Builders do not like the EIA law, hoping for its amendment

Prague - The planned amendment to the law on the assessment of environmental impacts of projects, the so-called EIA process, will disproportionately prolong the preparation of large constructions and may even halt some. This was stated today to journalists by representatives of the Czech Chamber of Commerce in Construction (SPS), who expect changes from the government.
    Construction companies have failed to advocate for the combination of the impact assessment procedure with the building permit process. "EIA processes will instead go through all phases of the approval process, not only in the zoning planning phase, zoning decisions, and building permits, but they will even now extend to potential changes in partially completed constructions before their completion," warned Pavel Novák, director of the legislative and legal section of the SPS. At every stage, previous procedures are re-verified, and the overall process is thus enormously prolonged, he added.
    Representatives of construction companies also point to the expansion of the circle of those who will be able to express their opinions on constructions. The amendment abolishes the so-called local jurisdiction, meaning that the specific public must be directly affected by the construction project. "For example, 200 people from Ostrava, whose signatures need not be verified, can file an objection against the construction of a shopping center in Karlovy Vary. The comments do not have to have any professional level, they can be essentially anything," added Novák, noting that the authorities will still have to address them.
    If authorities do not respond to the objections, the complainant may appeal. If that too is unsuccessful, there is an option to request judicial review. "This can be done repeatedly for the same reasons, and because the courts will have a 90-day deadline for a decision, the entire process will be prolonged by at least months," said Novák. Filing a lawsuit automatically has a suspensive effect, so construction cannot proceed until the final court decision is made, he added.
    The general director of the chamber, Miloslav Mašek, asserts that this gives greater space to lobbying groups that are trying to halt or at least significantly slow down constructions. "The new EIA rules open up space for corruption when all it takes is 200 unverified signatures," he stated.
    The president of the SPS, Václav Matyáš, emphasized that the chamber does not wish to fight against legitimate demands of the affected public, but simply calls for clear rules to be set. According to Matyáš, the amendment to the law will affect not just private investments, but also large infrastructure projects funded from public sources, which will always provoke the most protests.
    Therefore, the chamber proposes that the state should address constructions carried out in the public interest, such as highways or flood control measures, under its own law in case of disproportionate delays. "We suggested to the government that the most important constructions should be dealt with under a separate law, similar to the completion of the D5 motorway around Pilsen. At the beginning, all comments would be dealt with, and then the law would determine the route, method of construction, and other details," he said. Any further changes would thus be more difficult because they would involve a change in the law.
    The Ministry of the Environment is preparing a "small" amendment to the EIA law, which is set to come into effect on January 1, 2015. This is in response to criticisms from the European Commission that the law, in its current form, is not in line with European legislation. Additionally, the ministry is preparing a "large" amendment to the law, which is to come into effect a year later. Builders hope that the second amendment will resolve their comments and shorten the preparation time for large constructions, which currently takes 10 to 15 years.