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Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo, 1991) - the 'Espoo (EIA) Convention' |
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CONSOLIDATED VERSION WITH NO LEGAL STATUS |
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(with first and second amendments indicated in colour) |
The Parties to this Convention,
Aware of the interrelationship between economic
activities and their environmental consequences,
Affirming the need to ensure environmentally
sound and sustainable development,
Determined to enhance international co-operation
in assessing environmental impact in particular
in a transboundary context,
Mindful of the need and importance to develop
anticipatory policies and of preventing, mitigating
and monitoring significant adverse environmental
impact in general and more specifically in a transboundary
context,
Recalling the relevant provisions of the
Charter of the United Nations, the Declaration of
the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment,
the Final Act of the Conference on Security and
Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) and the Concluding
Documents of the Madrid and Vienna Meetings of Representatives
of the Participating States of the CSCE,
Commending the ongoing activities of States
to ensure that, through their national legal and
administrative provisions and their national policies,
environmental impact assessment is carried out,
Conscious of the need to give explicit consideration
to environmental factors at an early stage in the
decision-making process by applying environmental
impact assessment, at all appropriate administrative
levels, as a necessary tool to improve the quality
of information presented to decision makers so that
environmentally sound decisions can be made paying
careful attention to minimizing significant adverse
impact, particularly in a transboundary context,
Mindful of the efforts of international
organizations to promote the use of environmental
impact assessment both at the national and international
levels, and taking into account work on environmental
impact assessment carried out under the auspices
of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe,
in particular results achieved by the Seminar on
Environmental Impact Assessment (September 1987,
Warsaw, Poland) as well as noting the Goals and
Principles on environmental impact assessment adopted
by the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment
Programme, and the Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable
Development (May 1990, Bergen, Norway),
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Convention,
(i) "Parties" means, unless the text
otherwise indicates, the Contracting Parties to
this Convention;
(ii) "Party of origin" means the Contracting
Party or Parties to this Convention under whose
jurisdiction a proposed activity is envisaged to
take place;
(iii) "Affected Party" means the Contracting
Party or Parties to this Convention likely to be
affected by the transboundary impact of a proposed
activity;
(iv) "Concerned Parties" means the Party
of origin and the affected Party of an environmental
impact assessment pursuant to this Convention;
(v) "Proposed activity" means any activity
or any major change to an activity subject to a
decision of a competent authority in accordance
with an applicable national procedure;
(vi) "Environmental impact assessment"
means a national procedure for evaluating the likely
impact of a proposed activity on the environment;
(vii) "Impact" means any effect caused
by a proposed activity on the environment including
human health and safety, flora, fauna, soil, air,
water, climate, landscape and historical monuments
or other physical structures or the interaction
among these factors; it also includes effects on
cultural heritage or socio-economic conditions resulting
from alterations to those factors;
(viii) "Transboundary impact" means any
impact, not exclusively of a global nature, within
an area under the jurisdiction of a Party caused
by a proposed activity the physical origin of which
is situated wholly or in part within the area under
the jurisdiction of another Party;
(ix) "Competent authority" means the
national authority or authorities designated by
a Party as responsible for performing the tasks
covered by this Convention and/or the authority
or authorities entrusted by a Party with decision-making
powers regarding a proposed activity;
(x) "The Public" means one or more natural
or legal persons and, in accordance
with national legislation or practice, their associations,
organizations or groups.
Article
2
GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. The Parties shall, either individually or jointly,
take all appropriate and effective measures to prevent,
reduce and control significant adverse transboundary
environmental impact from proposed activities.
2. Each Party shall take the necessary legal, administrative
or other measures to implement the provisions of
this Convention, including, with respect to proposed
activities listed in Appendix
I that are likely to cause significant adverse
transboundary impact, the establishment of an environmental
impact assessment procedure that permits public
participation and preparation of the environmental
impact assessment documentation described in Appendix
II.
3. The Party of origin shall ensure that in accordance
with the provisions of this Convention an environmental
impact assessment is undertaken prior to a decision
to authorize or undertake a proposed activity listed
in Appendix I that is likely
to cause a significant adverse transboundary impact.
4. The Party of origin shall, consistent with the
provisions of this Convention, ensure that affected
Parties are notified of a proposed activity listed
in Appendix I that is likely
to cause a significant adverse transboundary impact.
5. Concerned Parties shall, at the initiative of
any such Party, enter into discussions on whether
one or more proposed activities not listed in Appendix
I is or are likely to cause a significant adverse
transboundary impact and thus should be treated
as if it or they were so listed. Where those Parties
so agree, the activity or activities shall be thus
treated. General guidance for identifying criteria
to determine significant adverse impact is set forth
in Appendix III.
6. The Party of origin shall provide, in accordance
with the provisions of this Convention, an opportunity
to the public in the areas likely to be affected
to participate in relevant environmental impact
assessment procedures regarding proposed activities
and shall ensure that the opportunity provided to
the public of the affected Party is equivalent to
that provided to the public of the Party of origin.
7. Environmental impact assessments as required
by this Convention shall, as a minimum requirement,
be undertaken at the project level of the proposed
activity. To the extent appropriate, the Parties
shall endeavour to apply the principles of environmental
impact assessment to policies, plans and programmes.
