6.2 Environmental Permits and Licences
According to the Environment Act (Art. 11), facilities which have adverse environmental effects must get permits to operate, and institutions doing business with
facilities in the fields of waste recovery, recycling and disposal also have to obtain
licences.
The facilities that are obliged to obtain an environmental permit or an environmental permit and licence to be able to operate are included in Annex List 1 and
Annex List 2 of the By-Law on Environmental Permit and Licence adopted in
2014. To implement an integrated regime based on the related EU directives
(Directive (2008)/1/EC and Directive 2010/75/EU), the practice of requiring just
one environmental permission application – instead of separate waste management
permits and discharge permits (emission, noise, deep-sea discharge and hazardous
substance discharge permits) – has been adopted and applied to these sorts of
facilities since 1 April 2010.
While the Ministry is entitled to grant Provisional Activity Certificates and
Environmental Permits or Environmental Permits and Licence Certificates for the
activities and facilities included in Annex List 1, the Provincial Directorates of
Environment and Urbanization grant the same certificates to those included in
Annex List 2 (Art. 6, By-Law on Environmental Permit and Licence).
The process for granting Environmental Permits and Licence Certificates functions in practice as follows:
1. Prior Authorization: The facilities listed in Annex 1 and Annex 2 submit the
documents specified in Annex 3A and Annex 3B. They are evaluated for thirty
days. Within the evaluation process, if some deficiencies are determined, these
are notified to the relevant unit of the applicant. The applicant has sixty days to
remove the deficiencies and make improvements. When the application is
brought before the competent authority at the end of sixty days, it is re-evaluated
within twenty days. If the application is not found proper to the conditions, it is
rejected. If found proper, it is endorsed, and a Provisional Activity Certificate
(PAC) valid for one year is provided to the applicant (Art. 8, By-Law on
Environmental Permit and Licence).
2. Substantial Authorization: A facility that has received a PAC applies within six
months to the competent authority for a five-year permit, and its application is
evaluated for sixty days by that authority. If some deficiencies are found during
the evaluation process, these are notified to the relevant unit of the facility. The
facility has ninety days to remove the deficiencies and make improvements.
When the application is brought before the competent authority at the end of the
improvement process, it is re-evaluated within thirty days. At the end of this
period, if the application is not found proper to the conditions of getting permit,
it is rejected and the PAC of that facility is cancelled. If found proper, its
one-year PAC is converted into a five-year environmental permit (Art. 9,
By-Law on Environmental Permit and Licence).
6 Instruments of Environmental Compliance
101
According to the Environment Act (Art. 11), facilities which have adverse environmental effects must get permits to operate, and institutions doing business with
facilities in the fields of waste recovery, recycling and disposal also have to obtain
licences.
The facilities that are obliged to obtain an environmental permit or an environmental permit and licence to be able to operate are included in Annex List 1 and
Annex List 2 of the By-Law on Environmental Permit and Licence adopted in
2014. To implement an integrated regime based on the related EU directives
(Directive (2008)/1/EC and Directive 2010/75/EU), the practice of requiring just
one environmental permission application – instead of separate waste management
permits and discharge permits (emission, noise, deep-sea discharge and hazardous
substance discharge permits) – has been adopted and applied to these sorts of
facilities since 1 April 2010.
While the Ministry is entitled to grant Provisional Activity Certificates and
Environmental Permits or Environmental Permits and Licence Certificates for the
activities and facilities included in Annex List 1, the Provincial Directorates of
Environment and Urbanization grant the same certificates to those included in
Annex List 2 (Art. 6, By-Law on Environmental Permit and Licence).
The process for granting Environmental Permits and Licence Certificates functions in practice as follows:
1. Prior Authorization: The facilities listed in Annex 1 and Annex 2 submit the
documents specified in Annex 3A and Annex 3B. They are evaluated for thirty
days. Within the evaluation process, if some deficiencies are determined, these
are notified to the relevant unit of the applicant. The applicant has sixty days to
remove the deficiencies and make improvements. When the application is
brought before the competent authority at the end of sixty days, it is re-evaluated
within twenty days. If the application is not found proper to the conditions, it is
rejected. If found proper, it is endorsed, and a Provisional Activity Certificate
(PAC) valid for one year is provided to the applicant (Art. 8, By-Law on
Environmental Permit and Licence).
2. Substantial Authorization: A facility that has received a PAC applies within six
months to the competent authority for a five-year permit, and its application is
evaluated for sixty days by that authority. If some deficiencies are found during
the evaluation process, these are notified to the relevant unit of the facility. The
facility has ninety days to remove the deficiencies and make improvements.
When the application is brought before the competent authority at the end of the
improvement process, it is re-evaluated within thirty days. At the end of this
period, if the application is not found proper to the conditions of getting permit,
it is rejected and the PAC of that facility is cancelled. If found proper, its
one-year PAC is converted into a five-year environmental permit (Art. 9,
By-Law on Environmental Permit and Licence).
6 Instruments of Environmental Compliance
101