Chile
News

Chile tweaks proposed environmental review reform

Bnamericas

A new technical committee would hear appeals in environmental review processes in Chile rather than the current ministerial committee, according to a modification proposed by the executive in its bill to reform the system (SEIA).

Under the original text, the appeals committee would have been scrapped entirely without a replacement but it drew mixed reactions from private sector players, the head of the environment evaluation unit of the environment ministry (MMA), Sebastián Aylwin, said during a senate hearing.

As the ministerial committee was criticized for allegedly being too political in its decisions, it will be replaced by a five-member entity dubbed the environmental reclamation council.

This new council will be led by the head of environmental review service SEA, while the other four members will be appointed by the president.

However, and to prevent one government from appointing all members within their four-year terms, the councilors will have six-year terms that will be arranged so that only three seats can be refilled during a specific administration, since Chile does not allow immediate presidential reelection.

The indication also says that the council will have a three-month deadline to review appeals involving environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and six months in the case of environmental impact studies (EISs).

If the council fails to rule on an appeal by the deadline, the appeal will be considered rejected by default, Aylwin told lawmakers.

Other modifications sent by the executive include widening the criteria to declare a project urgent, which would shorten its environmental evaluation time by as much as 50%.

“The idea is that [SEA’s] executive director can declare the urgency,” Aylwin said, though he added that other competent bodies could also make the declaration in certain cases when SEA is too burdened. 

The SEIA reform and an overhaul to sectorial permits are contained in two bills that both the executive and congress have pledged to pass this year to shorten review times.

Subscribe to the leading business intelligence platform in Latin America with different tools for Providers, Contractors, Operators, Government, Legal, Financial and Insurance industries.

Subscribe to Latin America’s most trusted business intelligence platform.

Other projects

Get key information on thousands of projects in Latin America, from current stage, to capex, related companies, key contacts and more.

Other companies

Get key information on thousands of companies in Latin America, from projects, to contacts, shareholders, related news and more.

  • Company: Consorcio Acciona Panamá Oeste
  • Consorcio Acciona Panamá Oeste, created in 2016 in the City of Panama, was constituted in equal shares by the Spanish companies Acciona Aguas S.A. and Acciona Construcción S.A. ...
  • Company: Consorcio Stiler - Mota Engil
  • Stiler Consortium - Mota Engil is a company formed by Mota-Engil SGPS S.A. and Stiler S.A. for the execution of the Montevideo Port Expansion project (Cuenca del Plata Terminal)...
  • Company: Consorcio Mendes Holler-GTSur
  • Consorcio Mendes Holler-GTSur is a company formed by Grupo Tecnológico del Sur SpA and Mendes Holler Ingenieria SpA for the execution of the Santiago 03 Data Center (SCL 3) proj...
  • Company: Caribe Tecno CRL  (Caribe Tecno)
  • The description contained in this profile was taken directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been automatical...
  • Company: Ashoka Buildcon Ltd.  (Ashoka Buildcon)
  • The description included in this profile was taken directly from an official source and has not been modified or edited by the BNamericas’ researchers. However, it may have been...