Subjects and objects of environmental impact assessment

Ecological expertise is a procedure whose importance for the preservation of the environment can hardly be overestimated. We will understand its features, principles, types, order. We will pay the closest attention to objects of environmental impact assessment - both at the federal and regional levels.

Definition of a concept

Eco-examination is the verification of compliance of documents substantiating the economic or other activities of its (expertise) facility with established environmental standards approved by the Russian government.

The purpose of the procedure: to prevent the negative impact of the object of environmental impact assessment on the nature, place of residence and human activity. Her subject is a project of the planned activities of her facility. Supporting documentation - environmental requirements. They act as relevant legislative acts, and technical regulations.

Environmental expertise is divided into two large groups:

State. Inside it is an additional gradation - regional and federal.
Public.

The process is regulated by a separate legislative act. This is the Federal Law No. 174 "On Environmental Expertise." It applies to both state and public procedures.

Subjects of state expertise

We will talk about objects subject to environmental review later. First, let's look at the subjects of this state-wide event:

The federal executive body is Rosprirodnadzor.
State authorities of the Russian Federation.

Their actions are regulated by Federal Law No. 174, as well as laws and regulatory documents of both the federal and regional levels of the Russian Federation.

Subjects of public examination

We continue the story about the subjects and objects of environmental impact assessment. Let's move on to its social form. It can be carried out both on the initiative of citizens, public associations, and on the initiative of the local government.

It is carried out by public organizations, whose main vector of activity is environmental protection. The charter of the institution must contain a record of the competence to conduct an environmental review. Also, the organization must be registered in the manner that establishes Russian law.

Objects of state environmental expertise at the federal level

The list is quite extensive:

Drafts of methodological, instructive, technological, regulatory documentation in the field of environmental protection, approved by state authorities of the Russian Federation.
Projects of a number of targeted federal programs that provide for the construction and use of economic facilities that affect the environmental situation. The goal is to develop an option for their placement, taking into account the nature conservation regime.
Draft production sharing agreements.
Data to justify licenses for the implementation of specific types of activities that may have a negative impact on the outside world (under the laws of the Russian Federation in the field of atomic energy use).
Draft documentation for new types of equipment, technologies, whose negative impact on the environment is not excluded. This also includes papers on new substances that may enter the environment.
Materials of an integrated environmental survey of the territory that justify the assignment of the given location to the following legal statuses: ecological disaster zones, specially protected natural areas, emergency ecological zones.
Studies that confirm the transfer of natural state reserves to the status of national parks.
The objects of the state ecological expertise listed in the Federal Law No. 155, 187, 191. Among them are those located within these locations: exclusive economic zones, inland sea waters, territorial seas, coastal territory and a continental plume. More details in the next subheading.

Objects of Federal Law No. 155, 187, 191

The objects of environmental expertise at the federal level are the following examples:

Projects of buildings, production, whose construction, reconstruction is planned in the vast expanses of specially protected natural areas of the federal level.
Design documentation for technically complex, unique, especially dangerous facilities, reconstruction, the construction of which is planned on the lands of specially protected natural zones of local and regional significance.
Documents on operation, construction, reconstruction, decommissioning projects that are used to dispose or neutralize hazard class 1-5 waste. This also includes plans for the restoration of land used, violated due to such activities.
Design documentation for artificial land, which is planned to be arranged in the water bodies of the Russian Federation.
Mining elimination plans, where the wastes of the production of ferrous metals of 4-5 hazard class are concluded.
Design documentation for capital buildings that belong to category I facilities in accordance with environmental laws.
Other data not specified above to justify an environmental integrated solution.

Objects of regional environmental impact assessment

Now we turn to the environmental impact assessment of construction, reconstruction and so on. already regional level. It relates to the following:

Drafts of methodological, instructive, technological, regulatory documents of the sphere of environmental protection, approved by the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
Projects of regional target programs, which involve the construction and operation of business facilities that have the ability to have a negative impact on the environmental situation. Placement of these enterprises, organizations in compliance with the regime of protection of natural zones.
The data of comprehensive environmental studies, which are designed to justify the assignment of a territory to a specially protected natural zone of subject (regional) significance.
Various projects of facilities, whose reconstruction, construction is planned in the open spaces of specially protected areas of both regional and local significance.

Additional, repeated examination

Objects of state environmental review (both federal and regional) that have successfully passed the procedure once, are required to repeat it in the following cases:

The object was finalized in accordance with the comments of the previous examination.
The object was implemented with some deviations from the planning document, which was approved by experts. Or, the project itself has been amended before starting work.
The endorsement of the previous examination has expired.
A number of changes were made to the document, which was approved by environmental experts.

Principles of Expertise

Knowing the principles of the procedure is no less important than the objects of environmental impact assessment. These include the following:

Responsibility of participants and stakeholders for the organization, conduct of the procedure, the level of its quality.
Publicity, taking into account the opinions of society, admission to the participation of public organizations.
Legality, objectivity, scientific validity of examination results.
Independence of expert participants in the exercise of their authority during the procedure.
The completeness and reliability of the data provided to the experts conducting the examination.
Mandatory consideration of environmental safety requirements during the procedure.
The complexity of assessing the impact of the activities of the object of environmental review (public and state) on nature and people.
The presumption of the potential environmental hazard of any planned activity of an enterprise, organization (object of expertise).
The obligation to conduct an environmental state examination prior to the decision to launch its facility.

Order of conduct

We examined what examples are the objects of environmental impact assessment. Let's get acquainted with her order.

The customer (legal or natural person, state structure) sends a written request to the authorized body of the regional or federal level with the application of the necessary materials. An important place among them is occupied by documentation subject to eco-examination.
If the provided package of documents is incomplete, then the customer is notified of this by a letter of incompleteness. Within 30 days, he can send the missing materials. Otherwise, an incomplete package will be returned to him.
If all the necessary documents are provided, the customer is notified of the timing of the examination, provide details for its payment.
After the payment is made, the authorized body forms an expert commission, appoints its head and executive secretary.
Next, an order is issued to organize and conduct the event.
The next stage is an organizational meeting. The experts conclude documents on cooperation, they are given individual tasks, materials for work. The terms of the examination are agreed.
Preparation of individual and group conclusions. Holding a meeting of the expert commission. Preparation of a draft general conclusion.
Penultimate stage. The signing by the head of the acts of acceptance of expert work. Formation of a consolidated document with the results.
The signing of the order on the approval of the general conclusion of eco-expertise. Formation of documents with a dissenting opinion (from experts who disagree with the overall assessment).

Dates

The duration of the state environmental review may not exceed three months. As an exception, the procedure can be extended by one month. But only at the request of the customer. Other private exceptions are in the Federal Law No. 174.

In general, legislation defines such a framework:

Simple objects - up to 30 days.
Objects of medium complexity - up to 60 days.
Complex objects - 60-120 days.

Public examination

Public eco-expertise is one of the forms of participation of ordinary citizens, public organizations in environmental policy, and making important decisions for this sphere.

With its initiators, subjects, we have already decided at the very beginning of the article. But what are the objects of public environmental review? Absolutely the same as the state. This is determined by law. It prohibits a public eco-examination of documents that cannot be subject to state environmental review.

Now about the timing. Public examination can be carried out both before the state and simultaneously with it. In practice, the latter option is most common.

The conclusion of public eco-examination comes into force after the approval of the document by the executive authority - federal or regional. It can be published in the media, transmitted to local authorities, customers of the procedure and other interested parties.

Environmental review is an important and well-structured exercise. The list of objects that state, that its public form is diverse and voluminous.