The Council of Ministers adopted a regulation on projects that may have a significant impact on the environment, submitted by the Minister of the Environment.
The regulation contains a catalog of projects whose implementation requires prior obtaining a decision on environmental conditions. This catalog is divided into projects that can always have a significant impact on the environment (for them an environmental impact assessment is mandatory) and projects that can potentially have a significant impact on the environment (the authority competent to issue a decision together with the cooperating bodies decides on the need to carry out the assessment).
The regulation provides inter alia extension of the obligation to obtain an environmental decision in the case of waste management investments. This change is to enable the analysis – in terms of environmental impact – already at the stage of planning the facilities. The solution, in accordance with the justification, is aimed at limiting situations in which fires occur in places of storage or storage of waste, which pose a significant threat to the environment, including human life and health.
The regulation also provides for the abolition of the obligation to obtain an environmental decision before applying for permission to implement projects such as installations for the production of boilers, power stations or gas coupled stations. These investments do not significantly affect the environment.
What’s more, it introduces regulations that prevent several times, uncontrolled expansion or reconstruction of projects that could potentially have a significant impact on the environment – without obtaining an environmental decision.
The regulation will enter into force within 14 days from the date of its publication in the Journal of Laws, which has not yet occurred. At the same time, the ordinance of the Council of Ministers of November 9, 2010 on projects that may have a significant impact on the environment will cease to apply.