DIRECTIVE EUROPEENNE SUR LES ETUDES D’IMPACT
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE OF 27 JUNE 1985
ON THE ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROJECTS ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
(85/337/EEC)
THE
COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having
regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in
particular Articles 100 and 235 thereof,
Having
regard to the proposal from the Commission
Having
regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,
Having
regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,
Whereas the
1973 and 1977 action programmes of the European Communities on the environment,
as well as the 1983 action programme, the main outlines of which have been
approved by the Council of the European Communities and the representatives of
the Governments of the Member States, stress that the best environmental policy
consists in preventing the creation of pollution or nuisances at source, rather
than subsequently trying to counteract their effects; whereas they affirm the
need to take effects on the environment into account at the earliest possible
stage in all the technical planning and decision-making processes; whereas to
that end, they provide for the implementation of procedures to evaluate such
effects;
Whereas the
disparities between the laws in force in the various Member States with regard
to the assessment of the environmental effects of public and private projects
may create unfavourable competitive conditions and thereby directly affect the
functioning of the common market; whereas, therefore, it is necessary to
approximate national laws in this field pursuant to Article 100 of the Treaty;
Whereas, in
addition, it is necessary to achieve one of the Community's objectives in the
sphere of the protection of the environment and the quality of life;
Whereas,
since the Treaty has not provided the powers required for this end, recourse
should be had to Article 235 of the Treaty;
Whereas
general principles for the assessment of environmental effects should be
introduced with a view to supplementing and coordinating development consent
procedures governing public and private projects likely to have a major effect
on the environment;
Whereas
development consent for public and private projects which are likely to have
significant effects on the environment should be granted only after prior
assessment
of the likely significant environmental effects of these projects has been
carried out; whereas this assessment must be conducted on the basis of the
appropriate information supplied by the developer, which may be supplemented by
the authorities and by the people who may be concerned by the project in
question;
Whereas the
principles of the assessment of environmental effects should be harmonized, in
particular with reference to the projects which should be subject to
assessment, the main obligations of the developers and the content of the
assessment;
Whereas
projects belonging to certain types have significant effects on the environment
and these projects must as a rule be subject to systematic assessment;
Whereas
projects of other types may not have significant effects on the environment in
every case and whereas these projects should be assessed where the Member
States consider that their characteristics so require;
Whereas,
for projects which are subject to assessment, a certain minimal amount of
information must be supplied, concerning the project ant its effects;
Whereas the
effects of a project on the environment must be assessed in order to take
account of concerns to protect human health, to contribute by means of a better
environment to the quality of life, to ensure maintenance of the diversity of
species and to maintain the reproductive capacity of the ecosystem as a basic
resource for life;
Whereas,
however, this Directive should not be applied to projects the details of which
are adopted by a specific act of national legislation, since the objectives of
this Directive, including that of supplying information, are achieved through
the legislative process;
Whereas,
furthermore, it may be appropriate in exceptional cases to exempt a specific
project from the assessment procedures laid down by this Directive subject to
appropriate information being supplied to the Commission,
HAS
ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
1.
This
Directive shall apply to the assessment of the environmental effects of those
public and private projects which are likely to have significant effects on the
environment.
2.
For
the purposes of this Directive:
·
'project'
means
i.
the
execution of construction works or of other installations or schemes,
ii.
other
interventions in the natural surroundings and landscape including those
involving the extraction of mineral resources;
·
'developer'
means: the applicant for authorization for a private project or the public
authority which initiates a project;
·
'development
consent' means: the decision of the competent authority or authorities which
entitles the developer to proceed with the project.
3. The
competent authority or authorities shall be that or those which the Member
States designate as responsible for performing the duties arising from this
Directive.
4. Projects
serving national defence purposes are not covered by this Directive.
5. This
Directive shall not apply to projects the details of which are adopted by a
specific act of national legislation, since the objectives of this Directive,
including that of supplying information, are achieved through the legislative
process.
1. Member
States shall adopt all measures necessary to ensure that, before consent is
given, projects likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue
inter alia, of their nature, size or location are made subject to an assessment
with regard to their effects.
These
projects are defined in Article 4
2. The
environmental impact assessment may be integrated into the existing procedures
for consent to projects in the Member States, or, failing this, into other
procedures or into procedures to be established to comply with the aims of this
Directive.
3. Member
States may, in exceptional cases, exempt a specific project in whole or in part
from the provisions laid down in this Directive.
In this
event, the Member States shall:
(a) consider whether another form of
assessment would be appropriate and whether the information thus collected
should be made available to the public;
(b) make available to the public
concerned the information relating to the exemption and the reasons for
granting it;
(c) inform the Commission, prior to granting
consent, of the reasons justifying the exemption granted, and provide it with
the information made available, where appropriate, to their own nationals.
