Training for municipalities to prepare applications for PONE

On February 16, 2017, a training was held on the preparation of applications for grants for the replacement of boilers using solid fuels from the funds of the PONE program of the Regional Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Krakow. The training was conducted by Robert Bażela – Manager for Grants at the Regional Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Krakow. Approximately 120 people from municipalities in the Malopolska Region took part in it. The participants had a chance to get acquainted with how municipalities can take advantage of co-financing from the Regional Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management funds in Krakow within the “Low-stack Emission Reduction Program in the Malopolska Region”.

Co-financing of tasks from the WFOŚiGW 2017 – PONE

On February 15, 2017, the first meeting of the Program Council of the Integrated LIFE project “Implementation of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region – Malopolska in a healthy atmosphere” was held in the Marshal’s Office. The tasks of the Council include acting as a program advisor, supporting the activities accompanying the project and proposing possible changes and modifications to the solutions that comprise the system of Ecomanagers. The following have been appointed to be members of the council:

Wojciech Kozak – Deputy Marshal of the Malopolska Region as the President of the Council,
Adam Domagała – Chairman of the Committee for Environmental Protection and Public Security of the Sejmik of the Malopolska Region as I Vice-President of the Council,
Karolina Laszczak – Director of the Environment Department of the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region as the II Vice-President of the Council,
Małgorzata Mrugała – President of the Regional Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Krakow,
Paweł Ciećko – Malopolska Provincial Inspector for Environmental Protection,
Łukasz Szewczyk – Deputy Director of the Municipal Economy Department of the City of Krakow,
Roman Ciepiela – Mayor of the City of Tarnów,
Mateusz Klinowski – Mayor of Wadowice,
Paweł Knafel – Mayor of the Municipality of Słomniki,
Jakub Jamruz – Head of the Łapsze Niżne Municipality,
Zbigniew Szpak – President of the Management Board of KAPE SA,
Andrzej Guła – President of the Management Board of Krakow Smog Alert Association,
Professor Piotr Kleczkowski, Eng., PhD – AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, expert in the scientific community,
PhD Associate MD Ewa Konduracka, professor at the Jagiellonian University – medical community expert

The meeting was conducted by Wojciech Kozak, the Deputy Marshal of the Malopolska Region. The achievements of the LIFE project in the Malopolska Region, the role of the Ecomanagers, the Competence Center, the regional and local information and education activities in the field of air quality were discussed. The issues of air quality monitoring in the region, the air quality information system and the proposed purchase of air purifiers for kindergartens and crèches have been addressed. The project activities at the municipality level were presented by Aleksander Fraś-Zdeb – an Ecomanager in the municipality of Słomniki.

Implementation of the LIFE Malopolska project

Implementation of the LIFE Malopolska project in the municipality of Słomniki

On January 23, 2017 the the Malopolska Regional Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution assuming restrictions and prohibitions concerning the operation of fuel combustion installations in the Malopolska Region. This is the first regulation in Poland which, at the level of the entire region, introduces emission standards for boilers and fireplaces approved for use and eliminates the use of poor quality fuels. At the same time, this is the second step, after adopting the resolution of 15 January 2016, banning the use of solid fuels in Krakow, to improve the air quality in the whole Malopolska Region.

The resolution envisages the gradual implementation of legislation that will first limit the creation of new sources of emissions and, by 2023, all non-compliant boilers will be eliminated.

From July 1, 2017, it will be forbidden to burn coal muds and floatation concentrates, i.e. coal with grain size less than 3mm. It will also not be allowed to use fuels that contain more than 15% of the fine coal fraction, which will prevent the addition of coal mud and floatation concentrates to coarser coal fractions. The resolution also prohibits the burning of wood and other biomass with a moisture content greater than 20%. In practice, achieving the indicated moisture content of wood is possible through its seasoning for at least 2 years.

