§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 20 December,Official Report, column 1104, if he will qualify what' constitutes BATNEEC, best available techniques not entailing excessive costs; when his Department first instigated this acronym; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AtkinsChapter 7 of the "Integrated Pollution Control: A Practical Guide", available in the Library of the House, provides guidance as to the meaning of BATNEEC. Guidance is issued by the Secretary of State and the chief inspector of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution as to BATNEEC standards for industrial processes falling within the local authority air pollution control and integrated pollution control systems respectively. The acronym derives from section 7 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, but has its origins in the concept of best practicable means first set in national legislation in the Alkali Act of 1874.