Vol. 385 No. 6
asked the Minister for the Environment when he will notify the European Commission of the decision which he has taken in relation to the threshold and criteria for environmental assessment purposes as is required in Annex 11 of the Council Directive, 27 June 1985; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
191.
asked the Minister for the Environment if he will adopt any criteria and/or thresholds for the selection of projects likely to have significant effects upon the environment which are listed in Annex 11 to the Council Directive, 27 June 1985 on the assessment of effects of certain public and private projects on the environment; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 190 and 191 together.
Article 4.2 of Council Directive 85/337/EEC on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requires projects of the classes listed in Annex II of the Directive to be subjected to EIA where Member States consider that their characteristics so require. Member States are empowered by that Article to specify certain classes of Annex II projects as being subject to EIA, or to establish criteria and thresholds for determining which such projects shall be subject to EIA.
Arrangements for the bringing into operation of the directive notified by my Department in July, 1988 provided, inter alia, that a project of any of the classes listed in Annex II should be subjected to EIA if it is likely to have significant effects on the environment. The European Commission has been informed of these arrangements.
The question of establishing criteria and thresholds in relation to the environmental significance of Annex II projects is being considered in my Department.
