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Georgia adopts Secondary legislation related to Environmental Assessment Code

Business Materials 6 January 2021 17:17 (UTC +04:00)
Georgia adopts Secondary legislation related to Environmental Assessment Code

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.6

By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:

Georgia’s Environmental Assessment Code is in force since January 2018, Energy Community Secretariat told Trend.

"It complies with the provisions of the Directives on environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments. Secondary legislation related to the implementation of the Environmental Assessment Code were also adopted," the source said.

As the Energy Community Secretariat noted, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture acts as competent authority for both types of environmental assessments, including transboundary ones. Draft amendments to the Environmental Assessment Code, aimed at improving procedural issues, were prepared during the latest reporting period.

"However, their adoption was postponed due to COVID-19 situation. During the reporting period, a total of 41 network energy-related environmental impact assessments were carried out, out of which 19 received development consent, including two small hydropower projects," the Energy Community Secretariat noted.

The requirements and thresholds of the 'Sulphur in Fuels Directive' for heavy fuel oil and gas oil have been transposed by the Government Order on the establishment of sulphur content limit values into national law. Amendments on sampling and analysis and marine fuels are planned for the first half of 2021.

"With regard to large combustion plants, Georgia has four gasfired installations falling under the scope of the Directive, the emissions of which are in line with the Directive. Georgia complied with its reporting obligations under the 'Large Combustion Plants Directive' in April 2020 by submitting its emissions data to the European Environment Agency for the reporting year 2019," the source said.

"The adoption of the draft Law on Industrial Emissions and a by-law on special provisions for combustion plants was postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 situation. The drafts were developed in line with the provisions of the Industrial Emissions Directive," the Energy Community Secretariat said.

"With regard to nature protection, the draft 'Law on Biodiversity' is in its final development stage, with the provisions related to the protection and preservation of wild birds being one of the most essential elements of the draft. The draft law initiates a new approach of “protected and strictly protected species”, meaning that two different lists of species will be adopted, based on the Birds and the Habitats Directives. The submission of the draft law to the Government is planned by the end of 2020," the source said.

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