8. The provisions of this Convention shall not
affect the right of Parties to implement national
laws, regulations, administrative provisions or
accepted legal practices protecting information
the supply of which would be prejudicial to industrial
and commercial secrecy or national security.
9. The provisions of this Convention shall not
affect the right of particular Parties to implement,
by bilateral or multilateral agreement where appropriate,
more stringent measures than those of this Convention.
10. The provisions of this Convention shall not
prejudice any obligations of the Parties under international
law with regard to activities having or likely to
have a transboundary impact.
11. If the Party of origin
intends to carry out a procedure for the purposes
of determining the content of the environmental
impact assessment documentation, the affected Party
should to the extent appropriate be given the opportunity
to participate in this procedure.
Article
3
NOTIFICATION
1. For a proposed activity listed in Appendix
I that is likely to cause a significant adverse
transboundary impact, the Party of origin shall,
for the purposes of ensuring adequate and effective
consultations under Article
5, notify any Party which it considers may be
an affected Party as early as possible and no later
than when informing its own public about that proposed
activity.
2. This notification shall contain, inter alia:
(a) Information on the proposed activity, including
any available information on its possible transboundary
impact;
(b) The nature of the possible decision; and
(c) An indication of a reasonable time within which
a response under paragraph 3 of this Article is
required, taking into account the nature of the
proposed activity;
and may include the information set out in paragraph
5 of this Article.
3. The affected Party shall respond to the Party
of origin within the time specified in the notification,
acknowledging receipt of the notification, and shall
indicate whether it intends to participate in the
environmental impact assessment procedure.
4. If the affected Party indicates that it does
not intend to participate in the environmental impact
assessment procedure, or if it does not respond
within the time specified in the notification, the
provisions in paragraphs 5, 6, 7 and 8 of this Article
and in Articles 4 to 7 will
not apply. In such circumstances the right of a
Party of origin to determine whether to carry out
an environmental impact assessment on the basis
of its national law and practice is not prejudiced.
5. Upon receipt of a response from the affected
Party indicating its desire to participate in the
environmental impact assessment procedure, the Party
of origin shall, if it has not already done so,
provide to the affected Party:
(a) Relevant information regarding the environmental
impact assessment procedure, including an indication
of the time schedule for transmittal of comments;
and
(b) Relevant information on the proposed activity
and its possible significant adverse transboundary
impact.
6. An affected Party shall, at the request of the
Party of origin, provide the latter with reasonably
obtainable information relating to the potentially
affected environment under the jurisdiction of the
affected Party, where such information is necessary
for the preparation of the environmental impact
assessment documentation. The information shall
be furnished promptly and, as appropriate, through
a joint body where one exists.
7. When a Party considers that it would be affected
by a significant adverse transboundary impact of
a proposed activity listed in Appendix
I, and when no notification has taken place
in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article,
the concerned Parties shall, at the request of the
affected Party, exchange sufficient information
for the purposes of holding discussions on whether
there is likely to be a significant adverse transboundary
impact. If those Parties agree that there is likely
to be a significant adverse transboundary impact,
the provisions of this Convention shall apply accordingly.
If those Parties cannot agree whether there is likely
to be a significant adverse transboundary impact,
any such Party may submit that question to an inquiry
commission in accordance with the provisions of
Appendix IV to advise on
the likelihood of significant adverse transboundary
impact, unless they agree on another method of settling
this question.
8. The concerned Parties shall ensure that the
public of the affected Party in the areas likely
to be affected be informed of, and be provided with
possibilities for making comments or objections
on, the proposed activity, and for the transmittal
of these comments or objections to the competent
authority of the Party of origin, either directly
to this authority or, where appropriate, through
the Party of origin.
Article
4
PREPARATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT ASSESSMENT DOCUMENTATION
1. The environmental impact assessment documentation
to be submitted to the competent authority of the
Party of origin shall contain, as a minimum, the
information described in Appendix
II.
2. The Party of origin shall furnish the affected
Party, as appropriate through a joint body where
one exists, with the environmental impact assessment
documentation. The concerned Parties shall arrange
for distribution of the documentation to the authorities
and the public of the affected Party in the areas
likely to be affected and for the submission of
comments to the competent authority of the Party
of origin, either directly to this authority or,
where appropriate, through the Party of origin within
a reasonable time before the final decision is taken
on the proposed activity.
Article
5
CONSULTATIONS ON THE BASIS OF THE
ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT ASSESSMENT DOCUMENTATION
The Party of origin shall, after completion of
the environmental impact assessment documentation,
without undue delay enter into consultations with
the affected Party concerning, inter alia,
the potential transboundary impact of the proposed
activity and measures to reduce or eliminate its
impact. Consultations may relate to:
(a) Possible alternatives to the proposed activity,
including the no-action alternative and possible
measures to mitigate significant adverse transboundary
impact and to monitor the effects of such measures
at the expense of the Party of origin;
(b) Other forms of possible mutual assistance in
reducing any significant adverse transboundary impact
of the proposed activity; and
(c) Any other appropriate matters relating to the
proposed activity.
