The final drafts of the UK Regulators’ Waste Incinerator and Co-incinerator Other Than Normal Operating Conditions Management Plan (OTNOC MP) Template and accompanying start-up & shut-down guidance are now available have been released by the Environment Agency. Please see attached files below (including both PDF and word versions of the template). The start-up & shut-down guidance now includes a new section on emergency shut-downs.

OTNOC management plan template V1.0

OTNOC management plan template V1.0

EA incinerator SU + SD guidance V1.0

When does the Environment Agency expect operators to start using the new documents?

The EA intends to start auditing operators OTNOC Management Plans (including plant start-up and shut-down definitions) from May 2025 at the earliest. Your site inspector will contact you to arrange an audit with you in the normal way and will ask for a copy of your OTNOC Management Plan (MP) in advance. Operators should therefore start to review their current OTNOC MPs against these documents over the next few months. There is no need to submit a copy of your OTNOC MP until your inspector has asked you to.

When will the example start-up and shut-down definitions be available?

The EA are working on finalising these for a number of example plants including municipal, biomass and clinical. These should be ready by the end of March 2025 and will be uploaded to the folder at the link in Appendix 2 of the start-up & shut-down guidance. We will forward updates as soon as these are available.

What if I need to make changes to my current start-up and shut-down definitions as a result of the new guidance?

If you think you need to make changes to your current start-up & shut-down definitions, please set out the proposed modified definitions in draft form in Section 5 of the OTNOC MP for the purposes of the audit, but do not make any changes to the plant systems (DCS, DAHS etc) until we have completed the audit and agreed the new definitions for your plant.

What about the new provisions in the guidance for emergency shut-downs?

The allowances and reporting requirements regarding emergency shut-downs set out in Section 6 of the start-up and shut-down guidance can be applied immediately.

What if I have any queries on the new documents?

Please contact your site inspector in the first instance.