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Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 requires that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is carried out for major developments as part of the planning application to ensure environmental effects are taken into consideration. EIAs are now a major component of the planning system.

Introduction

The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 transposes into UK law the EU Directive 85/337 EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (Amended by EC Directive 97/11/EC). This regulation only covers developments that are subject to the Town and Country Planning regime, a host of other regulations cover the remaining developments included under Annex I and II of the EU Directive.

An EIA is defined in ‘EIA: Guide to the Procedures’ as “procedure that must be followed for certain types of project before they can be given 'development consent'. The procedure is a means of drawing together, in a systematic way, an assessment of a project's likely significant environmental effects.” (Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, 2000)

An EIA is a tool to aid decision making, it is not the sole determining factor for whether planning permission is to be granted or refused. Circular 02/99 states that:

“Where the EIA procedure reveals that a project will have an adverse impact on the environment, it does not follow that planning permission must be refused. It remains the task of the local planning authority to judge each planning application on its merits within the context of the Development Plan, taking account of all material considerations, including the environmental impacts.” (Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, 1999)

History

The legislative requirement for EIAs originated in the USA. EIAs were first introduced in the USA through the National Environmental Policy Act in 1969. In Europe, while some countries already had implemented legislation on EIAs in the 1970’s it was not until 1985 that the EU Directive 85/337 was formally adopted. In the UK this was transposed into law by the Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1988 (and others).

Following the amendment to the EU Directive in 1997 (EU Directive 97/11/EC), the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 was adopted and previous regulations revoked.

The Rules

The EIA Regulations mean that if a developer is seeking to obtain planning permission for certain types of developments they will be required to undertake an EIA and submit the Environmental Statement (the EIA report) with the planning application. Planning permission cannot be granted unless the environmental information is taken into consideration by the relevant planning authority.

An EIA is mandatory for all developments listed under Schedule 1 of the regulations and an EIA may be required for development listed in Schedule 2, depending on the characteristics of the development, the sensitivity of the location and the characteristics of the impact.

In addition to the requirements a developer needs to address, the Regulations also contain numerous requirements that the planning authority need to fulfil from providing screening and scoping opinions if requested, to the procedures to be undertaken once the Environmental Statement is submitted.

Little Known Fact

While many people when considering ‘environment’ think of the bio-physical environment such as soil, water, flora and fauna etc., the definition of ‘environment’ in an EIA is much broader and covers not only the bio-physical but also economic, social and cultural factors.

What you need to do

An environmental assessment must be undertaken, followed by producing an Environmental Statement, which includes the information specified by the Regulations. According to the Regulations, an Environmental Statement must include:
1. Development description (design, size and site information).
2. Measures to avoid, reduce and, if possible, remedy significant adverse effects.
3. The data required t...