The Parties shall agree, at the commencement of
such consultations, on a reasonable time-frame for
the duration of the consultation period. Any such
consultations may be conducted through an appropriate
joint body, where one exists.
Article
6
FINAL DECISION
1. The Parties shall ensure that, in the final
decision on the proposed activity, due account is
taken of the outcome of the environmental impact
assessment, including the environmental impact assessment
documentation, as well as the comments thereon received
pursuant to Article 3, paragraph
8 and Article 4, paragraph
2, and the outcome of the consultations as referred
to in Article 5.
2. The Party of origin shall provide to the affected
Party the final decision on the proposed activity
along with the reasons and considerations on which
it was based.
3. If additional information on the significant
transboundary impact of a proposed activity, which
was not available at the time a decision was made
with respect to that activity and which could have
materially affected the decision, becomes available
to a concerned Party before work on that activity
commences, that Party shall immediately inform the
other concerned Party or Parties. If one of the
concerned Parties so requests, consultations shall
be held as to whether the decision needs to be revised.
Article
7
POST-PROJECT ANALYSIS
1. The concerned Parties, at the request of any
such Party, shall determine whether, and if so to
what extent, a post-project analysis shall be carried
out, taking into account the likely significant
adverse transboundary impact of the activity for
which an environmental impact assessment has been
undertaken pursuant to this Convention. Any post-project
analysis undertaken shall include, in particular,
the surveillance of the activity and the determination
of any adverse transboundary impact. Such surveillance
and determination may be undertaken with a view
to achieving the objectives listed in Appendix V.
2. When, as a result of post-project analysis,
the Party of origin or the affected Party has reasonable
grounds for concluding that there is a significant
adverse transboundary impact or factors have been
discovered which may result in such an impact, it
shall immediately inform the other Party. The concerned
Parties shall then consult on necessary measures
to reduce or eliminate the impact.
Article
8
BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL CO-OPERATION
The Parties may continue existing or enter into
new bilateral or multilateral agreements or other
arrangements in order to implement their obligations
under this Convention and
under any of its protocols to which they are a Party.
Such agreements or other arrangements may be based
on the elements listed in Appendix VI.
Article
9
RESEARCH PROGRAMMES
The Parties shall give special consideration to
the setting up, or intensification of, specific
research programmes aimed at:
(a) Improving existing qualitative and quantitative
methods for assessing the impacts of proposed activities;
(b) Achieving a better understanding of cause-effect
relationships and their role in integrated environmental
management;
(c) Analysing and monitoring the efficient implementation
of decisions on proposed activities with the intention
of minimizing or preventing impacts;
(d) Developing methods to stimulate creative approaches
in the search for environmentally sound alternatives
to proposed activities, production and consumption
patterns;
(e) Developing methodologies for the application
of the principles of environmental impact assessment
at the macro-economic level.
The results of the programmes listed above shall
be exchanged by the Parties.
Article
10
STATUS OF THE APPENDICES
The Appendices attached to this Convention form
an integral part of the Convention.
Article
11
MEETING OF PARTIES
1. The Parties shall meet, so far as possible,
in connection with the annual sessions of the Senior
Advisers to ECE Governments on Environmental and
Water Problems. The first meeting of the Parties
shall be convened not later than one year after
the date of the entry into force of this Convention.
Thereafter, meetings of the Parties shall be held
at such other times as may be deemed necessary by
a meeting of the Parties, or at the written request
of any Party, provided that, within six months of
the request being communicated to them by the secretariat,
it is supported by at least one third of the Parties.
2. The Parties shall keep under continuous review
the implementation of this Convention, and, with
this purpose in mind, shall:
(a) Review the policies and methodological approaches
to environmental impact assessment by the Parties
with a view to further improving environmental impact
assessment procedures in a transboundary context;
(b) Exchange information regarding experience gained
in concluding and implementing bilateral and multilateral
agreements or other arrangements regarding the use
of environmental impact assessment in a transboundary
context to which one or more of the Parties are
party;
(c) Seek, where appropriate, the services of
competent international bodies and scientific committees
in methodological and technical aspects pertinent
to the achievement of the purposes of this Convention;
(c) Seek, where appropriate,
the services and cooperation of competent bodies
having expertise pertinent to the achievement of
the purposes of this Convention;
(d) At their first meeting, consider and by consensus
adopt rules of procedure for their meetings;
(e) Consider and, where necessary, adopt proposals
for amendments to this Convention;
(f) Consider and undertake any additional action
that may be required for the achievement of the
purposes of this Convention.
(g) Prepare, where appropriate,
protocols to this Convention;
(h) Establish such subsidiary
bodies as they consider necessary for the implementation
of this Convention.
Article
12
RIGHT TO VOTE
1. Each Party to this Convention shall have one
vote.
2. Except as provided for in paragraph 1 of this
Article, regional economic integration organizations,
in matters within their competence, shall exercise
their right to vote with a number of votes equal
to the number of their member States which are Parties
to this Convention. Such organizations shall not
exercise their right to vote if their member States
exercise theirs, and vice versa.
