EIA and integrated environmental permit to expand a waste-to-energy plant

auma is drafting theenvironmental impact assessment (EIA) and the documentation for the substantial modification of theintegrated environmental permit (AAI) of a waste-to-energy plant in Camp de Tarragona, commissioned by an industrial waste management operator expanding the facility's treatment capacity.

Project overview

The challenge

Capacity expansions of waste incineration plants are among the most demanding environmental permitting processes:

• Two coordinated files: the expansion requires both an environmental impact assessment and the substantial modification of the current permit.
• Intense technical and public scrutiny: emissions, dioxin control and public perception demand maximum documentary rigour.
• Operating facility: the documentation must accurately reflect the currently authorised state and the projected one.

The auma solution

A single technical team handles the EIA and the permit documentation, guaranteeing full consistency between files:

• Exhaustive characterisation of the currently authorised state as the baseline.
• Impact assessment focused on air emissions, waste management and health, benchmarked against the sector's best available techniques (BAT) as the reference.
• Continuous technical dialogue with the client and the competent authority throughout drafting.

The result

• Complete EIA and permit-modification documentation delivered; file under processing.
• Full consistency between the environmental and the permitting files, reducing the risk of requests for clarification.
• The client holds a solid documentary basis for the public information and resolution phases.

In Annex I facilities, EIA–permit coordination from day one is what avoids contradictions between files and the requests that add months to the process.

Frequently asked questions

What is an integrated environmental permit (AAI)?

It is the single permit enabling operation of the activities with the highest impact potential (Annex I of Catalonia's Law 20/2009 and Spain's RDL 1/2016, transposing the IPPC/IED directive), such as waste incineration plants. It consolidates emission, waste, water and soil conditions in one resolution.

When does an expansion count as a substantial modification of the permit?

When the change may significantly affect people or the environment: increased treatment capacity, new process lines or relevant emission increases. The modification must then be processed with an environmental impact assessment and public information.

Is an EIA required to expand a waste incineration plant?

Yes. Incineration facilities and their expansions above the thresholds of Law 21/2013 on environmental assessment undergo full environmental impact assessment, with a complete impact study.