EIA Application & Scoping

What the EIA application is

The application to start the environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the first formal step in the environmental assessment procedure for a project: the notification the developer submits to the competent environmental authority to initiate the process, together with the initial documentation describing the project, its alternatives and its main foreseeable effects.

Under Spanish and EU regulation (Spanish Law 21/2013 on environmental assessment), the procedure can begin in two ways: the developer submits the complete Environmental Impact Study (EsIA) together with the project, or first requests a scoping document from the environmental authority defining the minimum content of the EsIA. This second route is optional but advisable for complex projects or environmentally sensitive settings.

Documentation required to start the procedure

To initiate the ordinary environmental assessment procedure, the developer submits:

• A formal application to the competent environmental authority (regional or national, depending on the nature of the project).
• A description of the project, its main characteristics, location and its needs in terms of land use and other natural resources.
• The main alternatives considered and their foreseeable environmental effects.
• A summary of any information or technical difficulties encountered in compiling the required information.

Under the simplified environmental assessment route, the developer submits an environmental document without a prior EsIA, and the environmental authority decides whether ordinary assessment applies or issues an environmental impact report.

Which authority is competent

Competence depends on the nature and scale of the project. In Spain, energy installations of national competence, infrastructure of general interest and other cases listed in Annex I of Law 21/2013 fall to the central government (State Secretariat for the Environment); the remaining projects subject to assessment fall to the relevant regional government (comunidad autónoma), under its own legislation.

Why choose Ideas Medioambientales

We manage the application that starts the environmental assessment procedure, advising developers on the applicable route (ordinary or simplified), the competent authority and the documentation required for each type of project. We coordinate the submission with the project's other sectoral and planning permits to optimise the overall permitting schedule.

Tell us the type and size of the project and the region, and we will tell you which procedure applies and how to initiate it efficiently.