DeMinimis and Air Pollution Thresholds

Project Aims

The De Minimis project aims to develop an evidence-based approach for determining when a proposal and the emissions it gives rise to are considered "nugatory" in the context of an in-combination assessment. This should be applicable both for the proposal alone and the likelihood to act together with other emission sources in a context relevant to risk assessment. This work could inform a range of uses from decision-making about new or existing proposals tor broader policy development for when emission sources require more consideration.

What is De Minimis?

Reuters states that De Minimis is "a legal term meaning too small to be meaningful or taken into consideration; immaterial. As a matter of policy, the law does not encourage parties to bring legal actions for technical breaches of rules or agreements where the impact of the breach is negligible. The term de minimis is taken from a longer Latin phrase which translates into "the law does not concern itself with trifles."

How does this apply to ecological risk assessment of air pollution?

In the context of ecological risk assessment for air pollution sources, de minimis is often used to describe the amount of emissions not requiring further consideration as it is negligible in effect. These then are translated into screening criteria where a proposal might

Additional information: You are invited by JNCC Support Co (JNCC) to submit a tender for the supply of works or services required under the above project. If interested, you should download and carefully read the documents contained within the zip file or by following the link.