A comparative study on development directions of Best Available Techniques reference documents between Korea and the European Union

The implementation of the “Act on the Integrated Control of Pollutant-Discharging Facilities” both simplifies the permitting process and improves environmental performance by managing pollutant discharge facilities of the business unit in industrial sectors. The best available techniques (BAT) reference documents (BREF), which play a pivotal role in the Act, include the state-of-the-art techniques that not only reduce pollutant emission, but also consider economic benefits. The concepts of BAT and BREF in the Act in Korea had been mostly derived from the European Union’s (EU’s) BAT system. Therefore, there are significant similarities between Korea and the EU in terms of both the publication procedures and the content of BREF. On the other hand, the types of sectors covered in the BREF vary due to differences in the major industrial characteristics between Korea and the EU. Additionally, there is a distinction in the legal role of applying BAT as a permitting condition for pollutant-discharging facilities. In Korea, the application of BAT is a recommendation, whereas the EU enforces BAT Conclusions (BATC) as a legal requirement. Since the introduction of BATC, the EU has seen positive results from compulsory BAT application in terms of environmental performance and industrial competitiveness. The purpose of this study is to survey the current status and implementation of BREF in the EU, and to compare BREF and relevant exemplary studies between Korea and the EU. Based on insights derived from these cases, this study suggests future directions for BREF research in Korea.