The UK and The EIA Directive

The EIA Directive was amended in 2014 to update it in line with some issues that have come to the forefront more recently in its 25 year existence. Those issues include climate change, resource efficiency, accident and disaster prevention and health. Additional changes were also made to secure delivery of monitoring and enforcement.

If changes to the Directive are to be enacted, they must be enshrined in member states’ law, and the deadline for doing that is May 2017. While the UK is now on a path to extracting itself from the EU, that process will not be complete before the deadline, so it is still required to make sure UK laws reflect the changes.

The Scottish Government has been vocal in its intention to maintain a very strong and positive relationship with the EU and has been the first to kick off the process by publishing its consultation document earlier this month.

Wales quickly followed suit and has launched its consultation as the first step toward transposing the changes to the Directive into Welsh law.

England has not yet made the same move but is expected to do so very soon if it is to meet the May deadline.

Johns Associates will be keeping a close eye on developments and can be relied upon to ensure your project remains compliant as and when the changes do come into force, wherever you are!

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