Air Quality
There is a variety of work carried out
by the Public Protection and Health department which deals with air
pollution and its control.
Local Air Quality Management
Every local Authority is required to
continually assess its local air quality and report this
information back to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (defra). The aim of local air quality management is to
assess the level of a pollutant against a government standard and
objective and identify where areas do not meet these
requirements.
The Air Quality Standard is
the maximum concentration of a pollutant. The Air Quality Objective
is the year by which the standard has to be achieved.
Air
Quality Objectives can be viewed here
Where the standard and
objective are unlikely to be met the local authority is required to
declare an Air Quality Management Area
and produce an Action Plan detailing
what it intends to do to meet the standard and objective in that
area.
Seven key pollutants are
defined with the regulations; Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulphur
Dioxide, Lead, 1-3 butadiene, Carbon Monoxide, Benzene and
Particulate Matter (dust). In Cheshire East, in common with
much of the UK, nitrogen dioxide from Road Traffic is the primary
pollutant of concern.
In response to requirements
under Local Air Quality Management the Council is responsible for
the completion of specific reports relating to air quality.
The most recently completed reports can be viewed on the Current Consultations page.
Current Work / Latest News
The Department has very
recently declared four further Air
Quality Management Areas in Crewe, Disley, Knutsford and
Macclesfield. This brings the total number of Air Quality
Management Areas in the Borough to 12.
- As part of the process of trying to improve air quality within
the Borough, the Air Quality Action
Plan is being thoroguhly reviewed to cover the whole
Borough. It is envisaged this document will be published for
consultation in late 2010.
- The Council is devloping an overarching Air Quality Strategy,
which will aim to integrate the Air Quality Management work with
other areas of the Council at a strategic level, in particular the
Local Transport Plan.
- The department has recently completed the 2010 Progress Report
which can be viewed from our Current
Consultations page
1. Update and Screening Assessment Reports (USA):
These are required on a three yearly
basis and review air quality in the Borough as a whole to determine
whether any area may be exceeding the Air Quality Standard for any
of the seven pollutants detailed above. Reports have been completed
in 2000, 2003 and 2006. To view the reports please visit our Update
and Screening Assessment Page using the link below.
2. Detailed Assessment Reports (DA):
These are produced where an Update and Screening Assessment in
any of the given reporting years identifies a likely problem with a
pollutant(s). The aim of these reports is to look more closely at
any identified hotspot to assess how likely it is to happen and to
support the declaration or otherwise of Air Quality Management
Areas (AQMA's). A number of Detailed Assessment Reports have been
produced following the identification of hotspots within the Update
and Screening Assessment rounds. To view the reports please visit
our Detailed Assessment Page using the link below.
3. Annual Progress Reports (APR):
These reports are produced in years where is no Update and
Screening Assessment. The aim of these reports is retain
a focus on air quality and to update on any specific changes that
have been identified in the intervening years and to highlight any
new monitoring results. Annual Progress Reports for the Borough
were first produced in 2005. To view the reports please visit our
Annual Progress Report Page using the link below.
4. Further Assessment Reports (FA):
Further Assessment Reports are produced about 12 months after
the declaration of Air Quality Management Areas. The aim of these
reports is to look again at the air quality within the designated
areas to check that the original decisions made to declare an area
are still valid. Conversely Further Assessments offer the
opportunity to amend or revoke Air Quality Management Areas where
new evidence suggests that air quality concentrations are within
the Air Quality Standard limits.A number of Further Assessment
reports have been completed. To view the reports please visit our
Further Assessments Page using the link below.
5. Air Quality Action Plans (AQAP):
Air Quality Action Plans are produced within 12-18 months of the
declaration of Air Quality Management Areas. They include the
results of Further Assessment work and refine the Areas that are
still exceeding an Air Quality Standard. The role of the AQAP is to
detail the actions that the local authority and their partner
agencies are planning to implement to address the air quality
problem, the timescales involved and the potential costs and
benefits of the schemes under consideration. A number of Air
Quality Action Plans have been produced. To view the Plans please
visit our Air Quality Action Plan Page using the link below.
As you can see Local Air Quality Management
operates to a very tight timetable but ensures continued focus on
air quality and pollutant concentrations on a Borough wide
scale.
Air Pollution Monitoring
The Environmental Health Division carries out
monthly monitoring of air pollution levels across the whole
Borough. This work is completed to support the Authority in its
Local Air Quality Management Work.
For more details on monitoring sites,
pollutants measured, historic and on-going results as well as
comparisons with air quality standards laid down by the European
Union and Central Government please visit our Air Quality Results
Page using the link below.
For information on how we monitor air
pollutants please visit our Air Quality Monitoring Page using the
link below.
Industrial Air Pollution Control (LAPPC)
This regime is laid down in the Environmental
Permitting Regulations 2010, and innvolves the setting of
conditions by which a process can operate. Conditions are
designed to control emissions to atmosphere. Conditions are
subsequently monitored by the Public Protection and Health
department to ensure compliance. For more details on the
regime please see our Air Pollution Control - Industrial Processes
Page.
Complaints about Air Pollution
The Environmental Health Division often receive
complaints relating to air pollution which are not covered by
Industrial Air Pollution Control or require a more reactive
response than Local Air Quality Management provides. In the main,
these complaints relate to domestic and industrial burning or
agricultural odours.
These type of complaints are dealt with under
three main pieces of legislation:
1. Section 79 of the Environmental Protection
Act 1990 (Statutory Nuisance)
2. The Clean Air Act 1993 (Industrial and Trade
Dark Smoke Offences)
3. The Environmental Permitting Regulations
2010
Complaints dealt with under Statutory Nuisance
are subject to a standardised procedure, which requires evidence
gathering by the complainant and subsequent officer
investigation.
In the case of dark smoke offences, officers of
the Environmental Health Division attempt to witness the situation
first hand, although, where this is not possible the Statutory
Nuisance procedures are used to gain the necessary evidence.
The Environmental Permitting Regulations place
a duty on local authorities to issue Permits to particular types of
process with the aim of regulating emissions to atmosphere.
Complaints about these type of processes therefore involve an
investigation in to whether conditions of these Permits are being
breached and whether further action is required by the operator to
achieve compliance.
For more details on making a complaint please
visit our Air Pollution Complaints Page using the links below.
Clean Air Act Approval
Under the Clean Air Act 1993 a Local Authority
can set conditions on industry relating to minimum chimney heights
to prevent high concentrations of emissions at ground level.
For more information on this area of work,
please visit our Clean Air Act Page using the link below
Air Quality and Planning
The Public Protection and Health
department also play in proactive role in preventing air
pollution problems through the development control framework. For
more information please see our Air Quality and Planning page using
the link below.
Education and Information about Air Quality
The Public Protection and Health
department often becomes involved in awareness raising
exercises for specific topic areas in which they work. This can
either be general information sharing through newspaper articles or
focus groups, involvement in 'environmental days', talks to schools
and interest groups or simply providing information in response to
an individuals' request.
If you are interested in more detail on any of
the above please contact the Air Quality team.
For a list of general information leaflets held
by the Pollution Control Team on air quality please visitour Air
Quality Information Page.