Environmental Guidelines

ENVIRONMENTAL GUIDELINES FOR NON-SCHEDULED UNDERTAKINGS UNDER EPA 2002

SEPTEMBER 2006

1.0 Purpose

The First Schedule of the Environment Protection Act (EPA) 2002 which pertains to the list of undertakings requiring an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) or a Preliminary Environment Report (PER) has been reviewed to exclude certain undertakings from it. For those activities, environmental guidelines have been prepared in order to assist proponents in the implementation of their projects in order to include environmental safeguards.

The amended First Schedule to the EPA 2002 is at Section 3.0 and the list of environmental guidelines is at Section 4.0.

These amendments are in line with the objectives of The Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006 which is to allow businesses to start operation on the basis of self adherence to comprehensive and clear guidelines and for the authorities to check for compliance by exercising ex post control.

2.0 Compliance to Regulations/Standards

Proponents should comply with all the regulations and standards made under the EPA 2002, whether the activity is a scheduled undertaking or not. The regulations currently in force are as follows:

• Environment Protection (Standards for Air) Regulations 1998
• Environment Protection (Drinking Water Standards) Regulations 1996
• Environment Protection (Standards for effluent discharge) Regulations 2003
• Environment Protection (Standards for effluent Discharge)(Amendment) Regulations 2004
• Environment Protection (Effluent Discharge Permit) Regulations 2003
• Environment Protection (Effluent Discharge Permit)(Amendment) Regulations 2004
• Environment Protection (Standards of effluent for use in irrigation) Regulation 2003
• Environment Protection(Standards for effluent Discharge into the ocean) Regulations 2003
• Environment Protection ( Environmental Standards for Noise) Regulations 1997
• Environment Protection (Standards for hazardous wastes) Regulation 2001
• Environment Protection ( Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottle Permit) Regulations 2001
• Environment Protection (Collection, Storage, Treatment, Use and Disposal of Used Oil) Regulations 2005.

These standards and regulations are available on this website

3.0       Enforcement

Under Section 13 of the Environment Protection Act 2002, the enforcing agencies for the different environmental media or pollutants are as follows:

The above-mentioned enforcing agencies will monitor compliance with the conditions in the guidelines for the media or pollutant falling under their purview. The Ministry of Environment and NDU will assure a coordinating role of the enforcement activities.

4.0       REVISED FIRST SCHEDULE

PART A

List of undertakings requiring a Preliminary Environmental Report

1.  Construction of helipads
2.  Coral crushing and processing
3.  Creation of bathing areas by mechanical means
4.  Depot for 50 buses or more
5.  *Discotheque and night-club
6.  Food processing industry, excluding small and medium enterprises
7.  Foundry, smelting plant or metallurgical work
8.  Galvanising industry
9.  Industrial-scale laundry and dry-cleaning within 1 kilometre of high water mark     
10.  Land reclamation and backfilling
11.  Manufacture of animal feed
12.  Manufacture of ceramics
13.  Manufacture of paint, pigment and varnish
14.  Manufacture of photographic films
15.  Manufacture of plastics and plastic products
16.  Manufacture of rubber products
17.  Mechanical removal of marine flora such as sea grasses and marine algae 
18. Parcelling out of land above 5 hectares for agricultural purposes involving infrastructure work

  19. Quarantine station for livestock

  20. Ready-mix concrete plant

  21.** Rearing of livestock including cattle, goat, pig and sheep

  22. Rearing of poultry above 5000 heads

  23. Recycling plant

  24. Rendering plant  

  26. Slaughter house

  27. Textile industry associated with washing, bleaching and printing

  28. Timber treatment plant

NOTE:

       *As per a Cabinet Decision of 07/04/2006 no new licences for night clubs, except for hotels should be issued. 

      **Applies for the rearing of more than 20 cattle heads, more than 50 goat heads and more than 50 sheep heads.

Livestock rearing on a smaller scale of up to 20 cattle heads, up to 50 goat heads and up to 50 sheep heads has to be carried through self adherence to the Environmental Guideline: livestock rearing including cattle, goat and sheep available on this Ministry’s website.

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PART B

List of undertakings requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment

1. Asphalt plant
2. Assembly of motor vehicles
3. Block making plant manufacturing above 10,000 blocks per day
4. Bulk processing, storage and handling of petroleum products, liquefied gas, coal and petro-chemical products
5. Clinic and hospital, including animal hospital
6. Construction of airports and runways
7. Construction of breakwaters, groins, jetties, revêtements and seawalls
8. Construction of dam and dyke
9. Construction of marinas
10. Conversion of forest land to any other land use
11. Creation of, and/or development on, barachois
12. Desalination plant
13. Distillery
14. Dyehouse
15. Fishing port
16. Golf course
17. Harbour dredging operation, construction and development
18. Highway and mass transit system
19. Hotel and Integrated Resort Scheme, including extension, with first boundary within 1 kilometre from high water mark
20. Housing project and apartments above 50 units within 1 kilometre from high water mark
21. Incineration of municipal solid waste, quarantine waste, medical and clinical wastes
22. Industrial manufacture of beer, wine and spirit
23. Lagoon dredging and reprofiling of sea beds
24. Land clearing and development, including installation of high tension lines in environmentally sensitive areas such as water catchment areas, waterlogged areas, wetlands, mountain slopes and islets.
25. Landfill
26. Manufacture of batteries
27. Manufacture of dangerous chemicals, chemical fertilizers and pesticides
28. Manufacture of lime
29. Manufacture and packing of cement
30. Manufacture of pharmaceutical products
31. Modification of existing coastline such as beach reprofiling, coastal protection works and removal of basaltic and beach rock
32. Municipal wastewater treatment plant
33. Offshore sand mining
34. Parcelling out of land above 5 hectares -

    (a) otherwise than by way of division in kind among heirs;

        (b) to be allocated to persons other than such persons as may be approved by the Minister responsible for the subject of agriculture and who are-

               (i) occupiers of housing units forming part of sugar estate camps owned by sugar milliers or sugarcane planters;

               (ii) occupiers of housing units forming part of tea estate camps;

               (iii) workers affected by the closure of a sugar factory; or

               (iV)workers opting for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme

   35. Petroleum refinery

   37. Power generating plants

   38. Pulp and paper manufacture

   39. Rearing of monkeys

   40. Rock quarrying

   41. Sea outfall

   42. Shipyard and dry dock

   43. Stone crushing plant

   44. Sugar factory or refinery

   45. Tannery and leather finishing

   46. Transfer station for solid waste

   47. Used or waste oil treatment and disposal

Please note: Proponents are requested to consult the official version of the First Schedule as published in the Government Gazette.

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL GUIDELINES

Guideline number Activity