Environmental Studies
Public and private sector projects and activities, the construction or operation of which may have an impact of any magnitude on the environment, are classified into two categories (A and B) according to these effects on the environment.
Projects and activities of category A are classified: a) those that are likely to cause very significant effects on the environment – subcategory A1 and b) those that are likely to cause significant effects on the environment – subcategory A2.
The second category (B) includes projects and activities which may cause only local and non-significant effects on the environment and are subject to general standards, conditions and restrictions set for the protection of the environment.
The Group undertakes the elaboration of environmental studies and the monitoring of the file to the competent Service for the issuance of a Decision Approving Environmental Conditions (DAEC), or its renewal / modification, for Category A activities, as well as the submission of a file for inclusion in Standard Environmental Commitments for Category B activities. It also prepares Special Environmental Studies, Natural Environment Management Studies and Special Ecological Assessment (EIA).
The categories of environmental studies, in which we are active, in accordance with the legislation, are the following:
For the implementation of new projects or category A activities, the project operator may request an opinion of the competent environmental authority by submitting a Preliminary Determination of Environmental Requirements file, before submitting an Environmental Impact Study (EIS). Under Preliminary Determination of Environmental Requirements Studies, the project or activity operator may hold a public debate on the main technical characteristics of the project or activity and its possible main environmental impacts.
The opinion at the stage of a Preliminary Determination of Environmental Requirements Study shall specify the following reasons for the content of the EIS:
(a) the sets of alternatives;
(b) the specific studies by impact category deemed necessary and guidance on the methodology and characteristics of the studies;
(c) the issues to which particular attention should be paid when considering the effects;
(d) the list of bodies consulted and the proposals for consultation
(e) any more specific guidance on the content of the EIS and the elements required
(e) any more specific guidance on the content of the EIS and the elements required
Environmental Impact Studies (category 27) are a prerequisite step in the environmental permitting process for the realization of new projects or the modification of the design of existing ones.
All projects and activities for which environmental permitting is required have been classified into two categories: A (which is subdivided into subcategories A1 and A2) and B and 12 groups common to all categories. Subcategory A1 includes projects and activities likely to have a very significant impact on the environment, while subcategory A2 classifies projects and activities likely to cause significant effects on the environment. Category B includes projects and activities characterised by local and non-significant effects on the environment For the environmental licensing of projects and activities of category B, the submission and evaluation of an EIS is not required, but they are subject to Standard Environmental Commitments (SEC) that are an integral part of the required permits provided for their construction, installation or operation.
The elaboration of an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) is required for projects and activities of the first category (A) that may cause significant effects on the environment. EISs impose special conditions and restrictions for the protection of the environment in relation to a specific project or activity.
The Decision Approving Environmental Conditions impose conditions, terms, restrictions and variations for the realization of the project or activity, in particular in terms of location, size, type, technology applied and general technical characteristics. In addition, any necessary remedial or preventive measures and actions to monitor environmental means and parameters or compensatory measures are imposed. The conditions relate in order of priority to avoiding or minimising the effects or to remedying or restoring the environment. In cases where, despite the application of all the above conditions, effects on the environment are found and if they are assessed as significant, additional compensatory measures and/or charges may be imposed.
The operators of projects and activities in case of modernization, expansion, improvement or modification of environmentally licensed projects or activities, are obliged to submit for approval to the competent environmental authority a File for Amendment / Renewal of DAEC In particular, regarding the procedure for the renewal of DAEC, the project and activity bodies before the expiry of the DAEC are obliged to submit for approval to the competent environmental authority an DAEC Renewal File.
For the period that elapses between the timely submission of the DAEC Amendment/ Renewal File and the completion of the new licensing process, the existing DAEC is maintained in force. A timely submission is defined as one that is carried out at least two months before the end of the existing DAEC.
In case of differentiation of the design of an environmentally licensed project or activity at stages of the technical study following the issuance of an DAEC, the project or activity operator may, before the start of construction, submit a Final Design Compliance File, which documents that there are no significant negative variations in the impact on the environment and, therefore, compliance with the current DAEC s is ensured. This file is an element in updating the EIS file.
The facilities and works resulting from the technical design of projects or activities at a stage following the issuance of their DAEC, such as construction sites, deposit rooms, motorist service stations, service centers for projects or activities, toll stations, noise protection works, specialization of technical measures and terms of the project’s DAEC, are approved by submitting and evaluating a Technical Environmental Study (TES) to the person responsible for the environmental licensing authority, by decision of its Director General.
Necessary conditions for the submission and approval of the TES are: a) the general assessment of the impact and the provision of general or even special conditions and restrictions for this type of installations and works in the DAEC and b) the explicit provision in the DAEC of the project or activity of the possibility of submitting and approving TES.
Category B projects or activities do not follow the EIS elaboration process but are subject to Standard Environmental Commitments (SEC).
The above projects or activities, depending on their type, are automatically subject to an SEC, under the responsibility of the competent authority that grants the operating license and following a relevant statement by the designer or the operator of the project or activity. If the project or activity does not receive an operating license, then it is subject to an SEC under the responsibility of the competent environmental service of the Region.
The SEC shall form an integral part of the required permits, where applicable, foreseen for the construction, installation and operation of category B projects or activities.
In the case of projects and activities taking place in protected areas of the Natura network, the environmental permitting is carried out on the basis of the relevant provisions of the more specific presidential decrees and ministerial protection decisions. In the absence of such provisions:
a) for category B projects, a Special Ecological Assessment (SEA) is submitted to the competent Department of Environment of the Region.
(b) for category A projects, as part of the EIS, a Special Ecological Assessment (SEA) shall be submitted to the competent, where appropriate, department.
This is a specialized Study, within the framework of the Environmental Permitting, which is additionally prepared when the project or activity is located within the boundaries of an area of the European Natura 2000 Network.
This study aims at the qualitative and quantitative assessment of the impact of the project or activity on the protected area and the species that make up it. Given the current (see MD A.P. oik. 170225) conditions for the elaboration of the SEA, the Group’s team provides all the required services.
Depending on the type of Natura 2000 area (SAC, SCI, SPA) as well as the type of project or activity to be studied, the most appropriate working group is created on a case-by-case basis, thus ensuring its effective environmental permitting.