The Government has launched for public consultation the draft Emergency Ordinance on the simplification of administrative procedures for investors. An important chapter of the draft concerns the measures proposed by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests: streamlining environmental impact assessment procedures by reducing the time needed for analysis and modernizing administrative processes.„We are reducing timescales where there is real room for efficiencies, but not reducing environmental standards. On the contrary, digitization and the clarification of procedural steps allow us to have faster, more transparent and predictable processes for investors, while fully maintaining environmental protection requirements. It is a necessary step to modernize environmental administration”said Environment, Water and Forests Minister Diana Buzoianu, according to Construction Agenda.
Under the proposed amendments, the maximum time allowed for decision-making in the two stages of the environmental impact assessment procedure (the initial assessment stage and the scoping stage) is reduced by 40 days. These are streamlined deadlines discussed with European Commission representatives. Specifically, the deadline for the initial analysis is reduced from 15 to 10 days, the deadline for the formulation of the viewpoint in the scoping stage is reduced from 20 to 15 days, and the maximum deadline for the scoping decision is reduced from 90 to 60 days.
In parallel, the project introduces the development of a new national IT system for the record keeping and reporting of environmental data and information by ANMAP. The platform will enable digital management of data flows, increase the traceability of procedures, standardize reporting and reduce bureaucracy for economic operators. The system will contribute to better quality of environmental data and more effective monitoring of compliance obligations.