Ministry of Environment Enhances Quality of Environmental Impact Assessment System and Regulations

Revised Enforcement Decree Passed at Cabinet Meeting

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The Ministry of Environment announced on the 13th that it has approved a partial amendment to the "Enforcement Decree of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act" at the Cabinet meeting, aimed at alleviating the burden of consultation for changes in environmental impact assessments. This amendment, including follow-up measures to the environmental regulation innovation plan disclosed on August 26, will be promulgated on the 20th and take effect immediately.

Specifically, the burden of consultation for changes in environmental impact assessments will be eased first. Currently, if a project plan is changed after the environmental impact assessment consultation and meets certain conditions, the opinion of the Minister of Environment must be sought. Going forward, whether a change requires consultation will be judged based on the final consultation content, which is expected to reduce the burden on project operators.

The scope of strategic environmental impact assessments will also be adjusted. Basic plans for industrial areas, industrial maintenance district plans, industrial innovation district plans, and basic plans related to marine spaces will be added to the targets of strategic environmental impact assessments. When establishing these plans, consultations with the Ministry of Environment regarding plan appropriateness and site feasibility must be conducted. The resource circulation implementation plan will be reclassified from a development basic plan to a policy plan, considering that it indicates directions for promoting resource recycling. Accordingly, procedures such as omitting the draft evaluation report will be simplified, and evaluation items such as consistency with environmental conservation plans will be changed.

Environmental impact assessments will be required when installing cement kilns. Cement kilns are facilities that produce semi-finished products by roasting cement raw materials, which are primarily limestone mixed and ground with clay and iron minerals. During last year's National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Environment, concerns were raised about the need to strengthen environmental management of cement kilns that use waste as input. Accordingly, cement kilns with a facility scale of 100 tons or more per day that use waste such as waste tires have been added to the environmental impact assessment targets. Project operators must predict environmental impacts and establish mitigation plans when newly installing such facilities or expanding them by 15% or more of the assessment target scale.

Kim Jong-ryul, Director of the Nature Conservation Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, said, "This amendment will alleviate excessive burdens on project operators and enhance the effectiveness of the system through regulatory rationalization, such as managing the environmental impact of cement kilns that input large amounts of waste."

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