The Air Quality Standards (Wales) Regulations 2010

PART 1 E+W General

Title, commencement and application E+W

1.—(1) The title of these Regulations is the Air Quality Standards (Wales) Regulations 2010 and they come into force on 11 June 2010.

(2) These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.

Definitions E+W

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“ambient air” (“aer amgylchynol”) means outdoor air in the troposphere, excluding workplaces as defined by Council Directive 89/654/EEC M1 where provisions concerning health and safety at work apply and to which members of the public do not have regular access;

“AOT 40” (“AOT 40”) (expressed in (μg/m³) · hours) means the sum of the difference between hourly concentrations greater than 80 μg/m³ (= 40 parts per billion) and 80 μg/m³ over a given period using only the one-hour values measured between 08:00 hours and 20:00 hours Central European Time (CET) each day;

“arsenic” (“arsenig”), “cadmium” (“cadmiwm”), “nickel” (“nicel”) and “benzo(a)pyrene” (“benso(a)pyren”) mean the total content of those elements and compounds within the PM₁₀ fraction;

“assessment” (“asesu”, “asesiad”) means assessment carried out by means of fixed measurements, indicative measurements, modelling or objective estimation techniques;

“Directive 2004/107/EC” (“Cyfarwyddeb 2004/107/EC”) means Directive 2004/107/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air M2 ;

“Directive 2008/50/EC” (“Cyfarwyddeb 2008/50/EC”) means Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe M3 ;

“fixed measurements” (“mesuriadau sefydlog”) means measurements taken at fixed locations, either continuously or by sampling from time to time, to determine levels of pollutants in accordance with the relevant data quality objectives;

“indicative measurements” (“mesuriadau dangosol”) means measurements which meet data quality objectives that are less strict than those required for fixed measurements;

“margin of tolerance” (“ffin goddefiant”) means the percentage of the limit value by which that value may be exceeded in a given year;

“oxides of nitrogen” (“ocsidau nitrogen”) means the sum of the volume mixing ratio (ppbv) of nitrogen monoxide (nitric oxide) and nitrogen dioxide expressed in units of mass concentration of nitrogen dioxide (μg/m³);

“PM₁₀” (“PM₁₀”) means particulate matter which passes through a size-selective inlet as defined in the reference method for the sampling and measurement of PM₁₀, EN 12341, with a 50% efficiency cut-off at 10 μm aerodynamic diameter;

“PM_2·5” (“PM_2·5”) means particulate matter which passes through a size-selective inlet as defined in the reference method for the sampling and measurement of PM_2·5, EN 14907, with a 50% efficiency cut-off at 2,5 μm aerodynamic diameter;

“pollutant” (“llygrydd”) means any of the following—

(a)

arsenic,

(b)

benzene,

(c)

benzo(a)pyrene or other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,

(d)

cadmium,

(e)

carbon monoxide,

(f)

lead,

(g)

mercury,

(h)

nickel,

(i)

nitrogen dioxide,

(j)

oxides of nitrogen,

(k)

ozone,

(l)

PM₁₀,

(m)

PM_2·5,

(n)

sulphur dioxide;

“polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons” (“hydrocarbonau aromatig polysyclig”) means those organic compounds composed of at least two fused aromatic rings made entirely from carbon and hydrogen; and

“total deposition rate” (“cyfradd llwyr ddyddodiad”) means the total mass of pollutants which is transferred from the atmosphere to surfaces such as soil, vegetation, water and buildings in a given area within a given time.

F1 (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 2(2) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Air Quality Standards (Wales) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/390), regs. 1(1), 2(2); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Marginal Citations

M1 OJ No L 393, 30.12.89, p. 1, amended by Directive 2007/30/EC (OJ No L 165, 27.6.07, p. 21).

M2 OJ No L 23, 26.1.05, p 3, last amended by Regulation (EC) No 219/2009 (OJ No L 87, 31.3.09, p. 109).

