Updates on legislation from around the region by Jerome Simpson, jsimpson@rec.org Poland: Law on EIA, access to information According to former Polish Foreign Minister, Bronislaw Geremek, from a legal point of view, Poland expects to be ready for European Union membership by the end of June 2001. In the last four months of 2000, Poland adjusted 40 of its laws to EU standards, while another 60 were anticipated during the first half of 2001. By the end of this year, Poland hopes also to conclude talks with the EU in the field of environment. An example of this progress is the new Act on Access to Information on the Environment and its Protection and on Environmental Impact Assessments, which was passed by the Polish Parliament on Nov. 9 and came into force, Jan. 1. According to Jerzy Jendroska, director of the Polish Environmental Law Centre, the new legislation harmonises with the EU Directive on Access to Information and brings Poland into closer compliance with the Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment. The new law also means Poland is now fully compliant with the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. Poland expects to ratify the Aarhus Convention this summer. According to the new law, authorities are obliged to give the public access to information about the state of the environment and environmental protection measures - such as legislation, policies, strategies and emergency response plans. Under the law, available information should be provided within one month of a request, and charges may only be made for retrieval, copying and forwarding. Poland's new EIA procedures require an assessment of the environmental impact of all proposed projects having a significant effect on the environment, such as land use, buildings, water abstraction, motorway location, etc. An application must assess the environmental impacts of a project, the possible means for preventing or reducing adverse impacts and the required scope of monitoring. If an application is accepted, a full EIA report must be prepared. It should include a description of the project and possible alternatives that are most beneficial or least damaging for the environment. The alternatives deemed most favourable to the environment will be chosen. A consolidated EIA procedure will also be applied for policies, strategies, programmes and plans relating to the fields of industry, energy, transport, telecommunications, water management, waste management, forestry, agriculture, fisheries, tourism and land-use. However, the procedure can be waived if the Voivode (regional government), or the minister responsible for environment and Chief Sanitary Inspector agree that the provisions do not have a significant impact on the environment. Thanks to the new act, Poland is also now compliant with the Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context. This means that an EIA procedure will also be carried out for any activity within Poland's boundaries impacting upon those of a neighbouring country, and the neighbouring state will be invited to participate in the procedure. Within all the EIA procedures outlined above, the public enjoys the right to comment and submit recommendations within 21 days. Any non-governmental organisation (NGO) refused an opportunity to participate in the procedure can file a formal complaint. For decisions regarding domestic projects, programmes and plans, the public may also be invited to an open hearing. The new law amends Poland's 1974 Water Law, 1980 Act on the Environment, the laws of 1994 on geology and mining, construction, land use, waste and a host of others. An English version of the law is available from the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe. Czech Republic concedes on EIA The Czech Republic has also passed a new law on EIA. Act No. 100/2001, has been under preparation for over five years, and replaces Act No. 244 on EIA of 1992. One of the reasons for the delay was the intense lobbying the law came under within parliament before its passage. This resulted in a series of amendments, which give the Czech cabinet the right to suspend, without explanation, EIA for projects where the health or safety of citizens is threatened. Furthermore, only one voluntary public hearing need be hosted throughout the entire assessment process - which potentially limits the opportunity for early public participation in the decision-making process. Despite these qualifications, the new legislation does, remedy flaws in the original 1992 Act, which had left room for industry to manipulate the assessment process. Although the new Act is formally compliant with the respective EU Directive, Hnuti Duha, a Czech NGO involved in the law's drafting process, says that, in practice, the Czech EIA assessments will not meet EU standards. A series of amendments to the law are therefore expected, and according to Czech EIA experts, the amendments will be necessary in order to ratify the Aarhus Convention.

Getting the word out: members of the Green Federation, a Polish NGO, demonstrate in Krakow in 1996 to raise awareness about the need for sustainable agriculture, in a project funded by the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe. Their work should now be easier, thanks to a new Polish law designed to facilitate public access to environmental information..