Resolution 134 — Methodology for Environmental Feasibility of Public Works Exempt from EIAResolución 134 — Metodología para Viabilidad Ambiental de Obras Públicas Exentas de EIA

The objective of this law is to provide the State and the citizens with the necessary instruments to achieve an environment that is healthy and ecologically balanced. The State, through its institutions, authorities, and officials, is the guarantor of the defense and preservation of the environment and the sustainable use of natural resources, and has the primary obligation to prevent and, where appropriate, sanction environmental contamination.

• a)The environment is a common heritage, belonging to one and all; its protection and the improvement, conservation, and restoration of both human and natural heritage are the joint and several (mancomunada) responsibility of the State, local governments, and each inhabitant of the country.
• b)The sustainable use of the elements of environmental heritage, as well as the prevention of its deterioration, degradation, or destruction, are matters of social interest and public utility.
• c)Whoever pollutes the environment or causes it damage shall be responsible for repairing the harm caused, restoring the damaged element, and financially compensating, as provided by law, for any losses and damages that cannot be repaired or restored.
• d)The prevention, precaution, and citizen participation are the fundamental elements for the achievement of collective objectives concerning the environment.
• e)The actions of the Public Administration shall be guided by the principle of strict and explicit subjection to the law, and motivated by objective environmental protection interests, including the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, among others.
• f)The environmental variable shall be timely considered, by way of an environmental impact assessment (evaluación de impacto ambiental), in all activities of the Public Administration, as well as in the execution and approval of plans and programs.
• g)This law does not exempt from compliance with other laws and regulations referring to matters regulated and related to the defense, conservation, improvement, and restoration of the environment.
• h)The harmonization of the environmental variable with actions related to productive, economic, social, and cultural activities of the population is a priority.
• i)The basic guidelines of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management policy shall be promoted.
• j)The public environmental management processes shall be based on the best scientific and technical information available nationally and internationally. This principle shall also be applicable to private forms of environmental management.

PARTICIPATION OF CITIZENS

Rights and Guarantees

Every person has the right to participate in the definition and application of policies, legal instruments, plans, and programs regarding environmental matters.

The State shall promote and facilitate the integration of groups and organizations in environmental management processes, as established by the law and its regulations.

Every person has the right to timely information, from the Public Administration, on the policies, plans, and programs related to environmental heritage.

To make this right effective, the State shall maintain updated records of environmental interest, carry out environmental education programs and projects, support environmental citizen organizations, and provide them with financial participation resources according to its possibilities.

Any person may file environmental complaints and reports with the authorities, and the appropriate bodies shall have the obligation to substantiate them.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Environmental Impact Assessment

Human activities that, by their very nature, alter or destroy elements of the environment or generate waste, toxic, or hazardous materials, shall be subject to an environmental impact assessment, for which the competent bodies shall be the responsible entities in accordance with current legislation.

The environmental impact assessment shall constitute the authorized preventive instrument for the rational administration of resources and shall be approved by the corresponding body, before the activity, work, or project in question is initiated. The legislation of the corresponding bodies shall regulate the phase of public participation in the environmental impact assessment process.

Competent bodies shall be understood to mean the Secretariats, Ministries, and other State bodies, which by law have assigned powers to grant environmental viability for specific activities. In the case of activities not assigned to specific bodies, the environmental impact assessment shall correspond to SETENA, in accordance with the procedure established by the applicable regulations. The implementing regulations shall define the bodies that must carry out the evaluation.

To decide the environmental viability of an activity, work, or project, an environmental impact assessment must be carried out as a prior and essential requirement.

Those activities, works, or projects that require carrying out an environmental impact assessment, and the corresponding criteria and procedures for their evaluation, shall be defined by the implementing regulations, which shall include a graduated list according to the magnitude of their possible impacts and the nature of the activity, in accordance with the guidelines established by this law and by other relevant legal provisions in this field.

For environmental management purposes, the document that evaluates the possible environmental impacts of an activity, work, or project is called the Environmental Management Document (Documento de Gestión Ambiental, DGA). The DGA will be called, depending on the level of detail and depth of the studies required, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study, environmental viability (viabilidad ambiental) document, or others, as established by the implementing regulations.

The Environmental Management Document shall include a description of the physical environment, the land, the ecological limits of the areas and sites in which the activity, work, or project is to be carried out; a technical description of the same; the design, formulation of personnel and control measures, and contingency and emergency plans; and a forecast of the impacts, direct or indirect, that the execution of the activity, work, or project will have on the environmental heritage and the actions proposed to minimize them. It shall also include the analysis of the sites where the works and activities will be located and the justification for the alternative selected.

The implementing regulations shall detail the scope of these documents.

The recommendation resulting from the environmental impact assessment shall be binding for the competent bodies to grant the respective authorization. The laws referred to in Article 6 of this title shall determine the nature of the body that must render a final decision on the environmental viability and whether the recommendation is binding.

The implementing regulations shall develop the provisions of this title, and the competent bodies shall issue the complementary internal provisions as necessary to fulfill the purposes of this law.

Any person who files a complaint, an appeal, or who participates, in any capacity, in a proceeding that protects environmental heritage shall be exempt from payment of all kinds. Any person who, in defense of the environment, assumes the status of a party and requires legal assistance, shall be entitled to free legal aid.

