H U N G A R Y
Hungary's new regulations remove any doubt about the scope of EIA requirements. Site selection, construction and even abandonment of proposed projects are covered. The law also covers ancillary matters such as transportation and storage of materials, and energy and water supply. When an EIA is required, the proponent of the activity must deliver five copies of a preliminary environmental study to the environmental inspectorate. The preliminary study must include, inter alia, a justification of the need for the proposed activity, an alternatives analysis (including an analysis of the environmental impact from the failure to undertake the activity), a detailed plan of the activity, scoping of environmental loads, a transboundary impact analysis and landscape planning. Business or other secrets must be disclosed to the inspectorate, but will be replaced in the public file with "substitute" information.
The regulation directs municipal authorities to give public notice by billboards and "other locally customary ways." The period for submitting written comments on the proposal is 30 days. The municipality must transmit all comments received to the environmental inspectorate within eight days of the close of the comment period.
If a detailed environmental impact study is required, it will include an analysis of the preliminary study, the alternatives considered and the comments received. Any changes in conditions or information from the preliminary study must be set forth. The detailed study must also include more information on applicable legal rules and the environmental baseline. The study must systematically analyze the specific environmental impact on each environmental element (air, water, etc.), taking into account the strength and quality of the impact, its distribution over time and area, and the irreversibility of its consequences, as well as any expected change in the ecological functions of the affected area. A special section of the study should cover impacts on human health. Possibilities for avoidance of environmental impacts must also be examined.
The public has the opportunity to examine the entire study, together with a non-technical summary, following notice in local or national newspapers. A public hearing must be held. Nongovernmental organizations may participate in public hearings provided they present their valid registration and bylaws. In cases of doubt, standing is presumed.
If an activity is approved, environmental permits are issued. They are generally valid for five years but can be issued for longer periods. The inspectorate has the right to impose conditions as part of the permit; for example, the inspectorate can impose monitoring and inspection obligations and prescribe specific closure requirements.
The decree is remarkable in that it contains a definition section. Although some of the definitions might be open to interpretation, the definitions will help to guarantee uniform interpretation of the rules' provisions. The regulations took effect in late December.
E S T O N I A
The law is divided into two parts. The first basically repeats the general principles agreed upon in Rio. The second part sets forth the values, many of them achieved through economic instruments, that must be balanced against each other in achieving sustainable development in specific cases. For example, it expressly states that property rights may be limited if the public interest in protecting nature demands it. The law asserts the national policy of encouraging waste minimization and pollution prevention. It provides that all fees and taxes on natural resource usage shall be determined on the basis of environmental impact. Furthermore, in carrying out public objectives authorities must use processes, plans and programs that are transparent and open to the public.
Provisions on biodiversity are at the heart of the new law. They direct the government to develop national programs and action plans to ensure species' protection, including the development of gene banks and a registry of ecosystems. Estonia is also one of the first countries in the region to specifically legislate a preference for the use of renewable resources, while requiring good management practices, and to prescribe limitations on the use of nonrenewable resources. Ten- and twenty-year national and regional development programs must be developed for those sectors of the economy with the greatest environmental impact, including heavy industry, tourism, transportation, agriculture and energy.
Environmental impact assessment provisions demonstrate the interaction between the Law on Sustainable Development and other environmental laws. The new law does not change the basic EIA procedure. Rather, it guides those conducting EIAs to apply prescribed sustainable development principles during the EIA process. In this respect the law resembles early U.S. legislation establishing a national environmental policy for the government to follow. Like most regional legislation, however, the new Law on Sustainable Development leaves many of the details regarding implementation to the future.
R E G I O N
A new initiative to draft a law governing nonprofit organizations in the Czech Republic has started. The draft has support in Parliament but probably not enough to be placed on the agenda any time soon.