All of the boilers, fireplaces, stoves or ovens of the “goat” type whose operation will begin after July 1, 2017 will have to meet ecodesign requirements for energy efficiency and emission standards. This provision applies to both the newly constructed buildings and the installation of new heating devices replaced in the existing buildings, for example after a failure or the end if use of an old boiler or fireplace. The requirements for boilers are laid down in Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/1189 of April 2015 and the requirements for room heaters (fireplaces, stoves) are laid down in Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/1185 of 24 April 2015. On the site powietrze.malopolska.pl/kotly, there is a list of boilers, fireplaces and stoves which meet the requirements of these regulations.

As at January 1, 2023, the resolution bans all of the existing boilers that do not meet emission standards. In the case of the boilers that meet the requirements of Class 3 or Class 4, the ban on their use has been postponed to January 1, 2027. This means that, during the coming 6 years (in the case of Class 3 or 4 boilers – within 10 years) the current boilers must be replaced by boilers that meet ecodesign requirements for energy efficiency and emissions. Class 5 boilers, whose operation starts by June 30, 2017, can be used without a time limit.

Since January 1, 2023, it will be allowed to use only room heaters (fireplaces and stoves) that meet ecodesign requirements or their thermal efficiency is at least 80%. It is sufficient to meet one of these conditions. In the case of a fireplace or stove that does not meet these requirements, the use of a particulate matter reduction device, e.g. an electrostatic precipitator, will reduce the particulate matter emission to the level specified in the ecodesign regulations.

The resolution does not introduce additional powers for inspection bodies, as they result from the already existing provisions of the Environmental Protection Act, the Police Act and other laws. Inspections of compliance with the requirements of the resolution may be conducted by the municipal and city police, authorized employees of municipalities, police and other bodies (district inspectorate of construction supervision, voivodeship inspectorate of environmental protection) and, in the case of violating the provisions of the resolution, the given resident can be fined up to PLN 500 or PLN 5 000.

Information about the anti-smog resolution

Informing residents of excess airborne levels is one of the key actions in the fight for clean air in the Malopolska Region. Recently, a wide range of particulate matter concentration measurement equipment is available on the market, which is of great interest to both the residents and local governments of the Malopolska Region.

The Malopolska Region, in co-operation with the Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection, the Voivodship Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Krakow, the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow and the Smog Alert Association, plans to organize comparative measurements of the PM10 sensors available on the market. The purpose is to verify and evaluate the reliability of the widely available measurement devices by comparing the results obtained with the results obtained by the Chief Inspector of Environmental Protection reference method.

The planned date of the commencement of measurements is January 16, 2017. The estimated measurement time is about 5 months. The measurements will be conducted at the Main Inspectorate of Environmental Protection. The condition of participation in the planned measurement is the provision of the minimum of 2 measuring sensors that measure the PM10 with mid-hourly values. The results of the measurements will be sent to the Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection and compared with the results of the measurement station located there. The comparative action will be summarized with a report. The report will be published and widely accessible to municipalities and residents.

We are pleased to invite the entities offering the PM10 measurement equipment to participate in the planned action. Please kindly e-mail us to: [email protected]. The rules of participation and details of the event will be presented to the interested parties in the near future.

The Malopolska Region Management Board adopted a draft anti-smog resolution for the Malopolska Region. This is a document which, from mid-next-year, is to introduce a complete ban on the burning of coal muds and floatation concentrates in furnaces and fireplaces throughout the region and eliminating the installation of boilers that do not meet ecodesign standards.

The most important assumptions of the anti-smog resolution for the Malopolska Region is the limitation of the creation of new low emission sources and the ban on the installation of the so-called “smokers”, boilers that do not meet any emission standards. The resolution also intends to introduce a ban on using coal muds and floatation concentrates and wet wood (with a moisture content of over 20%) from July 2017. At the moment, 800 000 tons of coal muds, coal waste – mainly in the Malopolska and Silesian Regions – are for sales. As a result, more than 98% of the inhabitants of the region breathe the air exceeding the permissible levels of carcinogenic benzo (a) pyrene up to 10 times, and over 4 000 people die each year from diseases caused by the polluted air. The cost of treatment for patients with air pollution and their absence from work is estimated at PLN 3 billion per year.

