Assessing the impact of smaller constructions on the environment will probably be easier

Prague - The range of constructions that should undergo complex assessments of their impact on the environment will likely narrow in the future. So-called sub-threshold projects, meaning smaller constructions, will now be evaluated by regional officials using a simpler method. The changes are brought about by an amendment developed by the Central Bohemia Region, which was supported today in the first reading by the Chamber of Deputies. The norm will be discussed by the environmental committee in the coming weeks.
According to Deputy Governor of Central Bohemia Vilém Žák, the amendment is a reaction to last year's change in the law on environmental impact assessments, which resulted in an increase in the number of assessed projects and subsequently higher demands on regional budgets. Even proposals for things like a fireplace insert or two parking spaces for a personal vehicle in front of a family house had to be assessed. "Paradoxically, it can happen that the assessment process is more expensive than the actual implementation of the project itself," the deputy noted.
In terms of environmental impacts, all projects, including sub-threshold ones, will continue to be assessed in accordance with the European directive, according to the amendment. However, for these projects, officials would proceed with a less formal, less bureaucratic process. They would start from the announcement of the sub-threshold project. Based on that, they would determine whether it would be necessary to carry out further, more complex investigations into negative impacts on ecology regarding the respective construction.
The Central Bohemians also proposed to adjust the current practice where some submitted projects are unnecessarily returned for revision twice. Once at the instigation of the regional office and the second time at the initiative of the report compiler. The proposed change is expected to unify the return of documentation and also adjust the deadlines for submitting documents so that the assessment process is shortened.
Central Bohemia Governor Petr Bendl already pointed out last December that due to the approved amendment to the law on construction environmental impact assessments, the region would have to hire at least 20 officials, with one official costing the office nearly 600,000 crowns per year. In 2006, the governor's office assessed the workloads of individual officials and reduced their number by 50.