Analysis of the air quality plans for the year 2007
The new Directive 2008/50/EC on the air quality, confirms the obligation imposed to the Member States by the previous Directive 1996/62/EC, to draw up plans for the air quality "in certain zones and agglomerations where the levels of pollutants in the air exceed a limit value or target value whatsoever, in order to achieve the related limit value or target value" by the deadline for their achievement.
The main purpose of air quality plans is the identification of measures, in addition to those already required by current regulations, that ensure compliance with the limit values for pollutants in the atmosphere.
According to Legislative Decree 351/99, through which Directive 1996/62/EC was implemented, the institutions responsible for assessing and managing the air quality are Regions and Autonomous Provinces, which have both the obligation to prepare above mentioned plans and to transmit the relative information, through ISPRA, to the Ministry of the Environment, Land and sea, which in turn transmits them to the European Commission. Currently, the format in which information is transmitted is determined by Decision 2004/224/EC (questionnaire survey plans and programs or PPs), waiting to be updated on the basis of the new Directive on air quality.
In this study we have analyzed the information submitted by the Regions and Autonomous Provinces for the year 2007 on the additional measures adopted.