New Regulation on Air Quality in the Province of Buenos Aires

On October 5, 2018, Decree No. 1,074/2018 (the "Decree") was published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Buenos Aires. The Decree approved the new regulation of Provincial Law No. 5,965 on protection of water supply sources, courses and reservoirs and air quality, and abrogated the previous regulation (Decree No. 3,395/1996).

In the Recitals of the Decree the Provincial Executive Branch considered that gaseous emissions needed to be controlled in a more exhaustive way due to the impact they can have on the environment, reason for which it adjusted the regulation until then in force.

The main amendments with respect to the previous regulation are:

• The License of Gaseous Emissions to the Atmosphere ( the "LEGA", after its Spanish acronym)  - this is the new denomination of the previous Permit of Discharge of Gaseous Effluent to the Atmosphere - will be valid for 4 years, instead of the 2-year period provided by the previous regulation (Annex I, Sections 5 and 6).
• Applications for Permit of Discharge of Gaseous Effluent to the Atmosphere that have not been granted on the date the Decree came into force, as well as those applications initiated or renewed 90 days after the publication of the Decree, will have a period of 180 days to be adapted to the new requirements (Annex I, Section 9).
• The Provincial Agency for Sustainable Development of the Province of Buenos Aires (the "OPDS", after its Spanish acronym) must keep a registry of the acts granting and rejecting LEGAs (Annex I, Section 11).
• The OPDS will be in charge of establishing the methodology for determining the concentration of pollutants, the parameters needed to calculate the dispersion of contaminants through the application of models, as well as the characteristics and position of the sampling holes. Diffuse and fugitive gaseous emissions may be adjusted to this regulation if the OPDS considers it from a technical standpoint (Annex I, Section 13).
• The Provincial Inventory of Greenhouse Gases is created. It will be produced and updated by the OPDS. The OPDS will also develop plans, programs and actions aimed at mitigating the generation of greenhouse gases by generators (Annex I, Section 16).
• The publication of information on emissions and air quality is promoted. Thus, the OPDS is required to verify that updated information on the management of ambient air quality is made available to the public. The information to be provided includes: (i) information about the LEGAs granted and denied; (ii) information on observed excesses; (iii) information on preventive measures aimed at reducing pollution and/or exposure to it (Annex I, Section 18).
• The Provincial Registry of Monitoring for the Management of Gaseous Emissions Sources and Air Quality is created. The following are included among its tasks: (i) identification and correlation of the origin of excesses of both Standard Values ​​and Guide Levels in Air Quality; (ii) complementation and integration of emission inventory records and identification of critical areas (Annex I, Section 21).
• Regarding air quality standards: (i) Standard Values for PM _2.5 (particulate material smaller than 2.5 micrometers) are incorporated; and (ii) a three-stage progressive reduction schedule for Sulfur Dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide and Ozone ​ is established (Annex III, Section 1).
• Lastly, regulation on emission guide levels for usual pollutants present in gaseous effluents for new industrial sources (Annex IV of the previous regulation) has been eliminated.