The objective of this law is to provide the State and the citizens with the necessary instruments to achieve an environment that is healthy and ecologically balanced. The State, through its institutions, authorities, and officials, is the guarantor of the defense and preservation of the environment and the sustainable use of natural resources, and has the primary obligation to prevent and, where appropriate, sanction environmental contamination.

• a)The environment is a common heritage, belonging to one and all; its protection and the improvement, conservation, and restoration of both human and natural heritage are the joint and several (mancomunada) responsibility of the State, local governments, and each inhabitant of the country.
• b)The sustainable use of the elements of environmental heritage, as well as the prevention of its deterioration, degradation, or destruction, are matters of social interest and public utility.
• c)Whoever pollutes the environment or causes it damage shall be responsible for repairing the harm caused, restoring the damaged element, and financially compensating, as provided by law, for any losses and damages that cannot be repaired or restored.
• d)The prevention, precaution, and citizen participation are the fundamental elements for the achievement of collective objectives concerning the environment.
• e)The actions of the Public Administration shall be guided by the principle of strict and explicit subjection to the law, and motivated by objective environmental protection interests, including the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, among others.
• f)The environmental variable shall be timely considered, by way of an environmental impact assessment (evaluación de impacto ambiental), in all activities of the Public Administration, as well as in the execution and approval of plans and programs.
• g)This law does not exempt from compliance with other laws and regulations referring to matters regulated and related to the defense, conservation, improvement, and restoration of the environment.
• h)The harmonization of the environmental variable with actions related to productive, economic, social, and cultural activities of the population is a priority.
• i)The basic guidelines of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management policy shall be promoted.
• j)The public environmental management processes shall be based on the best scientific and technical information available nationally and internationally. This principle shall also be applicable to private forms of environmental management.

PARTICIPATION OF CITIZENS

Rights and Guarantees

Every person has the right to participate in the definition and application of policies, legal instruments, plans, and programs regarding environmental matters.

The State shall promote and facilitate the integration of groups and organizations in environmental management processes, as established by the law and its regulations.

Every person has the right to timely information, from the Public Administration, on the policies, plans, and programs related to environmental heritage.

To make this right effective, the State shall maintain updated records of environmental interest, carry out environmental education programs and projects, support environmental citizen organizations, and provide them with financial participation resources according to its possibilities.

Any person may file environmental complaints and reports with the authorities, and the appropriate bodies shall have the obligation to substantiate them.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Environmental Impact Assessment

Human activities that, by their very nature, alter or destroy elements of the environment or generate waste, toxic, or hazardous materials, shall be subject to an environmental impact assessment, for which the competent bodies shall be the responsible entities in accordance with current legislation.

The environmental impact assessment shall constitute the authorized preventive instrument for the rational administration of resources and shall be approved by the corresponding body, before the activity, work, or project in question is initiated. The legislation of the corresponding bodies shall regulate the phase of public participation in the environmental impact assessment process.

Competent bodies shall be understood to mean the Secretariats, Ministries, and other State bodies, which by law have assigned powers to grant environmental viability for specific activities. In the case of activities not assigned to specific bodies, the environmental impact assessment shall correspond to SETENA, in accordance with the procedure established by the applicable regulations. The implementing regulations shall define the bodies that must carry out the evaluation.

To decide the environmental viability of an activity, work, or project, an environmental impact assessment must be carried out as a prior and essential requirement.

Those activities, works, or projects that require carrying out an environmental impact assessment, and the corresponding criteria and procedures for their evaluation, shall be defined by the implementing regulations, which shall include a graduated list according to the magnitude of their possible impacts and the nature of the activity, in accordance with the guidelines established by this law and by other relevant legal provisions in this field.

For environmental management purposes, the document that evaluates the possible environmental impacts of an activity, work, or project is called the Environmental Management Document (Documento de Gestión Ambiental, DGA). The DGA will be called, depending on the level of detail and depth of the studies required, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study, environmental viability (viabilidad ambiental) document, or others, as established by the implementing regulations.

The Environmental Management Document shall include a description of the physical environment, the land, the ecological limits of the areas and sites in which the activity, work, or project is to be carried out; a technical description of the same; the design, formulation of personnel and control measures, and contingency and emergency plans; and a forecast of the impacts, direct or indirect, that the execution of the activity, work, or project will have on the environmental heritage and the actions proposed to minimize them. It shall also include the analysis of the sites where the works and activities will be located and the justification for the alternative selected.

The implementing regulations shall detail the scope of these documents.

The recommendation resulting from the environmental impact assessment shall be binding for the competent bodies to grant the respective authorization. The laws referred to in Article 6 of this title shall determine the nature of the body that must render a final decision on the environmental viability and whether the recommendation is binding.

The implementing regulations shall develop the provisions of this title, and the competent bodies shall issue the complementary internal provisions as necessary to fulfill the purposes of this law.

Any person who files a complaint, an appeal, or who participates, in any capacity, in a proceeding that protects environmental heritage shall be exempt from payment of all kinds. Any person who, in defense of the environment, assumes the status of a party and requires legal assistance, shall be entitled to free legal aid.