How long in advance is required to renew environmental permits?

Renewing environmental permits is one of the important procedures for organizations and individuals with production, business, or service activities that affect the environment. Environmental permits are not only a mandatory requirement but also the basis for carrying out environmental protection activities, inspecting and monitoring environmental quality. Through the following article, Long Phan will guide customers in detail on issues of environmental license renewal.

Subjects must have an environmental permit

An environmental license is a legal document issued to organizations and individuals whose production, business and service activities generate waste or have an impact on the environment. Pursuant to Article 39 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, subjects that must have an environmental permit include:

• Group I, II, III investment projects: These projects generate wastewater, dust, exhaust gases that must be treated, or hazardous waste that must be managed when officially put into operation.
• Projects, production facilities, concentrated business and service areas: Subjects operating before the Law on Environmental Protection takes effect but with environmental criteria such as the above subjects need an environmental permit.

However, environmental permits are exempted for the following cases:

• Urgent public investment projects according to legal regulations on public investment.
• Group IV mineral exploitation projects serve national projects, natural disaster prevention and control works, and emergency public investment projects.

Regulations on the term of environmental permits

The term of the environmental permit is specified in Clause 4, Article 40 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020. Specifically:

• Environmental licenses are valid for 07 years for group I investment projects.
• The environmental license is valid for 07 years for production, business and service establishments with environmental criteria such as group I investment projects before January 1, 2022.
• Environmental permits are valid for 10 years for subjects not falling into the above groups.

However, the environmental license term can be shorter at the request of investment project owners, production and business establishments when there is a request to reduce the licensing time.

This time is calculated from the date of issuance of the environmental license, and organizations and individuals must pay attention not to let the license expire, leading to loss of the right to use the license.

When is the environmental permit renewed?

According to the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, there are no regulations on extending environmental permits. Instead, in cases where the environmental license expires, procedures for re-issuance will be carried out.

Accordingly, environmental permits can be reissued in a number of specific cases, including:

• When the environmental permit expires.
• When there are changes in scale, capacity, production technology or factors that increase negative impacts on the environment.

In these cases, organizations and individuals need to carry out procedures to renew their environmental licenses at least 6 months before the license expires.

License extension helps ensure that production, business, and service establishments continue to operate legally throughout their operations without encountering legal issues related to environmental protection.

CSPL: Clause 3, Article 44, Law on Environmental Protection 2020, Clause 4, Article 30, Decree 08/2022/ND-CP.

Overview of the environmental permit renewal process

The environmental license renewal process is carried out according to the following steps:

• Step 1: Organizations and individuals requesting extension of environmental permits must submit application documents for extension to the competent permit-issuing agency.
• Step 2: The competent authority checks the validity of the dossier, then conducts appraisal and processing of the dossier.
• Step 3: If the application is valid, the licensing agency will notify the results of environmental license renewal to the organization or individual.
• Step 4: Organizations and individuals that carry out environmental protection obligations and comply with the conditions in the environmental license after it is renewed.

The process of renewing the environmental license needs to comply with current legal regulations to ensure that the extension is carried out in a reasonable and complete manner, without disrupting the facility’s operations.

Comprehensive, reputable environmental license renewal consulting service

Renewing environmental permits can be difficult, especially if you do not clearly understand the legal processes and procedures. Therefore, Long Phan supports customers in environmental permit procedures with the following services:

• Consulting on regulations on licensing, reissuing and renewing environmental licenses;
• Assist customers in preparing necessary documents related to licensing procedures;
• Representing customers to submit documents to competent agencies;
• Monitor the process of processing documents and take corrective solutions when documents are lacking;
• Support consulting to resolve when disputes occur.

Renewing environmental permits is an important step for establishments to maintain legal operations and protect the environment in accordance with the law. If you need advice or support in renewing your environmental license, please contact us immediately via the hotline 0906735386. We are committed to providing reputable, accurate and fast legal services, helping customers carry out procedures easily and in accordance with regulations.