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OOS procedure - consultation process (8)

Experience, not only in Poland, in the field of environmental impact assessments shows that consultations conducted throughout the process of developing the EIA report and implementing its findings are an important factor in the usefulness of this procedure in the decision-making process. Failure to consult often leads to conflicts with local communities, resulting in additional work, delays in obtaining decisions and implementing the project or additional costs.

 

Experience, not only in Poland, in the field of environmental impact assessments shows that consultations conducted throughout the process of developing the EIA report and implementing its findings are an important factor in the usefulness of this procedure in the decision-making process. Failure to consult often leads to conflicts with local communities, resulting in additional work, delays in obtaining decisions and implementing the project or additional costs.

 

A convenient stage to initiate consultation may be to establish the scale and scope of the assessment. This is the point at which the developer can consult informally with the local community concerned.

 

The subject of consultation may be optional:

 

  • information package on the planned project,
  • preliminary version of the OOS report,
  • expert opinions on controversies related to the preparation and implementation of the project.

 

An extended public consultation process should allow for a diverse range of opinions to be gathered:

 

  • during open meetings open to all interested parties,
  • the establishment of an advisory panel made up of representatives of representative social groups/citizens,
  • conducting interviews, a planned series of interviews with representatives of the local community,
  • conducting a written survey addressed to a specific number of people,
  • so called "open doors" in an easily accessible place for interested persons to gather information about the project and the EIA documentation, where they can both obtain information and communicate their opinions and concerns to the authors of the EIA report or the developer.

 

Consultation on the initiative of the developer or the authors of the EIA report is optional, which does not mean that in many cases it does not contribute to a satisfactory conclusion of the decision-making process. Irrespective of whether or not informal consultations have taken place during the EIA procedure , formal consultations must take place after the EIA report has been completed and submitted to the competent authorities. It is the duty of the authorities to effectively inform the public (not only the local community) about the receipt of the EIA report and about the place and time when the contents of the report can be examined. It is also necessary to inform about the ways and the deadline for submitting comments, opinions. Consultation of the authors of the EIA report with representatives of the relevant authorities and administrative and self-government bodies usually takes place as part of the assessment procedure.

 

  • The success of the public consultation process and, above all, the fulfilment of its purpose, is contingent on the observance of several principles:
  • the information addressed to the persons concerned should be relevant in terms of sufficiency, but in a form that is easily accessible to the layperson,
  • there should be sufficient time to express opinions, make comments, take a position once the information is known,
  • the authorities, the developer the authors of the EIA report should ensure that all opinions, comments, etc. are responded to,
  • The venues and timing of public consultations should be conducive to the highest possible attendance and a free exchange of views by all participants.

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