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The EU Framework
Directive on Ambient Air Quality Assessment and Management (96/62/EC) requires
Member States to transpose, implement and report on the contents of the
Framework Directive. Whilst it is clear that Member States have an over-riding
responsibility for the whole process, it is clear that some responsibilities
can be delegated to lower levels of government or other bodies within the
State. This is expressed in Article 3:
For the implementation
of this Directive, the Member States shall designate at the appropriate
levels the competent authorities and bodies responsible for:
·
Implementation of this
Directive;
·
Assessment of ambient
air quality;
·
Approval of the
measuring devices (methods. equipment, networks, laboratories),
·
Ensuring accuracy of
measurement by measuring devices and checking the maintenance of such accuracy
by those devices, in particular by internal quality controls carried out in
accordance, inter alia, with the requirements of
European quality assurance standards;
·
Analysis of assessment
methods;
·
Coordination on their territory
of Community-wide quality assurance programmes organized by the Commission.
The much of the scope for delegation of
responsibilities is to secondary levels of government. These loosely fall in to
the categories of regional, provincial and municipal (although names vary
between countries).
Annex IV of the Framework
Directive expressly states that the Action Plans/Programmes required in Article
8 to attain the limit values can be based on local, regional or national scales.
Again the “responsible authority” must be named making it clear that Action
Plans are not necessarily the remit of the Member State at a national level. |