The environmental impact assessment act in the Czech Republic: Origins, introduction, and implementation issues

Abstract

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act in the Czech Republic was enacted in April 1992. However, the act, has not as yet assumed an appropriate position within the national environmental legislation. One of the main problems is that environmental impact statement (EIS) findings are viewed as recommendations rather than as requirements within the building permit-issuing process. Competencies to assess the impacts of a project are divided between the national ministry and local governments, confusing and complicating the administrative process. The act does not recognize initial screening and scoping phases. No time is allotted for preparing a draft version and for commenting on the draft. A complete and final EIA report is submitted to the appropriate authority together with the project description. Any commentary comes afterwards. The EIA procedure interferes with independent regulations on air, soil, water, and public health protection, and there has been no attempt to reconcile or relate these separate laws. Public participation is also limited (even if recognized as important and therefore involved in the act). The act contains a list of projects for which EIA is obligatory; however, the list is too broad and too misleading to serve as a good basis for assessment. Amendment of the EIA act is a necessary step toward improving the Czech environmental legislation.