The approved report removes, under the terms proposed by Planalto, the single-phase process, which aimed at licensing in a single phase
The Senate approved this Wednesday (3) the draft Provisional Measure for Special Environmental Licensing (MP 1308), aimed at “strategic” activities or undertakings. The text was approved by the senators in a few minutes, just as it left the Chamber. Goes to sanction.
The MP was forwarded by the federal government on the day that sections of the new general environmental licensing law were vetoed, which made rules for the procedure more flexible. Last week, the National Congress overturned 52 of the president’s vetoes on the text, maintaining only those that dealt with the LAE, precisely because the topic was debated in MP 1308.
The approved report removes, under the terms proposed by Planalto, the single-phase process, which aimed at licensing in a single phase – a possibility that was raised in the new general law on the subject and ended up vetoed. Thus, the procedure will follow a three-phase dynamic: prior licenses, installation and operation. According to the text, the “strategic” procedures will be defined by the Government Council of the Presidency of the Republic.
The text requires a prior environmental impact study – EIA and respective environmental impact report – Rima (EIA/Rima), as per TR defined by the licensing authority, as requirements for issuing the special environmental license. According to deputy Zé Vitor, who reported on the project in the special committee and in the Chamber, the practical effect of the change is the application of the LAE “only for projects with significant environmental impact, considering that EIA/RIMA is not required for cases with a lower associated impact”.
“The measure tends to help ensure that the special procedure is not trivialized, focusing, therefore, on strategic projects with greater impact, which require rigorous and rapid evaluation”, argued the deputy.
The text also establishes as “strategic” the reconstruction and repaving works of pre-existing highways “whose sections represent strategic connections, relevant from the perspective of national security”.
In addition to specifically dealing with LAE, the opinion presented by Zé Vitor brought changes to the general licensing law, such as a list of cases in which License by Adhesion and Commitment (LAC) is not permitted, a modality considered a critical point of the standard, which is done by self-declaration and which does not require multiple stages of licensing.
According to the report, LAC cannot be carried out in some cases of activities or undertakings, including: mining, except for sand, gravel, crushed stone and diamond mining; that require suppression of native vegetation that requires specific authorization; that involve removal or relocation of population; located in indigenous lands, quilombola territories and traditional communities, unless carried out by the community itself; located in areas susceptible to the occurrence of major landslides, sudden floods or geological or hydrological processes.
Also included in the report was the provision, in the General Antenna Law, that “changes in the operation of previously licensed radio broadcasting or telecommunications facilities do not depend on the approval of the licensing authority, as long as they do not increase negative environmental impacts”.
Reaction
In a note, Greenpeace Brasil classified the LAE as “dangerous” and argued that the MP was approved “at a whim”. “MP 1 308/25 was created for politicians and businesspeople to profit from major works without technical environmental impact studies and the public interest having been safeguarded”, noted Greenpeace Brazil Public Policy specialist, Gabriela Nepomuceno.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
Published by Nátaly Tenório
