Assessments and permits

Environmental Impact Assessment

Whenever developing a new project, it is important to assess the impact of the planned activities on the environment. According to the legal requirements, in cases when negative environmental impact is predicted, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is indispensable during the project planning stage.

The EIA is a procedure aimed at identifying and predicting environmental effects of proposed activities and projects. It means that impact on human health, biological diversity, air, water, landscape and on other environmental aspects is assessed. In cases when the proposed activities are to be carried out within Natura 2000 territories or in their vicinity, a specially defined procedure for the assessment of the impact on Natura 2000 must be applied.

In ELLE, a team of committed and highly qualified experts has evolved over these years, capable and dedicated to carry out an EIA in a wide range of fields depending on the type of planned activities.

Permits for Polluting Activities, Overviews and Statistical Repo

ELLE has more than 10 years of experience in developing polluting activity permit applications. Applications are prepared in close collaboration with the clients, so as to find an optimal solution for the particular case and not to hinder completion of procedures.

The application for a permit regarding activities that cause air pollution must contain information regarding the sources of air pollution and the amount of pollution. To assess air pollution, calculations and modelling are carried out and emission limits for stationary air pollution sources are fixed in conformity with regulatory requirements.

In accordance with the provisions of permits and legislation, the operators are obliged to provide regular estimations on the pollution discharged in the environment as well as to submit reports on natural resources tax to the regional environmental authorities. ELLE offers its services for the calculation of the amount of pollution discharged into the environment and for the preparation of natural resource tax reports.

GHG emission permits and reports

ELLE has several years of experience in projects related to climate change, calculating GHG emissions for individual installations, drafting emission reports, preparing applications for amendments to greenhouse gas emissions permits and emission allowances, and providing other miscellaneous advice to operators participating in the EU emissions trading system.

Air quality assessment and management

Both when carrying out an environmental impact assessment and when preparing an application for a polluting activity permit, companies must provide information on the changes in air quality caused by the proposed activity. ELLE, in accordance with the requirements of the European Union, already in 2000 started using the modern air pollution dispersion program ADMS, developed by the Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants (CERC).

Since 2003, ELLE offers its customers professional services for the assessment and management of air pollution dispersion, in line with the requirements of regulatory enactments.

The knowledge of the company's specialists and the available software provide an opportunity to develop long-term action programmes for air pollution reduction, intended for improving air quality in areas where air pollution levels exceed air quality standards or where an increase in the levels of air pollution has been identified.

Unpleasant odours are the most important problem of air pollution for companies in many industries. This issue is relevant for both new and existing production plants. In many cases, odours are a nuisance to the surrounding inhabitants, and the local authority should draw up and approve an action programme for odour nuisance prevention. One of the first steps in such cases is to determine the odour concentration by conducting measurements or calculations. Using ADMS software, the ELLE specialists have performed the assessment of odour disturbances caused by various companies.

Environmental noise assessment

Since early 2003, ELLE carries out projects involving prediction of the environmental noise for individual projects within the framework of EIA, as well as for larger areas by drawing up strategic noise maps, as specified in the EU Environmental Noise Directive (2002/49/EC), and noise maps for local authorities.

To maintain a high standard of performance related to noise mapping, ELLE avails of the extensive experience of its strategic partner Wölfel Monitoring Systems GmbH + Co. KG (Germany) in the field of assessment and modelling of environmental noise.

Hardware and software produced by Wölfel is used for noise mapping. ELLE is an authorised distributor of Wölfel products in the Baltic states.

Water quality assessment

ELLE provides a wide range of services related to water quality assessment and management. These services include water quality inspection and monitoring of water bodies.

ELLE provides:

• surface water sampling;
• groundwater sampling;
• wastewater sampling;
• sewage sludge sampling.

Our team members have the necessary skills and qualifications in to carry out water sampling. We follow standardized sampling procedures to ensure that the data collected is valid and comparable.

Samples gathered by our experts are analysed in testing laboratories. Laboratories, that are performing physicochemical and chemical analyses of water must be accredited in the relevant field. ELLE cooperates with several accredited laboratories in Estonia, Latvia and other countries, which allows us to find the best solution for the needs of our customer. Water samples are analysed in accordance with the legal requirements of EU and national level.

In cooperation with our partners, we can provide a full range of services, from the development of a monitoring programme, collecting and analysing the necessary water samples, to evaluating the results and the providing recommendations

Risk assessment and management

SEVESO III (2012/18/EU) directive requires that a safety management system must be implemented in industrial accident risk facilities, and documentation, that ensures and certifies the operation of this management system, must be developed.

ELLE offers consultations for the implementation of the safety management system and offers to develop the following documentation:

• submissions regarding dangerous substances in the establishment;
• industrial accident prevention programmes;
• safety reports;
• industrial accident prevention policy documents;
• risk reduction measure plans;
• informative materials for the public.

Risk management documentation includes not only the previously mentioned documents to be developed in accordance with the requirements of legal acts. ELLE specialists also develop risk management strategic documents, procedures, instructions, as well as any other documents necessary for the establishment, implementation and operation of an effective risk management system.

ELLE also offers the following services in the implementation and maintenance of a safety management system:

• safety management audit;
• safety management self - assessment;
• preparation for and participation in complex inspections;
• safety walk-around;
• consultations regarding safety management system maintenance, etc.

Our experience and the knowledge we have acquired provide an opportunity to develop any type of industrial risk (also called industrial accident risk) and hazard assessments in accordance with the requirements of state supervisory authorities, regulatory enactments or internal regulations of the company, by following internationally accepted risk assessment principles and methods.

In risk assessments, ELLE applies such internationally recognized risk assessment methods as:

• Quantitative risk assessment method in compliance with the Dutch risk assessment recommendations (“Guidelines for quantitative risk assessment”, “Purple Book” CPR 18E);
• FMECA;
• HAZOP;
• Fault tree analysis;
• Event tree analysis;
• Risk matrix, etc.

To model the distribution of consequences of an accident, ELLE industrial risk experts use a computer software complex developed by the company Gexcon, which consists of the software Effects, used to determine the distribution accident exposure effects, and the software Riskcurves, used for quantitative risk analysis.

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)

ELLE offers its clients services in the area of occupation health and safety:

• Development and update of OHS system;
• Assessment of work environmental risks;
• Maintenance of OHS system;
• Training of employees.

For the assessment of risks in work environment, ELLE applies the most appropriate risk assessment method and risk assessment criteria for each company considering the specifics of its operations. The labour protection services cover both the preparation of the necessary documentation as well as the inspection of the facilities and the compliance assessment of the existing activity.