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1/25/2016

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Secretariat by

Ljubljana 10. december, 2015

EIA SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

IN SLOVENIA

MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND SPATIAL

PLANNING

VESNA KOLAR PLANINŠIČ, MSC.

Development of the legal framework and system

Current legal framework

Implementation

Main topics

SLOVENIA MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE

Situated in southern Central Europe, Slovenia borders: Italy , Austria, Croatia and

Hungary.Geography: Alps, the Karst Plateau,

Panonian land, Adriatic Sea

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EIA development in SloveniaFirst steps

● EIA 1970

EIA Research has been developed

EIA Studies applied

Expert assessments of some projects has been prepared

EIA present technical process without public participation

● EIA 1975

Environment, including EIA in bilateral cooperation with United States

SEPO group of expert organises in public research institute Instut Jozef

Stefan

EIA expert group evaluation of projects, recommendation, mitigation

measures, more than 700 studies

Systematic assessment without a legal base

EIA present the condition for bank investment

Main issues:

● How to improve projects if EIA is too late in the process ?

● How to improve the development of location alternatives ?

● How to develop institutions so they use EIA for their projects ?

● How to integrate EIA conclusion into the final decission ?

● How to improve public participation ?

1993 Legal obligation

1996 Improvement of the system

Decree on EIA:

- Defining activities/projects for which EIA is needed

- Defining activities/projects for which EIA is needed if criteria

and tresholds are fulfilled

EIA Development in SloveniaEstablishment of legal system

EIA capacity building/Institutional development 1990 – 2003

● Agency of the Republic of Slovenia established (ARSO)

● Administrative capacities development: from one to six

experts

● Consultation improvement: opinions of ministries and

organisations

● EIA procedure development for national investments

covered by national spatial plans :

a.) within national spatial planning acts

b.) after national spatial planning acts

● EIA Reports quality developed

● Final recent opinion of ARSO

● Public presentation, rare comments

● Capacity building seminars, Guidance on EIA

● Experiences before Slovenia became EU Member State

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● Directive 85/337/EGS, changes 97/11/EGS, 2003/35/EGS

● EIA transposition in Environmental Law 1- 2004 - 2014 improved

transposition, based on experiences

● Implementation from the simple process to the upgraded one

● Additional legal measures:

● SCREENING

● Simplification of case-by-case examination in the EIA screening

● To avoid any personal differences in decisions, criteria were

determined for all in advance, no screening needed

● Court cases, EIA European Comission opinion

● Chance of legislation in 2014, Environmental Act, Decree on EIA,

Development of screening

EIA DIRECTIVE TRANSPOSITION

Improvements

Aditional administrative and other measures such us:

● points of contact

● information on web

● capacity building projects

● expert knowledge exchange

● training programmes

Some difficulties: changes in employees in the EIA group and at

ministries and organisation, reduction of expert group because of

budget reduction, losing knowledge

EIA NEW DIRECTIVE TRANSPOSITION

AND IMPLEMENTATION

New Art 51.a (Screening)

(1) The project developer has to apply the ministry, responsible for environemnt for the screening decission.

(1) Screening starts on:

A.) Application by the project proponent

B.) Start by ministry on the base of „duty action“.

If the proponent apply for screening, he can also apply for the writteninformation about the main scoping issues and the ministry shouldprepare, if screening decission is positive, and EIA should beprepared.

Environmental Act Protection

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Ministry :

can ask the proponent for additional information needed forscreening,

give the certain reasonable time period for preparartion of additionalinformation.

if the developer don‘ t present additional information on time, theministry could stop with procedure

announced the Decission on stoping the procedure on administrative web page „ e uprava“ and send to the attentionof inspectors and local community located on the project area.

In the screening decission:

taking into account criteria from Annex III on project specifics, location and possible environmental effects.

can consult the ministries and organisations for writtenopinion in 21 day .

Consultation with other ministries and

organisations in Screening

Ministry has to prepare the final decission in two months fromthe proper information by the project developer.

The decission could be appealed by project developeror NGO, which act in the public interest .

If the court decided that EIA should be prepared, the projectdeveloper is obliged to prepare EIA report and apply for EIA decission.

Ministry is obliged to decide on mitigation measures.

Information is public available

Ministry inform the public at the national administration page„euprava portal“ and on web pages, and send it to inspectionand local community.

Procedure

In the case that building permit for the project is

needed the public administration is obligated to check

:

A.) EIA decission or

B.) Screening decission

If non the building permit is refused.

