The Flemish government has definitively approved the reform and simplification of the environmental impact report (MER). Flemish Minister of the Environment Zuhal Demir (N-VA) reported this in a press release.
The EIA is an investigation into the possible environmental consequences of certain activities or interventions, for example an investment project. It is drawn up before the projects or plans are implemented. Some things are now being changed. The intention is to better map the environmental impact and keep administrative nuisance to a minimum, it said. “We are reforming the EIA from an unclear, mandatory and heavy administrative number into a leaner, simpler instrument where the environmental impact is clearly shown,” says Demir.
“There are no need for three types of procedures, each requiring energy and time, to determine whether an EIA is necessary and which usually lead to thick bibles with redundant information. There is a need for a slim and meaningful instrument with a good focus that focuses on the concrete bottlenecks in the field of the environment and surroundings, stripped of all unnecessary baggage.”
It also sounds that the regulations will be aligned with the European EIA guidelines. In other words: an environmental impact report is only necessary when this is necessary according to the EIA guidelines. The reform also allows the reuse of information from previous or other reports.
Demir’s draft decree had already been approved in first reading by the Flemish government at the end of 2023. The plans now go to the Flemish Parliament.
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Tags: Flanders reforms environmental impact report administrative nuisance minimum Domestic