Residents will have time by the end of 2022 to comply with the provisions of the existing heating system and if the boiler meets the emission requirements of at least at the level of class 3, this period will be extended by the end of 2026.

The content of the draft resolution is available at www.powietrze.malopolska.pl/antysmogowa. Comments and proposals for the draft document can be addressed by January 5, 2017, using the e-mail: [email protected] or in a written form to: the Marshal Office of the Malopolska Region, Environment Department, 56 Racławicka, 30-017 Krakow.

You are invited to participate in the conference “Air beyond borders – anti-smog resolution as a tool to improve air quality” which will take place on 23 November 2016 at the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow. After the conference, from 4:00 pm, a consultative meeting of the draft Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region will start.

Conference program:

12:00 am-12:20 am Welcome of the participants – Wojciech Kozak, Deputy Marshal of the Malopolska Region

12:20 am-12:40 am Actions planned for improvement of air quality in the Malopolska Region – Tomasz Pietrusiak, Deputy Director of the Environment Department, the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region

12:40 am-1:40 pm Strategy for improving air quality in Poland – moderated panel discussion with experts and opinions from the room
Moderator: Mr. Jacek Bańka – Radio Krakow
Participants:
– Wojciech Kozak –Deputy Marshal of the Malopolska Region,
– Marzena Wodzińska – Member of the Board of the Wielkopolska Region,
– Representative of the Ministry of Development,
– Blanka Romanowska – Head of the Department of Planning and Reporting and Environmental Policy, the Marshal’s Office of the Silesian Region,
– Maciej Zathey – Director of the Institute for Territorial Development in Wroclaw,
– Marcin Podgórski – Director of the Department of Waste Management and Integrated and Water Authorities, the Marshal’s Office of the Mazowieckie Region,
– Andrzej Guła – President of the Krakow Smog Alert.

1:40 pm-2:00 pm Coffee break

2:00 pm-3:00 pm Solutions for the improvement of air quality at the municipality level with respect to the anti-smog resolution, moderated discussion panel with experts and opinions from the room
Moderator: Mr. Jacek Bańka – Radio Krakow
Participants:
– Witold Śmiałek – Advisor to the Mayor of Cracow for Air Quality,
– Mateusz Klinowski – Mayor of Wadowice,
– Wiktor Łukaszczyk – Deputy Mayor of the City of Zakopane,
– Marta Wieciech-Kumięga – Director of the Department of Environmental Protection, Municipal Office of Nowy Sącz,
– Marek Kaczanowski – Director of the Department of Environmental Protection, Tarnow City Office.

3:00 pm-3:30 pm Lunch

For organizational reasons, please confirm your participation in the conference by e-mail: [email protected]

Consultations concerning the draft Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region

4:00 pm-4:15 pm an update draft of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region – Aneta Lochno – ATMOTERM SA

4:15 pm-4:25 pm Opinion on the draft updating the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region – Anna Majchrzak – NILU Poland

4:25 pm-5:30 pm Speeches and discussions as part of the consultation of the draft Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region

The testing carried out by the Krakow Smog Alert within the implementation of the integrated LIFE project “Implementation of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region – Malopolska in a healthy atmosphere” indicates that only one fifth of the single-family buildings in the Malopolska Region is heated with sources that do not adversely affect air quality.

Coal and wood are used to heat over 400 000 single-family houses. As many as 60% of houses (300 000 households) have boilers that can burn everything, including poor quality coal or rubbish. What is more, more than 50% of these boilers are old devices – 12 years and over. Devices of this type are called “smokers” just because of the smoke that gets out of them and the huge amount of pollution that they release in use.

Such a state of affairs makes the residential sector the main source of particulate matter and benzo(a)pyrene pollution in our region. Emissions from low chimneys (mainly houses) account for 57% of PM10 emissions in our Region, 69% of PM2.5 emissions and over 90% of benzo(a)pyrene emissions.

27% of the Malopolska Region houses (142 000) do not have any external thermal insulation. In the houses, the heat energy, instead of heating the space, escapes through the non-insulated walls.

