Environmental Impact Assessment Procedures and Charges Regulations, Statutory Instrument no. 109 of 2021

Extraordinary Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette No. 105 Lagos - 24th September, 2021 Vol. 188 Government Notice No. 166 The following is published as supplement to this Gazette : SL. No. ' Short Title Page 109 Environmental Impact Assessment Procedures and Charges Regulations, 2021 = . . . . 7 .. B4189-4208 Printed and Published by The Federal Government Printer. Lagos, Nigeria FGP 216/122021/350 Annual Subscription from Ist January. 2021 is Local : N45.000.00 Overseas : N60.500.00 [Surface Mail] N75.000.00 [Second Class Air Mail]. Present issue N3.000 per copy. Subscribers who wish to obtain Gazerte after Ist January should apply to the Federal Government Printer. Lagos for amended Subscriptions. B 4189 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ACT, 1992 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES AND CHARGES REGULATIONS, 2021 ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS Regulation : 1. Objectives. 2. Project proposal. 3. Registration. 4. Screening (Initial Environmental Examination). 5. Criteria for categorization. 6. Scoping. 7. Draft EIA report. 8. Public participation. 9. Sectoral guidelines. 10. Review process. ll. Criteria and stages of disapproval 12. Followup programmes. 13. Penalties. 14. Charges and fees. 15. Decision making. 16. Certification. 17. Impact mitigation and compliance monitoring. 18. Environmental auditing. 19. Interpretation. 20. Citation. SCHEDULES S. I. No. 109 of 2021 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ACT, 1992 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES AND CHARGES REGULATIONS, 2021 [14th Day of September, 2021] In exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 59 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, 1992; and all other powers enabling me in that behalf, I, SHaron O. IkEzor, Honourable Minister uf Environment, make the following Regulations— 1. The objective of these Regulations is to indicate the procedure in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process from project conception to commissioning and follow-up activities in order to ensure that the project is implemented with maximum consideration for the environment. 2.—(1) A proponent who wishes to embark on any development project contained in the category I and II projects listed in the Schedule to these Regulations shall notify the Department in writing through the Minister, by the submission of a project proposal and a duly completed “EIA Notification Form” which is available online, upon payment of the sum of N50,000 application fee through www.remita.net. (2) The project proposal shall include all relevant information available including a land-use map of the proposed project area to enable an Initial Environmental Examination (Screening) of the project to be carried out. (3) A proposal and supplementary documents shall be addressed to the Minister at the Abuja Headquarters office and uploaded via available electronic portals of the Ministry. 3. The Environmental Assessment Department of the Ministry shall officially register the project proposal, issue a registration number and acknowledge receipt immediately. 4. Upon receipt of the project proposal and the completed EIA registrations from the proponent, the Ministry shall carry out an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and assign the project or activity into category I, II, or III project. 5.—(1) The criteria for categorization of projects shall be, the— (a) magnitude, which is the extent or scope : (b) duration and frequency ; (c) risks ; (d) significance ; and (e) mitigation measures available for associated and potential environmental impacts. B 4191 Commence ment. Objective. Project proposal. Registration. Initial Environmental Examination (Screening). Criteria for categorization. B 4192 Scoping. (2) Location of the project in Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) is acriteria for consideration by the EIA secretariat in making a decision and site visit may be undertaken by the Ministry. (3) Projects listed in category II of the Schedule to these Regulations but located in or close to Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) shall be assigned as a mandatory study project (category I) which shall be subject to full-scale EIA. (4) The following is required for projects under category II of the Schedule to these Regulations— (a) a partial EIA ; and (b) mitigative measures or changes in project design depending on the nature and magnitude of the environmental impacts as well as further actions may also be required from the proponent. (5) The Ministry shall issue an EIA certificate to a proponent who request for it in respect of projects in category III of the Schedule to these Regulations, which are expected to have essentially beneficial impacts on the environment. (6) The Director of Environmental Assessment shall provide screening report, letter of notification or any other appropriate advice in writing to the proponent on receipt of the proposal. 