Today, on 25 August the Government of the Republic approved the draft Regulation “Detailed List of Areas of Activity in the Case of Which the Need to Initiate Environmental Impact Assessment has to be Considered”. The Regulation specifies the list of areas of activity provided by the Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management System Act in the case of which the need to initiate environmental impact assessment has to be considered. Environmental impact is assessed upon application for or application for amendment of a development consent if the proposed activity potentially results in significant environmental impact. Environmental impact is also assessed if activities are proposed which may potentially significantly affect a Natura 2000 site. When deciding on the need to initiate environmental impact assessment, the environmental conditions of the area where the activities are carried out and its vicinity, the volume of waste generation and volume of energy demand, other activities in the vicinity, the consequences associated with the activities, the possibility that emergency situations resulting from the activities arise, and the magnitude, duration, frequency and reversibility of the impact are taken into consideration along with many other factors. The areas of activity specified in the regulation provide information to parties of environmental impact assessment regarding the types of activity that are likely to result in significant environmental impact. The need to initiate environmental impact assessment also has to be considered if the developer wishes to change an activity (the size of a plant, the number of windmills, etc), as a result of which the entire activity (for example, the capacity of the wind power plant, etc) corresponds to the criteria specified in the draft regulation. The draft regulation is available on the Internet at: http://w2.envir.ee/orb.aw/class=file/action=preview/id=58953/Tegevusvaldkondade_eeln%F5u+.pdf The regulation will enter into force three days after publication in the State Gazette. Further information: Veronika Verš Specialist of the Environmental Management and Technology Department, Ministry of the Environment Phone (+372) 626 2973 E-mail: Elo Kalmet Public Relations Specialist, Ministry of the Environment Phone (+372) 626 2908; (+372) 517 5077 E-mail: |
