WRITTEN QUESTION E-0179/03

by Patricia McKenna (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(30 January 2003)

Subject: Council Directive 97/11/EC amending Directive 85/337/EEC

Council Directive 97/11/EC(1) amending Directive 85/337/EEC(2) on Environmental Impact Assessments does not contain an expiry date. In other words, once a developer has completed the EIA, they can wait for an indefinite period of time before starting the project.

The effects of this are twofold:

- Firstly, in the time between the completion of the EIA and the start of the project, the characteristics of the environment may change. For example, if the population of an area increases dramatically over a five-year period, then the information in the EIA may be out of date. It is, however, still deemed to be valid;

- It allows well-resourced developers to complete the EIA process on a number of projects and wait indefinitely before commencing construction. Local communities are then left in limbo. Depending on the type of project proposed, this may have an adverse effect on the economic, social and physical health of the community.

What is the Commission's opinion on this issue?

Does the Commission have any plans to amend the Directive to close this loophole?

(1) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997, p. 5.

(2) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(6 March 2003)

The Honourable Member asks the Commission's opinion regarding the length of time which may elapse between the completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) under Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment and the commencement of the project.

The Honourable Member says that once a developer has completed the EIA, they can wait for an indefinite period of time before starting the project and in this case sometimes the characteristics of the environment may change but the information in the EIA is still deemed to be valid. She also says that this leaves local communities in limbo.

It is not clear from the information provided if the Honourable Member refers to the length of time between the completion of the EIA and the granting of the development consent or between the completion of the EIA and the granting of the development consent and the actual start of the project.

The Directive requires an EIA to be carried out before consent is given for projects likely to have significant effects on the environment. It does not specify a time limit for the intervening period; or for the period between the grant of consent and the start of the project. These matters are left to the discretion of Member States, many of which have imposed time limits on one or both of these periods. In addition, powers to request fresh information, or a new environmental impact statement, or to apply conditions to consents exist in some Member States.

When no time limit has been imposed, there may be delays between carrying out the EIA and the grant of consent, and between the grant of consent and the start of the project. So far as the first case is concerned, the EIA must identify and assess the effects which the project is likely to have on the environment. If the state of

the environment has changed between the time the assessment was undertaken and the time consent is granted, it follows that the assessment may need to be updated or extended accordingly, taking into accout the legitimate expectations of the public and the principle of good administration. Hence, new information relating to likely significant environmental effects of the project must be taken into account during the development consent procedure.

As regards the change of environmental characteristics after granting of the development consent, the Directive does not regulate the time in which the project must be started. However, it should be stressed that the Directive requires that all factors likely to have significant effects on the environment are assessed and taken into account in the development consent procedure.

The Commission does not envisage amending the Directive at this stage but this could be one of the issues to be considered in any future amendment.