6.—(1) Upon receipt of the screening report or letter from the Environmental Assessment Department, the proponent shall carry out a scoping exercise to ensure that all significant impacts and reasonable alternatives are addressed in the intended EIA. (2) The proponent shall submit a Terms of Reference (TOR) indicating the scope of the proposed EIA study and— (a) the Department may demand a preliminary assessment report and any additional information from the proponent to assist in vetting the scope and the TOR of the proposed study ; (b) public hearing may be called for, depending on the public interest in the project ; (c) where the data available is inadequate, the proponent may be required to undertake specific studies to fill data gaps and after consideration of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this regulation, the Department shall define the scope of the EIA required ; and (d) the proponent shall carry out the EIA study according to the TOR agreed with the Department. 7.—(1) The proponent shall submit a draft EIA report (in hard and soft copies) to the Department for review. (2) The report shall include the proceedings of consultations with adjoining communities and other stakeholders who participated in public hearing. (3) The proceedings shall be documented as an appendix to the report. 8. Public participation shall be regarded as a continuous programme for the environmental and economic sustainability of the project. 9. The following are available to aid the EIA preparer— (a) sectoral guidelines developed by the Ministry ; (b) other national guidelines such as the Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria, (EGASPIN) ; (c) internationally acceptable guidelines like those of the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Equator Principles ; and (d) other extant environmental laws. 10.—(1) The Department shall upon receipt of the draft EIA report from the proponent, evaluate it to establish the form of review which may include— (a) in-house review ; (b) panel review ; (c) the sitting being in public ; and (d) public review of document, displays and disclosures for a period of 21 working days. (2) The venues of display shall include the Local Government Areas, the State Ministries of Environment, the Ministry Headquarters and State Offices as well as electronic portals and websites of relevant organisations. (3) The public shall be invited to participate in the review process through newspaper advertisements, radio announcements and electronic media. (4) Panel site visits may be initiated during the review meetings which may be held virtually or physically. (5) The Ministry shall inform the proponent in writing of the selected method of review of the draft EIA report. (6) The selected review process shall be implemented and related comments furnished to the proponent within a minimum of | month after the review process. (7) The final EIA report shall include all issues raised at the review process and answers proferred to them by the proponent including any amendment to the report of the EIA study. B 4193 Draft EIA report. Public participation. Sectoral guidelines. Review process. B 4194 Criteria and stages of disapproval. Follow up programmes. Penalty. Charges and fees. Decision making. Certification. Impact mitigation and compliance monitoring. 11.—(1) Stage I- where the EIA report after review is adjudged unsatisfactory, a revised report shall be submitted to the Ministry for review and approval. (2) Stage II- where there is an unsatisfactory final report, a “No Project” option decision may be taken by the Ministry and such decision shall be communicated to the proponent. 12.