Most owners of single-family houses (77%) do not currently think about replacing boilers. This means that without the regulation and financial support programs in the coming years there will be no significant progress in the elimination of smog sources.

Report on the technical condition of single-family houses in the Malopolska Region

By November 30, 2016, there will be a public consultation on the draft resolution of the Sejmik of the Malopolska Region on updating the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region.

The subject of the document are long-term corrective measures, a short-term action plan and details of the issues related to inventory of emission sources, air quality analysis and description of the economic, ecological conditions and local selected directions of corrective measures.

The Program is available on the Public Information Bulletin of the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region in the Project Consultation section and at the address powietrze.malopolska.pl/aktualizacja-pop/

Comments and requests for the draft document can be sent electronically to the following e-mail address: [email protected] or in writing to: the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region, Environment Department, 56 Racławicka, 30-017 Krakow.

The authority competent for the consideration of the comments and motions is the Management Board of the Malopolska Region.

In addition, the public consultation will include an open consultation meeting for all of the interested persons held on 23 November 2016 at 4:00 pm in the seat of the Polish Aviation Museum, 39 Jana Pawła II 39 in Krakow.

The draft of the Program will be submitted to the Sejmik of the Malopolska Region by the end of January 2017.

It was a great day for the Malopolska Region during the European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels. On October 12, Mr. Tomasz Pietrusiak – Deputy Director of the Environment Department of the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region was pleased to present the LIFE Project “Implementation of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region – Malopolska in a healthy atmosphere”. This is the best integrated project of all of the 39 from across the EU which were submitted in the competition in 2015. Mr. Tomasz was invited by the European Commission, we are glad that other countries can benefit from the experience of the Malopolska Region!

Pictures from the event

The development of the update of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region includes an analysis of the variants of the introduction of the anti-smog resolution for the Malopolska Region. It is a priority to stop the increasing number of new low emission sources. Currently, despite the replacement of approx. 4 000 coal boilers annually, at the same time, approx. 12 000 new sources that do not have to meet any emission standards are installed. The anti-smog resolution for the Malopolska Region can introduce an obligation for the new sources – already after the adoption of the resolution in 2017 to meet the requirements of class 5. At the same time, the burning of coal muds and floatation concentrates will be eliminated, and only dry, seasoned wood will be required for the wood to ensure cleaner and more efficient combustion. The regulation can also set the target year 2023 by which all non-class boilers should be replaced with Class 5 boilers. This solution will enable local resources of Polish coal and the wood to be utilized in modern and high-efficiency heating systems, thus enabling the Malopolska Region’s air quality standards meeting the standard requirements.

The estimated total costs of the implementation of the obligation to use Class 5 boilers by 2023 is approx. PLN 4.8 billion, financed in part by external sources. However, the reduction of pollutant emissions as a result of the implementation of the anti-smog resolution in the variant of Class 5 boilers will enable achieving target savings of health costs estimated at PLN 2.8 billion per year.

The preparation of the update of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region included an analysis of the effects of various options for low emission reduction measures. They clearly demonstrated that both the continuation of the current activities without regulating boiler emissions at the level of the Region as well as the regulations which introduce milder requirements of Class 3 or 4 bring no sufficient effects in the form of compliance with air quality standards. While it would be possible to meet the average annual standards for PM10, the achievement of the PM2.5 standards in force since 2020 and the achievement of the target level of benzo (a) pyrene on a significant area requires the use of modern solid fuel boilers of at least Class 5. Even in this variant, reaching the target levels of benzo (a) pyrene on sensitive areas will require additional measures – twin actions to reduce low emissions in the Silesian Region in order to reduce the inflow of pollutants to the western Malopolska Region and the preferences (e.g. under co-financing schemes) for the development of district heating networks and clean sources of heat in major cities of the Malopolska Region, e.g. Nowy Sącz, Nowy Targ, Bochnia, Wadowice, Miechów.