Government prescribe the data for application

of the project developer (Decree on EIA)

EIA and building permit

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In the processes of national spatial planspreparation, the screening is prepared in the phaseafter the SEA acceptance of national spatial plan on the environment.

Screening could be based on Study of alternatives/ Draft national spatial plan ( early stage)

Art. 51 b Screening in national spatial plans

Austria Slovenia Germany

Application

Who can apply: project developer, co-

operating authority or ombudsman for the

environment, or initiation ex officio

Information on the project: submission of

“adequate documents”

Who can apply: project

developer or initiation ex

officio

Information on the

project: Mandatory

screening application

form

Who can apply: project developer

Information on the project:

submission of “adequate documents”

Examination by the EIA authority (case-by-case-examination)

Mandatory consultation of co-operating

authorities, host municipality, ombudsman for

the environment and water management

planning body

Voluntary consultation

of authorities concerned

Voluntary consultation

of authorities concerned

Decision and publication e.g. on the internet

Appeal against the decision

Who: project developer, co-operating

authority or ombudsman for the environment,

host municipality

if no EIA: NGOs

Who: project developer

or NGO

Not independently; only by

challenging the decision to grant or

refuse the permit Who: the

developer, NGOs, individuals, at

least, when affected in individual

rights

Application for screening

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Slovenia: Screening procedures – project types 2014 -2015

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Mining and quarrying

Processing industries

Energy

Environmental infrastructure

Agriculture

Transport infrastructure

Quality has improved

Prepared by proponent

Expert teams ’ education and references are essential

The need for horizontal knowledge to adequately evaluate the

projects for use of natural resources and all other private and public

projects

Adress the EIA report quality by Environmental act:

● adding the obligation for proponent that EIA is done by competent

experts and

● adding the obligation for competent authority for sufficient expertise

EIA QUALITY

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WATER IN EIA

Aims: • Good water status of river/lakes water bodies• Good water status of undergroud water bodies• Healthy bathing waters• Protection of water ecosystem• Protection of existing flood areas

State of Environment in EIAImportance of public dataQuality indicatorsWater management plans

Shared solutions: Safeguarding sustainable development in the Mekong region, Regional symposium,

August 25-27, 2015 Bangkok

SOIL IN EIA 2006 : ‘Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection’ and the Roadmap to a Resource-Efficient Europe / sustainable use of soil and the need to address the unsustainable increase of settlement areas over time (‘land take’). 2012: UN Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro , recognizes the economic and social significance of good land management, including soil, and the need for urgent action to reverse land degradation. Public and private projects should therefore consider and limit their impact on land, particularly as regards land take, and on soil, including as regards organic matter, erosion, compaction and sealing; appropriate land use plans and policies at national, regional and local level are also relevant in this regard.

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BIODIVERSITY IN EIA

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (‘the Convention’), to which the Union is party, requires assessment, as far as possible and as appropriate, of the significant adverse effects of projects on biological diversity, with a view to avoiding or minimizing such effects.

Such prior assessment of those effects should contribute to attaining the Union headline target adopted by the European Council in 2010 of halting biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystem services by 2020 and restoring them where feasible.



NATURA 2000 APROPRIATE ASSESSMENT IN EIA

The measures taken to avoid, prevent, reduce and, if possible, offset significant adverse effects on the environment, in particular on species and habitats protected under :1. Council Directive 92/43/EEC and 2. Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and Councilshould contribute to avoiding any deterioration in the quality of the environment and any net loss of biodiversity, in accordance with the Union's commitments in the context of the Convention and the objectives and actions of the Union Biodiversity Strategy up to 2020 Commission Communication , 2011 entitled ‘Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity strategy to 2020’.JOINT OR COORDINATED PROCEDURE PRESCRIBED



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MARINE ENVIRONMENT IN EIA

With a view to ensuring a high level of protection of the marine environment, especially species and habitats, EIA and screening procedures for projects in the marine environment should take into account the characteristics of those projects with particular regard to the technologies used (for example seismic surveys using active sonars). For this purpose, the requirements of Directive 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on safety of offshore oil and gas operations and amending Directive 2004/35/EC could also facilitate the implementation of the requirements of this Directive.

Shared solutions: Safeguarding sustainable

development in the Mekong region, Regional

symposium, August 25-27, 2015 Bankok

CLIMATE CHANGE IN EIA

Climate change will continue to cause damage to the environment and compromise economic development.

In this regard, it is appropriate to assess the impact of projects on climate (for example greenhouse gas emissions) and their vulnerability to climate change.

