Revamp of environmental impact assessment directive long overdue

Posted by Bronwen Maher on July 13, 2010 at 10:19 AM

A thorough revamp of the 25 year-old Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive which has been announced by the European Commission is long overdue, Leinster MEP Nessa Childers has said.

The purpose of the EIA Directive applies to a wide range of clearly defined public and private projects, such as power stations, roads, railway lines, waste facilities, industrial projects and energy infrastructure. The Directive was designed to ensure that the environmental implications of major planning decisions are properly examined before decisions on developments are made.  

She said: “As a member of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, I pressed Commissioner Potocnik at his confirmation hearing demanding that a full overhaul of the EIA Directive should be commenced to make the process more streamlined and citizen-friendly. Furthermore, the Commissioner agreed that a reformed Directive should be brought into line with major EU policy developments on areas such as climate change, energy and biodiversity.

“I welcome this long overdue development. A public consultation process on the proposed revamping of the Directive will run until 24 September 2010, with a view to collecting opinions on the application and effectiveness of the EIA Directive, the need to amend it, possible policy options and the areas to be improved.

“I would urge al relevant stakeholders, especially environmental NGOs and ordinary citizens to have their voices heard in this process. The online questionnaire is available on the European Commission website at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/eia.htm.”

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