With the start of the Malopolska Region’s requirements for grants provided only for the modern Class 5 boilers, the boiler manufacturers have made significant progress in the last 2 years in the construction of modern devices. At present, more than 30 boiler models of at least fifteen different manufacturers meet the requirements of the highest emission class and new models undergo accredited testing every month. A list of low-emission heating devices is provided on the website www.powietrze.malopolska.pl/kotly

Adopting the anti-smog resolution for the Malopolska Region, introducing the requirement of the use of Class 5 boilers is an opportunity for the development of Polish companies producing modern and high-efficiency heating devices using local resources of coal and wood. Since 2020, the EU regulations will ban the sale of boilers that do not meet the so-called Ecodesign requirements, i.e. pollutant emissions corresponding to Class 5. The Ministry of Development is planning to limit the sales of boilers below Class 5 from 2018. The introduction of an anti-smog resolution in the Malopolska Region will enable avoiding the increased distribution of non-standard heating appliances before the date of entry of the EU and national regulations. Thanks to this, the Malopolska Region will not become an outlet for non-class heating devices, which would result in the maintenance of high emissions for subsequent years of operation.

Analysis of the variants of the anti-smog resolution for the Malopolska Region

The Provincial Administrative Court in Krakow dismissed the filed complaints against the resolution of the Sejmik of the Malopolska Region of 15 January 2016 on the introduction of restrictions on the operation of fuel combustion installations in the municipality of Krakow. The Court in Cracow confirmed that the resolution was adopted lawfully while maintaining the required elements and procedure.

Adoption by the Sejmik of the Malopolska Region of the anti-smog resolution for Krakow introducing the total ban on the use of solid fuels in boilers, stoves and fireplaces starting from 1 September 2019 is the answer to the demands of the Krakow residents for radical measures to improve air quality. The voices of the residents were backed up by the Mayor of the City of Krakow and unanimously supported by the Krakow City Council being in favor of the prepared solution. In the public consultation, 4 600 people (96.5% of those taking part in the consultations) explicitly supported the adoption of a total ban on the use of solid fuels in Krakow.

The Management Board of the Malopolska Region consistently strived to adopt a solution for Krakow that would be adequate to the scale of air pollution levels and the topographical and meteorological conditions characteristic to that city, which would have a greater effect on the accumulation of pollutants. Despite the unfavorable judgments of the Court and the NSA against the previous resolution of 2013, the anti-smog resolution of 2015 inspired by the Malopolska Region and conducted by Tadeusz Arkita enabled the preparation and adoption of a resolution aimed at improving air quality in Krakow.

The anti-smog resolution for Krakow has proved successful after the first few years, as it translates into a significant amount of liquidated coal furnaces. In this respect Krakow is the leader – over 10 thousand boilers liquidated in the last 3 years in the Malopolska Region, as many as 7 800 in Krakow itself. This means a reduction in PM10 emissions by about 277 tons and PM2.5 by about 275 tons and carcinogenic (a) pyrene by 159 kg. In Krakow, there are still approx. 15 000 coal furnaces to be liquidated in Krakow.

The adoption of the anti-smog resolution for Krakow was necessary in order to improve air quality in the shortest possible time. The actions undertaken so far to subsidize the replacement of ovens and coal-fired boilers, despite the involvement of large public funds, were ineffective as they did not limit the emergence of new sources of emissions. The adoption of the resolution for Krakow has also inspired other regions of Poland to take a serious interest in air quality and take steps to reduce pollution levels.

On Saturday, September 24, 2016, the Malopolska Days of Health Prevention started on the Main Market Square in Krakow. Participants of the event at the anti-smog stand of the Environment Department of the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region were able to take advantage of free spirometry (examining lung capacity) in at a specialist mobile point.

During the event, a total of about 60 free examinations were performed. Participants of the meeting could also learn more about the impact of air quality on health, as well as information on the possibilities of financing the replacement of heating systems with the green. The youngest participants of the event took part in a competition on air quality and waste prevention in which the prize was an ecological bag made of waste banners of the Malopolska Region and a booklet “Attention! Alert! Smogdragon!” issued by the Krakow Smog Alert.