The
Commission shall immediately forward the documents received to the other Member
States. The Commission shall report annually to the Council on the application
of this paragraph.
The
environmental impact assessment will identify, describe and assess in an
appropriate manner, in the light of each individual case and in accordance with
the
Articles 4
to 11, the direct and indirect effects of a project on the following factors:
·
human
beings, fauna and flora,
·
soil,
water, air, climate and the landscape,
·
the
inter-action between the factors mentioned in the first and second indents,
·
material
assets and the cultural heritage.
1. Subject
to Article 2 (3), projects of the classes listed in Annex I shall be made
subject to an assessment in accordance with Articles 5 to 10.
2. Projects
of the classes listed in Annex II shall be made subject to an assessment, in
accordance with Articles 5 to 10, where Member States consider that their
characteristics so require.
To this end
Member States may inter alia specify certain types of projects as being subject
to an assessment or may establish the criteria and/or thresholds necessary to
determine which of the projects of the classes listed in Annex II are to be
subject to an assessment in accordance with Articles 5 to 10.
1. In the
case of projects which, pursuant to Article 4, must be subjected to an
environmental impact assessment in accordance with Articles 5 to 10, Member
States shall adopt the necessary measures to ensure that the developer supplies
in an appropriate form the information specified in Annex III inasmuch as:
(a) the
Member States consider that the information is relevant to a given stage of the
consent procedure and to the specific characteristics of a particular project
or type of project and of the environmental features likely to be affected;
(b) the
Member States consider that a developer may reasonably be required to compile
this information having regard inter alia to current knowledge and methods of
assessment.
2. The
information to be provided by the developer in accordance with paragraph 1
shall include at least:
·
a
description of the project comprising information on the site, design and size
of the project,
·
a
description of the measures envisaged in order to avoid, reduce and, if
possible, remedy significant adverse effects,
·
the
data required to identify and assess the main effects which the project is
likely to have on the environment,
·
a
non-technical summary of the information mentioned in indents 1 to 3.
3. Where
they consider it necessary, Member States shall ensure that any authorities
with relevant information in their possession make this information available
to
the
developer.
1. Member
States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that the authorities likely
to be concerned by the project by reason of their specific environmental
responsibilities are given an opportunity to express their opinion on the
request for development consent. Member States shall designate the authorities
to be consulted for this purpose in general terms or in each case when the
request for consent is made. The information gathered pursuant to Article 5
shall be forwarded to these authorities. Detailed arrangements for consultation
shall be laid down by the Member States.
2. 'Member
States shall ensure that:
3. The
detailed arrangements for such information and consultation shall be determined
by the Member States, which may in particular, depending on the particular
characteristics of the projects or sites concerned: determine the public
concerned,
·
specify
the places where the information can be consulted,
·
specify
the way in which the public may be informed, for example by bill-posting within
a certain radius, publication in local newspapers, organization of exhibitions
with plans, drawings, tables, graphs, models,
·
determine
the manner in which the public is to be consulted, for example, by written
submissions, by public enquiry,
·
fix
appropriate time limits for the various stages of the procedure in order to
ensure that a decision is taken within a reasonable period.
Where a
Member State is aware that a project is likely to have significant effects on
the environment in another Member State or where a Member State likely to be
significantly affected so requests, the Member State in whose territory the
project is intended to be carried out shall forward the information gathered
pursuant to Article 5 to the other Member State at the same time as it makes it
available to its own nationals. Such information shall serve as a basis for any
consultations necessary in the framework of the bilateral relations between two
Member States on a reciprocal and equivalent basis.
Information
gathered pursuant to Articles 5, 6 and 7 must be taken into consideration in
the development consent procedure
When a
decision has been taken, the competent authority or authorities shall inform
the public concerned of :
·
the
content of the decision and any conditions attached thereto,
·
the
reasons and considerations on which the decision is based where the Member
States' legislation so provides.
The
detailed arrangements for such information shall be determined by the Member
States.
If another
Member State has been informed pursuant to Article 7, it will also be informed
of the decision in question.
The
provisions of this Directive shall not affect the obligation on the competent
authorities to respect the limitations imposed by national regulations and
administrative
provisions
and accepted legal practices with regard to industrial and commercial secrecy
and the safeguarding of the public interest.
Where
Article 7 applies, the transmission of information to another Member State and
the reception of information by another Member State shall be subject to the
limitations
in force in the Member State in which the project is proposed.
1. The
Member States and the Commission shall exchange information on the experience
gained in applying this Directive.
2. In
particular, Member States shall inform the Commission of any criteria and/or
thresholds adopted for the selection of the projects in question, in accordance
with Article 4 (2), or of the types of projects concerned which, pursuant to
Article 4 (2), are subject to assessment in accordance with Articles 5 to 10.