—-(1) After the submission of a satisfactory final EIA report, the Ministry, may set a number of conditions which may provide for the establishment of a follow-up programme such as mitigation compliance and monitoring plan with specified tasks to be undertaken in the construction, operational and decommissioning phases of the development. (2) Amonitoring strategy and audit procedure may also be determined by mutual agreement at this early stage, so that the proponent can make the necessary budgetary provisions in advance. 13.—(1) Penalties stipulated in the Act may be invoked for failure to adhere to the conditions of approval. (2) The criteria for disapproval shall include non-compliance with the stipulations of the Act, these Regulations, other regulations made pursuant to the Act and the environmental unsustainability of the project. 14, There shall be fees and charges applicable for the review of all applications for EIA certification. 15.—(1) The Minister is the decision making authority on approval or disapproval of Environmental Impact Assessments. (2) The Minister shall upon receipt of satisfactory comments from the review process and an acceptable final EIA report, consider and approve the issuance of an EIA certificate. 16.—(1) The proponent may after certification, proceed to implement the project in accordance with all the stipulated mitigation measures as contained in the final EIA report. (2) The proponent in implementing the project shall, conform with the stipulated specifications presented in the final EIA report and where the project is not commissioned within the validity period provided in the certificate, the proponent shall seek revalidation of the certificate from the Ministry by re submitting a revised EIA. 17. The Ministry shall during the implementation of the project, monitor the progress of the project from site preparation to commissioning in order to ensure compliance with all stipulated mitigation measures and project specifications. 18. An environmental auditing including post commissioning which involves a periodic assessment of the positive and negative impacts of the project shall be carried out by the Ministry to help improve the EIA process. 19. In these Regulations— *4ct? means the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, 1992 ; “Department” means the Environmental Assessment Department of the Federal Ministry of Environment ; * Minister” means the Minister responsible for environment ; “Ministry” means the Federal Ministry responsible for Environment ; and “person” includes a proponent. 20. These Regulations may be cited as the “Environmental Impact Assessment Procedures and Charges Regulations, 2021”, B 4195 Environmental auditing. Interpretation. Citation. B 4196 SCHEDULES FIRST SCHEDULE EIA and post EIA proponent facilitation charges Activity Telecoms, Mini Grids/Minor Category | and I Projects ESMPs Projects Registration 50,000.00 Per State 50,000.00 N50,000.60 Site Verification/IEE To Be Determined N500,000.00 To Be Determined Scoping Workshop (Optional) 250,000.00 Data Gathering Witnessing To Be Determined 250,000.00 To Be Determined vf al ef i Laboratory Analysis Witnessing To Be Determined 250,000.00 To Be Determined In House Tech Reviews 200,000.00 200,000.00 to 1,500,000.00 200,000.00 to 800,000.00 Panel Reviews 1,000,000 to 10,000,000.00 Newspaper and Radio Adverts Where Applicable To Be Determined According To Prevailing Rates Optional impact Mitigation Monitoring (First Visit) 500,000.00 400,000.00 Final Assessed Charges Below See FAC Chart Below See FAC-Charts 200,000.00 to 800,000.00 Admin Charges on Violation Charges MAX 1,000,000.00 Issuance-of Certificates 250,000.00 100,000.00 4 Certificates Re-issuance/ Renewal 250,000.00 560,000.00 4 250,000.00 2. Post EIA (oil and gas and other sectors) activities charges Activity New Charges Rate Environmental Audit/EES/EER Registration 50,000.00 Per Project Post Impact Assessment Registration 50,000.00 Per Project 2 Environmental Audit Certification Fee 500,000.00 Per Project > Post Impact Assessment Certification 500,000.00 to 1.500,000.00 Per Project Data Analysis Witnessing/Laboratory Analysis (Per Activity) 250.000.00 Per Project Facility Inspections/Environmental Compliance Monitoring (ECM) And Audits 500,000.00 to 1,500,000.00 Per Project Operational Permits (Effluents, Emmissions, Waste Treatment, Underground Injection) 250,000.00 Per Source Laboratory Accreditation Renewal (Inspection) 400,000.00 Per Source Laboratory Accreditation Renewal Fee 120,000.00 Per Source B 4197 B 4198 2 2. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) © (7) (8) Final charge Sector Agriculture or agro allied (a) Land development schemes (b) Agricultural estates Fisheries (a) Fishing harbours or jetty (b) Fish processing facilities (c) Aquaculture on swamps Forestry: Logging Industry (manufacturing) (a) Chemicals plant (large scale) (b) Petro-chemicals (c) Metals (non-ferrous) (d) Non-metallic (e) Iron and steel (f) Pulp and paper (g) Wood factories (A) Ceramics (i) Fertilizer or blending plants Food and beverages (a) Beverages (large scale) (b) Dairy (c) Large scale poultry (d) Vegetable oil processing Infrastructure (a) Hospitals (specialized) (b) Industrial estates (free zones) (c) Coastal resort (d) Resort facilities in national parks Ports (a) Construction of ports (6) Port expansion Housing Housing development Airport (a) Airports. (b) Airstrip.development Final Charge (New) 25,000.00 25,000.00 500,000.00 500,000.00 100,000 3,000,000.00 2,000,000.00 5,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 2,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 2,000,000.00 500,000.00 500,000.00 1,0€0,000.00 500,000.00 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 500,000.00 2,000,000.00 2,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 5,000,000.00 2,000,000.00 500,000.00 5,000,000.00 2,000,000.00 Rate Per Hectare Per Hectare Lump Sum Lump Sum Per Hectare Per Hectare Lump Sum Lump Sum. Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum B 4199 (10) Drainage and irrigation (a) Irrigation dams and lakes 5,000,000.00 Lump Sum (6) Drainage of wetlands 100,000.00 Per Hectare (c) Irrigation schemes 100,000.00 Per Hectare (11) Rail ways (a) Construction of new routes 200,000.00 Per Kra (6) Construction of branch lines 100,000.00 Per Km (c) Rehabilitation of rail lines 50,000.00 PerKm (12) Transportation (a) Rural feeder roads(new) 100,000.00 to 250,000.00 Per Km (6) New highways 250,000.00 PerKm (c) Highways (rehabilitation) 100,000.00 Perkm (d) Township roads (new) 50,000.00 Perkm (13) Power (a) Power generation (i) Thermal (gas fired >50 MW) 1,000,000.00 Lump Sum (ii) Thermal (gas fired <SO MW) 50,000.00 Per MW (iii) Thermal (coal fired >50M W) 3,000,000.00 Lump Sum (iv) Thermal (coal fired <50MW) 100,000.00 Per MW : (v) Thermal (gas or closed cycle>SOMW) 750,000.00 = LumpSum . (vi) Large hydro dams 5,000,000.00 = LumpSum> (vii) Small or mini hydro 500,000.00 LumpSum (viii) Solar mini-grid nil (ix) Solar power 200,000.00 Lump Sum (6) Power transmission (f) Land 250,000.00 PerHa (if) Swamps or forests 500,000.00 Per Ha (iii) Expansions 20,000.00 Per Ha (14) Mining (a) Mining (large scale) 2,000,000.00 Lump Sum (b) Small scale mining 500.000.60 Lump Sum {c) Ore processing and beneficiation 1,000.000.00 LumpSum (d@) Sand mining (commercial) 0.20 Cubic Metres (e) Quarries 500,000.00 Lump Sum (iS) Oil and gas (a) Drilling (i) Swamp 3,000,000.00 Per Well Gi) Land 2,500.000.00 Per Well (iii) Nearshore 2,000,000.00 Per Well (iv) Off-shore 1,000,000.00 Per Well (6) Seismic surveys (i) Swamp (ii) Land ..- |. Gii) Offshore Per Square Km Per Square Kim . Per Square Km B 4200 (16) (17) (18) (c) Flow station development (4) Swamp (ii) Land (iii) Offshore (FPSOs) (e) Oil and gas pipeline (1) Swamp (ii) Land (iii) Offshore (f) Modular refinery (i) Swamp Gi) Land (iii) Offshore (g) Gas utilization plants (iy Swamp Gi) Land (iii) Offshore platforms (A) Lube oi! blending plants (i) Swamp (ii) Land (i) LPG plants (i) Swamp (ii) Land (/) Oil and gas storage tanks (i) Swamp (ii) Land (iii) Offshore Waste treatment facilities (a) Municipal incinerators (6) Medical or hazardous incinerators (c) Dumpsites (d) Engineered landfills (e) Thermal desorption units (f) Municipal sewage plants (g) Effluent treatment plants Water supply Small dams Dredging and sand filling (a) Swampland reclamation (b) Coastal reclamation (c) Dredging (capital) (d) Dredging (Mtce) 5,000,000.00 2,000,000.00 10,000,000.00 200,000.00 100,000.00 50,000.00 5,000,000.00 3,000,000.00 2,500,000.00 2,000,000.00 2,000,000.00 1,500,000.00 1,000,000.00 500,000.00 1,000,000.00 750,000.00 500,000.00 2,500,000.00 1,000,000.00 250,000.00 5,000,000.00 500,000.00 2,500,000.00 500,000.00 500,000.00 500,000.00 500,000.00 10.00 0.50 Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Per Km PerKm PerKm Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Per 5000 MT Per 5000 MT Per 5000 MT Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Lump Sum Per Ha ‘Per Ha Cubic Metres Cubic Metres (e (19) Telecoms (a) Base transceiver stations (6) Rural telephony (c) Radio or TV masts (d) Fibre optic lines 50,000.00 50,000.00 200,000.00 500.00 B 4201 Per Site Per State Per Site per Km B 4202 SECOND SCHEDULE FORMAT AND MINIMUM CONTENT OF ESIA REPORT The executive summary which shall provide a summary of the content of the EIA in generally no-technical language and ensure that key pieces of information such as background, project location, legislative framework, EIA process, the host environment, key project activities, impacts of concern and measures to mitigate and manage adverse impacts are covered and include— (1) chapter 1—background and introduction, which is an introductory chapter and shall— (a) contain information on the EIA Terms of Reference (TOR), relevant background information about the proponent and legal and administrative framework for EIA in Nigeria, , (b) state the applicable environmental limits for air quality, noise, effluent discharge or as may be required, and (c) discuss relevant international laws, conventions, treaties and environmental and social safeguards ; (2) chapter 2—justification for the project, benefits, sustainability and alternatives, which shall discuss the project justification, its sustainability, the need and value and analyses of project options and alternatives considered; the options may include technology, site, energy or water requirements or as may be required ; (3) chapter 3—description of the project, which shall describe the details of the proposed project such as the philosophy, phases, key equipment, key facilities, civil works, technical processes, anticipated waste streams and handling approach, raw material requirements, HSE considerations, personnel requirements and schedule; an estimate and discussion of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions expected from the project is required for projects that may emit up to 25,000tons per annum of CO2 equivalent ; (4) chapter 4—description of the project environment, which shall— (a) provide an overview of the baseline conditions around the project area, (b) define the project’s area of influence, primary data collection methods, sources of secondary data, the biophysical and social such as health characteristics of the project environme . (c) describe the sensitive environmental resources and the attendant natural or manmade hazards in the area, (d) provide the possible effects of climate change on the project for category | projects, and (e) provide detailed results in the appendices to the EIA ; \ %, SS (5) chapter 5—assoc ated and potential impacts, which shall— (4) provide a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the project environment interactions, (0) discuss the impact assessment methodology used for the analysis of the project-environment interactions and the identified and ranked (in terms of significance), associated and potential environmental, health and social impacts of the proposed project, (c) state the significance of all ranked impacts based on objective criteria and provide that during the EIA scoping stage, necessary, impact assessment shall be supported by the use Geographical Information Systems (GIS), air quality modelling, noise modelling, oil spill modelling, dredging impact modelling, ground water modelling or as may be determined ; (6) chapter 6—mitigation measures, which shall— (a) provide the mitigation measures that have been recommended to eliminate or minimize adverse and residual project impacts, (d) present the measures in relation to impacts identified, assessed and ranked in chapter 5, and (c) provide that the mitigation measures is appropriate to the impacts of concern and is recommended to be practical, implementable and able to eliminate or minimize the impact ; (7) chapter 7—Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), which shall— (a) indicate the environmental monitoring and wastes management programme during various phases of the project, and (d) provide a cost-effective ESMP that may be adopted throughout the project’s life-cycle up to decommissioning and the ESMP shall provide— (/) mitigation measures for each adverse environmental or social impact considered to be significant during project implementation phases such as site preparation, construction, operations, and decommissioning, (ii) references to control guidelines, limits, and standards, (iii) plans and frequency for verification and checking compliance with mitigation