notification shall indicate the measures taken or planned and the associated timetable, to ensure that, as soon as the plant is permanently shut down, the land concerned is secured at the site.

The notification of cessation of activity must be deposited at the prefecture.

The operator must also send a notification to the mayor or president of theEPCI and owners of the land where the PCIs concerned by the cessation of activity are located:

• The site plans
• Studies and reports communicated to the administration on the environmental situation and on the successive uses of the site
• Its proposals on the future use(s) it envisages for these lands. He shall at the same time forward a copy of his proposals to the Prefect.

The prefect must receive a copy of this notification.

The persons consulted shall notify the prefect and the operator of their agreement or disagreement with these proposals in a three-month period upon receipt of the operator's proposals. In the absence of comments within this period, their opinion shall be deemed favorable.

In the event of a favorable opinion from all the persons consulted, the operator shall inform the prefect and the persons consulted of the future use or uses chosen for the land concerned. Failing agreement between operator, mayor or president ofEPCI and the owners of the land concerned, the use chosen for the land concerned is a use comparable to that of the last period of operation of the facilities permanently shut down.

1. Shutdown

Final discontinuance consists of stop or reduce to the point that they no longer fall within the scope of the PCI nomenclature all classified activities of one or more PCIs within a site. This does not include the continuation of other activities on the site and the release of land.

2. Security

Safeguarding shall include, in particular, for the PCI(s) concerned by the cessation of activity the following measures:

• L'evacuation of dangerous products and, for facilities other than waste storage facilities, the management of the waste present
• Of prohibitions or restrictions on access
• The suppression of fire and explosion hazards
• The monitoring of the effects of the installation on its environment, taking into account a diagnosis commensurate with the stakes

Where appropriate, security operations shall be accompanied by temporary management measures or restrictions on use.

If it falls under one of the headings listed on Legifrance, PCI security is certified by a certified company in the field of polluted sites and soils or with equivalent competence in the provision of services in this field.

List of certified providers by field of activity

Ministry of Economy

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The security clearance of which a model is indicated on Legifrance must be forwarded to the classified facility inspection (DREAL).

3. Identification of future uses and rehabilitation or restoration

When a registered installation is permanently shut down, the registration stop may have foreseen the state in which the site is to be returned.

If the registration order does not mention this element, the operator or, failing that, the owner of the land on which the installation is located, places its site in such a state as:

• Risk prevention must be ensured, in particular for the environment, health and public safety
• Allow future use of the site as determined by agreement with the mayor or president of theEPCI. In the absence of agreement, the refurbishment shall be carried out in order to allow future use of the site comparable to that of the last period of operation of the facility which was shut down.

The prefect may fix binding rehabilitation requirements where the rehabilitation is incompatible with the future use of the area with regard to:

• City planning documents in force on the date on which the operator notifies the Administration of its decision to shut down the installation
• The use of land in the vicinity of the site

One binding time limit for the rehabilitation of the site can be requested by the prefect.

At any time, even after the site has been restored, the prefect may impose to the operator, by order of the prefecture, the requirements necessary for the prevention of risks, in particular for the environment, health or public safety.

4. Transmission of a rehabilitation memory

The operator must transmit to the prefect within 6 months of permanent cessation one rehabilitation memorandum specifying the measures taken or planned to ensure the prevention of risks, in particular to the environment, health and public safety. This period may be extended by the prefect to take account of the particular circumstances relating to the situation of the installations concerned.

The brief includes:

• Diagnosis of soil survey, including:
  
  • Elements relating to the historical, documentary and memorial study of the area under investigation
  • Elements relating to the vulnerability of environments
  • Investigations into the media and interpretation of their results
  • Geographical data relating to the surveyed area shall include in particular a plan delimiting that area, the boundary of the right of way of the site or sites and the list of associated cadastral parcels. Where appropriate, the plan shall identify the different substances used at that or those sites
  • A schematic, called conceptual, making it possible to understand the relationships between the sources of pollution, the pathways of transfer and the issues to be protected from a balance sheet of the state of the environments.
• Rehabilitation objectives
• A management plan that includes:
  
  • Environmental management measures (treatment of pollution sources and concentrated pollution, in particular for soil and groundwater)
  • The work to be carried out to implement the management measures and the associated estimated timetable, as well as the arrangements for monitoring and risk prevention, during the work
  • If necessary, the provisions laid down at the end of the works to ensure the monitoring of the media, the preservation of memory and any restrictions on use limiting or prohibiting certain developments or constructions, or certain uses of the media

The rehabilitation brief shall be accompanied by a certificate issued by a certified company in the field of polluted sites and soils or with equivalent competence in the provision of services in this field. She attests to theappropriateness of the proposed measures for the rehabilitation of the site in order to ensure the prevention of risks, in particular on the environment, health and public safety.

List of certified providers by field of activity

Ministry of Economy

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Additional measurements may be required depending on the content of the memory and the type of installation.

When the work prescribed by the prefect or, failing that, defined in the rehabilitation memorandum are made, the operator shall make them to certify by a certified company in the field of polluted sites and soils or with equivalent competence in the provision of services in this field.

The operator shall forward this certificate to the prefect, mayor or president of theEPCIand the owners of the land.

