The Act of 10 April 1997 Energy Law
The Act of July 7, 1994, The Construction Law
Act of 27 March 2003 on spatial planning and development
Act of 3 October 2008 on access to information about the environment and its protection,
public participation in environmental protection and environmental impact assessments
Act of 27 April 2001. Environmental protection law
Act of July 20, 2017 - Water Law
Act of 14 December 2012 on waste
The main instrument is an assessment of the project's environmental impact based on the Act of 3 October 2008 on access to information about the environment and its protection, public participation in environmental protection and environmental impact assessments. The assessment of the project's environmental impact is a part of the procedure for issuing a decision on the environmental conditions for a project and includes: verification of an environmental impact assessment report, obtaining required opinions and arrangements and public participation in the process. The decision needs to be attached to a building permit application. It is, however, independent of other environmental permits that are necessary during the operation of a completed project, e.g. an integrated permit, emission permits, waste management permits, water permits, etc. Not all projects require the decision on the environmental conditions what is regulated by the Act of 3 October 2008 on access to information about the environment (…) and relevant Regulations of the Minister of Environment.
Decision on the environmental conditions is required for a construction of some plants. A list of projects for which an investor needs to obtain this decision can be found in the Regulation of The Council Of Ministers of 9 November 2010 on projects that may significantly affect the environment (Dz.U. 2010 nr 213 poz. 1397). If the investment is in this list, then a decision on the environmental conditions must be obtained. This decision might be also needed in case of the extension, reconstruction or modernization of the implemented project listed in the aforementioned Regulation.
Environmental permit to emit gases or dust into the air is not required for the operation plants listed in the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of July 2, 2010 on the cases in which the introduction of gases or dust into the air from the installation does not require a permit (Dz.U. 2010 nr 130 poz. 881). However, some plants not requiring the permit might require a notification. They are indicated in the Regulation of the Minister of Environment of July 2, 2010 on the types of installations, the operation of which requires notification (Dz.U. 2010 nr 130 poz. 880).
In case of discharge of sewage from the biogas plant into the water or ground the investor must obtain a water permit. Environmental permit for producing waste must be obtained in case of producing of more than 5t of non-hazardous waste per year and more than 1 ton of hazardous waste. In case of processing of any waste (and, if relevant, in case of collection and transport of waste) a permit must be obtained.
An installation indicated in the Regulation of the Minister of Environment of 27 August 2014 on types of installations that may cause significant pollution of individual natural elements or the environment as a whole (Dz.U. 2014 poz. 1169) needs to obtain an integrated permit which combines all the required environmental permits. The obligation to obtain an integrated permit excludes installations or parts of the installations that are used exclusively for researching, developing or testing new products or technological processes.
A decision on the environmental conditions is issued by a mayor or a president of a town. There are 2477 of mayors and presidents. The decision and terms of the project implementation must be negotiated and agreed with a regional director for environmental protection and other authorities, depending on the type of the project. There are 16 regional directors for environmental protection in Poland.
Environmental permits and integrated permits are issued by district-heads or region-heads (marshalls). There are 380 districts and 16 regions.
Water permit applications are collected by the water supervision units which forward the application to the authority that will issue the permit. Depending on the type of investment, it will be: drainage basin management of the Polish Waters or Regional Water Management Board of the Polish Waters. There are: 11 Regional Water Management Boards, 50 drainage basin managements and 330 water supervision units.
The obligation to obtain an integrated permit excludes installations or parts of the installations that are used exclusively for researching, developing or testing new products or technological processes.