Article
13
SECRETARIAT
The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission
for Europe shall carry out the following secretariat
functions:
(a) The convening and preparing of meetings of
the Parties;
(b) The transmission of reports and other information
received in accordance with the provisions of this
Convention to the Parties; and
(c) The performance of other functions as may be
provided for in this Convention or as may be determined
by the Parties.
Article
14
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONVENTION
1. Any Party may propose amendments to this Convention.
2. Proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing
to the secretariat, which shall communicate them
to all Parties. The proposed amendments shall be
discussed at the next meeting of the Parties, provided
these proposals have been circulated by the secretariat
to the Parties at least ninety days in advance.
3. The Parties shall make every effort to reach
agreement on any proposed amendment to this Convention
by consensus. If all efforts at consensus have been
exhausted, and no agreement reached, the amendment
shall as a last resort be adopted by a three-fourths
majority vote of the Parties present and voting
at the meeting.
4. Amendments to this Convention adopted in accordance
with paragraph 3 of this Article shall be submitted
by the Depositary to all Parties for ratification,
approval or acceptance. They shall enter into
force for Parties having ratified, approved or accepted
them on the ninetieth day after the receipt by the
Depositary of notification of their ratification,
approval or acceptance by at least three fourths
of these Parties. They
shall enter into force for Parties having ratified,
approved or accepted them on the ninetieth day after
the receipt by the Depositary of notification of
their ratification, approval or acceptance by at
least three fourths of the number of Parties at
the time of their adoption. Thereafter they
shall enter into force for any other Party on the
ninetieth day after that Party deposits its instrument
of ratification, approval or acceptance of the amendments.
5. For the purpose of this Article, "Parties
present and voting" means Parties present and
casting an affirmative or negative vote.
6. The voting procedure set forth in paragraph
3 of this Article is not intended to constitute
a precedent for future agreements negotiated within
the Economic Commission for Europe.
Article 14 bis
REVIEW OF COMPLIANCE
1. The Parties shall review
compliance with the provisions of this Convention
on the basis of the compliance procedure, as a non-adversarial
and assistance-oriented procedure adopted by the
Meeting of the Parties. The review shall be based
on, but not limited to, regular reporting by the
Parties. The Meeting of Parties shall decide on
the frequency of regular reporting required by the
Parties and the information to be included in those
regular reports.
2. The compliance procedure
shall be available for application to any protocol
adopted under this Convention.
Article
15
SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
1. If a dispute arises between two or more Parties
about the interpretation or application of this
Convention, they shall seek a solution by negotiation
or by any other method of dispute settlement acceptable
to the parties to the dispute.
2. When signing, ratifying, accepting, approving
or acceding to this Convention, or at any time thereafter,
a Party may declare in writing to the Depositary
that for a dispute not resolved in accordance with
paragraph 1 of this Article, it accepts one or both
of the following means of dispute settlement as
compulsory in relation to any Party accepting the
same obligation:
(a) Submission of the dispute to the International
Court of Justice;
(b) Arbitration in accordance with the procedure
set out in Appendix VII.
3. If the parties to the dispute have accepted
both means of dispute settlement referred to in
paragraph 2 of this Article, the dispute may be
submitted only to the International Court of Justice,
unless the parties agree otherwise.
Article
16
SIGNATURE
This Convention shall be open for signature at
Espoo (Finland) from 25 February to 1 March 1991
and thereafter at United Nations Headquarters in
New York until 2 September 1991 by States members
of the Economic Commission for Europe as well as
States having consultative status with the Economic
Commission for Europe pursuant to paragraph 8 of
the Economic and Social Council resolution 36 (IV)
of 28 March 1947, and by regional economic integration
organizations constituted by sovereign States members
of the Economic Commission for Europe to which their
member States have transferred competence in respect
of matters governed by this Convention, including
the competence to enter into treaties in respect
of these matters.
Article
17
RATIFICATION, ACCEPTANCE, APPROVAL
AND ACCESSION
1. This Convention shall be subject to ratification,
acceptance or approval by signatory States and regional
economic integration organizations.
2. This Convention shall be open for accession
as from 3 September 1991 by the States and organizations
referred to in Article 16.
3. Any other State, not referred
to in paragraph 2 of this Article, that is a Member
of the United Nations may accede to the Convention
upon approval by the Meeting of the Parties. The
Meeting of the Parties shall not consider or approve
any request for accession by such a State until
this paragraph has entered into force for all the
States and organizations that were Parties to the
Convention on 27 February 2001.
4 3. The instruments
of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession
shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of
the United Nations, who shall perform the functions
of Depositary.
5 4. Any organization
referred to in Article 16
which becomes a Party to this Convention without
any of its member States being a Party shall be
bound by all the obligations under this Convention.
In the case of such organizations, one or more of
whose member States is a Party to this Convention,
the organization and its member States shall decide
on their respective responsibilities for the performance
of their obligations under this Convention. In such
cases, the organization and the member States shall
not be entitled to exercise rights under this Convention
concurrently.
6 5. In their
instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval
or accession, the regional economic integration
organizations referred to in Article
16 shall declare the extent of their competence
with respect to the matters governed by this Convention.
These organizations shall also inform the Depositary
of any relevant modification to the extent of their
competence.
