The role of EIA
The rules of assessing environmental impact are described in Act of 3 October 2008 on the provision of information on the environment and its protection, public participation in environmental protection and environmental impact assessment. This Act is a set of legal regulations concerning environmental impact assessment that follow from Community law provisions, i.e. in particular:
- Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment,
- Directive 92/43/EEC of the Council on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora,
- Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment,
- Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on public access to environmental information (...).
In case of projects, a well-conducted environmental impact assessment has a huge influence on co-financing the investment execution from the European Funds. This fact is particularly taken into consideration by investors and entities responsible for allocation of funds.
Environmental impact assessment is a key tool in UE environmental protection policy and in protection of natural values endangered by investment execution; that kind of assessment allows to raise funds from the European Union for road investments execution in a more effective way.
What is more, the environmental impact assessment is a first tool applied in a widely understood planning process which influences the impact of human activity on the natural environment. Further actions that can be taken in order to protect the environment, also at the stage of operation of the investment, will very often depend on the quality of environmental impact assessment.