Assessing the impact of buildings on the environment may become simpler

Prague - The assessment of the impact of construction projects on the environment, the so-called EIA process, is likely to be simpler and faster. This is to be ensured by an amendment to the law on impact assessment, which will come into effect on Wednesday. The amendment, for example, limits the number of projects that will be subject to assessment and extends the basic validity period of the EIA opinion from five to seven years.

"The entire process will also be shortened by a month and a half for all assessed projects, which is quite a significant shift, especially for smaller projects," stated Environment Minister Richard Brabec (ANO), who presented the law to Parliament.

In the past, the EU refused to provide subsidies for some Czech transport constructions due to outdated EIA assessments. According to Minister Brabec, there are dozens of transport projects in the Czech Republic that have an EIA opinion that is up to 15 years old. The amendment is expected to allow an extension of the basic validity period of the opinion by five years, meaning it could be valid for 12 years.

Annually, about 2000 so-called sub-threshold projects were assessed in the Czech Republic. According to Brabec, only 300 of them should now be assessed, and only in specially protected areas. The possibility for the public and affected authorities to comment on the assessment is also being abolished, which will shorten the EIA process by the time allocated for these measures and also other related timeframes. However, according to conservation organizations, the minister has taken away people's opportunity to express their views on constructions in their vicinity.