In our next Morning for Construction, we will try to present to you the issue of the conditions under which a decision on environmental conditions should be obtained.
An environmental decision, commonly known as an environmental permit, is often the first stage of an emerging investment process. If your project may impact the natural environment, without this decision, you won't be able to obtain a building permit, a zoning decision, or approval for a land consolidation project. The types of projects requiring an environmental decision are regulated by both the Act of October 3, 2008, on the Provision of Information on the Environment and its Protection, and the Act of July 7, 1994, the Building Law. According to the latter regulation, an environmental decision is also required before submitting a construction notification, construction works notification, or a change to the occupancy permit for a facility or part thereof. Obtaining an environmental decision is required for planned projects that have a significant impact on the environment or potentially have a significant impact. The decision is valid for six years from the date it becomes final, although this period can be extended to 10 years if, in certain circumstances, the relevant authority grants permission.
The authority responsible for issuing an environmental decision depends on the investment location. However, sometimes a higher authority holds the authority. Generally, decisions are issued by: the District Office, the City or Commune Office, the Regional Directorates of State Forests or Environmental Protection, in Warsaw, the relevant District Office, or the General Directorate for Environmental Protection.
The authority to which the investor applies for an environmental decision will ex officio assess the type of investment being made. The investor must attach the following to the application:
- a report on the environmental impact of the project (but only for projects that always have a significant impact on the environment), or
- project information card
and:
- cadastral map certified by the competent authority
- situational-elevation map
- extract and map from the local development plan
- extract from the land register
- a document specifying the parties to the proceedings, which includes the numbers of cadastral plots, land and mortgage registers, name, surname and address of the entity.
- a list of plots intended for preparatory work with marked trees designated for felling.
- cost analysis.
The authority will assess the project's environmental impact and request opinions from other offices. They have 14 days to respond. For investments with potentially significant impacts, the assessment and evaluation stages may be omitted if the investor is not required to prepare a report. In the latter case, the authority will use the report to assess factors such as material assets, historical monuments, the environment and living conditions, the availability of mineral deposits, the risk of natural disasters, and the required scope of project monitoring. The report itself will also be subject to opinions and approvals from the relevant administrative bodies, primarily the Regional Director for Environmental Protection. It is important to emphasize that an approval is a stronger form of cooperation between offices, and the lack of such an approval prevents the issuance of an environmental decision.
Issuing an environmental decision also requires the administrative body to ensure active public participation during the administrative proceedings (primarily through information and public consultation obligations). For projects that may always have a significant impact on the environment, this will be mandatory, while for projects classified as potentially having a significant impact on the environment, this obligation will only exist if an environmental impact assessment, i.e., a report, is required.
If, after analyzing the submitted documents and reviewing the opinions and agreements of other authorities, the office determines that there are no obstacles to issuing an environmental decision, it will notify the applicant. If the environmental impact assessment is different, the applicant will indicate in the decision the option permitted for implementation. The statutory deadline for issuing a decision is 30 days, but this period does not include the time required to obtain opinions, agreements, or any suspension of the proceedings.
The procedure for obtaining an environmental permit is costly, time-consuming, and complex, and application review often takes many months. On May 18th of this year, the Government Legislation Center published a draft amendment to the Act on the Provision of Information on the Environment and its Protection, Public Participation in Environmental Protection, and Environmental Impact Assessments, and Certain Other Acts. The proposed changes are intended to expedite procedures, which, according to the bill's justification, will positively impact small and medium-sized businesses. A key change is the requirement for the office to review the project's location for compliance with the local development plan, if one has been adopted. Due to the direct and indirect involvement of numerous bodies in the decision-making process, the amendment is intended to facilitate environmental and spatial analysis of investments in terms of the location of habitats, protected areas, and environmental impact.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of October 28, 2022
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