7. Any State or organization
that ratifies, accepts or approves this Convention
shall be deemed simultaneously to ratify, accept
or approve the amendment to the Convention set out
in decision II/14 taken at the second meeting of
the Parties.
Article
18
ENTRY INTO FORCE
1. This Convention shall enter into force on the
ninetieth day after the date of deposit of the sixteenth
instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval
or accession.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article,
any instrument deposited by a regional economic
integration organization shall not be counted as
additional to those deposited by States members
of such an organization.
3. For each State or organization referred to in
Article 16 which ratifies,
accepts or approves this Convention or accedes thereto
after the deposit of the sixteenth instrument of
ratification, acceptance, approval or accession,
this Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth
day after the date of deposit by such State or organization
of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval
or accession.
Article
19
WITHDRAWAL
At any time after four years from the date on which
this Convention has come into force with respect
to a Party, that Party may withdraw from this Convention
by giving written notification to the Depositary.
Any such withdrawal shall take effect on the ninetieth
day after the date of its receipt by the Depositary.
Any such withdrawal shall not affect the application
of Articles 3 to 6 of this
Convention to a proposed activity in respect of
which a notification has been made pursuant to Article 3,
paragraph 1, or a request has been made pursuant
to Article 3, paragraph
7, before such withdrawal took effect.
Article
20
AUTHENTIC TEXTS
The original of this Convention, of which the English,
French and Russian texts are equally authentic,
shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of
the United Nations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly
authorized thereto, have signed this Convention.
DONE at Espoo (Finland), this twenty-fifth day
of February one thousand nine hundred and ninety-one.
APPENDIX
I
LIST OF ACTIVITIES
1. Crude oil refineries (excluding undertakings
manufacturing only lubricants from crude oil) and
installations for the gasification and liquefaction
of 500 tonnes or more of coal or bituminous shale
per day.
2. Thermal power stations and other combustion
installations with a heat output of 300 megawatts
or more and nuclear power stations and other nuclear
reactors (except research installations for the
production and conversion of fissionable and fertile
materials, whose maximum power does not exceed 1
kilowatt continuous thermal load).
3. Installations solely designed for the production
or enrichment of nuclear fuels, for the reprocessing
of irradiated nuclear fuels or for the storage,
disposal and processing of radioactive waste.
4. Major installations for the initial smelting
of cast-iron and steel and for the production of
non-ferrous metals.
5. Installations for the extraction of asbestos
and for the processing and transformation of asbestos
and products containing asbestos: for asbestos-cement
products, with an annual production of more than
20,000 tonnes finished product; for friction material,
with an annual production of more than 50 tonnes
finished product; and for other asbestos utilization
of more than 200 tonnes per year.
6. Integrated chemical installations.
7. Construction of motorways, express roads
*/ and lines for long-distance railway traffic
and of airports with a basic runway length of 2,100
metres or more.
8. Large-diameter oil and gas pipelines.
9. Trading ports and also inland waterways and
ports for inland-waterway traffic which permit the
passage of vessels of over 1,350 tonnes.
10. Waste-disposal installations for the incineration,
chemical treatment or landfill of toxic and dangerous
wastes.
11. Large dams and reservoirs.
12. Groundwater abstraction activities in cases
where the annual volume of water to be abstracted
amounts to 10 million cubic metres or more.
13. Pulp and paper manufacturing of 200 air-dried
metric tonnes or more per day.
14. Major mining, on-site extraction and processing
of metal ores or coal.
15. Offshore hydrocarbon production.
16. Major storage facilities for petroleum,
petrochemical and chemical products.
17. Deforestation of large areas.
*/ For the purposes of this Convention:
- "Motorway" means a road specially
designed and built for motor traffic, which does
not serve properties bordering on it, and which:
(a) Is provided, except at special points or
temporarily, with separate carriageways for the
two directions of traffic, separated from each other
by a dividing strip not intended for traffic or,
exceptionally, by other means;
(b) Does not cross at level with any road, railway
or tramway track, or footpath; and
(c) Is specially sign-posted as a motorway.
- "Express road" means a road reserved
for motor traffic accessible only from interchanges
or controlled junctions and on which, in particular,
stopping and parking are prohibited on the running
carriageway(s).
LIST OF ACTIVITIES
1. Crude oil refineries (excluding
undertakings manufacturing only lubricants from
crude oil) and installations for the gasification
and liquefaction of 500 metric tons or more of coal
or bituminous shale per day.
2. (a) Thermal power stations
and other combustion installations with a heat output
of 300 megawatts or more, and
(b) Nuclear power stations and other nuclear reactors,
including the dismantling or decommissioning of
such power stations or reactors 1/ (except research
installations for the production and conversion
of fissionable and fertile materials, whose maximum
power does not exceed 1 kilowatt continuous thermal
load).
3. (a) Installations for
the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel;
(b) Installations designed:
- For the production or enrichment of nuclear fuel;
- For the processing of irradiated nuclear fuel
or high-level radioactive waste;
- For the final disposal of irradiated nuclear fuel;
- Solely for the final disposal of radioactive waste;
or
- Solely for the storage (planned for more than
10 years) of irradiated nuclear fuels or radioactive
waste in a different site than the production site.
