Project information sheet
A Project Information Sheet is a document containing the most important information about a planned project. It enables the relevant authorities reviewing a given investment to decide whether an environmental impact assessment should be carried out or may be dispensed with. We prepare Project Information Sheets, and thanks to our extensive knowledge and experience, we work reliably and can help accelerate the process of obtaining an environmental decision.
What is a Project Information Sheet? Key Information
A Project Information Sheet (in Polish: Karta Informacyjna Przedsięwzięcia, abbreviated as KIP) is a document that must be submitted to the municipal office before obtaining a decision on the environmental conditions for consent to implement a project. This applies to projects that may potentially have a significant impact on the environment.
The KIP should be prepared in a clear and readable manner, and in a way that enables identification of the project. Among other things, the Project Information Sheet must include data concerning:
- the location and scale of the project,
- the project area,
- the technology used,
- the potential impact on the environment,
- solutions aimed at minimizing adverse environmental impacts,
- investment plans.
What is the purpose of issuing a Project Information Sheet?
If a planned project may significantly affect the environment, it is necessary to determine whether this is actually the case. For this purpose, an environmental impact assessment must be carried out, followed by obtaining a decision on the environmental conditions for consent to implement the project (DUŚ). In order for such steps to be taken and for the decision to be issued, preparation of a Project Information Sheet is mandatory.
Projects for which a Project Information Sheet is required are listed in §3 of the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 9 November 2010 on projects likely to have a significant impact on the environment, as well as in Annex II to Council Directive No. 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment.
However, the KIP is not required only for projects that may potentially have a significant impact on the environmentbut also in certain cases concerning projects that may always have a significant impact on the environment (this group of investments is described in §2 of the above-mentioned Regulation and in Annex I to Council Directive No. 85/337/EEC). This occurs when the entrepreneur submits an application for a DUŚ and, in that application, requests determination of the scope of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report, but does not attach the report itself.
What should a Project Information Sheet contain? Detailed Information
The Project Information Sheet contains the information referred to in the Act of 3 October 2008 on access to information on the environment and its protection, public participation in environmental protection, and environmental impact assessments (consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2017, item 1405). The elements that the Project Information Sheet should include are:
- Type, scale and location of the project
The type of project should be specified in accordance with the Regulation of 9 November 2010 on projects likely to have a significant impact on the environment (Journal of Laws No. 213, item 1397, as amended).
The scale of the project means its characteristics. In this case, the size and scope of activities, raw material consumption, production capacity with consideration of environmental impact, links with other projects (especially the accumulation of impacts from projects located in the area affected by the planned project), etc., should be specified.
The location of the project means a description (a detailed one) of the place where the project will be carried out, as well as a description of the immediate surroundings (in particular residential buildings, schools, kindergartens, health resorts, tourist areas, historical monuments, and other public utility facilities located within a radius of approximately 500 metres from the planned undertaking).
- Area of the property occupied, construction structures (and information on the current manner of their use), as well as vegetation cover on the property
This should include, among other things:
specifying the dimensions of the plot (or plots) where the investment will be carried out, providing approximate dimensions and quantities of construction structures, providing information on the infrastructure used for energy generation and transmission, comparing the current use of the area with the local spatial development plan, presenting a description of the vegetation to be removed. - Type of technology used
The technology used for the project should be described. On this basis, it will be possible to determine the type of investment. All stages of the investment that may affect the environment must be described.
- Possible project variants (location and technological variants)
- Forecast quantity of water, materials, fuels, energy and raw materials used
It is necessary to estimate the demand for raw materials both at the project implementation stage and during operation.
Description of solutions intended to protect the environment
- Description of the types and estimated quantities of substances and energy introduced into the environment, taking into account environmental protection solutions
The Project Information Sheet should also contain information on:
the quantity and method of wastewater discharge, the quantity and method of technological wastewater discharge, the quantity and method of discharging rainwater and runoff from hardened, contaminated surfaces, the quantity, type and method of waste management, the quantity and type of equipment emitting noise, waste, wastewater, air pollutants, and other installations that may cause nuisance. Information on the project’s impact beyond national borders (i.e. so-called transboundary impact)
Provided, of course, that such impact occurs.
Information on protected areas within the range of the project’s impact
The location of the investment in relation to national parks, nature reserves, landscape parks, natural monuments, and other forms of nature protection should be specified (on the basis of the Nature Conservation Act of 16 April 2004).
Below we present an indicative administrative and design schedule showing the approximate time related to preparing the Project Information Sheet documentation, obtaining formal and legal approvals, and ultimately obtaining the environmental decision.
| No. | Procedure stage | Approximate duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preparation of the Project Information Sheet and submission of the documentation to the relevant authority | about 30 days |
| 2 | Review of the documentation by the authority conducting the proceedings | up to 14 days |
| 3 | Issuance by the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection (RDOŚ) and the Sanitary Inspection (Sanepid) of an opinion on whether it is necessary to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report, and if so, on its possible scope. | 30-60 days* *includes time for any required supplementation of documentation and responses to requests issued by the Authority |
| 4 | In the absence of a requirement to prepare an EIA Report, issuance of an environmental decision by the Authority. | 14 days |
| 5 | Making publicly available information on the issuance of the environmental decision and on the possibility to review the collected evidence, in accordance with Article 10 of the Code of Administrative Procedure. | 7 days |
| 6 | Issuance of a decision on environmental conditions. | 7 days |
| 7 | The environmental decision becoming final and legally binding (entering into legal circulation). | 14 days |
| Total | about 4-5 months | |
| 8 | If it is necessary to prepare an EIA Report, preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment documentation and submission of the documentation to the competent Authority. | up to 21 days |
| 9 | The Authority’s request to the Regional Director for Environmental Protection and the Sanitary Inspection to agree on (provide concurrence for) the decision on environmental conditions. | 7 days |
| 10 | Review of the Report and obtaining the required agreements. | 60 days |
| 11 | Issuance by the RDOŚ and the Sanitary Inspection, respectively, of a concurrence (agreement) and a sanitary opinion. | |
| 12 | Public consultations | 30 days |
| 13 | Making publicly available information on the issuance of the environmental decision and on the possibility to review the collected evidence, in accordance with Article 10 of the Code of Administrative Procedure. | 7 days |
| 14 | Issuance of the decision on environmental conditions | 7 days |
| 15 | The environmental decision becoming final and legally binding (entering into legal circulation) | 14 days |
| Additionally: about 3 months | ||
Note: The above schedule is indicative and for illustrative purposes only (it does not take into account, for example, administrative correspondence circulation times, delays in the work of authorities, public protests, long-term environmental surveys imposed by the Authority, etc.). It should be noted that each case/proceeding is considered individually by the authorities.
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