{"id":17624,"date":"2022-09-16T21:38:48","date_gmt":"2022-09-16T21:38:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legalblog.ie\/?p=17624"},"modified":"2022-09-25T14:53:33","modified_gmt":"2022-09-25T14:53:33","slug":"impact-assessment-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/impact-assessment-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Impact Assessment [EU]"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/impact-assessment-2\/#Assessment_of_the_effects_of_projects_on_the_environment_EIA\" title=\"Assessment of the effects of projects on the environment (EIA)\">Assessment of the effects of projects on the environment (EIA)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/impact-assessment-2\/#Key_Points\" title=\"Key Points\">Key Points<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/impact-assessment-2\/#The_EIA_process\" title=\"The EIA process\">The EIA process<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/impact-assessment-2\/#Public_consultations\" title=\"Public consultations\">Public consultations<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/impact-assessment-2\/#Responsibility_of_national_authorities\" title=\"Responsibility of national authorities\">Responsibility of national authorities<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/impact-assessment-2\/#Application_Background\" title=\"Application &amp; Background\">Application &amp; Background<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/impact-assessment-2\/#MAIN_DOCUMENT\" title=\"MAIN DOCUMENT\">MAIN DOCUMENT<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Assessment_of_the_effects_of_projects_on_the_environment_EIA\"><\/span>Assessment of the effects of projects on the environment (EIA)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Directive 2011\/92\/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment<\/p>\n<p>Known as the EIA Directive, the directive aims to ensure:<\/p>\n<p>a high level of environmental protection;<br \/>\nenvironmental considerations are integrated into the preparation and authorisation of projects.<br \/>\nThis objective is achieved by ensuring that environmental assessment of certain public and private projects listed in the directive\u2019s Annexes I and II (airports, nuclear installations, railways, roads, waste disposal installations, waste water treatment plants, etc.) is carried out.<\/p>\n<p>The EIA Directive applies to a wide range of public and private projects.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Points\"><\/span>Key Points<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Directive 2011\/92\/EU defines the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process which ensures that projects likely to have significant effects on the environment are made subject to an assessment, prior to their authorisation.<\/p>\n<p>Amending legislation (Directive 2014\/52\/EU) was adopted in 2014. In line with the drive for smarter regulation, it:<\/p>\n<p>helps reduce administrative burden;<br \/>\nimproves the level of environmental protection to permit sounder, more predictable and sustainable business decisions on public and private investments;<br \/>\ntakes into account threats and challenges that have emerged since the original rules came into force 30 years ago. This means paying more attention to aspects like resource efficiency, climate change and disaster prevention, which are now better reflected in the assessment process.<\/p>\n<p>The main amendments are:<\/p>\n<p>EU countries can simplify their different environmental assessment procedures.<br \/>\nTimeframes are introduced for the different stages of environmental assessments.<br \/>\nThe screening procedure, determining whether an EIA is required, is simplified.<br \/>\nDecisions must be duly motivated in the light of the updated screening criteria.<\/p>\n<p>EIA reports are to be made more understandable for the public, especially as regards assessments of the current state of the\u00a0environment and alternatives to the project in question.<\/p>\n<p>The quality and the content of the reports is improved. Competent authorities also need to prove their objectivity to avoid conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n<p>The grounds for development consent decisions* must be clear and more transparent for the public.<\/p>\n<p>If projects do entail significant adverse effects on the environment, developers are obliged to avoid, prevent or reduce those effects. These projects must be monitored.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_EIA_process\"><\/span>The EIA process<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The EIA process operates as follows:<\/p>\n<p>the project developer may request the competent authority to specify what should be covered by the EIA information to be provided (scoping stage);<br \/>\nthe developer must provide information on the environmental impact (in the form of an EIA report drafted in accordance with Annex IV of the directive);<br \/>\nthe environmental authorities and the public, as well as local and regional authorities (as well as any EU countries that are affected) must be informed and consulted;<br \/>\nthe competent authority decides taking into consideration the results of consultations; this decision also includes a reasoned conclusion on the significant effects of the project;<br \/>\nthe authority informs the public of its decision;<br \/>\nthe public can challenge the decision before the courts.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Public_consultations\"><\/span>Public consultations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Consultation with the public is a key feature of EIA process. To ensure effective public participation, the EIA report and other information must be provided as early as possible. This can be done electronically, by public notices or bill posting, or via local newspapers.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Responsibility_of_national_authorities\"><\/span>Responsibility of national authorities<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Authorities have to decide within a reasonable time whether to approve the project or not. They must make available to the public, as well as to environmental, local and regional bodies, the content of a positive decision, including the main reasons for their approval and any environmental or other conditions they attach. If they refuse development consent, they should explain why.<\/p>\n<p>EU countries may lay down more stringent conditions and fix penalties for any infringements.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Application_Background\"><\/span>Application &amp; Background<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Directive 2011\/92\/EU has applied since 17 February 2012. It codifies 4 earlier directives (85\/337\/EEC, 97\/11\/EC, 2003\/35\/EC and 2009\/31\/EC) the first of which became law in the EU countries on 3 July 1988.<\/p>\n<p>Amending Directive 2014\/52\/EU has applied since 25 April 2014 and had to become law in the EU countries by 16 May 2017.<\/p>\n<p>For more information, see:<\/p>\n<p>Environmental Impact Assessment \u2014 EIA (European Commission).<br \/>\nKEY TERMS<\/p>\n<p>Development consent decision: a decision by the competent authorities to approve a project.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"MAIN_DOCUMENT\"><\/span>MAIN DOCUMENT<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Directive 2011\/92\/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (codification) (OJ L 26, 28.1.2012, pp. 1-21)<\/p>\n<p>Successive amendments to Directive 2011\/92\/EU have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.<\/p>\n<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-17624\" data-postid=\"17624\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-17624 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Assessment of the effects of projects on the environment (EIA) Directive 2011\/92\/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment Known as the EIA Directive, the directive aims to ensure: a high level of environmental protection; environmental considerations are integrated into the preparation and authorisation of projects. This [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[250,215],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17624"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17624"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18409,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17624\/revisions\/18409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}