measures, safeguards and other com pliance requirements, (iv) environmental and social monitoring plan including specific environmental components and associated parameters and social and community health variables to be monitored. frequency of monitoring and reporting, (v) responsibilities for the implementation of the ESMP, (v/) regulatory agency involvement in the ESMP, B 4203 B 4204 (vii) training requirements to ensure implementation of the ESMP, (viii) reporting requirements, and (ix) supporting plans which are other stand-alone management plans that are considered necessary to achieve the environmental and social goals of the project and are determined by the nature of the project environment interactions at the EIA scoping stage, and (x) the supporting plan may include resettlement action plan, waste management plan, stakeholder engagement plan, biodiversity action plan, water management plan, occupational health plan, traffic management plan, oil or chemical spill contingency plan and emergency response plan ; (8) chapter 8—decommissioning, which shall provide an overview of decommissioning plans for the project after the useful life of installed facilities and outline the plans for site restoration and remediation after closure or abandonment ; (9) chapter 9—conclusion, which shall provide a conclusion on the ESIA Study and its key findings ; (10) references ; and (11) appendices. o THIRD SCHEDULE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR EIA PROJECT MANAGERS OR DIRECTORS Any firm or institution which seeks to conduct EIA studies of category I or II projects shall deploy a qualified EIA project manager who shall meet the following minimum requirements— (1) be a Nigerian ; (2) be educated up to post graduate level or equivalent in a relevant discipline ; (3) possess a minimum of 7 years of relevant EIA experience such as to— (a) have verifiably been lead consultant or preparer on more than 5 EIA studies that have successfully passed through the Ministry’s EIA approval process, (b) have verifiably participated in over 10 EIA studies that have successfully passed through the Ministry’s EIA approval process, or (c) demonstrate working knowledge of core EIA principles, relevant Nigerian legal and administrative requirements, contemporary international environmental and social safeguards and standards; and (4) possess valid certification as EIA project managers from the Ministry. B 4205 . SavojyMUSpy pounrypduroD fms vauomAUg * Tao VUOPy gonrdnry, iordury * moneiowus|duy jooforg a aoa VIA | ' t ~ ~ ; MOLAD MOTADY DSNOP-U] jworuy — ed Avjdsicy o1pqnd * y Loe ay RId =) > ~~ a4 | fz} tL S =a sisAjvuy qey Et t 4 =} a] (Suruse19§) won cpxg uswuUaAUG [en MOSS yoofoig 1g pesodoig nsimey VIA JIAVHOMOT1s SSADOUd VIA INVHO MOTI LNAWSSASSV LOVdWI TWLNAWNOUIANA AINGSAHOS HLANOA 907%r A B 4207 FIFTH SCHEDULE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT CATEGORIZATION See ACT MANDATARY STUDY LIST CatTeGory II Then Environmental Sensitive Areas Coral reefs Agricultural and Rural Development Any reforestation or afforestation project Small scale irrigation and drainage Saw milling or wood logging Rubber processing Any fish processing Any other agro-allied industry Industry and Infrastructure Mini hydro power development Any small scale industry development such as textiles chemical industries or as may be applicable Small scale power transmission Any renewable energy development Telecommunication facilities (BTS) Rural water supply and sanitation Public facilities (hospitals and related facilities, school, housing or as may be applicable) Small scale development of petroleum or related facilities Road rehabilitation Solar power project Mini-grid solar project Rural telephone Mangrove swamps Small islands Tropical rainforest Areas with erosion prone soils Areas prone to desertification (and semi arid zones) Natural conservation areas Areas which harbor protected or endangered species Areas of unique scenery Areas of particular scientific interest Areas of historic or archeological interest or culture Heritage sites But if the project is located or close to ; Then i Catecory III Institutional development Health programmes Family planning programmes Physical interventions in the environment. But if the project involves. Nutritional programmes Educational programmes Environmental awareness «) JUDWUUO.MAUT LOL LISIUIN 21 92-1NOUOH] YOZVAN] “OC NOUVHS “1ZOZ “waquiaidag Jo Aep yp SIM} vfnqy 1 JavI 80vr a