On 30 December 2023, Supreme Decree N.° 013-2023-MINAM, was published, approving complementary provisions for the application of the provisions of Article 21 of Law No. 30230, Law that establishes tax measures, simplification of procedures and permits for the promotion and dynamization of investment in the country ("Law").

The purpose of this law is to optimize the environmental impact assessment process for investment projects, with regard to the issuance of binding and nonbinding technical opinions, as well as to simplify the gathering of baseline information and improve coordination between sectors in the process.

Main provisions

1. Regarding SENACE's issuance of binding opinions on the environmental impact assessment process:

  • An articulation scheme is created with the entities that issue binding technical opinions (binding reviewers) for prioritized projects. The purpose of this scheme is to apply standardized criteria in a coordinated manner to issue a consistent pronouncement regarding the environmental viability of an investment project[1].
     
  • SENACE determines the investment projects that correspond to an EIAd or MEIAd2 that require to be processed under the Articulation Scheme, based on the following criteria:
    .
    • Location of the investment project in a protected natural area or its buffer zone, or in a regional conservation area.
    • Investment amount equal to or greater than 150,000 Tax Units.
    • Social conflict according to a report from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers or the Ombudsman's Office.
    • Nonconventional technology.
  • After identifying the project, SENACE requests the accreditation of the Commissioners   to participate in the evaluation of the EIAd or MEIAd. The Commissioners must be available to attend meetings and are subject to the Work Plan established by SENACE.

2. Request for nonbinding technical opinions:

  • The request for nonbinding opinions must be duly justified. The reports are used by the competent authority to formulate its own observations and are included in the consolidated report, if applicable.

3. Incorporation of the component that has a corrective environmental management tool in the update or modification of the environmental study:

  • For components that have a corrective environmental management instrument, such as a Detailed Environmental Plan or Detailed Technical Report, and that are incorporated in the next update or modification of the environmental study, the evaluation of the environmental impacts of these components is no longer applicable.
     
  • For this purpose, the update or modification must: (i) contain the description of the component as part of the background and/or description of the project and (ii) incorporate the management measures approved in the Environmental Management Strategy, as appropriate.
     
  • If a modification of the component is required, the environmental impacts of such modification will be evaluated and, if applicable, approved in the aforementioned modification.

4. Regarding SENAMHI's opinion:

  • Several articles of Supreme Decree No. 027-2021-MINAM, which established the exclusive service (binding opinion) of SENAMHI, regarding the "Evaluation of technical documents on atmospheric pollutant dispersion modeling," are repealed. In other words, as part of the evaluation of the environmental management instrument, the administered party will no longer require the report issued by SENAMHI with the conformity of the meteorological information and the atmospheric pollutant dispersion modeling processes.
     
  • MINAM and SENAMHI will approve the guidelines for air pollutant dispersion modeling. These guidelines constitute a mandatory reference for the development of such models as part of the environmental management instruments (IGA).

    Until this happens, the models will be elaborated according to the technical manual for the elaboration of technical documents on air pollutant dispersion modeling[2].

5. Hydrobiological baseline:

  • The regulation that established the authorization requirement for the collection of hydrobiological resources for the baseline survey of environmental studies is repealed[3].
     
  • The collection of hydrobiological baseline information is carried out according to the Baseline Guide established by MINAM.

6. Biological monitoring:

  • The authorization of heritage studies will not be required for surveillance and control monitoring of IGAs that have received SERFOR's opinion.
     
  • SERFOR is given time to identify temporary capture actions, which do not require the authorization of heritage studies.

7. Precisions on the admissibility stage of requests for evaluation of environmental studies and complementary environmental management tools

Two distinct stages are required for admissibility and evaluation, as follows:

  1. Admisibilidad: En esta etapa Admissibility: This stage only needs to verify that there are no formal defects or omissions with respect to the requirements established by the Single Text of Administrative Procedures of the competent authority, and that the environmental study or complementary environmental management instrument has been prepared in accordance with the approved terms of reference.
    Substantive aspects should not be evaluated.
     
  2. Evaluación: Evaluation: In this stage, substantive aspects must be evaluated, such as whether the request presents deficiencies or inconsistencies in the information and/or analysis on the technical, environmental or legal aspects of the project. If any of these deficiencies or inconsistencies are identified, or if there is a need to clarify, analyze or deepen the information submitted, the authority must formulate the corresponding observations so that they can be corrected by the applicant.

8. Treatment of environmental studies under the term "environmental impact study":

  • If it is not known whether an EIA is detailed or semi-detailed, the category established by the Advanced Classification of the sector will be followed.
     
  • When there is no Advance Classification , the competent environmental authority assigns a category.

9. Environmental Certification Code:

  • The Environmental Certification Code (QR of Environmental Certification) is created, which is public and in charge of SENACE.
     
  • It will facilitate the creation of a unified registry of all the Environmental Certifications issued, as well as the technical opinions that have been issued in the framework of the environmental evaluation process.

10. Suspension of environmental consulting firms:

  • OEFA is empowered to request that SENACE issue a provisional measure that suspends an environmental consulting firm's registration in the National Registry of Environmental Consultants (RNCA) if an administrative sanctioning procedure finds that the firm committed violations.
     
  • In case of repeated minor and serious offenses within one year of the first infraction, SENACE is empowered to suspend the offending environmental consulting firm's registration in the RNCA in relation to all sectors or subsectors.

 

We hope that this information will be of relevance to you and your company. If you require any further information, do not hesitate to contact us.

 

[1] In the framework of the evaluation procedure of Detailed Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA-d) or Modifications of Detailed Environmental Impact Assessments (MEIA-d).

[2] Approved by Resolution of the Executive Presidency No. 053-2021-SENAMHI/PREJ.

[3] Approved by Supreme Decree No. 013-2020-Produce.