Environmental Impact Assessment

Virtually every investment in the field of environmental protection requires an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

AK NOVA, thanks to its highly qualified staff of specialists, prepares environmental impact reports for various types of investments that may potentially affect the quality of the environment.

Procedures related to the proceedings on the environmental impact assessment of planned projects (EIA), are contained in Section V (Articles 59 - 103) of the Act of October 3, 2008 on the provision of information about the environment and its protection, public participation in environmental protection and environmental impact assessments - the Environmental Protection Act. This law is a relatively young act and has been in force since November 15, 2008. The law transposes Council Directive 85/337/EEC of June 27, 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment and Council Directive 92/43/EEC of May 21, 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora.

The term "environmental impact assessment" should be understood as a procedure for assessing the environmental impact of a planned project, which includes, in particular, verifying the report on the environmental impact of the project, obtaining the opinions and agreements required by the law and ensuring the possibility of public participation in the proceedings (Article 3, paragraph 1, point 8 of the Environmental Impact Act).

AK NOVA Company, thanks to its specialized staff, develops environmental impact reports for its clients in full scope. We also participate in the process of obtaining the opinions and arrangements required by the Act.

As part of the environmental impact assessment of the project, we determine, analyze and evaluate:

• The direct and indirect impact of a given project, in particular, on the environment and human health and living conditions, as well as on monuments and material assets;
• opportunities and ways to prevent and reduce the negative impact of the project on the environment;
• the required scope of monitoring (Article 62(1) of the Environmental Law).

Environmental impact assessment proceedings for planned projects are generally carried out at the stage of issuing a decision on environmental conditions. This decision, as its name indicates, determines the environmental conditions for the implementation of the project. Before starting work, we analyze whether such a study is necessary, and if necessary, we make an inquiry on behalf of the client to the relevant authority.

According to Article 59 of the EIA Act, it is necessary to conduct this procedure for planned projects:

• which may always have a significant impact on the environment (these are the projects listed in § 2 of the Decree of the Council of Ministers of November 9, 2004 on determining the types of projects likely to have a significant impact on the environment and the detailed conditions associated with qualifying a project to prepare a report on environmental impact);

• likely to have a potentially significant impact on the environment, if the necessity to carry out the proceedings in question has been established in the so-called screening procedure, which at the same time require obtaining the decisions specified in Article 72 (1) of the EIA Act.

The decisions before which an environmental decision must be obtained are:

• decision on land development and development conditions (by which is meant the decision on the location of a public purpose investment and the decision on development conditions);
• The decision on the construction permit, the decision on approval of the construction project, and the decision on permission to resume construction work;
• decision on permission to demolish nuclear facilities;
• concession for exploration or recognition of mineral deposits, for extraction of minerals from deposits, for tankless storage of substances and storage of waste in the rock mass, including in underground mine workings;
• A decision specifying detailed conditions for mining minerals;
• water permit for the construction of water facilities;
• a decision establishing the conditions for carrying out water regulation works and the construction of dikes, as well as land reclamation works, construction drainage and other earthworks changing water relations in areas with special natural values, especially in areas, where there are concentrations of vegetation of special value from the point of view of nature, areas of scenic and ecological value, areas of mass breeding of birds, the occurrence of concentrations of protected species, as well as spawning grounds, wintering grounds, fish ladders and places of mass migration of fish and other aquatic organisms;
• decision to approve the project of land consolidation or exchange;
• decision to change forest to agricultural land;
• decision to authorize the implementation of a road project;
• decision on the location of the railroad line;
• highway location decision;
• Decision on the location of Euro 2012 projects.

The application for issuance of the decision, may also be submitted by our company after obtaining the appropriate power of attorney from the Investor.

In the case of projects that may potentially significantly affect the environment and those projects that may always significantly affect the environment, for which the scope of the report will be determined, the application for issuance of the decision shall be accompanied by an information sheet of the project, containing basic information about the planned project, specified in Art. 3 section 1 point 5 of the Environmental Protection Act. For other projects which may always significantly affect the environment, the application shall be accompanied by a report on the environmental impact of the project (meeting the requirements specified in Art. 66 of the Environmental Protection Act).

