CELEX: 51982PC0158
Language: en
Date: 1982-03-31
Title: PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE CONCERNING THE ASSESSMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF CERTAIN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROJECTS

1- 5. 82                           Official Journal of the European Communities                           No C 110/5
                                                              II
                                                       (Preparatory Acts)
                                                COMMISSION
               Proposal to amend the proposal for a Council Directive concerning the assessment of the
                                environmental effects of certain public and private projects (')
               (Submitted by the Commission to the Council pursuant to the second paragraph of Article
                                            149 of the EEC Treaty on 1 April 1982)
               At the sitting of the European Parliament on 18 February 1982, the Commission
               accepted the substance of certain amendments proposed by the Parliament. In
               accordance with Article 149 of the EEC Treaty, the Commission proposes the attached
               amendments to its original proposal.
               O OJ No C 169, 9. 7. 1980, p. 14.
                  TEXT ALREADY PROPOSED (')                                             AMENDED TEXT
                                            Preamble and recitals unchanged
                           Article 1                                                      Article 1
1.     This Directive shall apply to the assessment of             1. Unchanged
the environmental effects of those public and private
projects which are likely to have significant effects on
the environment.
2.     For the purposes of this Directive:                         2. Unchanged with the exception of the following:
development project means a proposal:
(a) to construct buildings, installations or facilities;
(b) to extract minerals;
(c) to make substantial changes in the landscape;
(') The full text is contained in OJ No C 169, 9. 7. 1980,
    p. 14.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 110/6                              Official Journal of the European Communities                               1.5.82
                   TEXT ALREADY PROPOSED                                               AMENDED TEXT
modification project means a proposal:
(a) to construct an extension or modification of
     buildings, installations or facilities;
(b) to make a substantial change in the use of
      buildings, installations or facilities;
(c) to extend or modify mineral workings;
project means either a development project or a
modification project;
competent authority means the authority or the auth-            competent authority means the authority or the auth-
orities responsible in each Member State for                    orities designated as responsible in each Member State
executing the tasks set out in the present Directive in         for executing the tasks set out in the present Directive
respect of a given project;                                     in respect of a given project;
developer means the applicant                  for  planning    developer means the applicant for authorization for a
permission for a private project              or the public     private project or the public authority which proposes
authority which proposes a project;                             a project;
planning permission means the decision of the                   authorization means the decision of the competent
competent authority to permit a project in the private          authority or authorities allowing the developer to
sector or the corresponding decision to proceed in the          carry out the project;
case of a project in the public sector;
                           Article 3                                                      Article 3
1.     The assessment provided for in Article 2 shall            1.    The environmental impact assessment shall
consider the effects of projects on:                             identify, describe and evaluate in the light of each
                                                                 individual case, and in accordance with the following
— water, air, soil, climate, flora, fauna and their              Articles, the direct and indirect effects of a project on:
     inter-relationships,
                                                                 — human beings, fauna and flora,
— the built-up environment, including the archi-
     tectural heritage, and the landscape.                       — soil, water, air, climatic factors,
                                                                 — material assets, including the cultural heritage, and
                                                                     the landscape,
                                                                 — natural resources,
                                                                 — the ecological balance.
2.     The effects on these resources shall be assessed          2.    The effects shall be assessed with regard to the
by reference to the need to protect and improve                  need to protect and improve human health and living
human health and living conditions as well as to                 conditions and to preserve the reproductive capacity
preserve the long-term productive capacities of the              of ecosystems as well as the diversity of species.
resources.
                           Article 4                                                     Article 4
1.     Development projects of the classes listed in             1.    Development projects of the classes listed in
Annex 1 shall be made subject to an assessment in               Annex 1 shall be made subject to an assessment in
accordance with Articles 6 to 11.                                accordance with Articles 6 to 11.