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DISASTER RISK IN EIA

Following the Commission Communication of 2009 entitled ‘A Community approach on the prevention of natural and man-made disasters’, the Council in 2009 invited the Commission to ensure that the implementation, review and further development of Union initiatives, take into consideration disaster risk prevention and management concerns, as well as the United Nations Hyogo Framework for Action Programme adopted on 2005, which stresses the need to put in place procedures for assessment of the disaster risk implications of major infrastructure projects.

ACCIDENTS AND NATURAL DISASTERS

In order to ensure a high level of protection of the environment, precautionary actions need to be taken for certain projects which, because of their vulnerability to major accidents, and/or natural disasters (such as flooding, sea level rise, or earthquakes) are likely to have significant adverse effects on the environment.

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ACCIDENTS

In order to avoid duplications, it is possible to use relevantinformation available and obtained through risk assessmentscarried out pursuant to Union legislation, such as:• Directive 2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and the

Council on the control of major-accident hazards involvingdangerous substances, amending and subsequently repealingCouncil Directive 96/82/EC,

• Council Directive 2009/71/Euratom establishing a Communityframework for the nuclear safety of nuclear installations,

• and Council Directive 2009/71/Euratom , or through relevant assessments carried out pursuant to national legislation provided that the requirements of this Directive are met.

CULTURAL HERITAGE IN EIA

Protection of cultural heritage incl. urban historical sites and landscapes, which are an integral part of the cultural diversity that the Union is committed to respect and promote is important part ofEIAUsing principles , definitions, methods developed in relevant Council of Europe Conventions, as:• European Convention for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (1969), • Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe (1985), • European Landscape Convention (2000), • the Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (2005). Historical and cultural heritage and the landscape preservation: it is important to address also the visual impact of projects in EIA , namely the change in the appearance or view of the built or natural landscape and urban areas.

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Thank you !

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN EIA

With a view to strengthening public access to information and transparency, timely environmental information with regard to the implementation of this Directive should also be accessible in electronic format. Member States should therefore establish at least a central portal or points of access, at the appropriate administrative level, that allow the public to access that information easily and effectively.

Directive 2003/35/EC was seeking to align the provisions on public participation with the Aarhus Convention on public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.Transposed in Environmental Act



HUMAN HEALTH IN EIA

In order to ensure a high level of protection of the environment and human health, screening procedures and environmental impact assessments should take account of the impact of the whole project in question, including, where relevant, its subsurface and underground, during the construction, operational and, where relevant, demolition phases.

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EIA DIRECTIVE APPLICATION

Applies to a wide range of defined public and private projects, which are defined in:

Annex I Annex II

Annex II - Discretion of Member States (screening): the national authorities decide whether an EIA is needed"screening procedure", determines the effects of projects on the basis of thresholds/criteria or a case by case examination, taking into account the criteria laid down in Annex III. The projects as :railways, roads,waste disposal installations, waste water treatment plants, urban development projects, flood-relief works, changes of existing projects….

SCREENING DECISSION > EIA YES/NO

Available to the public

PRIVATE OR PUBLIC Annex II PROJECTS

Consultation with ministries and organisation

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Annex I - Mandatory EIA: all projects are considered as having significant effects on the environment and require an EIA, Defined by decree:• long-distance railway lines, • motorways and express roads, • airports with a basic runway length ≥2100 m, • installations for the disposal of hazardous waste, • installations for the disposal of non-hazardous waste >100

tonnes/day, • waste water treatment plants >150.000 p.e,• nuclear power plants,• hydropower plants, etc.

CONSULTATION

Public participationMinistries andorganisation

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT

Aims Indicators

PRIVATE OR PUBLIC ANNEX 1 PROJECT

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSENTFINAL DECISSION

INFORMATION FOR THE EIA REPORT I

1. Description of the project, incl. location

2. A description of the reasonable alternatives (for example in terms of project design, technology, location, size and scale) studied by the developer, which are relevant to the proposed project and its specific characteristics, and an indication of the main reasons for selecting the chosen option, including a comparison of the environmental effects.

3. A description of the relevant aspects of the current state of the environment (baseline scenario) and an outline of the likely evolution thereof without implementation of the project as far as natural changes from the baseline scenario

4. A description of the factors likely to be significantly affected : population, human health, biodiversity (for example fauna and flora), land (for example land take), soil (for example organic matter, erosion, compaction, sealing), water (for example hydromorphological changes, quantity and quality), air, climate (for example greenhouse gas emissions, impacts relevant to adaptation), material assets, cultural heritage, including architectural and archaeological aspects, and landscape.

