Law No. 1448 “On environmental impact assessment”.

This Law establishes the legal and organizational framework for environmental impact assessment, its relationship with state environmental impact assessment, as well as the procedure for recording and classifying objects of environmental impact assessment. Environmental impact assessment shall be based on the following principles: (a) presumption of potential environmental hazard of economic and other planned activities; (b) the obligation to conduct an environmental impact assessment of economic and other planned activities that may have a direct or indirect negative impact on the environment; (c) the obligation to conduct an environmental impact assessment at the design stage; (d) the obligation to take into account the requirements for ensuring environmental security during environmental impact assessment; (e) reliability and completeness of information used in environmental impact assessment; (f) scientific validity and objectivity of conclusions on environmental impact assessment; (g) free access to the results of environmental impact assessment; (h) consideration of the views of stakeholders; and (i) responsibility of the customer of economic and other planned activities for the negative consequences of the project. This Law applies to projects of economic and other planned activities that may have a direct or indirect negative impact on the environment. It is prohibited to develop and implement projects of economic and other activities that adversely affect the environment, without conducting an environmental impact assessment. The subjects of the environmental impact assessment are: (a) authorized state body; (b) customer of economic and other planned activities; (c) developer (contractor) of pre-project and project documentation; and (d) organizations and specialists (subcontractors) involved in conducting an environmental impact assessment. In the process of environmental impact assessment, the impact on the state of the following components shall be taken into account: (a) atmospheric air; (b) surface and groundwater; (c) the surface and bottom of reservoirs; (d) landscapes; (e) land and soil; (f) flora and fauna; (g) ecosystems; (h) public health; (i) employment, the possibility of obtaining education and use of other social infrastructure; (j) objects of historical and cultural heritage and other material values; and (k) other environmental components or their combination. This Law consists of 5 Chapters divided into 26 Articles. Chapter 1 lays down general provisions. Chapter 2 establishes competence of the authorized state bodies in the field of environmental impact assessment. Chapter 3 establishes the modalities of performance of environmental impact assessment. Chapter 4 regards social associations and environmental impact assessment. Chapter 5 lays down final provisions.