Environmental laws

Environmental Legislation
in India
The Water (Prevention and control of
Pollution) Act 1974
The Water (Prevention and control of
Pollution) Cess Act 1977
The Air (Prevention and control of
Pollution) Act 1981
The Environment (Protection) Act 1986
The Environment (Protection) Rules
1986
The Public Liabilities Insurance Act
1991

Enforcing Agencies
State Pollution Control Boards for
states
Central pollution Control Board for
Union Territories

1.Compliance Requirements Water Act and Rules

Submit information of liquid
effluent such as quantity, quality,
treatment method and disposal
Obtain consent to operate. Renew
the consent periodically at the
frequency as mentioned in the
consent.
Consent specifies location specific
standards comply with it

Compliance Requirements - Water Rules

Records to be maintained
meticulously.
Conduct analysis of samples drawn
from treated and untreated water
and submit report to SPCB

2. Compliance Requirements - Air Act and Rules

Submit information of various emissions

such as quantity, quality and control
method
Obtain air consent and adhere to
conditions stipulated
Periodically collect samples from all
stacks, vents and exhaust of critical
operations and submit report to SPCB
Insist on Pollution Under Control (PUC)
certificate for all the vehicles entering
the premises.
PUC to be maintained for all the in house

Air Rules
Provides National Ambient Air Quality
Standards
Specifies permissible levels for industrial ,
residential and sensitive areas
Annual average minimum 104
measurements taken twice a week 24
hours or 8 hourly at equal intervals
The limits may exceed standards only 2%
of the time but not on two consecutive
days

Air Pollutants in
Schedule

Sulfur dioxide
Oxides of nitrogen
Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM)
Respirable SPM
Carbon monoxide
Lead
Ammonia

3. Environmental Protection Act

(EPA) - Rules
Submit Enviro. Statement in Form 5 every year
by organisations requiring consent to operate.
Schedule I Industry specific limits
Schedule III Ambient Air Quality standards for
noise
Schedule IV Motor vehicle Emission limit
Schedule V furnishing of information to
Authorities and Agencies in certain cases
Schedule VI General Standards for Discharge
of Environmental Pollutants
Schedule VII National Ambient Air Quality
Standards

NATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS (NAAQS)

ConcentrationinAmbientAir
MethodofMeasurement

Pollutant

SulphurDioxide
(SO2)
OxidesofNitrogen
asNO2
Suspended
Particulate
Matter(SPM)
Respirable
ParticulateMatter
(Sizelessthan
10m)(RPM)
Lead(Pb)

CarbonMonoxide
(CO)

TimeWeighted
Average

Industrial
Area

Residential,
Ruraland
otherAreas
60g/m3

Sensitive
Area

AnnualAverage*

80g/m3

24Hours
Average**
AnnualAverage*

120
g/m3
80g/m3

80g/m3

30g/m3

60g/m3

15g/m3

24Hours
Average**
AnnualAverage*

120
g/m3
360
g/m3
500
g/m3
120
g/m3
150
g/m3
1.0g/m3

80g/m3

30g/m3

140g/m3

70g/m3

200g/m3

100g/m3

60g/m3

50g/m3

100g/m3

75g/m3

0.75g/m3

0.50g/m3

1.5g/m3

1.0g/m3

0.75g/m3

5.0
mg/m3
10.0mg/m

2.0mg/m3

1.0mg/m3

4.0mg/m3

2.0mg/m3

24Hours
Average**
AnnualAverage*
24Hours
Average**
AnnualAverage*
24Hour
Average**
8Hours
Average**
1HourAverage

15g/m3

1.ImprovedWestandGaekeMethod
2.UltravioletFluorescence
1.Jacob&Hochheisermodified(NaOHNaAsO2)Method
2.GasPhaseChemiluminiscence
HighVolumeSampling(Averageflow
ratenotlessthan1.1m3/minute)

RespirableParticulateMatterSampler
AASMethodaftersamplingusingEPM
2000
orequivalentfilterpaper

NondispersiveInfraredSpectroscopy

Ammonia(NH3)

AnnualAverage*

0.1mg/m3

24Hour
Average**

0.4mg/m3

*AnnualArithmeticmeanofminimum104measurementsinayeartwiceaweek24hourlyatuniforminterval.
**24hourly/8hourlyvaluesshouldbemet98%ofthetimeinayear.However,2%ofthetime,itmayexceedbutnotontwoconsecutivedays.

