BATs form the reference in Flanders for determining the general, sectoral and special permit conditions. The VLAREM and the environmental permit assure the licensing authorities that the environmental conditions of the installations in Flanders are based on BAT. Best available techniques are techniques that, compared to all similar techniques, score best in the environmental field, are affordable and technically feasible.
Best
most effective for achieving a high level of environmental protection as a whole
Available
developed on such a scale that the techniques can be applied under economically and technically feasible conditions in the industrial context concerned
Techniques
both the applied techniques and the way in which the installation is designed, built, maintained, operated and dismantled
The full definition of BAT is given in Article 1.1.2 of VLAREM II