3. Five
years after notification of this Directive, the Commission shall send the
European Parliament and the Council a report on its application and
effectiveness. The report shall be based on the aforementioned exchange of
information.
4. On the
basis of this exchange of information, the Commission shall submit to the
Council additional proposals, should this be necessary, with a view to this
Directive's
being applied in a sufficiently coordinated manner.
1. Member
States shall take the measures necessary to comply with this Directive within
three years of its notification (this Directive was notified to the Member
States on 3
July 1985).
2. Member
States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the provisions of
national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.
The
provisions of this Directive shall not affect the right of Member States to lay
down stricter rules regarding scope and procedure when assessing environmental
effects.
This
Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at
Luxembourg, 27 June 1985.
ANNEX
I
PROJECTS
SUBJECT TO ARTICLE 4 (1)
1.
Crude-oil refineries (excluding undertakings manufacturing only lubricants from
crude oil) and installations for the gasification and liquefaction of 500
tonnes or more of coal or bituminous shale per day.
2. Thermal
power stations and other combustion installations with a heat output of 300
megawatts or more and nuclear power stations and other nuclear reactors (except
research installations for the production and conversion of fissionable and
fertile materials, whose maximum power does not exceed I kilowatt continuous
thermal load).
3.
Installations solely designed for the permanent storage or final disposal of
radioactive waste.
4.
Integrated works for the initial melting of cast-iron and steel.
5.
Installations for the extraction of asbestos and for the processing and
transformation of asbestos and products containing asbestos: for
asbestos-cement products, with an annual production of more than 20 000 tonnes
of finished products, for friction material, with an annual production of more
than 50 tonnes of finished products, and for other uses of asbestos,
utilization of more than 200 tonnes per year.
6.
Integrated chemical installations.
7.
Construction of motorways, express roads (1) and lines for long-distance
railway traffic and of airports(2) with a basic runway length of 2 100 m or
more.
8. Trading
ports and also inland waterways and ports for inland-waterway traffic which
permit the passage of vessels of over 1 350 tonnes.
9.
Waste-disposal installations for the incineration, chemical treatment or land
fill of toxic and dangerous wastes.
1 For the
purposes of the Directive, 'express road' means a road which complies with the
definition in the European Agreement on main international traffic arteries of
15 November 1975.
2 For the
purposes of this Directive, 'airport' means airports which comply with the
definition in the 1944 Chicago Convention setting up the International Civil
Aviation Organization (Annex 14).
ANNEX
II
PROJECTS
SUBJECT TO ARTICLE 4 (2)
1.
Agriculture
(a)
Projects for the restructuring of rural land holdings.
(b)
Projects for the use of uncultivated land or semi-natural areas for intensive
agricultural purposes.
(c)
Water-management projects for agriculture.
(d) Initial
afforestation where this may lead to adverse ecological changes and land
reclamation for the purposes of conversion to another type of land use.
(e)
Poultry-rearing installations.
(f)
Pig-rearing installations.
(g) Salmon
breeding.
(h)
Reclamation of land from the sea.
2.
Extractive industry
(a)
Extraction of peat.
(b) Deep
drillings with the exception of drillings for investigating the stability of
the soil and in particular:
·
geothermal
drilling,
·
drilling
for the storage of nuclear waste material,
·
drilling
for water supplies.
(c)
Extraction of minerals other than metalliferous and energy-producing minerals,
such as marble, sand, gravel, shale, salt, phosphates and potash.
(d)
Extraction of coal and lignite by underground mining.
(e)
Extraction of coal and lignite by open-cast mining.
(f)
Extraction of petroleum.
(g)
Extraction of natural gas.
(h)
Extraction of ores.
(i)
Extraction of bituminous shale.
(j)
Extraction of minerals other than metalliferous and energy-producing minerals
by opencast mining.
(k) Surface
industrial installations for the extraction of coal, petroleum, natural gas and
ores, as well as bituminous shale.
(l) Coke
ovens (dry coal distillation).
(m)
Installations for the manufacture of cement.
3. Energy
industry
(a)
Industrial installations for the production of electricity, steam and hot water
(unless included in Annex I).
(b)
Industrial installations for carrying gas, steam and hot water; transmission of
electrical energy by overhead cables.
(c) Surface
storage of natural gas.
(d)
Underground storage of combustible gases.
(e) Surface
storage of fossil fuels.
(f)
Industrial briquetting of coal and lignite.
(g)
Installations for the production or enrichment of nuclear fuels.
(h)
Installations for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuels.
(i)
Installations for the collection and processing of radioactive waste (unless
included in Annex I).
(j)
Installations for hydroelectric energy production.
4.
