The Environmental Audit, Assessment and Review Regulations, 2000

PART C: PROPOSED PROJECTS

Submission of Project Briefs

5. (1) The proponent of a proposed project which -
(a) requires a permit, licence, approval or other consent from an authorising agency; or
(b) is forwarded to the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development (MEPD) for inclusion in the Development Plan, shall submit to the appropriate authorising agency a project brief which incorporates a brief plan and/or outline proposal for a project and which contains sufficient information to enable the authorising agency to determine to which category the proposed project should be assigned in accordance with regulation 6.

(2) The Ministry of Economic Planning and Development shall be the authorising agency in respect of any proposed project is forwarded to that ministry for inclusion in the Development Plan by a Government ministry, department or agency, a public body, or a body concerned with national development which is answerable directly to the Ngwenyama.

(3) Where the project requires a permit, licence, consent or approval from more than one authorising agency, for the purposes of sub-regulation (1) the "appropriate authorising agency" means -
(a) the municipality or local authority within whose area of jurisdiction the proposed project is to be situated unless the municipality or local authority is the proponent;
(b) the Authority if the authorising agency is also the proponent of the project or if the project is not situated within the area of jurisdiction of a municipality or local authority and there is more than one authorising agency.

Categorisation of Projects

6. (1) The appropriate authorising agency shall review the project brief and may request the proponent to amplify the project brief or to provide any additional information which the authorising agency may reasonably require, by a date specified by the authorising agency. Once the authorising agency is satisfied that it has sufficient information concerning the proposed project the authorising agency shall categorise the proposed project -
(a) as a category 1 project if the authorising agency considers that the proposed project is unlikely to have any significant adverse environmental impacts;
(b) as a category 2 project if the authorising agency considers that the proposed project is likely to have some significant adverse environmental impacts but that the impacts are relatively well-known and easy to predict and the measures which can be taken to prevent or mitigate these impacts are well-know;
(c) as a category 3 project if the authorising agency considers that the proposed project is likely to have significant adverse environmental impacts and that in-depth study is required to determine the scale, extent and significance of the impacts and to identify appropriate mitigation measures.

(Illustrative examples of the types of projects which would ordinarily be assigned to each category are given in the First Schedule).

(2) In deciding to which category a proposed project should be assigned, the authorising agency shall take into consideration all relevant factors including the scale of the proposed project and its location in relation to environmentally sensitive areas.

(3) The Minister, by notice in the Gazette, may designate areas as environmentally sensitive areas for the purposes of these regulations.

(4) Subject to sub-regulation 7(2), the authorising agency shall, within fifteen (15) days of assigning a proposed project to a category, submit to the Authority the project brief, a written copy of the decision categorizing the proposed project and the reasons for the decision.

(5) The Authority may, within five (5) days after receipt of that decision of the authorising agency change the categorisation of the proposed project. If the Authority re-categorises the proposed project the Authority shall, within ten (10) days of the date of the re-categorization, notify in writing the authorising agency which first categorised the project.

(6) A person shall not, after the Authority has accepted or amended a categorisation of a project, subsequently change, alter or amend that categorisation without the consent of the Authority.

Category 1 Projects

7. (1) Where a project is classified under category 1 the Authority or an authorising agency to which power has been delegated under sub-regulation (2), shall within ten (10) days of the classification or reclassification, issue an environmental compliance certificate.

(2) Where the Authority considers that a municipality, Ministry or other public body has sufficient expertise to correctly identify and classify category 1 projects, the Director may, by notice in writing delegate authority to that body to issue notices of acceptance and environmental compliance certificates on behalf of the Authority for category 1 projects in respect of which that body is the appropriate authorising agency under sub-regulation 5(2) or (3) and any such delegation shall be subject to the condition that the agency to whom this authority is delegated shall keep a record of each project brief and the reasons for classifying it as a category 1 project for at least three (3) years and at the request of the Authority shall forward copies of any of these records to the Authority to enable the Authority to satisfy itself that the agency is classifying projects correctly.

Category 2 Projects

8. (1) Where a project is classified under category 2 -
(a) the proponent shall prepare an IEE report and a CMP in accordance with the requirements set out in the Second Schedule and shall submit three copies of the IEE report and the CMP to the appropriate authorising agency and one copy to the Authority together with the fee prescribed in the Third Schedule;
(b) the Authority shall, within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the IEE report and the CMP, decide whether the IEE report and the CMP conform to the prescribed reporting requirements specified in the Second Schedule and to any relevant guidelines published by the Authority, and -
(i) if they do conform, the Authority shall issue a notice of acceptance to the proponent and notify the proponent of the number of copies of the IEE report and the CMP which the Authority requires for public review purposes; and
(ii) if they do not conform, the Authority shall order the project proponent to prepare and submit an amended IEE report and CMP to the Authority;
(c) the Authority shall within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the amended documents together with the fee prescribed in the Third Schedule, either issue a notice of acceptance if the Authority considers that the amended documents comply with the requirements of these Regulations and to any relevant guidelines published by the Authority; or notify the proponent in writing that the documents have been rejected giving reasons for the decision;
(d) after issuing a notice of acceptance the Authority shall review that IEE report and the CMP and if it considers that further studies are necessary to assess the likely impacts of the project or to identify appropriate mitigation measures, the Authority may by notice to the project proponent and copied to the authorising agency order the project proponent to prepare and submit an EIA and a revised CMP and to follow the procedure under regulation 9 for projects under category 3.

Category 3 Projects

9. (1) A proponent in respect of a project classified under category 3 shall, before preparing an EIA report and CMP, effect a consultation process to involve or include concerned or affected Government agencies, local authorities, non-governmental organizations and any other interested and affected persons to help determine the scope and effect of the project or work to be carried out.

(2) A proponent, after compliance with sub-regulation (1), shall submit to the Authority for its determination a draft of the terms of reference which shall take into account the results of the consultation mentioned in sub-regulation (1).

(3) The Authority shall, within five (5) days after receipt of the draft of the terms of reference, determine whether or not it is acceptable and where the draft is not acceptable, the proponent with the assistance of the Authority shall prepare and submit to the Authority acceptable and final terms of reference.

(4) After the Authority has approved the terms of reference, the proponent shall:
(a) prepare an EIA report and a CMP in accordance with the requirements set out in the Second Schedule and shall submit one copy of the EIA report and the CMP to the appropriate authorising agency and three copies to the Authority together with the fee prescribed in the Third Schedule; and
(b) the Authority shall within twenty (20) days of receipt of the EIA report and the CMP, decide whether the EIA report and the CMP conform to the prescribed reporting requirements specified in the Second Schedule and to any relevant guidelines published by the Authority and -
   (i) if they do conform, the Authority shall issue a notice of acceptance to the proponent; and
   (ii) if they do not conform, the Authority shall order, the project proponent to prepare and submit an amended EIA report and CMP and notify the proponent of the number of copies of the EIA report and the CMP which the Authority requires for public review purposes;
(c) the Authority which shall, within twenty (20) days of receipt of the amended documents together with the fee prescribed in the Third Schedule, either:
   (i) issue a notice of acceptance if the Authority considers that the amended documents comply with the requirements of these Regulations and to any relevant guidelines published by the Authority and notify the proponent of the number of copies of the EIA report and the CMP which the Authority requires for public review purposes; or
   (ii) notify the proponent in writing that the documents have been rejected giving reasons for the decision.