The first meeting presenting the assumptions of the update of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region took place in Krakow (14.09) for municipalities from the Krakow Metropolitan Area and in Tarnów (15.09) for the municipalities of the Subregion of Tarnów. Representatives of municipal authorities, organizations, enterprises and residents learned about the current air quality in the Malopolska Region, the planned major corrective actions and how they will be implemented. The main responsibilities concerning the implementation of the measures aimed at reducing air emissions rest with local authorities. During the discussion, the participants presented their suggestions and postulates on the implementation of the Program and stressed the importance of citizens’ awareness of the impact of air pollution on their own health.

Comments and postulates regarding the update of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region can be sent by 30 September to [email protected].

Other meetings will be held in Krakow (19.09), Nowy Sącz (20.09), Chrzanów (21.09) and Nowy Targ (22.09).

Presentation of the assumptions of the Air Quality Plan KOM 14/09/2016

Presentation of the assumptions of the Tarnów Air Quality Plan 15/09/2016

The Krakow Smog Alert executes a call for educational projects in the field of the Air Quality Plan within the implementation of the LIFE project “Implementation of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region – Malopolska in a healthy atmosphere”.

Non-governmental organizations or informal groups working in partnership with non-governmental organizations can receive a grant of PLN 3 000 to PLN 15 000 for activities aimed at raising the awareness of local communities in the field of clean air in the Malopolska or Silesian Regions. No own financial contribution is required.

The deadline for submission of applications is 3 October 2016 at 15:00 pm. Applications must be completed on the forms available at www.krakowskialarmsmogowy.pl/naszepowietrze.

The purpose of this program is:

Raising the awareness among members of local communities in the Malopolska and / or Silesian Regions with respect to air pollution and measures aimed at improving air quality, with particular emphasis on low emissions;
Raising the level of involvement of local communities in the Malopolska and / or Silesian Regions in actions aimed at improving air quality, with particular emphasis on low emissions;
Development of social movements and initiatives aimed at improving air quality in the Malopolska and / or Silesian Regions.

Program Description

Regulations and application form

The Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region invites representatives of interested municipalities, residents and organizations to participate in consultations during which they will present the assumptions of the prepared update of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region.

All of the interested parties are invited to participate actively in the development of the air quality improvement strategy in the Malopolska Region through participation in the meetings.

Consultation meetings will be organized according to the following schedule:

September 14 at 10:00 am

Location: Krakow, 6 Św. Filipa, aula of the Railway Society of Culture,

Meeting for the municipalities of the Krakow Metropolitan Area (the counties of Miechów, Proszowice, Bochnia, Myślenice, Wieliczka, Krakow – except for the Krakow Metropolis).

September 15 at 10:00 am

Location: Tarnów, 38 Narutowicza, room 11 (ground floor) in the County Office,

Meeting for the municipalities of the Tarnów Subregion (Tarnów Town, the counties of Tarnów, Dąbrowa, Brzesko).

September 19 at 11:00 am

Location: Krakow, 6 Św. Filipa, aula of the Railway Society of Culture,

Meeting for the municipalities of the Krakow Metropolis (the City of Krakow, Biskupice, Czernichów, Igołomia-Wawrzeńczyce, Kocmyrzów-Luborzyca, Liszki, Michałowice, Mogilany, Niepołomice, Skawina, Świątniki Górne, Wieliczka, Wielka Wieś, Zabierzów, Zielonki).

September 20 at 10:00 am

Location: Nowy Sącz, 33 Jagiellońska, session hall in the County Office,

Meeting for the municipalities of the Sącz Subregion (the city of Nowy Sącz, Nowy Sącz, Gorlice, Limanowa counties).

September 21 at 10:00 am

Location: Chrzanów, 3 Focha, audiovisual room of the District Center for Continuing Education,

Meeting for the municipalities of the Western Subregion of the Malopolska Region (Chrzanów, Olkusz, Oświęcim, Wadowice counties).

September 22 at 9:00 am

Location: Nowy Targ, 2 Jana III Sobieskiego, conference room of the Euroregion Association “Tatra”.

Meeting for the municipalities of the Podhale Subregion (Tatra, Nowy Targ, Sucha Beskidzka counties).

