September 18, 2024
Environmental expertise in Uzbekistan
2. The purpose of the environmental expertise;
3. The procedure for conducting an environmental expertise;
4. Negative conclusion of the state environmental expertise;
1. Legislative framework
- Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No.754 – XII “On nature protection” dated 09/12/1992;
- Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No.73-II “On environmental expertise” dated 05/25/2000;
- Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 363 “On environmental control” dated 12/27/2013;
- Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 216 “On approval of the regulations on the procedure for state environmental expertise” dated 08/05/2014;
- Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No.541 “On further improvement of the environmental impact assessment mechanism” dated 07.09.2020;
- Resolution of the Supreme Court No. 36 “On judicial practice in cases of crimes and other offenses in the field of environmental protection and nature management” dated 12/20/1996.
2. The purpose of the environmental expertise
Various measures are being taken to prevent the deterioration of the country’s environmental situation. One of them is ecological expertise, which is set at the legislative level, especially concerning business entities. Thus, the Law “On environmental expertise” obliges the passage of a state environmental assessment if the activity carried out directly impacts the state of the environment or is related to the use of natural resources. Consequently, the norms for regulating environmental expertise are essential for business entities.
According to Law No. 754 – XII “On nature protection”, the purpose of the environmental assessment is to determine:
1) compliance with the environmental requirements of the projected economic and other activities at the stages preceding the decision on its implementation;
2) the level of environmental danger of planned or ongoing economic and other activities that may or may harm the state of the environment and the health of citizens;
3) the sufficiency and validity of the envisaged measures for the protection of the natural environment and the rational use of natural resources.
There are three types of environmental assessment:
– state environmental expertise;
– public environmental expertise;
– environmental audit.
Business entities are supposed to be interested in passing the state environmental expertise, as it is mandatory. According to Article 24 of the Law No.73-II “On Environmental Expertise”: state environmental expertise is a mandatory measure of environmental protection preceding the adoption of an economic decision. Also, according to paragraph 2 of Article 25: “The implementation of projects without a positive conclusion of the state environmental expertise is prohibited”. Therefore, before implementing their project, a business entity must necessarily undergo a state environmental expertise and receive a positive opinion from the relevant state body.
3. The procedure for conducting the state environmental expertise
The state body responsible for conducting the state environmental assessment is the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The state environmental expertise is carried out by specialized expert units of the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the departments of ecology and environmental protection of the regions, and the city of Tashkent.
The legislation defines a list of objects which are subject to mandatory state environmental expertise:
1) draft state programs, concepts, and schemes for the placement and development of productive forces, sectors of the economy, and the social sphere;
2) materials for the selection of land plots for all types of construction;
3) pre-design and project documentation;
4) draft normative-technical and instructional-methodological documents regulating economic and other activities related to the use of natural resources;
5) documentation on the creation of new types of equipment, technologies, materials, substances, and products;
6) operating enterprises and other facilities that have a negative impact on the state of the environment and the health of citizens;
7) materials of a comprehensive survey of territories to subsequently give them the status of protected natural territories, zones of environmental emergency and ecological disaster;
8) all types of urban planning documentation;
9) facilities with a special legal regime.
For more information on the types of activities for which a state’s environmental expertise is required, see Appendix 1 to the Resolution of Cabinet of Ministers No. 541 “On further improvement of the mechanism for assessing environmental impact” dated 07.09.2020. Without a positive conclusion of the state environmental assessment, the activities provided for in Appendix 1 of PCM No. 541 are prohibited.
It is important to note that a business entity must independently initiate a state environmental assessment and bear financial costs. Such a person is hereinafter referred to as the Customer.
According to Law No. 73-II “On Environmental expertise”, the Customer is obliged to:
- submit materials for environmental assessment in accordance with legal requirements;
- pay for the state environmental assessment in accordance with the procedure established by law;
- comply with the requirements specified in the conclusion of the state environmental assessment.
As mentioned above, the financing of the state environmental assessment is carried out at the expense of the customer. The cost of conducting the state environmental assessment is determined according to PP-No. 1112 dated 05/15/2009. “On measures for further support and development of entrepreneurial activity”.
| Works and services |
The maximum size of the cost of work (the basic calculated value) |
| Environmental assessment (by categories of environmental impact): | |
| by category I (high risk) |
50 |
| by category II (medium risk) |
30 |
| by category III (low risk) |
15 |
| by category IV (local impact) |
1 |
(1 Basic calculated value is equal to 340 thousand sum; The list of exposure categories is defined in the Appendix. 1 to the Resolution of Cabinet of Ministers No.541 “On further improvement of the Environmental Impact Assessment mechanism”).
The term of the state environmental assessment should not exceed 30 days. However, depending on the complexity of the object of the state environmental assessment, the term of its conduct may be extended, but not more than 2 months. According to the results of the state environmental expertise, a conclusion is drawn up containing conclusions on the admissibility of the object’s implementation. Such a conclusion has a validity period of 3 years.
4. Negative conclusion on the state environmental expertise
If the project does not comply with the established norms of environmental legislation, the state body may issue a negative conclusion. In this case, the object cannot be implemented. Moreover, according to Article 21 of the Law “On state expertise”, financing of projects by banks and other credit organizations, as well as their implementation without a positive conclusion of the state environmental assessment is prohibited.
The state body sends representations to banking and other credit organizations on the suspension (termination) of financing, lending, and other financial transactions in respect of facilities that have not received a positive conclusion of the state environmental assessment. In order not to face these restrictions and prohibitions, the business entity must re-pass the state environmental assessment and receive a positive conclusion. In the absence of a conclusion, the business entity must abandon the planned or ongoing economic and other activities.
5. Special regulation
Depending on the object of the examination, a different legal regime may be established. So, in particular, RP-No. 81 dated 05/31/2023 “On measures to transform the sphere of ecology and environmental protection and the organization of the activities of the authorized state body” provides that:
d) starting from January 1, 2024, in the process of conducting, in accordance with the established procedure, a state environmental assessment of the activities of economic entities classified in categories I — IV of environmental impact, the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change defines targets for ensuring carbon neutrality. At the same time:
based on the type of activity, specific indicators for reducing the amount of greenhouse gases and carbon footprint generated as a result of production in the environmental impact assessment materials are determined by the project passport;
in the conclusion of the state environmental assessment on reducing the carbon footprint, based on certain indicators, measures are being developed that are subject to mandatory implementation by business entities;
The implementation of the measures defined in the conclusion of the state environmental assessment is being monitored, the results of which are the basis for the application of fines and additional compensation payments in accordance with the procedure established by law;
e) starting from January 1, 2024, in accordance with the established procedure, a state environmental assessment of centralized investment projects and decentralized investment projects is carried out by types of activities classified in categories I-II of environmental impact.
Thus, when implementing a project or carrying out a particular activity, a business entity needs to pay attention to whether it does not fall into the category of objects where state environmental expertise is mandatory. Without a positive conclusion from the state body, such a project cannot be implemented. When implementing such a project, the business entity will be responsible in accordance with the established procedure.
