Brussels, 13/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - In Brussels on 12 February, one more step was taken towards the revision of the EU legislation on the assessment of the impact of certain public and private projects on the environment (Directive 85/337/EEC, known as the EIA directive), which is applicable to around 200 kinds of project - from the construction of bridges, ports and motorways to intensive chicken or pig farming via landfill. The committee on the environment of the European Parliament approved, by a sizeable majority (46 votes to 8, with 2 abstentions), the results of the informal negotiations with the Council on the updating of this nearly 30 year-old text to rationalise and democratise its procedures (see EUROPE 10954).
Under the agreement, impact assessments must take account of new environmental factors, such as biodiversity, climate change and the risk of natural disasters; the assessment methods will be clearer and public involvement will be facilitated by a central web portal. The updated text will also make it possible to ensure that decisions on authorising development projects will not be influenced by any conflicts of interest and the possibility of derogations will be reduced.
The aim is to reach an agreement at first reading on this future revised directive during this legislative period. The European Parliament will vote in its plenary session to be held in Strasbourg from 10 to 13 March.
Andrea Zanoni (ADLE, Italy), rapporteur, welcomed this result because “it is time to update this essential tool of environmental policy in order to respond to the new global challenges of the 21st century”. He added that, “despite the strong resistance of several member states, the Parliament has achieved its objective: raising the quality standards for the protection of human health and the environment”.
In order to guarantee the objectivity of the assessments, the revised legislation would oblige the member states of the EU to ensure a “functional separation” between the competent authority tasked with gathering the information required to carry out an environmental impact assessment and the promoter of the project.
The reports will also assess projects on the basis of new criteria and supply new information, to allow the authorities to be able to take account of these in their decisions. Among these criteria are the cumulation of projects (in order to prevent promoters from splitting large-scale projects into several smaller ones in order to remain within the thresholds) and hydro-morphological modifications.
No EIA needed for fracking. Despite the calls of the Parliament, the text does not provide for any obligatory environmental impact assessments for the extraction and exploration of shale gas - irrespective of the anticipated yield - to the great consternation of the Greens/EFA Group, which voted against the agreement, making it impossible for the affair to be concluded without a second reading. The new aspects of gas projects should, however, be taken into account, particularly the risks to human health related to water contamination, the use of soil and water, and the quality and capacity for regeneration of the groundwater. If the member states conclude that no assessment is necessary, they must explain the reasons.
Readers may recall that on 22 January of this year, in its proposed framework for an integrated Climate/Energy project by 2030, the European Commission went no further than presenting non-binding guidelines to create a minimum framework at EU level for the assessment of environmental risks related to the exploration and production of unconventional hydrocarbons, such as shale gas and oil, rather than legislating (see EUROPE 11003 and 10998). (AN/transl.fl)