4. Major installations for
the initial smelting of cast iron and steel and
for the production of non-ferrous metals.
5. Installations for the
extraction of asbestos and for the processing and
transformation of asbestos and products containing
asbestos: for asbestos-cement products, with an
annual production of more than 20,000 metric tons
finished product; for friction material, with an
annual production of more than 50 metric tons finished
product; and for other asbestos utilization of more
than 200 metric tons per year.
6. Integrated chemical installations.
7. (a) Construction of motorways,
express roads 2/ and lines for long-distance railway
traffic and of airports 3/ with a basic runway length
of 2,100 metres or more;
(b) Construction of a new road of four or more lanes,
or realignment and/or widening of an existing road
of two lanes or less so as to provide four or more
lanes, where such new road, or realigned and/or
widened section of road, would be 10 km or more
in a continuous length.
8. Large-diameter pipelines
for the transport of oil, gas or chemicals.
9. Trading ports and also
inland waterways and ports for inland-waterway traffic
which permit the passage of vessels of over 1,350
metric tons.
10. (a) Waste-disposal installations
for the incineration, chemical treatment or landfill
of toxic and dangerous wastes;
(b) Waste-disposal installations for the incineration
or chemical treatment of non-hazardous waste with
a capacity exceeding 100 metric tons per day.
11. Large dams and reservoirs.
12. Groundwater abstraction
activities or artificial groundwater recharge schemes
where the annual volume of water to be abstracted
or recharged amounts to 10 million cubic metres
or more.
13. Pulp, paper and board
manufacturing of 200 air-dried metric tons or more
per day.
14. Major quarries, mining,
on-site extraction and processing of metal ores
or coal.
15. Offshore hydrocarbon
production. Extraction of petroleum and natural
gas for commercial purposes where the amount extracted
exceeds 500 metric tons/day in the case of petroleum
and 500 000 cubic metres/day in the case of gas.
16. Major storage facilities
for petroleum, petrochemical and chemical products.
17. Deforestation of large
areas.
18. (a) Works for the transfer
of water resources between river basins where this
transfer aims at preventing possible shortages of
water and where the amount of water transferred
exceeds 100 million cubic metres/year; and
(b) In all other cases, works for the transfer of
water resources between river basins where the multi-annual
average flow of the basin of abstraction exceeds
2 000 million cubic metres/year and where the amount
of water transferred exceeds 5 per cent of this
flow.
In both cases transfers of piped drinking water
are excluded.
19. Waste-water treatment
plants with a capacity exceeding 150 000 population
equivalent.
20. Installations for the
intensive rearing of poultry or pigs with more than:
- 85 000 places for broilers;
- 60 000 places for hens;
- 3 000 places for production pigs (over 30 kg);
or
- 900 places for sows.
21. Construction of overhead
electrical power lines with a voltage of 220 kV
or more and a length of more than 15 km.
22. Major installations for
the harnessing of wind power for energy production
(wind farms).
____________________
1/ For the purposes of this
Convention, nuclear power stations and other nuclear
reactors cease to be such an installation when all
nuclear fuel and other radioactively contaminated
elements have been removed permanently from the
installation site.
2/ For the purposes of this Convention:
- "Motorway" means
a road specially designed and built for motor traffic,
which does not serve properties bordering on it,
and which:
(a) Is provided, except at
special points or temporarily, with separate carriageways
for the two directions of traffic, separated from
each other by a dividing strip not intended for
traffic or, exceptionally, by other means;
(b) Does not cross at level
with any road, railway or tramway track, or footpath;
and
(c) Is specially signposted
as a motorway.
- "Express road" means a road reserved for motor traffic accessible
only from interchanges or controlled junctions and
on which, in particular, stopping and parking are
prohibited on the running carriageway(s).
3/ For the purposes of this Convention, “airport” means an airport which complies with the definition
in the 1944 Chicago Convention setting up the International
Civil Aviation Organization (annex 14).
APPENDIX
II
CONTENT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ASSESSMENT DOCUMENTATION
Information to be included in the environmental
impact assessment documentation shall, as a minimum,
contain, in accordance with Article
4:
(a) A description of the proposed activity and
its purpose;
(b) A description, where appropriate, of reasonable
alternatives (for example, locational or technological)
to the proposed activity and also the no-action
alternative;
(c) A description of the environment likely to
be significantly affected by the proposed activity
and its alternatives;
(d) A description of the potential environmental
impact of the proposed activity and its alternatives
and an estimation of its significance;
(e) A description of mitigation measures to keep
adverse environmental impact to a minimum;
(f) An explicit indication of predictive methods
and underlying assumptions as well as the relevant
environmental data used;
(g) An identification of gaps in knowledge and
uncertainties encountered in compiling the required
information;
(h) Where appropriate, an outline for monitoring
and management programmes and any plans for post-project
analysis; and
(i) A non-technical summary including a visual
presentation as appropriate (maps, graphs, etc.).