For the purpose of excluding exceptional cases which             Member States may, however, in exceptional circum-
are unlikely to have any significant effect on the               stances, exempt such projects from the provisions of
 ---pagebreak---  1.5.82                           Official Journal of the European Communities                           N o C 110/7
                  TEXT ALREADY PROPOSED                                              AMENDED TEXT
environment, the competent authority may, with the            the aforesaid Articles. Where Member States grant
agreement of the Commission, exempt a particular              such exemptions, they shall:
project below a specified threshold from the
assessment mentioned above and, where appropriate,            (a) consider whether any other form of assessment
make it subject to a simplified form of assessment.                would be appropriate;
                                                              (b) make arrangements for the public concerned to be
                                                                   informed and consulted in an appropriate manner;
                                                                    and
                                                               (c) immediately inform the Commission         of  the
                                                                    reasons for granting the exemption.
2.     Projects of the classes listed in Annex 2 and          2.      Unchanged
modification projects of the classes listed in Annex 1
shall be made subject to an assessment in accordance
with Articles 6 to 11, whenever their characteristics so
require.
The competent authority shall establish the criteria
and thresholds necessary to determine which of those
projects are to be made subject to an assessment in
accordance with Articles 6 to 11 or, where appro-
priate, to a simplified form of assessment.
3.    The competent authority shall examine which             3.      Unchanged
projects other than those mentioned above are likely
to have a significant effect on the environment,
having regard in particular to the environmental
sensitivity of the site of the projects with a view to
determining which projects should be made subject to
an assessment in accordance with Articles 6 to 11 or,
where appropriate, to a simplified form of assessment.
                         Article 6                                                     Article 6
1.    The Member States shall adopt the necessary             1.     The Member States shall adopt the necessary
measures to ensure that the developer prepares, with          measures to ensure that the developer prepares, with
the assistance of the competent authority when                the assistance of the competent authority when
necessary, and supplies with his application for              necessary, and supplies with his application for auth-
planning permission the following information in an           orization the following information in an appropriate
appropriate form:                                             form:
— a description of the proposed project and, where            —    unchanged
    applicable, of the reasonable alternatives for the
    site and design of the project,
— a description of the environment likely to be               —    unchanged
    significantly affected by the proposed project,
    including, where applicable, the environment in
    other Member States,
— an assessment of the likely significant effects on          —    unchanged
    the environment, including, where applicable,
    effects on the environment in other Member
    States,
— a description of the measures envisaged to                  —    unchanged
    eliminate, reduce or compensate adverse effects
    on the environment,
 ---pagebreak--- No C 110/8                           Official Journal of European Communities                            1.5.82
                 TEXT ALREADY PROPOSED                                         AMENDED TEXT
— a description of the relationship between the          —   unchanged
    proposed project and existing environmental and
    land-use plans and standards for the area likely to
    be affected,
— in the case of significant effects on the              —   unchanged
    environment, an explanation of the reasons for
    the choice of the site and design of the proposed
    project, compared with reasonable alternative
    solutions which might have less adverse effects, if
    any, on the environment,
— a non-technical summary of the items above.            —   unchanged
2.    The information to be supplied in accordance       2.    The information to be supplied in accordance
with paragraph 1 shall also contain the data referred    with paragraph 1 shall also contain the data referred
to in Annex 3 to the extent that they are relevant to    to in Annex 3 to the extent that they are relevant to
the stage of the planning procedure and to the           the stage of the authorization procedure and to the
specific characteristics of the project and of the       specific characteristics of the project and of the
environment likely to be affected, and to the extent     environment likely to be affected, and to the extent
that the developer can reasonably be expected to be      that the developer can reasonably be expected to be
able to obtain them, taking into account existing        able to obtain them, taking into account existing
knowledge and assessment methods. v                      knowledge and assessment methods.
3.    At the appropriate stages of the planning          3.    At the appropriate stages of the authorization
procedure, the competent authority shall require         procedure, the competent authority shall require
completion of, or assist in completing when appro-       completion of, or assist in completing when appro-
priate, the information to be supplied by the            priate, the information to be supplied by the
developer.                                               developer.
