This year and next, the Ministry of Climate and Energy (KEM) plans to substantially improve the regulatory framework in order to strike a more effective balance between environmental protection requirements and the needs of economic development. The overall reform envisages amendments to the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the Law on Polluting Activities and the subordinate regulations. On 6 May, the amendments to the EIA Law drawn up by KEM were considered by the Cabinet of Ministers.

“Having assessed the process on its merits, and having reviewed the work done and the conclusions reached by the industry working groups on reducing the administrative burden, we concluded that the current system has a number of shortcomings. Although in legal terms Latvia has one of the simplest and fastest EIA processes, in practice the EIA process takes several years. The most painful part is that this long timeframe has less to do with a higher-quality EIA than with repeating the same activities over and over, and with uncertainty about which institutions have to issue which opinions. On top of that, there is currently no effective way of monitoring all the requirements that have been set. This creates an absurd situation in which working properly and caring for the community and the environment is expensive and complicated, while failing to comply with the requirements carries very little risk,” explains Minister for Climate and Energy Kaspars Melnis.

Having assessed the shortcomings identified, KEM, together with the Ministry of Economics and after hearing from environmental sector representatives, social partners and industry associations, has drawn up a roadmap for setting and monitoring environmental requirements systematically. The first of these steps is the amendments to the EIA Law approved by the government on 6 May. An EIA is carried out for every project proposal in order to assess its possible environmental impact and to ensure the project develops sustainably. Project proposals can be of many kinds — infrastructure projects, energy projects, industrial and manufacturing facilities and so on. For example, a paper mill, the construction of power lines, the building of a factory and the like.

The proposed amendments to the EIA Law are structured in three parts:

• Project monitoring, and strengthening the role of the local authority and its residents;

• Improvement of the EIA process in the field of environmental protection;

• Provision for national security aspects — so that, in the current geopolitical situation, projects that are essential to national defence and to strengthening national security can be advanced swiftly.

One important aspect is strengthening and standardising the role of the local authority. Until now it has been possible to start an EIA in a situation where the facility in question does not comply with the local authority’s spatial plan, and the authority essentially assesses whether the facility fits its development plans only when the final approval decision is taken — after residents have taken part in the public consultation and the developer has already completed the EIA. “This is one of the reasons why wind farms are often studied in locations where such a farm could not be built at all. If the legislator (the Saeima) approves the amendments drawn up by KEM, then in future the local authority’s position will be far more specific and far firmer right at the start of the process,” stresses Minister Kaspars Melnis.

Right at the outset — before the EIA procedure begins — the local authority will have to assess whether the proposed project complies with the spatial plan. If the project does not comply, the authority will have to take a considered and responsible decision on whether it sees a need to draw up a local plan for the proposal to be implemented. Such a systematic approach would rule out cases in which the developer of a proposal begins studies and begins discussions with residents about facilities that the local authority does not want to see in its territory.

At the same time, as the legal framework is improved, local authorities will also be entrusted with a significant role in informing and consulting the public. This cooperation with residents is an opportunity for the local authority to establish itself as the driving force behind local life and development.

As regards the EIA process itself, the existing thresholds for carrying out an EIA will be ^reviewed within the EIA framework and aligned with EU guidelines. The thresholds for carrying out an EIA are the criteria that determine which projects must undergo a full EIA¹ and in which cases an initial EIA must be carried out to establish whether an EIA process is needed at all. The amendments are also intended to include a mechanism allowing the studies carried out during the initial environmental impact assessment to be used effectively in the subsequent stages of developing the proposal.

Improving the EIA framework is aimed at ensuring a transparent, predictable and effectively monitored process. Thanks to clearly defined requirements, a significant gain is achieved: the duration of the full EIA procedure is cut by 30%, that is, to 1-2 years, and the costs by up to 50%, depending on the project. What is more, the project developer knows what is expected of them, which makes it easier to plan financial resources and time. This approach encourages high-quality project delivery and reduces unnecessary bureaucracy, while maintaining high environmental protection standards.

Today’s geopolitical situation has significantly changed the familiar circumstances, while also demanding faster and more flexible action from policymakers and institutions alike. For that reason, this framework provides that projects needed for national defence and for ensuring national security will be subject to technical regulations with minimum environmental protection requirements, replacing the full EIA procedure while still maintaining compliance with environmental protection requirements. At present, none of the renewable energy (RES) projects has been granted such national security status.

¹ A full EIA is carried out in cases where there is a significant impact on the environment, whereas an initial EIA assessment is carried out for projects where it is necessary to examine and conclude whether or not the proposed project has an impact on the environment.