The Voivodship Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Krakow announced the call for applications under the JAWOR Priority Program Improvement of energy efficiency – thermo-modernization of detached houses. The purpose of the Program is to reduce the demand for heat as a result of heating building partitions. The tasks covered are: insulation of exterior walls of buildings, roof insulation, insulation of ceilings over the last storey, insulation of basement ceilings, replacement of windows, exterior doors. It is required to reduce the demand for heat by at least 25%.

The program is addressed to individuals. They can get a preferential loan of up to 90% of the building insulation cost, with an interest rate of 2% per annum and will being subject to a remission of up to 20%. The minimum loan amount is PLN 20 000 and the maximum amounts to PLN 100 000.

Detailed regulations of the JAWOR program

Recent public opinion polls show that Malopolska people negatively perceive air quality in their region. The greatest awareness of the problem of air pollution occurs in Krakow, as many as 81% of respondents think that air quality is very bad or rather bad. Despite the fact that in villages and smaller towns the overall quality of air quality is better, as much as 63% of Malopolska people are convinced that air is more polluted during the heating season and assesses its quality in those months as very bad or rather bad. A similar percentage (69%) believes that air quality may, in the future, negatively influence their health of the health of their relatives.

Malopolska people show very high support for anti-smog regulations. Almost 90% of the region’s population supports the introduction of the obligation to replace the most polluting boilers, with the government subsidizing the costs of such replacements. Equally high is the percentage of the respondents supporting the introduction of coal quality standards or tougher penalties for waste incineration. There is also high support for limiting traffic in larger cities and forbidding the entry of cars with old diesel engines to the centers of large cities – in Krakow it was 63% and 70%.

The research also reveals a big problem with access to information on the current air quality in places outside Krakow. As many as 61% feel ill-informed in this regard. On the other hand, about three-quarters of Malopolska Region’s population expect easier access to this type of information. Preferably, Malopolska people would like information about air quality to reach them via the Internet, electronic signboards in urban spaces, municipal offices, television, radio and the press.

The research was conducted in August 2016 on a representative sample of 1000 inhabitants of the region. The research was carried out by the CEM Institute for Market Research and Public Opinion, commissioned by the Krakow Smog Alert Association, as part of the integrated project “Implementation of the Air Quality Plan in the Malopolska Region – Malopolska in a healthy atmosphere”, co-funded under the European Union LIFE Program.

Report on the assessment of the awareness of the inhabitants of Malopolska

On 25-26 August this year, a meeting of the Working Group on the Air Quality Plan and Energy was held in Krakow, a great opportunity to present the actions undertaken in the Malopolska Region in terms of improving air quality and exchanging experiences with other regions in Poland.

During the visit, the actions taken by the Malopolska Region and the Malopolska municipalities in implementing the current Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region were presented. Representatives of the Voivodship Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Krakow presented the conclusions of their monitoring carried out in municipalities regarding the implementation of remedial measures. The Office of the City of Krakow, along with the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Krakow presented the available aid programs for replacing heating appliances and subsidies for the residents who incur increased heating costs. The pro-environmental actions of EDF Polska SA Krakow Branch and Protech Sp. z o. o. in Zator were presented. During the meeting, the impact of the automotive industry on air quality was also discussed.

During the discussions, representatives of offices and boiler producers discussed the lack of adequate legislation and actions at the national level. Attention was paid to the need for defining regulations for the quality parameters of solid fuels released for sale in Poland, for the technical parameters and emission of pollutants for solid fuel boilers. What is more, the participants discussed the social awareness of air pollution and the need for further education of the public.

The Working Group on the Air Quality Plan and Energy works at the General Directorate for Environmental Protection within the network of environmental authorities “Partnership: Environment for Development”. Its members include representatives of the Ministry of the Environment, the Marshal’s Offices, the General Directorate for Environmental Protection, the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection, experts on the subject of air quality.

