iChile Adopts New Emissions Standards For Incineration, Co-Incineration, and Co-Processing Plants
On July 30, 2013, Chile’s Ministry of the Environment (Ministerio del Medio Ambiente) adopted new emissions standards for incineration, co-incineration and co-processing plants (Norma de Emisión para Incineración, Coincineración y Coprocesamiento, or the “Incineration Standards”). The new standards apply to incineration and co-incineration plants attached to lime kilns or forest facilities, and co-processing plants attached to cement kilns. (Art. 1). For each type of plant (i.e., incineration, co-incineration or co-processing), the Incineration Standards set forth emissions limits for specific contaminants and for maximum oxygen content levels by volume for emitted gases. (Arts. 3, 4). The regulated contaminants include sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, cadmium and its composites, mercury and its composites, beryllium and its composites, and lead, among others. (Art. 3).
The Incineration Standards also prescribe specific methodologies for the measurement and monitoring of the content of emissions. (Art. 9). For certain contaminants (e.g. incinerator emissions of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide), the Incineration Standards require constant monitoring. (Art. 5). For others, measurement need only take place once a year. (Art. 5). Plant owners are required to submit an emission monitoring plan to Chile’s Superintendent of the Environment by January 30, 2014. (Art. 12). Each subsequent January, plant owners will be required to submit an annual technical report to the Superintendent of the Environment detailing, among other things, plant activities and emissions measurement results. (Art. 13)
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Public Comment Period Closes on Proposed Regulations Regarding Certification of Electrical and Fuel-Consuming Products
On October 10, 2013, the public comment period closed on proposed new regulations regarding the standards to be employed in safety and energy-efficiency certification of electrical and fuel-consuming products sold in Chile (Reglamento para la Certificacion de Productos Electricos y de Combustibles, or the “Proposed Regulations”). (Art. 1). The Proposed Regulations would cover products that are required to be certified according to Law No. 20.402. (Art. 2) The Proposed Regulations would require safety and energy efficiency certification of all covered electrical and fuel-consuming products sold in Chile, regardless of their country of origin. (Art. 8). Pursuant to the Proposed Regulations, entities licensed by Chile’s Electricity and Fuels Agency (Superintendencia de Electricidad y Combustibles) would award energy efficiency certificates after employing one of the eight certification methodologies set forth by the International Standards Organization Committee on Conformity Assessment (ISO/CASCO) in its "Assessment and Verification of Conformity to Standards and Technical Specification" guide. (Art. 4)
The Proposed Regulations also delineate the processes to be employed in obtaining recognition of foreign certifications (Arts. 22-26); the certification responsibilities of importers, manufacturers, sellers and distributors (Arts. 32, 33); and the types of conduct (e.g., falsification of certifications, selling a product without appropriate certification, providing false information to certifying the entity, etc.) which would be subject to sanction (Arts. 34, 35). Any certifications, accreditations, or authorizations granted pursuant to Chile’s former certification regulations (D.S. 298/2005) would remain valid under the Proposed Regulations. (Arts. 39-41).
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Public Comment Period Opened on Chile Draft Television Energy Efficiency Testing Standards
On September 27, 2013, Chile’s Electricity and Fuels Agency (Superintendencia de Electricidad y Combustibles) issued draft standards (PE Nº 8/02/1, or the “Draft Standards”) for the certification and testing of television energy efficiency performance. The Draft Standards, which apply both to nationally manufactured and imported televisions, set forth testing and inspection criteria both for energy consumption performance and accurate labeling. (Chapters IV, V). For measuring television electric consumption levels, the Draft Standards adopt norms IEC 62087:2011-04 and IEC 62301, promulgated by the International Electrotechnical Commission. (Chapters II, IV). Pursuant to the Draft Standards, all televisions sold in Chile are to contain energy efficiency labels. (Chapter V). Finally, as with previous regulations for other products, the Draft Protocol would be paired with a safety test protocol. To issue the Certificate of Approval for Energy Efficiency, certifying laboratories would be required to verify that the product already has a corresponding Certificate of Approval for Safety. (Ch. VI) The public comment period on the Draft Standards runs from October 2, 2013 through December 5, 2013.
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Chile’s Ministry of Environment Proposes Revisions to Standards Employed to Regulate Industrial Liquid Pollutant Discharges to Sewage Systems
On July 1, 2013, Chile’s Official Gazette published an initiative proposed by Chile’s Ministry of the Environment for the revision of the standards employed to regulate contaminants associated with industrial liquid waste discharges to sewage systems (Anteproyecto de Revisión de la Norma D.S. 609 de Emisión para la Regulación de Contaminantes Asociados a las Descargas de Residuos Industriales Líquidos a Sistemas de Alcantarillado). The proposed standards include a number of revisions to prior standards, including: modifications to the metrics used for the characterization of discharge sources (Art. 5); the requirement that certain additional discharged elements be monitored (e.g., chlorides, fluorides, phenols, iron, molybdenum, kjeldahl nitrogen, selenium and trihalomethanes) (Art. 6); and, modifications to discharge monitoring procedures, including measurement of flow and composite samples, changes to discharge monitoring frequency, and changes to the tolerance ranges for exceedances of maximum permissible limits (Art. 8). The public comment period on the proposed standards closed on September 30, 2013. The new standards will become effective on the first day of January of the next year following publication of the final standards in Chile’s Official Gazette. (Art. 11).
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