DENR to simplify processing of environmental permits
In a move to rid the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) of corruption and hasten the flow of investment, Secretary Lito Atienza called for the immediate review of procedures and requirements in the issuance of environmental permits, including environmental compliance certificate (ECC).
“We need to hasten the process, simplify it, ease unnecessary requirements so that investors, both foreign and local, will eventually flow in upon getting the necessary clearances,” Atienza said.
In a special order he issued Friday, Atienza directed Environmental Management Bureau Director Julian Amador to chair the review committee, with Assistant Secretary Jeremias Dolino as vice-chair, and Assistant Secretaries Analiza Teh, Juan Miguel Cuna and all directors of bureaus under the DENR as members.
Atienza specifically directed the committee to improve on the Philippine Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) System process, particularly on the reduction of the number of days of processing the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) and the certificate of non-coverage (CNC).
“This drastic streamlining that we will be doing will also remove occasions of graft and corruption and hasten the sustainable development of our natural resources,” he said.
"By streamlining processes in ECC acquisition and other requirements, we can help generate more investments which will lead to more jobs for our fellow kababayan,” he added.
According to Atienza, this initiative is in accordance with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s directive to shorten the processing time for environmental permits and licenses.
The DENR chief likewise emphasized that the Department will also embark on strengthening its monitoring capability, saying that “it is our monitoring that should really count heavily in protecting the environment, whether in forestry projects, ecotourism development or mining.”
The DENR chief has given the committee until the first week of July to report on the output of the status and progress of their operations.
It normally takes a year for an ECC application to be approved, 17 weeks for mining permits and about three months for CNCs.
“The ECC streamlining definitely cuts through all the red tape and bureaucratic delays that companies experience in getting their ECCs approved,” Atienza said.
ECCs are part of the requirements for all development projects in the country as an assurance that the planning, construction and operations of these projects do not adversely affect the environment and human health.
Presidential Decree No. 1586, which established the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System, mandates that all environmentally-critical projects (ECPs) as well as projects that are located in environmentally-critical areas shall undergo thorough environmental impact assessment (EIA) to ensure the protection of the environment as well as the communities living within or near the project site.
Such projects may include, for example, building a hydroelectric dam or factory, irrigating a large valley, or developing a harbor, which may generate impacts on flora, fauna, air quality, landscape and other features of the environment.
Critical mine structures include tailings dams, waste dumps and small-scale mining areas, while geohazard areas refer to areas that are susceptible to landslides, floods, liquefaction, ground subsidence and other ground instabilities.
Prior to the issuance of the ECC, project proponents are required to undertake an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to determine possible adverse environmental impacts of their proposed projects or activities and to come up with measures or strategies to reduce such impacts on the environment. (PNA)