Criteria for Enhanced Monitoring and Control Plans for a Waste Gasification Plant

The Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMP) and the Monitoring and Control Plan (MCP) are key documents required respectively in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures and in the Integrated Environmental Authorization (IEA) for activities subjected to this procedure. Both documents aim at preventing impacts on the environment and human health and/or quickly taking actions if anomalous levels of pollutants are found in the environment. Trentino is an Italian region located in the Alps characterized by high population density in its valleys, complex terrain and, thus, a low level of dispersion of the atmospheric pollutants. The research carried out in Trentino in the last two decades has allowed identifying innovative monitoring approaches to point out issues that conventional methodologies could not detect. The present paper provides the key elements of an EMP that must be included in the EIA of a waste gasification plant. The paper proposes unconventional monitoring campaigns to guarantee a more efficient control of the areas influenced by the plant before, during and after its construction. The paper also discusses key aspects of an MCP for plants that are subjected to IEA. The final aim is to make this paper a reference document to 1) evaluate new projects of waste combustion plants, 2) suggest alternative monitoring methodologies to investigate the role of specific pollutants in peculiar contexts, and 3) prescribe a specific surveillance plan in the case of a plant that is subjected to IEA. Considerations on differences with conventional plants were also included.