Article 3

Maximum sulphur content of heavy fuel oil 1. Member States shall take all necessary steps to ensure that as from 1 January 2003 within their territory heavy fuel oils are not used if their sulphur content exceeds 1,00 % by mass. 2. Provided that the air quality standards for sulphur dioxide laid down in Directive 80/779/EEC(10) or in any Community legislation which repeals and replaces these standards and other relevant Community provisions are respected and the emissions do not contribute to critical loads being exceeded in any Member State, a Member State may authorise heavy fuel oils with a sulphur content of between 1,00 and 3,00 % by mass to be used in part or the whole of its territory. Such authorisation shall apply only while emissions from a Member State do not contribute to critical loads being exceeded in any Member State. 3. (i) Subject to appropriate monitoring of emissions by competent authorities paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to heavy fuel oils used: in combustion plants which fall within the scope of Directive 88/609/EEC, which are considered new plants in accordance with the definition given in Article 2(9) of that Directive and which comply with the sulphur dioxide emission limits for such plants set out in Article 4 of and Annex IV to that Directive; in other combustion plants, which do not fall under the scope of (a), where the emissions of sulphur dioxide from the plant are less than or equal to 1700 mg/Nm3 at an oxygen content in the flue gas of 3 % by volume on a dry basis; for combustion in refineries, where the monthly average of emissions of sulphur dioxide averaged over all plants in the refinery (excluding combustion plants which fall under the scope of (a)), irrespective of the type of fuel or fuel combination used, are within a limit to be set by each Member State, which shall not exceed 1700 mg/Nm3. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that any combustion plant using heavy fuel oil with a sulphur concentration greater than that referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be operated without a permit issued by a competent authority, which specifies the emission limits. 4. The provisions of paragraph 3 shall be reviewed and, if appropriate, revised in the light of any future revision of Directive 88/609/EEC. 5. If a Member State avails itself of the possibilities referred to in paragraph 2, it shall, at least 12 months beforehand, inform the Commission and the public. The Commission shall be given sufficient information to assess whether the criteria mentioned in paragraph 2 are met. The Commission shall inform the other Member States. Within six months of the date on which it receives the information from the Member State, the Commission shall examine the measures envisaged and, in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 9, take a decision which it shall communicate to the Member States. This decision shall be reviewed every eight years on the basis of information to be provided to the Commission by the Member States concerned in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 9.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-05 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.