Air Quality Review - Ministerial Response - 28 July 2009

Recommendation

Response

1. There  is  an  urgent  need  to  take forward  the  Air  Quality  Strategy  that formed a clear commitment (item 4.4.5) of  the  Strategic  Plan  2006 – 2011.  It should –

• identify the key pollutants and their sources;
• clearly identify the responsibilities of the various departments to implement elements of the Strategy; and

• set out the framework for determining measures to improve air quality and how they are to be introduced.

The  Planning  and  Environment Department  recognises  that  it  is imperative  that  Jersey  develops  an  Air Quality  Strategy  and  associated legislation, if required.

2. Responsibility for Air Quality policy matters  should  lie  with  Planning  and Environment. To enable the Air Quality Strategy to be taken forward there needs to be clear ownership of the process and sufficient resources made available, both of which are currently lacking.

It  has  recently  been  agreed,  through discussions  with  the  Chief  Medical Officer of Health, that the Planning and Environment  Department  will  lead. Production  of  the  strategy  has  been included as a priority activity within the Department's 2010 business plan (yet to be  debated  by  the  States).  Additional resources will be required to deliver this

strategy.  The  extent  of  additional resources  will  be  identified  through  an economic analysis of the Strategy.

3. Health Protection Services within the Health  and  Social  Services  Department should  provide  technical  support  to Planning and Environment. This should include  identifying  appropriate  health protection  standards,  developing  an appropriate  monitoring  programme,  and carrying  out  the  necessary  enforcement activities.

The  Health  Protection  Department  will form  part  of  the  Project  Board  for developing the Air Quality Strategy.

Health  Protection  have  commissioned AEA Technology – an energy and climate change  consultancy – to  investigate  the cumulative impacts of development and associated traffic-flows in the town area. This  study  will  use  a  traffic  model contributed by TTS and will account for new development around the Waterfront.

The AEA study, which will be available at the end of July 2009, is important is helping  to  assess  the  overall  need  and direction  of  an  air  quality  strategy  for environment to take forward. This study is anticipated by the end of July.

4. Both  the  Transport  and  Technical Services  Department  and  Economic Development  Department  have  an important  role  to  play  in  implementing measures identified by the Planning and Environment Department to improve air quality. Planning and Environment must therefore be supported by Transport and Technical  Services  and  Economic Development, as well as by Health and Social Services, when developing the Air Quality  Strategy  and  other air  quality policy initiatives and legislation by way of  an  Inter-Departmental  Panel  on  Air Quality.

Agreed.  Given  this  need  for  extensive consultation  and  buy-in  from  different States departments, the comments below on the proposed timescale, in response to recommendation 6,  are  all  the  more pertinent.

5. Planning and Environment should be given  the  necessary  financial  and technical  resources  to  take  forward  the Air  Quality  Strategy.  In  the  interim  it would  be  appropriate  to  buy  in  the necessary technical resources until such time as they are developed locally.

Agreed.  Whilst  recognising  the importance  of,  and  need  for,  an  Air Quality  Strategy,  this  is  a  new  work stream to add to an already pressurised work agenda. Resources are also lacking to  buy  in  technical  resources.  An economic appraisal will be conducted of the Air Quality Strategy before taking it forward for debate by the States.

6. A clear timetable should be set for the introduction of the Air Quality Strategy and  associated  legislation.  The  aim should be to have the Strategy finalised within 6 months of P&E being given the responsibilities  for  taking  forward  air quality  policy,  with  the  enabling legislation finalised within 12 months.

It  is  agreed  that  a  clear  timetable  is needed for the delivery of the Air Quality Strategy, however it is premature to fix finalising this at 6 months, with a further 6 months for enabling legislation, without yet having a clear idea of the scope of the Strategy itself.

Furthermore,  regardless  of  the  scope,  a timescale of 6 months to bring in a new Strategy is unrealistic, if it is meaningful and is to be properly consulted upon. At a bare minimum the following is required –

1. Set up Inter-Departmental Panel on Air Quality.
2. Develop the scope in light of the findings  of  the  AEA  report (minimum 4 weeks).

3. Draw up and advertise invitations to  tender  for  the  more  technical elements of work (up to 2 weeks).

4. Receive back tenders and appoint consultants (minimum 6 weeks).
5. Receive  report  from  consultants (up to 12 weeks).
6. Draw together a draft report/Green Paper for CMB and COM (up to 6 weeks).