Unless the Prefect objects or makes a further request within the time limit of 2 months at the end of the transmission of the certificate, the cessation of activity shall be considered complete.

Administrative sanctions

In case of non-compliance with IOTA regulations (ICPE, IOTA, etc.), the competent administrative authority (the prefect) formal notice the operator of the IOTA or, failing that, the owner of the land, within a time limit which it shall determine. The operator may submit his observations.

In cases of urgency, the prefect shall, by the same act or by a separate act, fix necessary measures to prevent serious and imminent dangers to health, public safety or the environment.

Yes, to the expiry of the time-limit, the person served with formal notice has not implemented the prescribed measures, one or more of the following administrative sanctions may apply:

• Require the person given notice to pay to a public accountant before a specified date an amount corresponding to the amount of the work or operations to be carried out
• To have the prescribed measures carried out of his own motion, in place of the person given notice and at his own expense. The amounts recorded shall be used to settle the expenses incurred in this way.
• Suspend the operation of the IOTA until the conditions imposed have been fully complied with and take the necessary precautionary measures, at the expense of the person given notice
• Order the payment of an administrative fine not exceeding €45,000, and one daily penalty payment at most equal to €4,500 applicable from the notification of the decision fixing it until the formal notice or the ordered measure is satisfied.

The fines and periodic penalty payments shall be proportionate to the seriousness of the infringements found and shall take account in particular of the extent of the disturbance caused to the environment.

The fine may not be pronounced after a period of three years from the time the deficiencies are established.

These sanctions can be published on the website of the department's prefecture, for a period of between 2 months and 5 years.

Criminal sanctions

The criminal sanctions indicated may be accompanied by additional penalties.

Absence of authorization, registration or declaration

Operating or implementing an IOTA (PCI, IOTA, etc.) without authorization, registration, the approval, approval or certification required shall be subject toone year in prison and €75,000 of fine (natural person) or €375,000 of fine (legal person).

For notifiable OITIs, the holding in the absence of a declaration shall be punished by €1,500 fine (natural person) or €7,500 fine (legal person). Continuing this exploitation after a formal notice is sanctioned with a year of imprisonment and €15,000 fine (natural person) or €75,000 fine (legal person).

When the health, safety of persons or the environment have been seriously degraded, those penalties shall be increased to 3 years imprisonment and €150,000 fine (natural person) or €750,000 fine (legal person).

When this creates a immediate risk of serious harm and enduring environment, those penalties shall be increased to 3 years imprisonment and €250,000 fine (natural person) or €1,250,000 (legal person), which may be increased to three times the amount of the advantage derived from the commission of the infringement.

Non-compliance with technical requirements

Operating or implementing an IOTA without complying with general rules and technical requirements fixed by the administrative authority shall be punished by €1,500 fine (natural person) or €7,500 fine (legal person). This shall also apply to discontinuance requirements.

When it has seriously endangered the health or safety of persons or caused substantial degradation of the environment, operating or implementing an OITO subject to without complying with the requirements fixed by the administrative authority shall be punished by 2 years imprisonment and €75,000 fine (natural person) or €375,000 fine (legal person),

Failure to comply with a formal notice

Operating or implementing an OITI without complying with a formal notice issued by the prefect shall be punished by 2 years imprisonment and €100,000 of fine (natural person) or €500,000 of fine (legal person).

When this creates a immediate risk of serious harm and enduring environment, this penalty shall be increased to 3 years imprisonment and €250,000 fine (natural person) or €1,250,000 (legal person), which may be increased to three times the amount of the advantage derived from the commission of the infringement.

When the health, safety of persons or the environment have been seriously degraded, this penalty shall be increased to 5 years imprisonment and €300,000 fine (natural person) or €1,500 000 fine (legal person).

Failure to comply with a formal notice to permanently discontinue a PCI shall be punishable by 2 years imprisonment and €150,000 of fine (natural person) or €750,000 (legal person).

Other regulatory violations

Failure to inform the prefect of any substantial change in the technical and financial capacity of the operator of an authorized PCI shall be punishable by 6 months imprisonment and €75,000 fine (natural person) or €375,000 fine (legal person). Failure to notify the prefect of a modification of a PCI shall be punished by €1,500 (natural person) or €7,500 (legal person).

A sentence of 2 years imprisonment and €100,000 fine (natural person) or €500,000 a fine (legal person) is provided for in the event of a breach of:

• A decision opposing a declaration or refusing authorization
• A measure withdrawing an authorization, registration, approval or certification
• The closing, removal or suspension of an installation or structure
• An order of the court for the arrest, suspension or prohibition of proceedings
• Order of formal notice issued by the administrative authority (the prefect)
• Rehabilitation obligations or monitoring measures prescribed by the administrative authority

When the health, safety of persons or the environment have been seriously degraded, this penalty shall be increased to 3 years imprisonment and €150,000 fine (natural person) or €750,000 fine (legal person).

When this creates a immediate risk of serious harm and enduring environment, this penalty shall be increased to 3 years imprisonment and €250,000 fine (natural person) or €1,250,000 (legal person), which may be increased to three times the amount of the advantage derived from the commission of the infringement.