AMT DER SALZBURGER LANDESREGIERUNG ABTEILUNG 16: UMWELTSCHUTZAndreas Sommer Environmental Assessment in Federations Current Dynamics and Emerging Issues

AMT DER SALZBURGER LANDESREGIERUNG • ABTEILUNG 16: UMWELTSCHUTZ Andreas Sommer

Environmental Assessment in FederationsEnvironmental Assessment in Federations Current Dynamics and Emerging Issues Current Dynamics and Emerging Issues

Ottawa, Canada, September 13 – 15, 2009

Environmental AssessmentEnvironmental Assessment

in Austriain Austria

The Province (Länder) GovernmentsThe Province (Länder) Governments

as Players in a Team Playas Players in a Team Play


ContentsContents

Introduction, overview Competencies Procedures Collaboration

Experience Procedures Technical aspects Quality assurance

SEA

Trends and challenges

Flash lights

EIA (focus) and SEA: procedural and EIA (focus) and SEA: procedural and technical aspectstechnical aspects


Austria and its 9 Austria and its 9 LänderLänder


CompetenciesCompetencies European Union

Directives (EIA and SEA) and amendments (e.g. UN ECE Aarhus Convention)

Representation by member states federation

Role of the Länder

When affected: information, possibility of statements (similar procedures for the representation of the municipalities)

By means of the “Länder connecting body”

Possibility of “unitary statements” binding for the federation (e.g. for the SEA Directive)

Possibility of the nomination of Länder representatives

Problem: time !


Competencies, cont.Competencies, cont.´d´dEIA in Austria:

Legislation: federal responsibility

Transposition

Consideration of European legislation requirements

Discretion of the member states vs. “word by word”

Enforcement: Länder responsibility

All projects except highways and high speed railroads


Competencies, cont.Competencies, cont.´d 2´d 2 Competent authorities

Länder governments

Federal Minister of Transport

Provisions for delegation

Länder governments district administrative authorities (99 in Austria)

Federal Minister of Transport Governors of the Länder

Occurs rarely

focusfocus


ProceduresProcedures Subject to EIA

List with thresholds as well as

Case by case examinations (screening against criteria)

Highways and high speed railroads

Partly consolidated procedure

Minister: responsible for coordination

In addition: procedures by Länder Governors (federal law) and other Länder authorities (provincial law, e.g. on nature protection)


Procedures, cont.´dProcedures, cont.´d

Projects listed in Annex I of the Austrian EIA Act

Consolidated (“concentrated”) development consent procedure

EIA procedures

Simplified procedures

Preliminary procedures: outline of project and EI statement (not mandatory)

(Plus possibly: declaratory procedures, amendment procedures, acceptance inspection procedures ...)


Procedures, cont.´d Procedures, cont.´d 22(Some) specific requirements and aspects Consideration of

Sensitive areas (5 types) Cumulation of effects (inter alia to avoid “salami slicing”)

EI statement (by the applicants)

Additional aspects, e.g. traffic induced impacts, impact interactions Possibility of “No impact statements”

Time schedules: published on the internet, justification

Comprehensive EIA review report (by the authorities) Including discussion of comments (mandatory)

Post-project analysis


Procedures, cont.´d Procedures, cont.´d 33

Coordinators Both at the authorities' and the applicants' side

“Inspection catalogues“

Explicit questions to the experts

Systematic structure

In order to ensure integrative assessment

Basis of the Comprehensive EIA review report

Guidance documents, check-lists

Some established approaches and instruments (“good practice”)


CollaborationCollaboration Länder governments

Cooperating authorities (provincial as well as federal authorities)

Experts: engaged by authorities (most of them)

External experts: have to be paid by applicants

Federal Minister of Environment

Statements to EI statement (as well as host municipality and ombudsman for the environment)

Projects crossing more than one Land (e.g. linear projects): Coordinated decisions


Experiences: ProcedureExperiences: Procedure 2 Evaluations: 2000 and 2006

Some numbers (mainly between 2000 and 2009):

595 declaratory procedures finished (administrative orders) For 81 % no EIA necessary

218 development consent procedures

(All in all) 71 % approved so far

(All in all) 42 % with simplified procedure

167 Annex I projects

51 highways and high speed railroads


Experiences: Procedure, Experiences: Procedure, cont.´dcont.´d Appeals

Provisions for locus standi, right of participation, right of appeal

Locus standi for different parties

e.g. for development consent procedures: applicant, neighbours, parties stipulated by the applicable administrative provisions, host municipality, (affected) directly adjoining municipalities, ombudsman for the environment, water management planning body, citizens´ groups, environmental organisations.

