NEW EIA REGULATION ENTERS INTO FORCE

 

The Regulation on Environmental Impact Assessment, which repealed the old 2014 regulation and entered into force on 29.07.2022, contains many amendments.

The most striking part of the regulations is the definitions. The scope of the activities for which an EIA Report must be prepared has been increased with the regulation, which includes amendments to the authority and public participation in the process.

With the Annexes to the Regulation, the EIA report requirement has been expanded and some sectors have been fully included in Annex-1, regardless of their thresholds.

Significant changes in Annex-1

Carbon capture and geological storage facilities of 1.5 million tons or more annually have been added to the list.
The threshold of 500 rooms for tourism accommodation facilities was reduced to 250.
The 10 MWm capacity limit for hydroelectric power plants was removed and all hydroelectric power plant projects were included in the list, regardless of capacity.
The construction of railway lines and airports, and the construction of highways and state highways are included, regardless of length/runway length.
Wind power plants and geothermal power plants are included in the scope of EIA regardless of the number of turbines and thermal capacity.

In order to conduct a more effective environmental impact assessment for the activities listed in Annex-2 as in Annex-1, cumulative impact assessment is mandatory in addition to the preparation of sustainability, environmental monitoring plan and environmental and social action plan.

In addition, it is regulated that cumulative environmental impacts will be assessed for projects with “EIA Positive” or “EIA Not Required” decisions, taking into account the existing environmental impacts.

It was deemed necessary to include plans such as environmental monitoring, greenhouse gas reduction, zero waste, environmental and social management of climate change impacts in sustainability reports in EIA reports.

AMENDMENT OF THE VALIDITY PERIODS OF EIA DECISIONS

The 1-year deadline for submission of the application file to the Ministry for projects for which an “EIA is required” decision has been abolished.

At the same time, the investment start-up period for projects for which an “EIA Positive” decision has been issued has been reduced from 7 years to 5 years. If the investment is not started for 5 years without force majeure, the EIA decision will be deemed invalid.

In addition, in case the EIA application file is returned due to deficiencies, a period of 1 month has been introduced for the completion and resubmission of the deficiencies.

DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

The duties and powers vested in the governorships during the preparation of the EIA report have been transferred to the Provincial Directorates of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. It has also been regulated that the powers to make “EIA Required” or “EIA Not Required” decisions can be exercised by the Provincial Directorates instead of the governorships.

Amendments Regarding Public Information and Effective Participation

In the annex of the EIA application file, it is envisaged to prepare a “Stakeholder Participation Plan” for the public to participate and be informed more effectively in the process. With the plan, it is aimed to expand the communication network in order to ensure that real and legal persons who may affect or be affected by the project have sufficient information about the processes and to receive their opinions.

The definition of “public” in the definitions section has also been amended. Although the definition of “one or more legal persons or their associations, organizations and groups within the framework of national legislation” was included in the definition of the public in the old regulation, the new regulation introduces a definition that excludes legal persons. With this new definition, national and international organizations, especially environmental organizations, are excluded in terms of the right to submit opinions, suggestions and objections.

Regulation on Change of Project Owner

With the new regulation, the article regarding the change of the Project Owner in the old regulation has been changed. With the new regulation, it has been clarified which documents and information should be submitted regarding the transfer. The documents to be submitted are listed as “notarized transfer agreement, title deed, execution / tender result documents approved by the relevant administration”.

In addition, if the project owner changes, the provincial directorate is obliged to conduct an on-site inspection of the project.