7. Allow  time  for  a  Green  Paper consultation  and,  potentially, Scrutiny  (States'  recommended best  practice  is  a  minimum  of 12 weeks).

8. Draw together White Paper in light of  findings  from  Green  Paper consultation  (minimum  4 weeks – assuming  no  additional  research/ consultation required).

9. Take  White  Paper  to  CMB (minimum 3 weeks).

10. Take  White  Paper  to  COM (minimum 2 weeks).

11. Lodge for States debate (minimum 6 weeks).

Total = 57 weeks

This basic timetable provides no time for contingency.  If  the  Strategy  concludes that enabling legislation is required, then this will require instructions to be drafted and  a  slot  for  Law  Officer  time  to  be secured.  New  legislation  must  then  be debated by the States. Experience shows that this is very unlikely to be concluded within  6 months  of  delivery  of  the Strategy. Furthermore, recommendation 5 of  this  report  correctly  points  out  the important role to be played by a number of  different  States  departments  in developing  this  Strategy.  Proper consultative development of the Strategy needs to be given appropriate time.

7. Consideration  [should]  be  given  to these international agreements when the Air Quality Strategy is being developed. The  Air  Quality  Strategy  should  be supported by enabling legislation, which will  subsequently  allow  Orders  to  be made  as  and  when  necessary.  Such Orders  could  include  requirements  for burning smokeless fuels within St. Helier and a requirement for emissions testing of all commercial vehicles over 5 years old.

The  Air  Quality  Strategy  will  consider Jersey's  obligations  under  multi-lateral environmental  agreements  to  which Jersey is already a signatory, and those to which  Jersey  has  expressed  a  desire  to work towards. It will also be important to include within this consideration the air quality related EU Directives that Jersey has expressed an interest to comply with, for  example,  the  EU  Framework Directive  on  Ambient  Air  Quality Assessment and Management (96/62/EC) for the protection of human health and the environment,  the  European  Air  Quality Directives  (96/62/EC)[1] and  the  Waste Incineration  Directive  2000/76/EC (WID).

8. Considerable  development  of  the Waterfront in St. Helier is taking place or planned, yet the air quality impacts are being  assessed  in  a  piecemeal  way.  A Strategic  Environmental  Assessment should  be  carried  out  for  this  area  to address  the  cumulative  impacts  of  the various developments.

Health  Protection  have  commissioned AEA Technology – an energy and climate change  consultancy – to  investigate  the cumulative impacts of development and associated traffic flows in the town area. This  study  will  use  a  traffic  model contributed by TTS and will account for new development around the Waterfront.

The AEA study, which will be available at the end of July 2009, will assess the overall need for, and direction of, an air quality strategy.

In  terms  of  Strategic  Environmental Assessment  (SEA), there  is  a  need  to develop  SEA  Policy  that  will  form  a framework for conducting future SEAs in Jersey. The background development of this policy will in itself take a significant amount of time and will require dedicated resources.

9. Monitoring  of  air  quality  forms  an integral part of the Air Quality Strategy. There  needs  to  be  a  long-term commitment  to  a  programme  of  air quality  monitoring.  This  should  include use  of  equipment  that  meets  EU standards, supported by  other indicative methods where appropriate.

Part  of  the  remit  of  the  Air  Quality Strategy will be to recommend a robust and fit-for-purpose long-term air quality monitoring  programme  with  clear reporting requirements.

10. The Panel has not formed a strong view on  the type  of  monitoring site  to select,  and  this  should  be  subject  to further  consideration,  by  the  relevant departments.

The development of a robust and fit-for- purpose'  monitoring  programme  will form  part  of  the  Air  Quality  Strategy, which will also take the findings of this review into account.

11. Consideration  [should]  be  given  to acquiring a second automatic monitoring station  that  could  be  used  to  monitor nitrogen dioxide concentrations at hotspot locations.

See response to recommendation 10.

12. The  automatic  monitoring programme  should  be  supplemented  by the  continued  use  of  nitrogen  dioxide diffusion  tubes  and  the  Osiris  PM monitors. It would be appropriate to carry out  a  review  of  all  the  monitoring locations, changing them and adding to them  as  necessary,  and  of  Quality Assurance/Quality  Control  procedures. The Panel sees no value in continuing the monitoring  programme  for  benzene, toluene and  xylene,  as  the results  have been  shown  to  be  well  below  the standards.

See response to recommendation 10.