Resolution of the Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act at the Cabinet Meeting on the 4th
Exclusion of Sewage Pipelines from Small-scale Environmental Impact Assessments... Enables Rapid Installation
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The number of agencies reviewing environmental impact assessment reports for development projects will increase from one to five. It is expected that the expertise and reliability of environmental impact assessments will be enhanced.
The Ministry of Environment announced that the amendment to the "Enforcement Decree of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act" was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the morning of the 4th and is scheduled to be promulgated and enforced on the 27th. Environmental impact assessment refers to the process of predicting and evaluating the environmental impacts in advance when establishing or implementing plans or projects that affect the environment, and preparing environmental conservation measures.
Through this amendment, the agencies designated to review environmental impact assessment reports and provide opinions or request on-site investigations have been expanded from the Korea Environment Institute (KEI) to include the National Institute of Environmental Research, the National Institute of Biological Resources, the Korea Environment Corporation, and the National Institute of Ecology. Depending on the characteristics of the project and the surrounding environment, various opinions can be obtained from specialized institutions in specific fields.
Penalties for project operators who do not comply with or complete the small-scale environmental impact assessment modification consultation procedures before construction will also be strengthened. A fine of 2 million KRW will be imposed for the first violation, 3 million KRW for the second violation, and 5 million KRW for the third and subsequent violations.
For large-scale environmental impact assessment projects such as industrial complex development, a fine of up to 20 million KRW will be imposed if construction is carried out without modification consultation. For small-scale assessment projects such as rural road maintenance, fines are set at up to 5 million KRW considering the scale. This is expected to contribute to preventing indiscriminate land development caused by small-scale projects such as residential and factory facilities in non-urban areas.
Additionally, improvements have been made to allow rapid construction without undergoing small-scale environmental impact assessment procedures when installing sewage pipelines in road sections.
Until now, major underground facilities such as water pipes and gas pipes under the Road Act were excluded from small-scale environmental impact assessments. However, sewage pipelines, despite having similar construction locations and methods, have been subject to small-scale environmental impact assessments because they are not considered underground facilities under the Road Act.
With this amendment, sewage pipeline installation projects are excluded from small-scale environmental impact assessment targets, enhancing fairness with other projects and enabling the rapid installation of environmental infrastructure facilities for improving living environments.
Park Yeon-jae, Director of Natural Conservation Policy at the Ministry of Environment, stated, "Through this amendment to the enforcement decree, the reliability of environmental impact assessments will be improved, and it is expected to help reduce the burden on businesses."
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