For Annex I procedures: (Independent) Environmental Senate (federal authority) approx. 50 % of decisions


Experiences: Procedure, Experiences: Procedure, cont.´d 2cont.´d 2 Transboundary impacts

Espoo convention: ratified in 1994, into force in 1997

Bilateral agreements

Foreign projects: 16 procedures; Austrian projects: 6 procedures

Public participation Placement of documents, public hearing (authorities responsible)

Environmental organisations: registered (29)

Citizens´ groups: 200 persons

Ombudsman for the environment

Mediation


Experiences: Possibly Experiences: Possibly necessary permits without necessary permits without EIAEIA

project

water

waste mining

railroad

air

nature protection

forest

industry

construction

monumentsroad

energyevent

aviation

...

industrial safety

?


Experiences:Experiences:Consolidated EIA Consolidated EIA ProcedureProcedure

1

authority

procedure

permit

project

1

The consolidated procedure is the most frequently The consolidated procedure is the most frequently expressed advantage of the EIA in Austriaexpressed advantage of the EIA in Austria


Experiences: technical Experiences: technical aspectsaspects List approach

Charming: “simple”

Problems: justification for thresholds

Integrative assessment Systematic approach

Comprehensive assessment, e.g. interactions and interrelations

Contributes significantly to the acceptance by the public

Practice in Salzburg Additional check-lists, e.g. for scoping


competent authority EIA coordination

applicant

•coordination of experts•assess technical standards•clarify domains, define scope

•technical trade-off, methodology

•final comprehensive report•...

•conduct the procedure•assure compliance with formal permit requirements

•involve coperating authorities, third parties, Federal Ministry

•announcements•administrative order•...

expert domain 1

expert domain 2

expert domain n

coop. authority 1

coop. authority 2

coop. authority n

expert 1

expert 2

expert n

EIA coordination (in EIA coordination (in Salzburg)Salzburg)

§§

€€


Experiences: Quality Experiences: Quality assuranceassurance Environmental Council

Reports of the Minister of Environment to the National Council Every 3 years

EIA documentation (Federal Environmental Agency) Publicly available

Environmental Senate: Analysis of legal rules

Working group Federal and provincial units Sup-groups Guidance documents Web platform: documents, links Exchange of

knowledge and:

networking !


And SEA ?And SEA ? (Much) less experience

Competences: more complicated

Different implementation (federal and provincial level):

Integrated into existing legislation

New SEA legislation (procedural)

Different sectors affected

Federal level: waste, noise, air pollution, transport, water (plus: European structural funds programmes)

Länder level: (in adition) land use planning, nature protection, hunting, fishing, agriculture

mainly affected


SEA, cont.´dSEA, cont.´d Procedures

Federal level: 3

Länder level: some dozen

(Screenings: some hundreds)

Working group Federal and provincial units involved

Support Guidance documents Tool kit on the internet Collection of good practice examples


Emerging trends and Emerging trends and challengeschallenges Avoiding duplication

e.g. when both EIA and SEA procedures are required

Joint or coordinated procedures

In practice: a long way

Post-project analysis and monitoring

Question of consequences (e.g. with regard to legal certainty)

Public participation

“NIMBY” (in Austria called the “Floriani principle”)

Mixture with political interests

NGOs, citizen groups: overburdened, claim for funding


Emerging trends and Emerging trends and challenges, cont.´dchallenges, cont.´d “Priority” projects

Attempts for special facilities (e.g. infrastructure, energy)

Economic situation Pressure and the “balance of bureaucracy”: no

“golden plating” vs. additional duties

Shortage of resources (staff) – e.g. no access rights for authorities

Public service unit vs. “always at service” (easy and expeditious)

What federations (might) face in addition:What federations (might) face in addition:More governments/parliaments More governments/parliaments more elections (and more elections (and campaigns) campaigns) less space for decisions ... less space for decisions ...

Comprehensive list

of all accepted standard solutions („magic bullets“):


Thank you for your attention !

Documents

AMT DER SALZBURGER LANDESREGIERUNG ABTEILUNG 16: UMWELTSCHUTZAndreas Sommer Environmental Assessment in Federations Current Dynamics and Emerging Issues