Order AAA/661/2013, of April 18, amending Annexes I, II, and III of Royal Decree 1481/2001, of December 27, regulating the disposal of waste by landfill.
Published in: Official State Gazette, No. 97 of April 23, 2013, pages 31080 to 31111 (32 pages).
Section: I. General provisions
Department: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment
http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2013/04/23/pdfs/BOE-A-2013-4291.pdf
Annex II of Royal Decree 1481/2001, of December 27, regulating the disposal of waste by landfill, established general requirements on procedures and criteria for the admission of waste to landfills, temporarily until they were detailed and harmonized at the community level.
This regulatory development was carried out through Council Decision 2003/33/EC of December 19, 2002, which established the criteria and procedures for the admission of waste to landfills in accordance with Article 16 and Annex II of Directive 1999/31/EC of April 26, 1999, on the landfill of waste. The Decision entered into force on July 16, 2004, from which date the waste admission procedures established therein became mandatory. The criteria for the admission of waste to landfills have been applicable since July 16, 2005.
Although Council Decision 2003/33/EC of December 19, 2002, is directly applicable in all its terms, there are a series of technical specifications that the standard did not set and for which it expressly requires each Member State to determine.
On the other hand, from the experience so far in the application of the Decision in Spain, it is concluded that it is necessary to approve a basic standard to specify some elements necessary for the practical application of its requirements, respecting the distribution of administrative competencies in the production and management of waste in the Spanish State, but also seeking the necessary homogeneity in its application.
It has been considered convenient to draft a single text in which the prescriptions that remain in force from Annex II of Royal Decree 1481/2001, of December 27, those of Council Decision 2003/33/EC of December 19, 2002, and those that are approved for the full application in Spain of said Decision are consolidated.
In another order of things, Council Directive 2011/97/EU of December 5, 2011, which amends Directive 1999/31/EC with regard to specific criteria for the storage of metallic mercury considered as waste, has been approved.
The need for this Directive stemmed from Regulation (EC) No. 1102/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 22, 2008, on the prohibition of the export of metallic mercury and certain mercury compounds and mixtures and on the safe storage of metallic mercury. According to this regulation, since March 15, 2011, metallic mercury from the chlor-alkali sector, natural gas cleaning, non-ferrous mining and smelting operations, and extracted from cinnabar ore is considered waste and must be disposed of as such.
Despite progress in the development of safe disposal methods for mercury, including research on different stabilization techniques or other means of immobilizing mercury, reliable and well-founded requirements for indefinite storage from an environmental perspective have not yet been established at the community level.
Facilities where metallic mercury is stored for more than one year must comply with the requirements of Council Directive 1999/31/EC of April 26, 1999, on the landfill of waste and Council Decision 2003/33/EC of December 19, 2002, and are subject to the general provisions relating to the records or chronological files of information established in Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of November 19, 2008, on waste and repealing certain Directives, transposed into Spanish law by Law 22/2011, of July 22, on waste and contaminated soils (art. 40 dedicated to the chronological file). However, these provisions do not cover all the specific characteristics of metallic mercury, and therefore complementary requirements are needed, which are established in Directive 2011/97/EU on the storage of mercury.
Council Directive 2011/97/EU of December 5, 2011 establishes criteria representing the best available techniques for the temporary storage of metallic mercury, albeit limited to a maximum period of five years, by including additional points in Annexes I, II, and III of Council Directive 1999/31/EC of April 26, 1999.
The transposition of Council Directive 2011/97/EC of December 5, 2011 requires the amendment of Annexes I, II, and III of Royal Decree
1481/2001, of December 27.
The first final provision of Royal Decree 1481/2001, of December 27, authorizes the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment to issue, within the scope of his competencies, the necessary provisions for its development and for the adaptation of its annexes to community regulations or to scientific and technical progress.
In the processing of this order, the autonomous communities and representative entities of the affected sectors have been consulted. Additionally, the order has been subjected to the public information procedure and has been sent to the Environmental Advisory Council, in accordance with the provisions of Law 27/2006, of July 18, regulating access rights to environmental information, public participation, and access to justice in environmental matters, and Law 50/1997, of November 27, on the Organization, Competence, and Operation of the Government.
Regarding the competency basis of this standard, it is necessary to refer to the same competency title mentioned in the second final provision of Royal Decree 1481/2001, of December 27, whose annexes are amended; thus, this order is considered basic legislation on environmental protection, in accordance with the provisions of Article 149.1.23 of the Constitution.