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Local Air Quality Management

Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 introduced the concept of Local Air Quality Management.  Local authorities are required to review and assess air quality in their area against a range of standards and objectives. This represents a major change in policy with Local Authorities taking a far more proactive role in assessing and controlling air quality within their area.

The National Air Quality Strategy

The most recent Air Quality Strategy was published in January 2000.  The Strategy sets air quality standards and objectives for eight key air pollutants to be achieved between 2003 and 2008.  For seven of these pollutants local authorities are charged with the task of working towards the objectives in a cost-effective way.

The Air Quality standards set out in the Strategy are based purely on medical evidence of the effects of the particular pollutants on health and represent the minimum or no significant effect levels.  They based on the advice of the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS) or upon EU limit values derived from World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline values.

The role of local authorities in the Strategy is to make a judgement on whether the Air Quality Objectives are likely to be met in their area by the relevant deadline.  Where objectives are not likely to be met then the local authority is required to designate an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) at the relevant locations.

The Air Quality Objectives are set out in the Air Quality (England) Regulations 2000 and the Air Quality (England) Amendment Regulations 2002., and are set out below: -

Table 1 - National air quality standards and objectives as outlined in regulations.

Review and Assessment of Air Quality

Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 requires local authorities “from time to time” to review and assess the current and likely future air quality in their areas against the objectives in the Nation Air Quality Strategy.  As discussed above, where objectives are not likely to be achieved, then the local authority is required to designate an AQMA at the relevant locations.  The local authority must then draw up an action plan setting out the measures it intends to take in pursuit of the air quality objectives with the area covered by the AQMA.

A review and assessment is the initial step in Local Air Quality Management (LAQM). The structure of the reviews and assessment are set out in the guidance made under the Act and deadlines for each round of review and assessment are set out in the regulations. Under the current Guidance, the review and assessment process is split into two distinct steps:

• Step One is an Updating and Screening Assessment (USA) for identifying those aspects that have changed since the first round of reviews and assessment, which might lead to a risk of an air quality objective being exceeded
• Step Two, a Detailed Assessment to provide an accurate assessment of the likelihood of an air quality objective being exceeded at locations with relevant exposure.

The USA should cover: new monitoring data; new objectives; new sources or significant changes to existing sources and any other changes that may affect local air quality. Where the USA has identified a risk that an air quality objective will be exceeded at a particular location with relevant public exposure, then Detailed Assessment will have to be carried out. The aim of Detailed Assessment is to identify with reasonable certainty whether or not a likely exceedence will occur, and therefore an existing AQMA needs to continue or if a new AQMA needs to be declared.

The timetable for local air quality reviews and assessment in England is set out in Regulations and is set out below.

Recommended Timescales for Submissions of Reviews and Assessments and Progress Reports for Local Authorities.

LAQM Links

The following websites give more information about air quality.

UK Air Pollution Forecast

National Air Quality Archive

National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection

Environmental Transport Association

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Air Quality