NOTE
1. NationalAmbientAirQualityStandard:Thelevelsofairqualitynecessarywithanadequatemarginofsafety,toprotectthepublichealth,vegetationandproperty.
2. Wheneverandwherevertwoconsecutivevaluesexceedthelimitspecifiedabovefortherespectivecategory,itwouldbeconsideredadequatereasontoinstituteregular/continuousmonitoringandfurtherinvestigations.
3. TheStateGovernment/StateBoardshallnotifythesensitiveandotherareasintherespectivestateswithinaperiodofsixmonthsfromthedateofnotificationofNationalAmbientAirQualityStandards.

4. Hazardous Materials
(Management, Handling and
Transboundary Movement) Rules,
2008

Provide training to personnel handling hazardous

waste and ensure use of Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE).
Identify and address Emergency situations for
spillages & accidents etc.
Hazardous waste to be sold only to registered /
licensed parties
Design, setup, operate and closure of landfill for
disposal of hazardous wastes as per the guidelines
& approval of SPCB.
In case of disposal at an approved outside landfill,
packaging, labeling and transportation has to be
handled as per Motor Vehicles Act & other
guidelines specified by government.

Hazardous Materials (Management,

Handling and Transboundary
Movement) Rules, 2008
Containers of hazardous waste to be marked
with labels in prescribed format.
Hazardous waste Manifest needs to be filled
up for any movement of hazardous wastes to
disposal facility.
Obtain No Objection Certificate from SPCB for
inter and intra-state transportation of
hazardous waste, in addition to providing
transport Emergency card (TREM) to the
transporter.
In case of any accident, clean up shall be
carried out.

5. Manufacture, Storage ,Import of Hazardous

Chemicals Rules 1989 Amend 2000
This Rule has been enacted to prevent
industrial accidents leading to environmental
pollution.
Check for applicability from the list of
chemicals (684 chemicals, flammable and
toxic).
MSDS to be available for all the chemicals
including proprietary ones.
Any major accident to be reported to SPCB.
Onsite Emergency plan to be made and
periodic mock drills to be conducted to ensure
compliance.

6. Bio- Medical Waste- Handling & Management Rules

Segregation of infectious waste

Waste containers to be color coded and
labeled as specified
Infectious waste to be disinfected using
Autoclave before transported to an approved
disposal facility.

7. Ozone Depleting Substances Rules 2000

Compulsory to register with MOEF

Restriction on production levels as per "base level" and reductions

specified.

Ban on creating new capacity or expansion of capacity

Export restricted to countries who are signatory to Montreal Protocol

Quantity produced in excess of maximum allowable consumption for the

respective years, if any, to be for export purposes only.

Use of halon is prohibited

Use of CFC is prohibited after 1 st January, 2003

ODS Rules
Declaration, in prescribed format, to the seller, at
the time of purchase of ODS
Exporters & Importers need to register with
designated authorities.
No sales to persons/organizations which have not
intimated the Government of India about use of
ODS based equipment, including compressors
without license.

s Proposed Phase-out dates for ODS in the Ru

Name of Activity
S.No.

Phase-out
Date

Manufacture of aerosol products excluding Metered

Dose Inhalers (MDI)

Jan. 1, 2003

Manufacture of foam products (including domestic

refrigerators)

Jan. 1, 2003

Manufacture of Mobile Air-conditioners (MACS)

Jan. 1, 2003

Manufacture of other refrigeration &. Airconditioning products.

Jan. 1, 2003

Manufacture of products based on other ODS

Jan. 1, 2010

Manufacture of Metered Dose Inhalers (MDI)

Jan. 1, 2010

Use of methyl bromide except Quarantine and

Preshipment

Jan. 1, 2015

Manufacture of products based on HCFC

Jan. 1, 2040

Ambient Air Quality Standards in respect of Noise

Area Code Category of Area/Zone Limits in dB(A) Leq

Leq - cont
Note
1. Day time shall mean from 6.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m.
2. Night time shall mean from 10.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m.
3. Silence zone is defined as an area comprising not less than 100
metres around hospitals, educational institutions and courts. The
silence zones are zones which are declared as such by the competent
authority.

8. Fine, Penalties for violation of EPA

Imprisonment up to 5 years
Fine up to Rs. 1,00,000
Or both
Additional Rs. 5,000 per day till compliance