                        Article 7                                                Article 7
1.    The competent authority shall send for opinion     1.    The Member States shall take the measures
the application for planning permission as well as the   necessary to ensure that the authorities which may be
information gathered pursuant to Article 6 to all        concerned by the project by reason of their environ-
relevant administrative authorities and other statutory  mental responsibilities and which are designated by the
authorities or bodies with specific responsibility for   Member States are given an opportunity to express
environmental matters. The competent authority shall     their opinion on the application for authorization on
determine the authorities and bodies to be consulted     the basis of the information gathered pursuant to
and shall fix, where necessary, a suitable time limit    Article 6, in accordance with the detailed
within which comments shall be delivered.                arrangements laid down by national law.
2.    If the project is likely to produce a significant  2.    Unchanged
effect on the environment in another Member State,
the competent authority shall also ensure that the
information gathered pursuant to Article 6 is sent for
comment to the competent authority in that Member
State and fix a suitable time limit within which
comments should be returned.
                        Article 8                                                 Article 8
1.    The competent authority shall publish the fact     1.    The competent authority shall publish the fact
that the application for planning permission has been    that the application for authorization has been made,
made, shall make publicly available the application for  shall make publicly available the application for
 ---pagebreak---  1.5.82                          Official Journal of the European Communities                            No C 110/9
                 TEXT ALREADY PROPOSED                                              AMENDED TEXT
planning permission, as well as the information               authorization, as well as the information gathered
 gathered pursuant to Article 6, and shall arrange            pursuant to Article 6, and shall arrange appropriate
 appropriate consultation with the public concerned.          consultation with the public concerned. In the light of
 In the light of the importance of the likely environ-        the importance of the likely environmental effects and
 mental effects and of the number of persons likely to        of the number of persons likely to be affected, the
 be affected, the competent authority shall decide the        competent authority shall decide the best means for
 best means for giving the information to the public          giving the information to the public within a suitable
within a suitable time limit and for ascertaining the         time limit and for ascertaining the views of the public.
views of the public.
                                                             2.      If the project is likely to produce a significant
                                                             effect on the environment in another Member State,
                                                             the population of that Member State should also be
                                                             able, to take part in the consultation process. The
                                                             Member States shall determine, in the framework of
                                                             their bilateral or multilateral relations, the most
                                                             appropriate arrangements for this purpose.
                         Article 9                                                    Article 9
The provisions of Articles 7 and 8 do not affect the
                                                             The provisions of Articles 7 and 8 do not affect the
obligation of the competent authority to respect the
                                                             obligation of the competent authority to respect the
limitations imposed by national laws, regulations,
                                                             limitations imposed by national laws, regulations,
administrative provisions and accepted practices with
                                                             administrative provisions and accepted practices with
respect to industrial and commercial secrecy, as well
                                                             respect to industrial and commercial secrecy, as well
as to the public interest.
                                                             as to the public interest.
                                                             Where Article 7 (2) applies, the transmission of infor-
                                                             mation to another Member State shall be subject to
                                                             the limitations in force in the Member State in which
                                                             the project is proposed.
                        Article 10                                                    Article 10
1.    The competent authority in its decision on an          1.    The competent authority in its decision on an
application for planning permission shall take into          application for authorization shall take into
consideration the information' gathered pursuant to          consideration the information gathered pursuant to
Articles 6, 7 and 8, and shall, to that end, make an         Articles 6, 7 and 8, and shall, to that end, make an
assessment of the likely significant effects of the          assessment of the likely significant effects of the
proposed project.                                            proposed project.
