Consultation on Transposition of Environmental Impact Assessment Directive EU2014/52

Overview

The consultation sets out details for how Scottish Ministers propose to bring the requirements of European Directive 2014/52/EU, known as the Environmental Impact Assessment or ‘EIA’ Directive into Scottish legislation.

The EIA Directive requires an assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment before a development consent can be granted. The new Directive amends the current EIA Directive 2011/92/EU, however the aim remains the same, to provide a high level of protection of the environment and to contribute to the integration of environmental considerations into the preparation of projects with a view to reduce their impact on the environment.

Why your views matter

The requirements of the Directive form part of European law and must be incorporated into the domestic legislation of Member States no later than 16th May 2017, however the Directive leaves it to Members States to decide how best to make the changes.

As such we are seeking your views on our approach to meeting those requirements and whether you feel these meet the needs of the Directive. In doing so we hope to strike a balance to be in keeping with the principles of better regulation and to minimise any additional regulatory burden whilst ensuring protection of the environment.  

How to respond

You should select 'Begin Consultation' below to get started. The Consultation has three parts, Part 1 - Introduction, Part 2 - Proposals and Part 3 - Assessing Impact. Both parts 2 and 3 have questions throughout. Generally each page will provide you with an extract from the Directive in italics followed by explanatory text, there will also be a reference to where you can see an example in the draft Electricity Works and Town and Country Planning legislation.

You can 'Save and Return' to your answers at a later date, see the save button at the bottom of the page once you start the consultation. Please note that you will have to complete the 'Information About You' section in order to submit your response. 

Each section of the consultation will ask you if you are making comments in relation to a specific regime, several regimes or general comments. This is to help with analysis and also to minimise the number of consultations that interested parties would need to complete. This consultation seeks your views on changes to the following eight EIA regimes:

• Agriculture
• Energy
• Forestry 
• Land Drainage
• Planning
• Marine
• Transport and Works Projects
• Trunk Roads

Ports and Harbours, Flooding and Controlled Activities are making separate arrangements.

Addional relevant information has been added via drop down boxes. Click on 'More Information' or the relevant title to access this information. 

What happens next

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public, and after we have checked that they contain no potentially defamatory material, responses will be made available to the public at http://consult.scotland.gov.uk.  If you use Citizen Space to respond, you will receive a copy of your response via email.

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence and an analytical report will be published.