Resolução da Assembleia da República n.º 87/2009, de 15 de Setembro de 2009

Resoluçáo da Assembleia da República n. 87/2009

Aprova o Protocolo sobre Registos de Emissóes e Transferências de Poluentes, adoptado em Kiev em 21 de Maio de 2003, por ocasiáo da 5.ª Conferência Ministerial Ambiente para a Europa

A Assembleia da República resolve, nos termos da alínea i) do artigo 161. e do n. 5 do artigo 166. da Constituiçáo, aprovar o Protocolo sobre Registos de Emissóes e Transferências de Poluentes, adoptado em Kiev em 21 de Maio de 2003, cujo texto, na versáo autenticada na língua inglesa, assim como a respectiva traduçáo para língua portuguesa, se publica em anexo.

Aprovada em 3 de Julho de 2009.

O Presidente da Assembleia da República, Jaime Gama.

PROTOCOL ON POLLUTANT RELEASE AND TRANSFER REGISTERS

The Parties to this Protocol:

Recalling articles 5, paragraph 9, and 10, paragraph 2, of the 1998 Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision -making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the Aarhus Convention);

Recognizing that pollutant release and transfer registers provide an important mechanism to increase corporate accountability, reduce pollution and promote sustainable development, as stated in the Lucca Declaration adopted at the first meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention;

Having regard to principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development;

Having regard also to the principles and commitments agreed to at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in particular the provisions in chapter 19 of Agenda 21;

Taking note of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations at its nineteenth special session, 1997, in which it called for, inter alia, enhanced natio-

6328 nal capacities and capabilities for information collection, processing and dissemination, to facilitate public access to information on global environmental issues through appropriate means;

Having regard to the Plan of Implementation of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, which encourages the development of coherent, integrated information on chemicals, such as through national pollutant release and transfer registers;

Taking into account the work of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety, in particular the 2000 Bahia Declaration on Chemical Safety, the Priorities for Action Beyond 2000 and the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register/Emission Inventory Action Plan;

Taking into account also the activities undertaken within the framework of the Inter -Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals;

Taking into account furthermore the work of the Organisation for Economic Co -operation and Development, in particular its Council Recommendation on Implementing Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers, in which the Council calls upon member countries to establish and make publicly available national pollutant release and transfer registers;

Wishing to provide a mechanism contributing to the ability of every person of present and future generations to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well -being, by ensuring the development of publicly accessible environmental information systems;

Wishing also to ensure that the development of such systems takes into account principles contributing to sustainable development such as the precautionary approach set forth in principle 15 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development;

Recognizing the link between adequate environmental information systems and the exercise of the rights contained in the Aarhus Convention;

Noting the need for cooperation with other international initiatives concerning pollutants and waste, including the 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal;

Recognizing that the objectives of an integrated approach to minimizing pollution and the amount of waste resulting from the operation of industrial installations and other sources are to achieve a high level of protection for the environment as a whole, to move towards sustainable and environmentally sound development and to protect the health of present and future generations;

Convinced of the value of pollutant release and transfer registers as a cost -effective tool for encouraging improvements in environmental performance, for providing public access to information on pollutants released into and transferred in and through communities, and for use by Governments in tracking trends, demonstrating progress in pollution reduction, monitoring compliance with certain international agreements, setting priorities and evaluating progress achieved through environmental policies and programmes;

Believing that pollutant release and transfer registers can bring tangible benefits to industry through the improved management of pollutants;

Noting the opportunities for using data from pollutant release and transfer registers, combined with health, en-

vironmental, demographic, economic or other types of relevant information, for the purpose of gaining a better understanding of potential problems, identifying «hot spots», taking preventive and mitigating measures, and setting environmental management priorities;

Recognizing the importance of protecting the privacy of identified or identifiable natural persons in the processing of information reported to pollutant release and transfer registers in accordance with applicable international standards relating to data protection;

Recognizing also the importance of developing internationally compatible national pollutant release and transfer register systems to increase the comparability of data;

Noting that many member States of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the European Community and the Parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement are acting to collect data on pollutant releases and transfers from various sources and to make these data publicly accessible, and recognizing especially in this area the long and valuable experience in certain countries;

Taking into account the different approaches in existing emission registers and the need to avoid duplication and recognizing therefore that a certain degree of flexibility is needed;

Urging the progressive development of national pollutant release and transfer registers;

Urging also the establishment of links between national pollutant release and transfer registers and information systems on other releases of public concern:

have agreed as follows:

Article 1

Objective

The objective of this Protocol is to enhance public access to information through the establishment of coherent, integrated, nationwide pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTRs) in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol, which could facilitate public participation in environmental decision -making as well as contribute to the prevention and reduction of pollution of the environment.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Protocol:

1) «Party» means, unless the text indicates otherwise, a State or a regional economic integration organization referred to in article 24 which has consented to be bound by this Protocol and for which the Protocol is in force;

2) «Convention» means the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision -making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, done at Aarhus, Denmark, on 25 June 1998;

3) «The public» means one or more natural or legal persons, and, in accordance with national legislation or practice, their associations, organizations or groups;

4) «Facility» means one or more installations on the same site, or on adjoining sites, that are owned or operated by the same natural or legal person;

5) «Competent authority» means the national authority or authorities, or any other competent body or bodies, designated by a Party to manage a national pollutant release and transfer register system;6) «Pollutant» means a substance or a group of substances that may be harmful to the environment or to human health on account of its properties and of its introduction into the environment;

7) «Release» means any introduction of pollutants into the environment as a result of any human activity, whether deliberate or accidental, routine or non -routine, including spilling, emitting, discharging, injecting, disposing or dumping, or through sewer systems without final waste -water treatment;

8) «Off -site transfer» means the movement beyond the boundaries of the facility of either pollutants or waste destined for disposal or recovery and of pollutants in waste water destined for waste -water treatment;

9) «Diffuse sources» means the many smaller or scattered sources from which pollutants may be released to land, air or water, whose combined impact on those media may be significant and for which it is impractical to collect reports from each individual source;

10) The terms «national» and «nationwide» shall, with respect to the obligations under the Protocol on Parties that are regional economic integration organizations, be construed as applying to the region in question unless otherwise indicated;

11) «Waste» means substances or objects which are:

  1. Disposed of or recovered;

  2. Intended to be disposed of or recovered; or c) Required by the provisions of national law to be disposed of or recovered;

    12) «Hazardous waste» means waste that is defined as hazardous by the provisions of national law;

    13) «Other waste» means waste that is not hazardous waste;

    14) «Waste water» means used water containing substances or objects that is subject to regulation by national law.

    Article 3

    General provisions

    1 - Each Party shall take the necessary legislative, regulatory and other measures, and appropriate enforcement measures, to implement the provisions of this Protocol.

    2 - The provisions of this Protocol shall not affect the right of a...

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