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INFORMATION FOR THE EIA REPORT Ii

b.) the use of natural resources, in particular land, soil, water and biodiversity, considering as far as possible the sustainable availability of these resources;

c.) emission of pollutants, noise, vibration, light, heat and radiation, the creation of nuisances, and the disposal and recovery of waste;

d.) the risks to human health, cultural heritage or the environment (for example due to accidents or disasters);

e.) the cumulation of effects with other existing and/or approved projects,

g.) the impact of the project on climate (for example the nature and magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions) and the vulnerability of the project to climate change.

f.) the technologies and the substances used,

DEASCRIBTION OF LIKELY SIGNIFICANT IMPACT a.) The construction and existence of the project, including, where relevant, demolition works;

Population and human health;

Biodiversity, with particular attention to species and habitats protected under Directive

92/43/EEC and Directive 2009/147/EC;

Land, soil, water, air and climate;

Material assets, cultural heritage and the landscape;

The interaction between the factors

Expected effects deriving from the vulnerability of the project to risks of major

accidents and/or disasters that are relevant to the project concerned.’;

EIA REPORT

Application of the ESPOO/SEA

EIA

EIA IN TRANSBOUNDARY

CONEXT

SEA AND SEA IN TRANSBOUNDARY

CONTEXT

• Legislation

• Administrative measures

• Other measures

• Legislation


• Other measures

• Legislation


• Other measuresEIA Implementation CasesEIA Transboundary implementation Cases

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Concept of gas Network

Slovenia SEA/Port ofKoper

ITALY SEA/Port ofTrieste

TRANSBOUNDARY EIA : LNG TERMINALS TRANSBOUNDARY SEA: PORT OF TRIESTE

PORT OF KOPER

Shared solutions: Safeguarding sustainable development in the Mekong

region, Regional symposium, August 25-27, 2015 Bankok

Figure: Illustrative location map for national plans for hydropower use in Brežice, 13 km from the border between Slovenia and Croatia, and Mokrice, ca. 0.5 km from the

border, and existing hydropower chain on the Sava River

Environmental Transboundary Assessment between Slovenia and Croatia

of Slovenian National Plans for Hydropower Use on the Lower Sava in Brežice and Mokrice

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Long distance motorway EIA with transboundaryParty of origin Slovenia, affected Party Austria

Motorway Karavanke, extension, change of Annex I long distance motorway

IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE 1: OBJECTIVITY

The objectivity of the competent authorities is ensured. Conflicts of interest is prevented by a functional separation of the competent authority from the developer.

In cases where the competent authority is also the developer, Member States implement, within their organisation of administrative competences, an appropriate separation between conflicting functions of those authorities performing the duties arising from EIA Directive .

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IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE 2: QUALITY IN EIA

Data and information included by the developer in the environmental impact assessment report, in accordance with Annex IV to EIA Directive should be complete and of sufficiently high quality.

Experts involved in the preparation of environmental impact assessment reports should be qualified and competent.

EIA main environmental benefits

Cultural heritage preservation, archeological presentation

Reducing climate change impact

Improving air quality

Reducing emission

Reducing chemical risk

Good ecologic water quality

Good chemical underground water quality

Protection of wetlands

Good forest status

Reducing loss of biodiversity

Landscape protection

Quality of life

Governance challenges in EIA at

proponent level

Project developer

EIA team

Project developer

EIA team

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Governance challenges in EIA at process

level

EIA Report

• EIA quality report

• Technical consultation

• Quality approved

Public

• Public participation

• Comments taken into account

EIA decission

• Final EIA decission

• Final decission

EIA with the Appropriate assessment according to Art. 6

(3) of habitats directive: „one stop shop“ already in

legislation

In the case of 6 (4) Nature Conservation Act define

additional procedure, no experiences yet

Governance challenges in EIA at process

level „One stop shop“

EIA

Appropriateassessment

Art. 6(3)

Waterassessment,

Art. 4.7

Appropriate assessment

6(4)

KEEP OBJECTIVITYKEEP QUALITY IN EIA

DEVELOPE MONITORINGNETWORKING

UPGRADING RELATION BETWEEN OTHER EU DIRECTIVES /SEA, SEVESO,WATER,WASTE

EXCHANGE OF EXPERIENCE

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● EIA in very early stage when all options are open and

its relation to the final decision in the cases of building

permits

● Responsibility of the proponent to prepare reports of

higher quality

● Strengthening administrative capacities

● Training strategy

● Action plan implementation

Governance challenges in EIA

Thanks Hvala

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