APPENDIX
III
GENERAL CRITERIA TO ASSIST IN THE
DETERMINATION OF THE
ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ACTIVITIES
NOT LISTED IN APPENDIX I
1. In considering proposed activities to which
Article 2, paragraph 5,
applies, the concerned Parties may consider whether
the activity is likely to have a significant adverse
transboundary impact in particular by virtue of
one or more of the following criteria:
(a) Size: proposed activities which are
large for the type of the activity;
(b) Location: proposed activities which
are located in or close to an area of special environmental
sensitivity or importance (such as wetlands designated
under the Ramsar Convention, national parks, nature
reserves, sites of special scientific interest,
or sites of archaeological, cultural or historical
importance); also, proposed activities in locations
where the characteristics of proposed development
would be likely to have significant effects on the
population;
(c) Effects: proposed activities with particularly
complex and potentially adverse effects, including
those giving rise to serious effects on humans or
on valued species or organisms, those which threaten
the existing or potential use of an affected area
and those causing additional loading which cannot
be sustained by the carrying capacity of the environment.
2. The concerned Parties shall consider for this
purpose proposed activities which are located close
to an international frontier as well as more remote
proposed activities which could give rise to significant
transboundary effects far removed from the site
of development.
APPENDIX
IV
INQUIRY PROCEDURE
1. The requesting Party or Parties shall notify
the secretariat that it or they submit(s) the question
of whether a proposed activity listed in Appendix
I is likely to have a significant adverse transboundary
impact to an inquiry commission established in accordance
with the provisions of this Appendix. This notification
shall state the subject-matter of the inquiry. The
secretariat shall notify immediately all Parties
to this Convention of this submission.
2. The inquiry commission shall consist of three
members. Both the requesting party and the other
party to the inquiry procedure shall appoint a scientific
or technical expert, and the two experts so appointed
shall designate by common agreement the third expert,
who shall be the president of the inquiry commission.
The latter shall not be a national of one of the
parties to the inquiry procedure, nor have his or
her usual place of residence in the territory of
one of these parties, nor be employed by any of
them, nor have dealt with the matter in any other
capacity.
3. If the president of the inquiry commission has
not been designated within two months of the appointment
of the second expert, the Executive Secretary of
the Economic Commission for Europe shall, at the
request of either party, designate the president
within a further two-month period.
4. If one of the parties to the inquiry procedure
does not appoint an expert within one month of its
receipt of the notification by the secretariat,
the other party may inform the Executive Secretary
of the Economic Commission for Europe, who shall
designate the president of the inquiry commission
within a further two-month period. Upon designation,
the president of the inquiry commission shall request
the party which has not appointed an expert to do
so within one month. After such a period, the president
shall inform the Executive Secretary of the Economic
Commission for Europe, who shall make this appointment
within a further two-month period.
5. The inquiry commission shall adopt its own rules
of procedure.
6. The inquiry commission may take all appropriate
measures in order to carry out its functions.
7. The parties to the inquiry procedure shall facilitate
the work of the inquiry commission and, in particular,
using all means at their disposal, shall:
(a) Provide it with all relevant documents, facilities
and information; and
(b) Enable it, where necessary, to call witnesses
or experts and receive their evidence.
8. The parties and the experts shall protect the
confidentiality of any information they receive
in confidence during the work of the inquiry commission.
9. If one of the parties to the inquiry procedure
does not appear before the inquiry commission or
fails to present its case, the other party may request
the inquiry commission to continue the proceedings
and to complete its work. Absence of a party or
failure of a party to present its case shall not
constitute a bar to the continuation and completion
of the work of the inquiry commission.
10. Unless the inquiry commission determines otherwise
because of the particular circumstances of the matter,
the expenses of the inquiry commission, including
the remuneration of its members, shall be borne
by the parties to the inquiry procedure in equal
shares. The inquiry commission shall keep a record
of all its expenses, and shall furnish a final statement
thereof to the parties.
11. Any Party having an interest of a factual nature
in the subject-matter of the inquiry procedure,
and which may be affected by an opinion in the matter,
may intervene in the proceedings with the consent
of the inquiry commission.
12. The decisions of the inquiry commission on
matters of procedure shall be taken by majority
vote of its members. The final opinion of the inquiry
commission shall reflect the view of the majority
of its members and shall include any dissenting
view.
13. The inquiry commission shall present its final
opinion within two months of the date on which it
was established unless it finds it necessary to
extend this time limit for a period which should
not exceed two months.
14. The final opinion of the inquiry commission
shall be based on accepted scientific principles.
The final opinion shall be transmitted by the inquiry
commission to the parties to the inquiry procedure
and to the secretariat.
APPENDIX
V
POST-PROJECT ANALYSIS
Objectives include:
(a) Monitoring compliance with the conditions as
set out in the authorization or approval of the
activity and the effectiveness of mitigation measures;
(b) Review of an impact for proper management and
in order to cope with uncertainties;
(c) Verification of past predictions in order to
transfer experience to future activities of the
same type.
APPENDIX
VI
ELEMENTS FOR BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL
CO-OPERATION
1. Concerned Parties may set up, where appropriate,
institutional arrangements or enlarge the mandate
of existing institutional arrangements within the
framework of bilateral and multilateral agreements
in order to give full effect to this Convention.
