News in the environmental assessment of projects that may affect the environment in Andalusia

Today, February 16, 2024, we welcome the new Decree-Law 3/2024, of February 6, which adopts administrative simplification and rationalization measures for the improvement of citizens' relations with the Administration of the Junta de Andalucía and the promotion of economic activity in Andalusia.

Among the most important measures is the update of Law 7/2007, of July 9, on Integrated Environmental Quality Management (known as GICA), which aligns with the national and community legislative framework, which entails the restructuring of environmental prevention and control instruments applicable to plans, programs, construction projects and activities, which may significantly affect the environment of the Autonomous Community.

With regard to the integration of the procedure for evaluating the environmental impact of actions and projects, in cases where it is applicable, the standard is clarified by adapting the issues related to the regulation of the procedure in accordance with the Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental assessment.

How do I know if the activity I intend to carry out is subject to Unified Environmental Authorization?

From now on, and in accordance with the provisions of the scope of application of each instrument, they will be subject to:

• Integrated Environmental Authorization (AAI): the facilities included in Annex I of Royal Legislative Decree 1/2016, of December 16, approving the consolidated text of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act.
• Unified Environmental Authorization (AAU): actions included in Annex I of Law 21/2013, of December 9, and that are not subject to AAI.
• Simplified Unified Environmental Authorization (AAUS): the actions included in Annex II of Law 21/2013, of December 9, and that are not AAI, without prejudice to those that must be submitted to environmental qualification (CA), which are established in the new Annex I of Law 7/2007, of July 9.

Likewise, any change in the basic regulations in these categories of actions will be transferred directly to prevention and control instruments.

The simplified unified environmental authorization is launched

This new instrument seeks to streamline procedures and administrative burdens, integrating into a single resolution the result of its environmental assessment and a series of environmental authorizations and pronouncements, which constitute a smaller list than in the AAU, and which will allow obtaining this authorization within five months.

It should also be noted that there is the possibility of applying this procedural peculiarity also to those actions in which the granting of substantive authorization corresponds to the Administration of the Junta de Andalucía.

Municipal environmental rating

The amendment of the Annexes to Law 21/2013, of December 9, has meant that actions that were not previously subject to environmental impact assessment, because they were not in those annexes, and were subject to environmental qualification in Andalusia, are now included in Annex II of Law 21/2013, of December 9, and, therefore, under the scope of simplified environmental assessment.

For this reason, based on the premise of keeping under municipal competence the environmental impact assessment of actions that were previously found in CA, a new Annex I of Law 7/2007, of July 9, has been prepared, called “Categories of actions subject to Environmental Qualification and Responsible Declaration of Environmental Effects”.

This new Annex I makes a distinction between the categories of environmental qualification, differentiating those actions that must integrate the result of the simplified environmental impact assessment, as they are included in Annex II of Law 21/2013, of 9 December. There is no category of activity subject to environmental qualification that must integrate the result of the ordinary environmental impact assessment.

Basically, the same categories of actions that were already subject to environmental qualification and responsible declaration for environmental effects are included. However, the wording of each heading is modified, to adapt it to the wording of Annex II of Law 21/2013, of December 9.

About Unified Environmental Authorization

As a result of the amendment to Law 7/2007, of July 9, Decree 356/2010, of August 3, which regulates unified environmental authorization, establishes the organization and operation of the register of authorizations for actions subject to environmental prevention and control instruments, activities potentially polluting the atmosphere and installations that emit volatile organic compounds. In this regard, its different annexes are also modified.

Annex I is deleted for the reasons that have already been stated, and a new Annex I is introduced called “Environmental Authorizations that are integrated, where appropriate, into the simplified unified environmental authorization”.

Annex III is deleted to adapt it to the amendment made to Law 7/2007, of July 9, in this regard, as well as Annex IV after the abolition of the abbreviated procedure for unified environmental authorization.

Annex VI, referring to the documentation of sectoral authorizations, is amended by deleting the assumptions of sections 3, 4 and 9 of the same, and finally, a series of sectoral authorizations related to authorizations in the public hydraulic domain and police area, authorization of activities in protected natural areas of Andalusia or related to the coast, biodiversity or livestock routes, are eliminated, in order to provide a greater streamlining of the unified environmental authorization procedure.

Installations subject to Integrated Environmental Authorization

As with Decree 356/2010, of August 3, which regulates unified environmental authorization, the amendment of Decree 5/2012, of January 17, which regulates integrated environmental authorization, is addressed.

In this area, the need to submit the application for a municipal license is eliminated, and in connection with this, the processing of the municipal activity license is separated from the public information of the AAI, since obtaining the municipal license is an obligation of the developer, regardless of the AAI.

On the other hand, the annexes to the Decree are amended and Annex I referring to the facilities affected by AAI is eliminated according to Annex I of Law 7/2007, of July 9, leaving no content.

These are just some of the news, in the coming days we will have more information.

In Environmental Ideas we work for your project in all these environmental prevention procedures in Andalusia. If you need information, contact us.