Processing of metals
(a) Iron
and steelworks, including foundries, forges, drawing plants and rolling mills
(unless included in Annex I).
(b)
Installations for the production, including smelting, refining, drawing and
rolling, of non-ferrous metals, excluding precious metals.
(c)
Pressing, drawing and stamping of large castings.
(d) Surface
treatment and coating of metals.
(e)
Boilermaking, manufacture of reservoirs, tanks and other sheet-metal container.
(f)
Manufacture and assembly of motor vehicles and manufacture of motor-vehicle
engines.
(g)
Shipyards.
(h)
Installations for the construction and repair of aircraft.
(i)
Manufacture of railway equipment.
(j) Swaging
by explosives.
(k)
Installations for the roasting and sintering of metallic ores.
5.
Manufacture of glass
6. Chemical
industry
(a) Treatment
of intermediate products and production of chemicals (unless included in Annex
I).
(b)
Production of pesticides and pharmaceutical products, paint and varnishes,
elastomers and peroxides.
(c) Storage
facilities for petroleum, petrochemical and chemical products.
7. Food
industry
(a)
Manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats.
(b) Packing
and canning of animal and vegetable products.
(c)
Manufacture of dairy products.
(d) Brewing
and malting.
(e)
Confectionery and syrup manufacture.
(f)
Installations for the slaughter of animals.
(g)
Industrial starch manufacturing installations.
(h)
Fish-meal and fish-oil factories.
(i) Sugar
factories.
8. Textile,
leather, wood and paper industries
(a) Wool
scouring, degreasing and bleaching factories.
(b)
Manufacture of fibre board, particle board and plywood.
(c)
Manufacture of pulp, paper and board.
(d)
Fibre-dyeing factories.
(e)
Cellulose-processing and production installations.
(f) Tannery
and leather-dressing factories.
9. Rubber
industry
Manufacture
and treatment of elastomer-based products.
10.
Infrastructure projects
(a)
Industrial-estate development projects.
(b)
Urban-development projects.
(c)
Ski-lifts and cable cars.
(d)
Construction of roads, harbours, including fishing harbours, and airfields
(projects not listed in Annex I).
(e)
Canalization and flood-relief works.
(f) Dams
and other installations designed to hold water or store it on a long-term
basis.
(g)
Tramways, elevated and underground railways, suspended lines or similar lines
of a particular type, used exclusively or mainly for passenger transport.
(h) Oil and
gas pipeline installations.
(i)
Installation of long-distance aqueducts.
(j) Yacht
marinas.
11. Other
projects
(a) Holiday
villages, hotel complexes.
(b)
Permanent racing and test tracks for cars and motor cycles.
(c)
Installations for the disposal of industrial and domestic waste (unless
included in Annex I).
(d) Waste
water treatment plants.
(e)
Sludge-deposition sites.
(f) Storage
of scrap iron.
(g) Test
benches for engines, turbines or reactors.
(h)
Manufacture of artificial mineral fibres.
(i)
Manufacture, packing, loading or placing in cartridges of gunpowder and
explosives.
(j)
Knackers' yards.
12.
Modifications to development projects included in Annex I and projects in Annex
I undertaken exclusively or mainly for the development and testing of new
methods or
products and not used for more than one year.
ANNEX
III
INFORMATION
REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 5 (I)
1. Description
of the project, including in particular:
·
a
description of the physical characteristics of the whole project and the
land-use requirements during the construction and operational phases,
·
a
description of the main characteristics of the production processes, for
instance, nature and quantity of the materials used,
·
an
estimate, by type and quantity, of expected residues and emissions (water, air
and soil pollution, noise, vibration, light, heat, radiation, etc) resulting
from the operation of the proposed project.
2. Where
appropriate, an outline of the main alternatives studied by the developer and
an indication of the main reasons for his choice, taking into account the
environmental effects.
3. A
description of the aspects of the environment likely to be significantly
affected by the proposed project, including in particular, population, fauna,
flora, soil, water, air, climatic factors, material assets, including the
architectural and archaeological heritage, landscape and the inter-relationship
between the above factors.
4. A
description (1) of the likely significant effects of the proposed project on
the environment resulting from:
·
the
existence of the project,
·
the
use of natural resources,
·
the
emission of pollutants, the creation of nuisances and the elimination of waste;
and the
description by the developer of the forecasting methods used to assess the
effects on the environment.
5. A
description of the measures envisaged to prevent, reduce and where possible
offset any significant adverse effects on the environment.
6. A
non-technical summary of the information provided under the above headings.
7. An
indication of any difficulties (technical deficiencies or lack of know-how)
encountered by the developer in compiling the required information.
(1) The
description should cover the direct effects and any indirect, secondary,
cumulative, short, medium and long-term, permanent and temporary, positive and
negative
effects of the project.