2. Bilateral and multilateral agreements or other
arrangements may include:
(a) Any additional requirements for the implementation
of this Convention, taking into account the specific
conditions of the subregion concerned;
(b) Institutional, administrative and other arrangements,
to be made on a reciprocal and equivalent basis;
(c) Harmonization of their policies and measures
for the protection of the environment in order to
attain the greatest possible similarity in standards
and methods related to the implementation of environmental
impact assessment;
(d) Developing, improving, and/or harmonizing methods
for the identification, measurement, prediction
and assessment of impacts, and for post-project
analysis;
(e) Developing and/or improving methods and programmes
for the collection, analysis, storage and timely
dissemination of comparable data regarding environmental
quality in order to provide input into environmental
impact assessment;
(f) The establishment of threshold levels and more
specified criteria for defining the significance
of transboundary impacts related to the location,
nature or size of proposed activities, for which
environmental impact assessment in accordance with
the provisions of this Convention shall be applied;
and the establishment of critical loads of transboundary
pollution;
(g) Undertaking, where appropriate, joint environmental
impact assessment, development of joint monitoring
programmes, intercalibration of monitoring devices
and harmonization of methodologies with a view to
rendering the data and information obtained compatible.
3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 may
be applied, mutatis mutandis, to any protocol to
the Convention.
APPENDIX
VII
ARBITRATION
1. The claimant Party or Parties shall notify the
secretariat that the Parties have agreed to submit
the dispute to arbitration pursuant to Article
15, paragraph 2, of this Convention. The notification
shall state the subject-matter of arbitration and
include, in particular, the Articles of this Convention,
the interpretation or application of which are at
issue. The secretariat shall forward the information
received to all Parties to this Convention.
2. The arbitral tribunal shall consist of three
members. Both the claimant Party or Parties and
the other Party or Parties to the dispute shall
appoint an arbitrator, and the two arbitrators so
appointed shall designate by common agreement the
third arbitrator, who shall be the president of
the arbitral tribunal. The latter shall not be a
national of one of the parties to the dispute, nor
have his or her usual place of residence in the
territory of one of these parties, nor be employed
by any of them, nor have dealt with the case in
any other capacity.
3. If the president of the arbitral tribunal has
not been designated within two months of the appointment
of the second arbitrator, the Executive Secretary
of the Economic Commission for Europe shall, at
the request of either party to the dispute, designate
the president within a further two-month period.
4. If one of the parties to the dispute does not
appoint an arbitrator within two months of the receipt
of the request, the other party may inform the Executive
Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe,
who shall designate the president of the arbitral
tribunal within a further two-month period. Upon
designation, the president of the arbitral tribunal
shall request the party which has not appointed
an arbitrator to do so within two months. After
such a period, the president shall inform the Executive
Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe,
who shall make this appointment within a further
two-month period.
5. The arbitral tribunal shall render its decision
in accordance with international law and in accordance
with the provisions of this Convention.
6. Any arbitral tribunal constituted under the
provisions set out herein shall draw up its own
rules of procedure.
7. The decisions of the arbitral tribunal, both
on procedure and on substance, shall be taken by
majority vote of its members.
8. The tribunal may take all appropriate measures
in order to establish the facts.
9. The parties to the dispute shall facilitate
the work of the arbitral tribunal and, in particular,
using all means at their disposal, shall:
(a) Provide it with all relevant documents, facilities
and information; and
(b) Enable it, where necessary, to call witnesses
or experts and receive their evidence.
10. The parties and the arbitrators shall protect
the confidentiality of any information they receive
in confidence during the proceedings of the arbitral
tribunal.
11. The arbitral tribunal may, at the request of
one of the parties, recommend interim measures of
protection.
12. If one of the parties to the dispute does not
appear before the arbitral tribunal or fails to
defend its case, the other party may request the
tribunal to continue the proceedings and to render
its final decision. Absence of a party or failure
of a party to defend its case shall not constitute
a bar to the proceedings. Before rendering its final
decision, the arbitral tribunal must satisfy itself
that the claim is well founded in fact and law.
13. The arbitral tribunal may hear and determine
counter-claims arising directly out of the subject-matter
of the dispute.
14. Unless the arbitral tribunal determines otherwise
because of the particular circumstances of the case,
the expenses of the tribunal, including the remuneration
of its members, shall be borne by the parties to
the dispute in equal shares. The tribunal shall
keep a record of all its expenses, and shall furnish
a final statement thereof to the parties.
15. Any Party to this Convention having an interest
of a legal nature in the subject-matter of the dispute,
and which may be affected by a decision in the case,
may intervene in the proceedings with the consent
of the tribunal.
16. The arbitral tribunal shall render its award
within five months of the date on which it is established
unless it finds it necessary to extend the time
limit for a period which should not exceed five
months.
17. The award of the arbitral tribunal shall be
accompanied by a statement of reasons. It shall
be final and binding upon all parties to the dispute.
The award will be transmitted by the arbitral tribunal
to the parties to the dispute and to the secretariat.
The secretariat will forward the information received
to all Parties to this Convention.
18. Any dispute which may arise between the parties
concerning the interpretation or execution of the
award may be submitted by either party to the arbitral
tribunal which made the award or, if the latter
cannot be seized thereof, to another tribunal constituted
for this purpose in the same manner as the first.