All doubts about the form and type of documents to be submitted are determined by our consultants after analyzing the available materials.

For the proper conduct of the procedure, the Investor should have:

• a copy of the cadastral map, certified by the competent authority, covering the projected area where the project will be implemented, and covering the area that will be affected by the project, or - for projects requiring a geological and mining license - a situation and altitude map prepared at a scale that makes it possible to present in detail the course of the boundaries of the area applied for, and covering the area that will be affected by the project;
• an extract and an excerpt from the local spatial development plan, if the plan has been adopted, or information on the absence of such a plan - if the proceedings to issue a decision on environmental conditions are conducted by the regional director of environmental protection. This requirement does not apply to a public road, for a railroad line of national importance, for Euro 2012 projects and for projects requiring a concession for exploration and prospecting of mineral deposits;
• an excerpt from the land register covering the anticipated area on which the project will be implemented and covering the area which will be affected by the project (Art. 74 par. 1 item 3 - 6 of the EIA Act).

The decision on environmental conditions is issued after coordination with the regional director of environmental protection and consultation with the relevant sanitary inspection authorities. AK NOVA, participates in the entire process of opinion and decision issuance through contacts with relevant institutions, clarifying doubts or detailing studies.

Another element of the environmental impact assessment of planned projects is the public participation procedure. This proceeding essentially consists of making available to all interested parties the application for a decision on environmental conditions and the environmental impact report, together with the decisions of the body conducting the proceedings and the positions of other bodies available at that time, for a period of twenty-one days and allowing them to submit comments and motions to the aforementioned documents (Articles 33 and 34 of the EIA Act). Comments and applications submitted after this deadline are left without consideration (Article 35 of the EIA Act).

The results of the public consultations should be considered and discussed by the authority in the justification to the decision on environmental conditions (Article 37 of the EIA Act). Pursuant to Article 44 of the EIA Law, all environmental organizations that declare their willingness to participate in a given environmental impact assessment proceeding shall participate in the proceeding as a party, if this is justified by the organization's statutory objectives. Such notification is no longer limited by the period of public consultations, nor is it conditional on the submission of comments and proposals as part of such consultations. The decision to refuse to allow an environmental organization to participate in the proceedings as a party is subject to a complaint.

In addition, the EIA Law grants environmental organizations the right to file an appeal and a complaint against a decision requiring public participation, even if these organizations have not previously participated in the proceedings.

AK NOVA's role at the public consultation stage is to participate in meetings, clarify doubts, mediate, give presentations, etc. , which are aimed at convincing the parties of the legitimacy of the project and presenting the actual, and not illusory, risks arising from the implementation of the project.

The final stage of the environmental impact assessment proceedings is the issuance of a decision on environmental conditions. This decision specifies the place of implementation of the project in question, the planned method of land development, the environmental protection requirements necessary to be taken into account in the construction project, as well as, if necessary, the requirements for counteracting the effects of industrial accidents and for limiting the transboundary impact on the environment.

A key element of the decision on environmental conditions is the determination of the necessity to carry out a repeat assessment at the stage of issuing a construction permit.

The issuance of a decision on environmental conditions is the most important stage of the environmental impact assessment procedure. This is because it is supposed to reflect the results of all stages of the procedure in question, from the submission of the application, to arrangements, analysis of the documentation attached to the application and public consultations.

A mandatory attachment to the decision on environmental conditions is the characteristics of the planned project (Article 82 paragraph 3).

The decision on environmental conditions is issued after ascertaining the compliance of the project's location proposed by the applicant with the local spatial development plan, if such a plan has been adopted.

The decision on environmental conditions is binding for the authorities issuing subsequent decisions of an investment nature for a given project, as specified in Article 72 of the EIA Act.

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