2.    The competent authority, except when the               2.    The competent authority, except when the
planning permission is refused on grounds other than         authorization is refused on grounds other than
environmental, shall make publicly available, either in      environmental, shall make publicly available, either in
a separate document or as part of the decision on            a separate document or as part of the decision on
application for planning permission, the following:          application for authorization, the following:
— its assessment of the likely significant effects on        —   unchanged
    the environment of the proposed project,
— a synthesis of the main comments and opinions              —   unchanged
    received pursuant to Articles 7 and 8,
                                                             — where appropriate, its opinion on the outlined
                                                                 alternatives, including that of not pursuing the
                                                                 project,
— the reasons for granting or refusing the planning          — the reasons for granting or refusing the auth-
    permission,                                                  orization,
— the conditions, if any, to be attached to the              — the conditions, if any, to be attached to the auth-
    planning permission.                                         orization.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 110/10                                       Official Journal of the European Communities                                                          1.5.82
                                                                             ANNEX 1
                                   DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS (') REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 4 (1)
                      TEXT ALREADY PROPOSED                                                                           AMENDED TEXT
                                                                  Items 1 to 7 unchanged
   Processing of rubber (48)                                                              8. Processing of rubber (48)
   Factories for the primary production of rubber                                            Factories for the primary production of rubber
   Manufacture of rubber tyres (481.1)                                                        Manufacture of rubber tyres (481.1)
                                                                                              Factories for the renewal or reprocessing of rubber
                                                                                             products
                                                                       Item 9 unchanged
                (') Development projects are classified, as far as possible, in the classes, groups and sub-groups of the 'General Industrial Class-
                    ification of Economic Activities' within the European Community adopted by the Statistical Office of the European Communities,
                     1970. Reference numbers of the classification are indicated, where applicable.
                                                                            ANNEX 2
                                              PROJECTS (•) REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 4 (2)
                      TEXT ALREADY PROPOSED                                                                            AMENDED TEXT
                                                                   Items 1 and 2 unchanged
 3. Energy industry                                                                        3. Energy industry
    Research plants for the production and processing of                                       Research plants for the production and processing of
    fissionable and fertile material                                                           fissionable and fertile material
    Production and distribution of electricity, gas, steam and                                 Production and distribution of electricity, gas, steam and
    hot water (except the production of electricity from                                       hot water (except the production of electricity from
    nuclear energy) (16)                                                                       nuclear energy) (16)
    Storage of natural gas                                                                     Storage of fossil fuels
                                                                   Items 4 to 8 unchanged
                 (') The projects are classified, as far as possible, in the classes, groups and sub-groups of the 'General Industrial Classification of
                      Economic Activities' within the European Community adopted by the Statistical Office of the European Communities, 1970.
                      Reference numbers of the classification are indicated, where applicable.
 ---pagebreak---  1.5.82                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                  N o C 110/11
                    TEXT ALREADY PROPOSED                                                 AMENDED TEXT
9. Textile, leather, wood, paper industry                        9. Textile, leather, wood, paper industry
   Wool washing and degreasing factories                             Wool washing and degreasing factories
   Tanning and dressing factories (441.1)                            Tanning and dressing factories (441.1)
   Manufacture of veneer and plywood (462.1)                         Manufacture of veneer and plywood (462.1)
   Manufacture of fibre board and of particle board (462.2)          Manufacture of fibre board and of particle board (462.2)
   Manufacture of pulp, paper and board (471)                        Manufacture of pulp, paper and board (471)
   Cellulose mills                                                   Cellulose mills
                                                                     Textile dyeworks
                                               Items 10 and 11 unchanged
                                                           ANNEX 3
                          CONTENT OF THE INFORMATION REQUIRED UNDER ARTICLE 6
                   TEXT ALREADY PROPOSED                                                 AMENDED TEXT
                                                  Items 1 and 2 unchanged
3. The assessment of the likely significant effects of the        3. The assessment of the likely significant effects of the
   proposed project on the environment (direct and indirect,         proposed project on the environment (direct and indirect,
   cumulative, short-, medium- and long-term, permanent              cumulative, short-, medium- and long-term, permanent
   and temporary, positive and negative) resulting from:             and temporary, positive and negative) resulting from:
   — the physical presence of the main and associated             — the physical presence of the main and associated-
       projects,                                                      projects,
   — the use of the resources of the environment,                 — the use of the resources of the environment,
   — the emission of pollutions, nuisances and waste, as          — the emission of pollutions, nuisances and waste, as
       well as the secondary effects linked to their                  well as the secondary effects linked to their
       elimination,                                                   elimination,
   — the risk of accidents.                                       — the risk of accidents,
                                                                  — the cumulative effect of the effects resulting from the
                                                                      proposed project and from other projects already
                                                                      carried out in the area.
                                                   Items 4 to 7 unchanged