Below, there are the presentations presented at the meeting:

Presentation of EDF Polska SA Krakow Branch

Pro-environmental actions implemented by EDF Polska SA Krakow Branch

Implementation of the cooperation agreement on sustainable development by EDF Polska SA Krakow Branch

Practical use of art. 96 of the Environmental Law

Financial support of the City of Krakow for the replacement of heating devices

Financial support of the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Krakow resulting from increased heating costs of the premises

Presentation of Protech Sp. z o. o.

Activities of Protech Sp. z o. o.

Experiences of the Malopolska Region in the implementation of the Air Quality Plan

Integrated project LIFE “Implementation of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region – Malopolska in a healthy atmosphere”

Voivodship Inspectorate for Environmental Protection Krakow – cooperation with municipalities and control of the implementation of the provisions of the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region

Implementing the Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region, as exemplified by the Municipality of Wadowice

The impact of motorization on air quality

Activities undertaken by the City of Krakow to reduce transport emissions

The requests of residents, non-governmental organizations and municipal authorities that should be included in the work of updating the Air Quality Plan have been collected. During the period from June 22 to July 29, requests were received from a total of 52 institutions, including 35 from municipalities, 13 from organizations and 4 from private individuals.

The comments largely concerned the necessity for designating the need for preparing and adopting an anti-smog resolution setting out the emission parameters for low-power boilers in the Malopolska Region in the Air Quality Plan. There have been comments on the lack of effective legal instruments that would allow residents to replace low-effective heating systems and those pointing out the lack of financial resources to undertake the replacements. The comments also concerned the phenomenon of illegal waste incineration in domestic heating systems, which is still widely observed throughout the region. This is due to insufficient control or lack of it in some municipalities, which results from the lack of knowledge concerning regulations or staffing difficulties.

Some of the municipalities for which no old boiler replacement was required in the previous Program of 2013 have requested to be included in the updated document and declared actions on low-emission abatement. On the other hand, some of the municipalities for which the current Program has set targets for reducing air emissions have requested a reduction in the scale of the assigned duties.

On September 12-22, there will be consultative meetings in the various regions of the region to present the assumptions of the new Program. Work on the preparation of the draft of the updated Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region will last until October this year. In November, official public consultation and the process of evaluating the document by the municipalities and counties will be held. The presentation of the resolution to the Sejmik of the Malopolska Region is scheduled for January 2017.

Summary of requests for updating the Air Quality Plan

The Malopolska Region has taken on providing a clear and transparent list of low-emission boilers and room heaters (e.g. fireplaces, stoves) that use solid fuels – coal or biomass. The list can include any device that has a laboratory test accredited for Class 5 compliance according to PN-EN 303-5:2012 standard or compliance with the requirements of the EU Commission Regulation 2015/1189 of 28 April 2015 (in the case of boilers) or the EU Commission Regulation 2015/1185 of 24 April 2015 (in the case of room heaters).

Additional conditions that must be met by the devices that will be included in the list:

boilers, with the exception of gasifying boilers, must be fitted with an automatic fuel feeder,
boilers must not have an emergency grate or components enabling mounting it,
heating appliances operating with an electrostatic precipitator must not have the technical capacity to operate when the electrostatic precipitator is off.

Those submitting heating devices to the list should send their e-mails to [email protected] with the following:

a scanned completed and signed application for listing,
an electronic version or scan of the technical documentation and instructions for installers and users of the heating device,
a scan of the signed document issued by a relevant accredited body, including a report on pollutant emissions and thermal performance or seasonal energy efficiency,
one photo or a graphic depicting the heating device (jpg or png, 1200 × 1200 pixels)

Verification of the applications for registration will be conducted by employees of the Environmental Department of the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region or outsourced experts.

The list is intended to serve the inhabitants and employees of municipalities in the correct choice of solid fuel heating appliances that meet the requirements of the co-financing programs and guarantee a significant reduction of harmful emissions into the air.

The regulations will be in force from September 1, 2016 and will replace the list of coal and biomass boilers that has been provided so far on the website powietrze.malopolska.pl/kotly.

Regulations for keeping the list of low-emission heating devices – effective from 01.09.2016

Application for entry into the list of low-emission heating devices