M3 OJ No L 152, 11.6.08, p 1.

[F2 Interpretation E+W

2A.— (1) When interpreting Directive 2008/50/EC for the purposes of these Regulations—

(a) Article 3(f) is to be read as if for “other Member States” there were substituted “ Member States ”;

(b) in Annex 1—

(i) in section A, footnote (1), is to be read as if—

(aa) for “Member States” there were substituted “ the Welsh Ministers ”;

(bb) the words “to the Commission” were omitted;

(ii) section C is to be read as if—

(aa) at each place it occurs, for “harmonised” there were substituted “ designated ”;

(bb) in point (i), the words “pursuant to Article 6 and 9” were omitted;

(cc) in point (iii), the words from “and that institutions” to the end were omitted;

(dd) in point (iv), in the first sentence, the words from “by the appropriate” to “Article 3” were omitted;

(ee) in point (iv), in the first sentence, the words from “the reference to” to “the European Union” were omitted;

(ff) in point (iv), in the second sentence, the words from “for the coordination” to “be responsible” were omitted;

(gg) points (v) and (vi) were omitted;

(hh) in paragraph 2, for “All reported data under Article 27” there were substituted “ All data ”;

(c) in Annex 2, in Section B, the second subparagraph is to be read as if for “Member States” there were substituted “ the Welsh Ministers ”;

(d) in Annex 3, in Section A, paragraph (2)(b) is to be read as if the words “in accordance with Article 2(1)” were omitted;

(e) in Annex 5, in Section A, footnotes (1) and (2) to the table are to be read as if for “a Member State” in each place where the words occur, there were substituted “ the United Kingdom ”;

(f) in Annex 6, Section B is to be read as if—

(i) in point 1—

(aa) for “A Member State” there were substituted “ The Welsh Ministers ”;

(bb) for “it” there were substituted “ they ”;

(cc) for “the Member State concerned” there were substituted “ the Welsh Ministers ”;

(ii) points 2, 3 and 4 were omitted;

(g) in Annex 8, in Section A, the paragraph after the table is to be read as if after the words “in the Community” there were inserted “ in so far as it forms part of retained EU law ”.

(2) When interpreting Directive 2004/107/EC for the purposes of these Regulations—

(a) in Annex 2, in Section 2, the second paragraph is to be read as if for “Member States” there were substituted “ the Welsh Ministers ”;

(b) in Annex 3, in Section 4, point (b) is to be read as if the words “as defined by Article 2(11) of Directive 96/61/EC” were omitted; and

(c) in Annex 4, Section 1 is to be read as if for “Member State”, in each place the words occur, there were substituted “ the Welsh Ministers ”;

(d) Annex 5 is to be read as if—

(i) in Section 1, in the second paragraph, for “A Member State” there were substituted “ The Welsh Ministers ”;

(ii) in Section 2—

(aa) in the first paragraph, for “Member States are allowed to” there were substituted “ the Welsh Ministers may ”;

(bb) in the second paragraph, for “A Member State” there were substituted “ The Welsh Ministers ”;

(iii) in Section 3, in the second paragraph for “A Member State” there were substituted “ The Welsh Ministers ”;

(iv) Section 5 were omitted.]

Textual Amendments

F2 Reg. 2A inserted (31.12.2020) by The Air Quality Standards (Wales) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/390), regs. 1(1), 2(3); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Designation of competent authority E+W

3.  The Welsh Ministers are designated as the competent authority for the purposes of Directive 2008/50/EC (other than for the purpose specified in Article 3(f) of that Directive) and for the purposes of Directive 2004/107/EC.

Zones and agglomerations E+W

4.—(1) The Welsh Ministers must, for the purposes of these Regulations, divide the territory of Wales into zones and agglomerations.

(2) A zone will be classified as an agglomeration if it is a conurbation with a population in excess of 250,000 inhabitants.

(3) In these Regulations references to a zone include a zone which has been classified as an agglomeration.