after the Environment Act entered into force. The relevant by-law has been
amended a total of eighteen times.
3 By-Law No. 29186, which became effective in
2014 and was amended by By-Law No. 29619 in 2016, constitutes the most recent
version which is in force right now.
The preparation of the EIA Application File, EIA Report and Project
Introduction File is conducted by the organizations awarded qualification certificates by the Directorate General of EIA, Permit and Inspection, in accordance with
the Communiqué on Proficiency Certificate (Art. 6, Art. 26, By-Law on EIA).
In the scope of the assessment, the possible positive and negative impacts of the
planned activities and projects on the environment are considered, and corresponding measures to prevent, minimize or eliminate any negative environmental
impacts should be clarified. This clarification is achieved by assessing various
factors, such as the location of the project and its use of technological facilities, and
monitoring the implementation of the project in practice.
The decisions on EIA are given by either the Ministry or Provincial Directorates
of Environment and Urbanization. While decisions of “EIA Positive” or “EIA
Negative” on the projects listed in Annex-1 are given by the Ministry, decisions of
“EIA Required” or “EIA Not Required” on the projects listed in Annex-2 (projects
subject to selection and elimination criteria) are given by Provincial Directorates of
Environment and Urbanization (Art. 5, Art. 14, Art. 17, By-Law on EIA). Unless
the decision of “EIA Positive” or “EIA Not Required” is made, approval, permission, incitement and investment for those projects should not be initiated or put
out to tender, and incentives and construction and usage licences cannot be given
(Art. 10(2), Environment Act; Art.7, By-Law on EIA).
If the construction or activity is started without initiating the EIA process or
completing this process, an administrative fine is imposed at the rate of 2% of the
value of the project (Art. 20(e), Environment Act). If an activity is begun without
the relevant EIA decision, the facility which began it may be subject to the suspension of the relevant activity (Art. 19, By-Law on EIA).
According to the Environment Inspection Report, between 1993 and 2014 a total
of 51,670 EIA decisions were made by the Ministry. Of those, there were 47,314
“EIA Not Required” decisions and 3,736 “EIA Positive” decisions (Ministry of
Environment and Urbanization, 2015: 13). According to the report, the sectoral
distribution of the projects decided as “EIA Positive” is as follows: projects in the
oil and mining sector have a share of 26% (976), the energy sector has 24%
(893) and the waste-chemicals sector has 13% (498). On the other hand, the sectoral
distribution of the projects decided as “EIA Not Required” is as follows: the oil and
mining sector has a share of 50% (23,405), the agriculture and food sector has 14%
(6,819) and the industrial sector has 12% (5,749) (Ministry of Environment and
Urbanization 2015: 14).
3
See all texts, including amendments, at: http://www.csb.gov.tr/gm/ced/index.php?Sayfa=
sayfa&Tur=webmenu&Id=254 and http://www.csb.gov.tr/gm/ced/index.php?Sayfa=sayfa&Tur=
webmenu&Id=11223.
6 Instruments of Environmental Compliance
103
amended a total of eighteen times.
3 By-Law No. 29186, which became effective in
2014 and was amended by By-Law No. 29619 in 2016, constitutes the most recent
version which is in force right now.
The preparation of the EIA Application File, EIA Report and Project
Introduction File is conducted by the organizations awarded qualification certificates by the Directorate General of EIA, Permit and Inspection, in accordance with
the Communiqué on Proficiency Certificate (Art. 6, Art. 26, By-Law on EIA).
In the scope of the assessment, the possible positive and negative impacts of the
planned activities and projects on the environment are considered, and corresponding measures to prevent, minimize or eliminate any negative environmental
impacts should be clarified. This clarification is achieved by assessing various
factors, such as the location of the project and its use of technological facilities, and
monitoring the implementation of the project in practice.
The decisions on EIA are given by either the Ministry or Provincial Directorates
of Environment and Urbanization. While decisions of “EIA Positive” or “EIA
Negative” on the projects listed in Annex-1 are given by the Ministry, decisions of
“EIA Required” or “EIA Not Required” on the projects listed in Annex-2 (projects
subject to selection and elimination criteria) are given by Provincial Directorates of
Environment and Urbanization (Art. 5, Art. 14, Art. 17, By-Law on EIA). Unless
the decision of “EIA Positive” or “EIA Not Required” is made, approval, permission, incitement and investment for those projects should not be initiated or put
out to tender, and incentives and construction and usage licences cannot be given
(Art. 10(2), Environment Act; Art.7, By-Law on EIA).
If the construction or activity is started without initiating the EIA process or
completing this process, an administrative fine is imposed at the rate of 2% of the
value of the project (Art. 20(e), Environment Act). If an activity is begun without
the relevant EIA decision, the facility which began it may be subject to the suspension of the relevant activity (Art. 19, By-Law on EIA).
According to the Environment Inspection Report, between 1993 and 2014 a total
of 51,670 EIA decisions were made by the Ministry. Of those, there were 47,314
“EIA Not Required” decisions and 3,736 “EIA Positive” decisions (Ministry of
Environment and Urbanization, 2015: 13). According to the report, the sectoral
distribution of the projects decided as “EIA Positive” is as follows: projects in the
oil and mining sector have a share of 26% (976), the energy sector has 24%
(893) and the waste-chemicals sector has 13% (498). On the other hand, the sectoral
distribution of the projects decided as “EIA Not Required” is as follows: the oil and
mining sector has a share of 50% (23,405), the agriculture and food sector has 14%
(6,819) and the industrial sector has 12% (5,749) (Ministry of Environment and
Urbanization 2015: 14).
3
See all texts, including amendments, at: http://www.csb.gov.tr/gm/ced/index.php?Sayfa=
sayfa&Tur=webmenu&Id=254 and http://www.csb.gov.tr/gm/ced/index.php?Sayfa=sayfa&Tur=
webmenu&Id=11223.
6 Instruments of Environmental Compliance
103