Time for appraisal of EIA report according to regulations

Time for appraisal of EIA reports is an important factor to help businesses be proactive in project implementation plans, ensuring compliance with environmental laws. Understanding the appraisal process and time helps businesses prepare complete documents, avoiding prolonging approval time and affecting project progress. Timely EIA appraisal helps businesses start operations soon, limit legal risks and protect the sustainable environment.

Current regulations on appraisal of EIA reports

Evaluate the report environmental impact assessment (EIA) is stipulated in Article 34 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, accordingly, Clause 3 of this Article stipulates the appraisal of EIA reports as follows:

• The appraisal agency issues a decision to establish an appraisal council consisting of at least 07 members; Send the decision to establish the council together with the EIA report and Feasibility Study Report or equivalent documents of the investment project to each council member;
• The appraisal council must have at least one-third of its total members as experts. Experts who are members of the council must have expertise in the environment or other fields related to investment projects and have at least 07 years of work experience if they have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent degree, at least 03 years if they have a master’s degree or equivalent degree, at least 02 years if they have a doctorate or equivalent degree;
• Experts participating in implementing the EIA of an investment project are not allowed to participate in the appraisal council of the EIA report of that project;
• In case an investment project involves discharging wastewater into an irrigation project, the appraisal council must have a representative of the state agency managing that irrigation project; The appraisal agency must collect written opinions and gain consensus from the state agency managing that irrigation project before approving the appraisal results;
• The state agency managing irrigation works is responsible for appointing members to participate in the appraisal council and providing written opinions on approving the appraisal results within the opinion collection period; In case the comment period expires and there is no written response, it is considered to be in agreement with the content of the EIA report;
• Members of the appraisal council are responsible for studying the appraisal request dossier, writing comments on the appraisal content and are responsible before the law for their comments and assessments;
• The appraisal agency reviews, evaluates and synthesizes the opinions of the appraisal council members and the opinions of relevant agencies and organizations (if any) as a basis for deciding to approve the appraisal results of the EIA report.

Time for appraisal of EIA report

Pursuant to Clause 6, Article 34 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, the time for appraisal of EIA report is calculated from the date of receipt of complete valid documents and is specified as follows:

1. The time for appraisal of EIA report is no more than 45 days for Group I investment projects, including:

• Projects in the form of production, business, and services that have the risk of causing environmental pollution with large scale and capacity; project to implement hazardous waste treatment services; Projects that import scrap from abroad as production materials;
• Projects in the form of production, business, and services that have the risk of causing environmental pollution with average scale and capacity but have environmentally sensitive elements; Projects that do not belong to the type of production, business, or service that are at risk of causing environmental pollution with large scale and capacity but have environmentally sensitive elements;
• Projects using land, land with water surface, and sea areas on a large scale or on a medium scale but with environmentally sensitive elements;
• Projects to exploit minerals and water resources with large scale and capacity or with medium scale and capacity but with environmentally sensitive factors;
• Projects that require changing the purpose of land use on a medium scale or larger but have environmentally sensitive factors;
• The project requires large-scale immigration and resettlement.

2. The time for appraisal of EIA reports is no more than 30 days for group II investment projects, including the following projects:

• Projects using land, land with water surface, and sea areas on a medium scale or on a small scale but with environmentally sensitive elements;
• Projects to exploit minerals and water resources with medium scale and capacity or with small scale and capacity but with environmentally sensitive factors;
• The project requires changing land use purposes on a small scale but has environmentally sensitive factors;
• The project requires migration and resettlement on a medium scale.

During the appraisal of EIA reports, the appraisal agency is responsible for notifying the investment project owner in writing about the appraisal results.

Time for the investment project owner to edit and supplement the environmental impact assessment report at the request of the appraisal agency.

Within 20 days from the date of receiving the revised and supplemented environmental impact assessment report at the request (if any) of the appraisal agency, the head of the appraisal agency is responsible for making a decision to approve the appraisal results of the environmental impact assessment report; In case of disapproval, a written response must be sent to the investment project owner clearly stating the reason.

The time for appraisal of EIA reports can be extended according to the Prime Minister’s decision.

Content of the appraisal of EIA reports

According to Clause 7, Article 34 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, the content of appraisal of the environmental impact assessment report is regulated to include:

• Conformity with national environmental protection planning, regional planning, provincial planning, legal regulations on environmental protection;
• The appropriateness of the environmental impact assessment method and other methods used (if any);
• Conformity in identifying and determining construction items and activities of investment projects that have the potential to have adverse impacts on the environment;
• Relevance of results of assessment of the current state of the environment and biodiversity; Identify affected objects and sensitive environmental factors where investment projects are implemented;
• The suitability of the results of identification and forecasting of main impacts and waste arising from investment projects on the environment; forecasting environmental incidents;
• The suitability and feasibility of projects and environmental protection measures; environmental improvement and restoration plan (if any); biodiversity compensation plan (if any); plans to prevent and respond to environmental incidents of investment projects;
• The appropriateness of the environmental management and monitoring program; completeness and feasibility of the investment project owner’s environmental protection commitments.

Consulting on procedures for appraising in-depth EIA reports at Long Phan

Consulting services for the appraisal of EIA reports in Long Phan helps businesses follow the correct procedures, shorten approval time and ensure the project is implemented smoothly. We support document preparation, environmental impact assessment to completing appraisal procedures, helping businesses minimize risks and protect the environment sustainably.

Our services include:

• Determine whether the project is required to prepare an EIA report according to regulations or not.
• Guide businesses to prepare necessary documents and records to prepare EIA reports.
• Consulting on environmental criteria and standards applicable to each type of project.
• Collect and analyze data on the current environmental status of the project area.
• Assess environmental impacts that may arise during project implementation.
• Propose solutions to minimize negative impacts and appropriate environmental management plans.
• Develop an environmental monitoring program and environmental protection plan after the project comes into operation.
• Prepare complete documents according to regulations.
• Representing customers to submit documents to competent authorities and monitor the processing process.
• Guide businesses to prepare content for presentation at the Appraisal Council.
• Support businesses in explaining technical and legal issues during the appraisal process.
• Adjust and supplement the report as required by the Appraisal Council to ensure approval.
• Receive the Decision approving the EIA report and hand it over to the customer.
• Guide businesses to implement environmental protection commitments according to the approved EIA report.
• Support periodic environmental monitoring, prepare environmental monitoring reports according to regulations.

Time for appraisal of EIA reports according to regulations is an important factor that helps businesses be proactive in project implementation plans and ensure compliance with environmental laws. Understanding the approval time helps businesses prepare complete documents, shorten the appraisal process and avoid schedule delays. Long Phan provides in-depth consulting services, supporting businesses to complete procedures quickly. Contact hotline 0906735386 immediately for detailed advice!