Environmental Impact Assessment: Legal Framework in Chile

Legislative Pyramid

• Constitution
• Laws, Decree-Law, International Treaties
• Supreme Decree, Decree
• Simple Regulations
• Resolutions

Principles

Preventive

• Environmental education
• Management plans, prevention, or decontamination
• Environmental quality standards and emission

Gradualism

• Arrange interests
• Build in stages (environmental standards, EIA legislation, sectoral audit)

Realism and Integration

• Act on what is
• There are no immediate solutions
• Perform building, not just control
• Opening economic tools
• Environmental cost internalization

Responsibility

• Have criminal liability or fraud guilt

Participatory

• Advertising for new projects
• Local organizations may challenge new projects
• Building Advisory Council - for public procedures
• Setting environmental quality standards

How to Determine Whether to Prepare an EIS or a DIA?

• Health risk to the population because of the quality and quantity of effluents, emissions, or waste.
• Significant adverse effects on the quantity and quality of renewable natural resources, including soil, water, and air.
• Resettlement of human communities or significant alteration of the lifestyles and habits of human groups.
• Location close to the population, resources, or protected areas susceptible to being affected, as well as the environmental value of the territory in which it is intended to be deployed.
• Significant change in terms of magnitude or duration, the scenic or tourist value of an area.
• Alteration of monuments, sites of archaeological, anthropological, general historical, and cultural heritage belonging.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Contents:

1. Project description
2. Legal framework (Plan of compliance with environmental legislation)
3. A detailed description of the events or circumstances (Article 11°) giving rise to the need for an EIA
4. The baseline
5. A prediction and evaluation of the project's environmental impact, including possible risk situations
6. The measures to be taken to eliminate or minimize the adverse effects of the project or activity and the actions of the relief made, whenever appropriate
7. A plan to monitor the relevant environmental variables that give rise to the EIA

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

1. Project Description

General Background

• Project name
• Cardholder identification
• Purpose
• Location
• Parts/actions and physical works
• Surface
• Investment
• Life
• Schedule

Description of the Stage of Gathering Information in the Field

(If appropriate, actions and works required for data collection)

Description of the Construction Phase

(If any, actions and requirements necessary for the realization of works)

Description of the Operation Stage

(Actions, works and requirements, processes, and the handling of raw materials and products)

Description of Actions, Works, and Measures to be Implemented in the Closure and/or Neglect

(If applicable)

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

Contents

• The indication of the type of project or activity in question
• The description of the project or activity being performed or the amendments that would be introduced
• The indication of the necessary background to determine if the impact generated by the environment or present in the project meets the standards of environmental effect and that it does not require the submission of an EIA, according to the provisions of the Act and Regulation.
• Mining permits
• The description of the contents of these environmental commitments (voluntary, not required by current legislation) that the holder of the project will address
• Affidavit of the owner