The statutory basis for the protection of atmospheric air lies in the Law of Georgia on Environmental Protection: the law regulates the accounting of indicators of the state of the environment, monitoring, protection norms and the procedure for their establishment. For business this means that air-quality requirements unfold in two layers — qualitative norms for the environment and permissible emission norms for a specific source. This page explains how this system operates and what a company needs for compliance.
Accounting, Reporting and Monitoring
The accounting, reporting and assessment of the qualitative and quantitative indicators of the state of the environment comprise the compilation of cadastres of the state of the environment and of natural resources, statistics, inventory, certification and cartography. This state accounting is led and coordinated, within its competence, by the ministry responsible for health protection together with the ministry and other relevant agencies.
The system of monitoring the state of the environment is a totality of the analysis and forecasting of information obtained through observation; its general coordination is carried out by the ministry. The results of monitoring are available to the public — which means that the official data on the state of the air rest on the same public basis on which a company's environmental position is assessed.
The System of Protection Norms
The purpose of establishing environmental protection norms is to determine such norms of the impact of activities on the environment as ensure the ecological balance of the environment. To this end, the following are established: qualitative norms of the state of the environment; permissible norms of the emission of harmful substances into the environment and of the pollution of the environment by microorganisms; norms for the use of chemicals in the environment; ecological requirements for products; and norms of environmental load.
The list of qualitative norms is specific: permissible norms of the concentration of harmful substances and of the quantities of microorganisms in atmospheric air, water and soil, harmful to human health and the natural environment; permissible norms of noise, vibration, electromagnetic fields and other physical impact; and permissible norms of radiation impact. These norms are determined once every 5 years by the relevant regulation, developed and approved by the health-protection ministry in agreement with the ministry.
Emission Norms Defined for a Source
The permissible norms of the emission of harmful substances into the environment and of environmental pollution by microorganisms 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 at the site does not exceed the level of the permissible concentration.
These norms are determined once every five years by the relevant regulation developed and approved by the ministry. The monitoring and accounting system connects to a company's operational reality in this way: the background state of the air around an enterprise rests on official observation data, and it is precisely this background that the calculation of a norm must take into account when a new source is planned. Moreover, the five-year cycle means that a norm once set does not remain unchanged with the passage of time — a company needs to track the updated regulations and align its own calculations with them, since compliance is always assessed in the frame of the norm in force. A further practical aspect of the accounting system is its centralization at the state level: cadastres, statistics and cartography combine into a single picture on which subsequent sectoral decisions are built, so a company can substantiate its position through public data — and any inconsistency with those data is precisely what the reaction of state control will rest upon. The practical conclusion for a company follows from this: air quality compliance is not merely adherence to a general standard — it is always tailored to a specific source, and a technological change at the source requires a recalculation of the norms.
The dividing line between qualitative norms and emission norms is precisely that the former govern the general state of the environment while the latter attach directly to a specific source: for enterprises operating in one and the same territory the emission norms may differ, since technologies and background pollution differ. Assessment of compliance must therefore always begin from the documentation of the particular source.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the basis of air protection?
In the Law of Georgia on Environmental Protection — through accounting, monitoring and the establishment of norms.
What are qualitative norms?
Permissible norms for the concentration of harmful substances, noise, vibration, electromagnetic fields and radiation.
How often are the norms renewed?
Qualitative norms and emission norms are determined once every five years.
How is a norm calculated for a source?
Taking into account technological features and background pollution, so that the concentration at the site does not exceed the permissible level.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The lawyers of Legal.ge assist business in structuring air quality compliance: we analyse the norms applicable to your source, prepare calculations and applications, assess compliance risks and represent your interests in interactions with the agencies. Contact us for a consultation — we will draw up a plan tailored to the specific needs of your enterprise.