The legal frame of the air emission permit
Requirements connected with air emissions are gathered in the norms chapter of the Law on Environmental Protection. This page explains the three central norms: the categories of environmental protection norms, the qualitative norms, and the permissible limit norms for emissions — the latter being precisely the foundation on which the emission-permit regime builds its conditions.
Categories of environmental protection norms
The purpose of establishing environmental protection norms is to determine norms for the impact of activities on the environment that ensure the ecological balance of the environment. To this end the law regulates: qualitative norms of the state of the environment; permissible limit norms for the emission of harmful substances into the environment and for pollution by microorganisms; norms for the use of chemical agents in the environment; ecological requirements for products; and norms of environmental load.
Qualitative norms
The qualitative norms establish: permissible limit norms for the concentration of substances harmful to human health and the natural environment and for the quantities of microorganisms in atmospheric air, water and soil; permissible limit norms for noise, vibration, electromagnetic fields and other kinds of physical impact; and permissible limit norms for radiation impact. These norms are determined once every 5 years by the relevant regulation, elaborated and approved, in agreement with the environmental ministry, by the ministry of displaced persons, labour, health and social protection.
Permissible limit emission norms
Emission norms are developed for each specific source of pollution, taking into account its technological features and the background pollution of its location — in such a way that the concentration of emitted substances and microorganisms on site does not exceed the permissible limit concentration level. The norms are determined once every five years by the relevant regulation elaborated and approved by the environmental ministry. The difference matters: a qualitative norm fixes the state of the environment, while an emission norm targets the specific source directly.
What this means for business
An operator of any installation with emissions must know: the norms applicable to its source are tailored to technological parameters and the background of the location; the norms are periodically renewed once every five years; and in assessing compliance both groups of norms — those of the source and those of the environment — work together. Preparing an emission permit should therefore always begin with a source-specific analysis.
Looked at in detail, the system of norms works on two levels: the first level is the state of the environment — the qualitative norms regulate water, soil and air together and set permissible limit concentrations; the second level is the source — emission norms are fixed for each installation. The law directly formulates the link between the two levels: the emission norm must be calculated so that the on-site concentration does not exceed the qualitative limit. From this follows a practical rule: any change of the source — a technology upgrade, a change of fuel, an expansion — requires recalculation of the norms. Remember also that the five-year renewal cycle applies to both regulations, so a compliance plan must be a living document rather than a one-off certificate.
Experience gives one more recommendation: tracking changes of the normative base across the activity of both ministries — environment and health — should be a continuous process rather than a once-a-year formality. When the qualitative-norms regulation is renewed, both the list of substances and the numerical values of the limit concentrations may change; when the emission regulation is renewed, the undertaking needs recalculation. An annual compliance calendar should therefore contain three fixed points: verification of the current regulations, renewal of one's own measurements, and a revision of the documentary archive.
Note also that the categories of norms complement one another: the norms on the use of chemical agents and the ecological requirements for products concern other stages of the process, while the environmental-load norms work at the territorial level. Where an undertaking falls within several normative rings at once, the assessment of compliance becomes complex — and that is precisely when engaging an independent expert, who will fix the measurement methodology and the interpretation of the regulations, proves useful.
And a final recommendation: document every calculation and measurement — with date, method and the responsible person. During an inspection it is precisely this trail that proves the undertaking managed compliance systematically rather than accidentally finding itself within the limits of the norms.
With this simple but disciplined approach, the emission permit ceases to be a bureaucratic sheet and becomes an operational tool of the undertaking's environmental responsibility — one that justifies itself both towards the regulator and towards society.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are the most frequent questions about emission norms.
What is the difference between qualitative and emission norms?
A qualitative norm fixes the state of the environment — concentrations in air, water and soil; an emission norm concerns the specific source of pollution, taking into account its technological features.
How often are the norms renewed?
Qualitative norms are determined once every 5 years, and emission norms are likewise renewed once every five years by the relevant regulation.
Who approves the regulations?
The qualitative-norms regulation is approved by the labour, health and social protection ministry in agreement with the environmental ministry; the emission-norms regulation by the environmental ministry itself.
What does an emission norm take into account?
The source's technological features and the background pollution of its location — so that the on-site concentration does not exceed the permissible limit level.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The lawyers of Legal.ge help you calculate emission norms: we determine the requirements applicable to your source, assess how the renewal cycle affects your compliance and prepare documentation for inspection. Contact us before the permit renewal — timely recalculation reduces the risk.