The European Business Association (EBA) asked the representatives of the Parliament to resolve the situation with the implementation of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure and develop appropriate amendments to the legislation.
This is stated in a press release on the official website associations.
Recall that as a result of the military invasion of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine and for the purposes of national security on March 23, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine restricted access to the Unified Register for Environmental Impact Assessment (OVD). To be able to work with the system, companies must send a request by filling out a special form. At the same time, the government prohibits obtaining the conclusion of the Department of Internal Affairs, which is a permissive document, based on the submission of a declaration.
Therefore, during a state of war, there are certain difficulties with the passage of the ATS, namely:
1. In zones of active hostilities, ATS procedures, both new and already initiated before the introduction of martial law, have been suspended, in particular, due to the physical lack of access to working premises and documentation. According to preliminary information, the possibility of transferring ATS cases from the authorized territorial bodies (ODA) to the authorized central body (Ministry of Natural Resources) is being considered, but at present there is no legal regulation of this issue. In addition, it is also appropriate to switch to electronic document management.
2. Delaying the issuance of findings from the IAB under procedures where public discussion was completed before the introduction of martial law or should be completed at that time. According to the Law on the Department of Internal Affairs, the conclusion from the Department of Internal Affairs is issued within 25 working days from the date of completion of the public discussion. In this context, it would be advisable to reduce these terms, given the virtual absence of public discussion as such.
3. It is impossible to fulfill the requirements for the preparation of a report on ATS and post-project monitoring, in particular, field studies through the mining of territories, their temporary occupation or conduct of hostilities, as well as the lack of specialists. It is logical that the requirements for the implementation of these stages of ATS should be simplified.
4. The restriction of public participation in the ATS procedure (lack of access to the ATS Register and participation in public discussion) is currently not regulated by law and may lead to potential litigation from the public in order to cancel the conclusions from the ATS obtained by enterprises during martial law and after its completion.
“Business understands the difficult situation that has developed now because of the war, but nevertheless, bureaucratic procedures should be minimized so that large, budget-forming enterprises can continue to work, provide jobs for our citizens, and pay taxes to the state and local budgets,” the statement said. EBA appeal.
Before EcoPolitica reported that the Professional Association of Ecologists of Ukraine had approached the government with a proposal to provide for withdrawal from the police department declarative principle with the obligatory passage of the procedure after the war.
