Selected information from Act No. 201/2012 Coll.

Act No. 201/2012 Coll., on the Protection of Air Quality (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) now classifies stationary sources of pollution into those specified by the Act (listed in Annex 2) and those not specified in the Act (previously referred to as small or medium-sized sources).

According to the Act, a stationary source of pollution is a technically indivisible unit (stove, boiler, process equipment, etc.) or an activity which pollutes or could pollute the air.

Obligations of the operator of a stationary source

The operator of a stationary source is, amongst other things, obliged to

• operate the stationary source in accordance with the operating conditions for that stationary source as laid down by the Act, its implementing regulations and the manufacturer,
• comply with emission limits, technical operating conditions and permissible smoke opacity,
• to burn in the stationary source only fuels that meet the fuel quality requirements laid down by the implementing regulation and are specified by the manufacturer of the stationary source, or fuels listed in the operating licence,
• in accordance with Section 17(2) of the Act, to allow persons authorised by the municipal authority with extended powers access to the stationary source and its ancillary equipment, the fuels and raw materials used, and the technologies relating to the operation or the provision of the operation of the stationary source, for the purpose of verifying compliance with the obligations under this Act. 
• to carry out, once every three years, through a technically competent person who has been trained by the source’s manufacturer, an inspection of the technical condition and operation of a solid-fuel source with a rated input of 10 to 300 kW serving as a central heating source.  A list of such persons is available at the following link: http://www.aptt.cz/opravneni-ozo.php,
•  from 1 September 2024 at the latest, to operate only sources of emission class 3 or higher as the source referred to in the preceding paragraph.

Obligations of the operator of a listed stationary source

The operator of a stationary source listed in Annex 2 (e.g. the operator of boiler houses with a total thermal input of boilers exceeding 300 kW, a timber processor with an annual material consumption exceeding 150 m³, operators of petrol filling stations, etc.) are, pursuant to Section 17(3) of the Act, obliged, amongst other things, to

•  operate the stationary source solely on the basis of, and in accordance with, an operating licence issued by the competent regional authority
•  to monitor pollution levels (measure emissions) in accordance with Section 6(1) of the Act,
•  to keep operational records of fixed and variable data relating to the stationary source, describing this source and its operation, as well as data on inputs and outputs from this source, and to report the summary data from the operational records annually via the Integrated Reporting Obligations System (ISPOP).  The operator is obliged to retain the operational records for a period of at least 3 years at the site where the stationary source is in operation, so that they are available for inspection.

The operator shall determine the level of pollution by measurement or, where applicable, by calculation, at the intervals specified in Section 3 of Decree No. 415/2012 Coll.

The operator is obliged to notify the Czech Environmental Inspectorate of the emission measurements at least 5 working days in advance (pursuant to Section 6(7) of the Act) and subsequently to submit the measurement report to the Inspectorate within 90 days (see Section 17(3)(h) of the Act).

Furthermore, pursuant to Section 41(6) of the Act, the operator of a listed source which was brought into operation before the Act came into force and which does not hold a permit issued under Section 17(1)(d) of Act No. 86/2002 Coll., was obliged to apply for an operating permit under the Act within one year of the date on which it came into force (i.e. by 31 August 2013). 

The most common offences committed by operators of pollution sources and the amounts of possible fines

 An operator commits an offence by: 

•  burning materials other than dry plant matter uncontaminated by chemical substances in an open fire pit
• failing to operate a stationary source in accordance with the conditions for the operation of that stationary source laid down by the Act, its implementing regulations and the manufacturer
• as the operator of a stationary source, fails to comply with the permissible smoke opacity limit
• burns fuels other than those specified by the manufacturer of the stationary source in the stationary source
• fails to submit, upon request, to the municipal authority with extended powers a certificate confirming that a “three-year boiler inspection” has been carried out.

For the aforementioned offences, a fine of up to 50,000 CZK may be imposed on a natural person.

Legal entities and self-employed individuals may be fined up to 10,000,000 CZK.

Air pollution charge

The operator of a stationary source listed in Annex 2 to the Act is liable to pay the air pollution charge. Sources not listed, such as boilers with a rated thermal input of up to 0.3 MW, diesel filling stations, and premises with a consumption of organic solvents of up to 0.6 tonnes per year, etc., are exempt from the charge.

Operators of sources for which the total amount of charges for the charge period is less than 50,000 CZK are exempt from the pollution charge.