The Environmental Audit, Assessment and Review Regulations, 2000

PART E: ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATES

Issue of Environmental Compliance Certificates

15. (1) The Authority shall, within twenty (20) days after the expiry of the period for public review under regulation 11, or if a public hearing has been held, after receipt of a report of a public hearing consider any EA, IEE, EIA, CMP and summary in respect of which a notice of acceptance has been issued, the comments, submissions and objections put forward by interested and affected persons, and the report of any public hearing, and either issue, or refuse to issue, an environmental compliance certificate

(2) The Authority shall issue an environmental compliance certificate subject to whatever terms and conditions the Authority considers appropriate to ensure that the adverse environmental impacts of the undertaking or project are satisfactorily mitigated, if the Authority considers that all the environmental concerns or impacts are adequately addressed by the EA, IEE or EIA report and the accompanying CMP.

(3) The Authority shall refuse to issue an environmental compliance certificate:
(a) in respect of an existing undertaking, if the Authority considers that the continued operation of the undertaking is causing, or is reasonably likely to cause, danger to the environment or the public and that the mitigation measures proposed in the CMP are inadequate to satisfactorily mitigate the danger and the adverse environmental impacts of the undertaking;
(b) in respect of a project, if the Authority considers that the implementation of the project would bring about unacceptable environmental impacts or that the mitigation measures may be inadequate to satisfactorily mitigate the adverse environmental impacts of the proposed project.

(4) If the Authority refuses to issue an environmental compliance certificate under sub-regulation 3(a), the Authority shall simultaneously give notice to the operator to rectify or remove the cause of danger or potential danger in accordance with sub-regulation 5(5) of the Act.

(5) The terms and conditions to be complied with by the operator of an undertaking, or by the proponent in undertaking the project, shall be specified in the environmental compliance certificate, and may be expressly stated in the certificate or incorporated by reference to the relevant CMP which shall form part of, the environmental compliance certificate.

(6) The Authority shall communicate its decision under sub-regulation (1) -
(a) in writing to any authorising agency giving reasons for its decision;
(b) by publishing that decision in a medium to be decided by the Authority;
(c) by publishing a detailed statement of the decision for public inspection in the manner specified in sub-regulation 11(1); and
(d) by sending a copy of the decision to any person who has in writing submitted comments or lodged an objection to the Authority in terms of these Regulations.

Implementation of CMPs

16. (1) The person to whom an environmental compliance certificate is issued shall be responsible for implementing the CMP which forms part of the environmental compliance certificate, and for monitoring the environmental impacts of the project and the implementation of the CMP.

(2) The operator of an existing undertaking shall commence implementation of the CMP within fifteen (15) days of the date of issue of the environmental compliance certificate and the Authority shall monitor the undertaking to ensure that the operator is complying with the CMP.

(3) The holder of the environmental compliance certificate shall submit periodic Project Compliance Reports containing information on the implementation of the CMP in accordance with the provisions of the Second Schedule and with the directions of the Authority.

(4) Any authorising agency which issues any authorisation in relation to the undertaking or project shall ensure that the terms and conditions of that authorisation are consistent with the terms and conditions of the environmental compliance certificate (including the CMP).

(5) Where the proponent of a project is a government ministry or department it shall ensure that all contracts for implementing the project are consistent with the terms and conditions of the environmental compliance certificate and shall monitor the implementation of the project.

(6) Any person who monitors the implementation of a project or a CMP and who discovers that any term or condition of the environmental compliance certificate is not being complied with, or that unforeseen damage to the environment is occurring, shall immediately report this to the Authority.

Expiry of Environmental Compliance Certificates

17. (1) An environmental compliance certificate shall expire after three (3) years from the date of its issue if by that date, no substantial progress has been made in implementing the project such as earthworks or construction work, or if the project has been abandoned or postponed.

(2) Where an environmental compliance certificate has expired and the proponent intends to revive and proceed with the project, that proponent shall submit a revised project brief to the appropriate authorising agency.

(3) The proponent shall, when complying with sub-regulation (2), inform the authorising agency of any changes or differences in the present proposals and the proposals sanctioned in the expired environmental compliance certificate and the authorising agency, shall in turn inform the Authority of those changes or differences.

(4) The Authority, on being informed as required by this regulation, shall determine -
(a) whether the proponent ought to prepare an additional IEE or EIA report, and a CMP; or
(b) whether the proponent ought to do additional work to supplement an IEE or EIA report, and the CMP.

(5) Where the Authority determines that an additional IEE or EIA report and the accompanying CMP, should be done, the provisions of regulation 8 or 9 (including the payment of the relevant fees prescribed in the Third Schedule) shall apply to that project.

(6) Where the Authority determines that only a supplementary work to the existing IEE report and the CMP, and EIA report and the CMP is required, it shall advise the proponent as to the nature of the additional work or information so required and the proponent shall comply before proceeding with the project.

(7) The Authority shall, on receipt of the supplementary work or information, display, distribute and lay open for review by any interested or affected person.

(8) An interested or affected person who is mentioned in sub-regulation (7) may, within twenty (20) days from the first day of the review mentioned in that sub-regulation, submit objections or comments to the Authority.

(9) The Authority shall within ten (10) days after the period of submission of objections and comments, decide in accordance with regulation 16 whether or not to issue an environmental compliance certificate.

Suspension, Amendment and Cancellation of ECCs

18. (1) If, on the basis of information which has become available to the Authority after the issue of an environmental compliance certificate, the Authority considers that the implementation of the project or the continued operation of the undertaking is causing, or is reasonably likely to cause, danger to the environment or to the public, the Authority -
(a) may suspend the environmental compliance certificate and give notice to the proponent or operator to rectify or remove the cause of danger or potential danger in accordance with sub-section 5(5) of the Act; and
(b) may give the operator or proponent a reasonable opportunity of proposing amendments to the environmental compliance certificate which are acceptable to the Authority;
(c) subject to sub-regulation (2), may amend or cancel the environmental compliance certificate by notice in writing to the proponent or operator.

(2) The Authority shall not cancel an environmental compliance certificate unless the Authority is of the opinion that the danger to, or adverse effect on, the environment or the public cannot be satisfactorily mitigated.