Environmental impact appraisal to be adjusted

ENVIRONMENTAL impact assessment of projects such as restructuring of rural land holdings, use of uncultivated land or semi-natural areas for intensive agricultural purposes, and water management projects like irrigation and land drainage, are to be adjusted to remove shortcomings identified by the European Court of Justice.

The court found in November, 2008, that Ireland’s system of environmental impact assessment (EIA) for certain agriculture-related projects was over-reliant on size thresholds, and did not take into account other relevant criteria such as cumulative impacts of development, and proximity to sensitive sites.

The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government responded to the European Commission last November, outlining its proposed legislative reforms to address the court judgement — including a significant lowering of thresholds at which mandatory EIA is required, and lowering of exempted development thresholds above which a planning application is required.