Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations

Article 6

The Committee shall review the Terms of Reference submitted by the project owner, and review the Environmental Impact Assessment Document, and submit its recommendations to the Minister to make the required the decision with regard thereto.

Article 7 

A. The Committee shall meet whenever deemed necessary, upon the invitation of its chairman, or of the vice-chairman during his absence. Quorum for the meeting is met in the attendance of a simple majority of its members, provided that the chairman or the vice-chairman is in attendance. Its decisions are passed by a simple majority of the vote. In the event of a tie, the side with whom the meeting chairman voted shall prevail. 
B. The Committee may invite any person to a meeting for consultation purposes, but that person shall not be entitled to vote on its recommendations.

Article 8

A. The project owner shall submit an application to the Ministry to obtain the Environmental Approval needed to establish his project, in accordance with the special form prepared for this purpose, and shall present with it all the necessary information and data, and attaching thereto the preliminary maps, designs and specifications referred to in Annex 1 of these Regulations. 
B. The project shall be classified in any of the following categories by decision of the Secretary General on the basis of the recommendations of the competent party at the Ministry: 
1. Category 1: includes the projects referred to in Annex 2 of these Regulations and which require a comprehensive environmental impact assessment. 
2. Category 2: includes the projects referred to in Annex 3 of these Regulations and which require a preliminary environmental impact assessment, based on which the need to conduct a comprehensive environmental impact assessment will be determined. 
3. Category 3: includes the projects that require neither a preliminary nor a comprehensive environmental impact assessment.

Article 9

A. If a project is classified as Category 1, the Ministry shall advise the project owner in writing, requesting him to conduct a comprehensive environmental impact assessment for the project. 
B. The project owner shall submit a preliminary draft of the Terms of Reference for the environmental impact assessment study he intends to conduct after agreeing with the Ministry on the content of the draft, the general framework of the study, the scope of the study, the nature of anticipated Significant Impacts of the project, and the entities concerned with and affected by the project. 
C. The Ministry shall call the project owner and any concerned individual or representative of a public or private party that may be potentially affected by the project to participate in investigating the preliminary draft to identify the Significant Impacts of the project on the Environment. The Ministry and the project owner shall provide all the available information on the project and its surrounding Environment to all concerned entities within an appropriate time prior to the date of the meeting, in order to facilitate the identification thereof. 
D. The project owner shall submit a report to the Ministry including a summary of the meeting’s discussions, the parties attending, and the Significant Impacts identified, and demonstrating the Terms of Reference for the environmental impact assessment study, the names of the experts responsible for preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Document, the required technical expertise, and the expected level of effort needed to prepare this document. The competent party at the Ministry shall submit this report to the Technical Committee. 
E. The Technical Committee shall review the Terms of Reference within one week from the date of receiving the report, and this period may be extended by agreement with the project owner. It shall submit its recommendations in this regard to the Minister to issue the appropriate decision in that regard, provided that the project owner shall be informed of this decision.

Article 10

If the Minister approves the Terms of Reference of the project, the project owner shall prepare the draft of the Environmental Impact Assessment Document, and he shall be responsible for the accuracy and authenticity of the contents thereof. This draft must include the significant environmental impact relevant to the project under review in the manner referred to in Annex 5 of these Regulations.

Article 11

A. Upon the Ministry's receipt of the draft Environmental Impact Assessment Document, the Technical Committee shall review and analyze the draft to ascertain its compliance with the provisions of these Regulations. If it finds that the application fulfills the conditions and requirements thereof, the party making the submission is advised thereof. But if it finds that the application does not fulfill the conditions and requirements thereof, the Technical Committee shall require the project owner to provide any additional information needed to complete its analysis of the draft. 
B. If the draft Environmental Impact Assessment Document fulfills all of the requirements of the provisions of these Regulations, the Minister, upon the recommendation of the Secretary General that is based on the recommendation of the Technical Committee, shall issue his decision in this regard within 45 days after the date of receipt of the draft that is in fulfillment of the conditions and requirements thereof, in accordance with the following: 
1. Approving the draft and considering it the final Environmental Impact Assessment Document if it is shown that the project’s environmental impacts are appropriately dealt with throughout the study including the plan for reducing adverse impacts. The approval shall be valid for one year from the date it is issued. 
2. Denial of Environmental Approval of the project if it is shown that its implementation would cause Significant Impact on the Environment and that the plan for reducing adverse impacts is inadequate for the purpose. 
C. If the Minister does not issue his decision with regard to the draft Environmental Impact Assessment Document within the period set in Paragraph B hereof, the project is considered as having been approved de jure. 
D. The decision related to the environmental impact assessment study shall be announced to the public in the manner that the Ministry deems appropriate.

Article 12

When launching his project and during all the implementation and operation phases, the project owner shall abide by the contents of the Environmental Impact Assessment Document and any other conditions issued by the Ministry when granting its approval.

Article 13

A. If the project is classified as Category 2, the Ministry shall request the Project Owner to conduct a preliminary environmental impact assessment of the project, taking into account the criteria referred to in Annex 4 of these Regulations. 
B. If the preliminary environmental impact assessment reveals that the project has a potential Significant Impact on the Environment, the Minister shall request the project owner to conduct a comprehensive environmental impact assessment study in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations. 
C. If the preliminary environmental impact assessment reveals that it is not likely for the project to have a Significant Impact on the Environment, the project shall obtain the Ministry’s approval in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations and instructions issued by virtue hereof, and the Ministry shall inform the project owner of this approval. .

Article 14

If the project is classified as Category 3, the Ministry shall inform the project owner that his project does not require an environmental impact assessment study, and in this case, the project is considered approved in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations and instructions issued by virtue hereof.

Article 15

Any amendment to or expansion of a current project the establishment of which requires an environmental impact assessment and may impact the Environment in a significant way is considered a separate project, and shall be treated as a new project. In this case, the project owner must undertake all the measures referred to in these Regulations regarding environmental impact assessment.

Article 16

A. The project owner may object before the Minister to the Minister’s decision denying the Environmental Approval of his project within 15 days from the date the project owner is informed of such decision, and the Minister may appoint an independent panel of experts consisting of not less than three members with the appropriate technical experience, at the expense of the project owner, to review the objection submitted by the project owner, and submit its recommendations to the Minister in this regard. 
B. The Minister’s decision regarding the objection is considered final and it is capable of being contested before the High Court of Justice.

Article 17

The Ministry shall regularly monitor the extent of the compliance of the project owner with all the conditions and requirements stipulated in the Environmental Approval during any of the activities of the project including its implementation, operation, and disassembling.

Article 18

The Ministry shall make available to the concerned entities and upon their request, the information and data related to the Environment provided by project owner during the phases of the environmental impact assessment study. In specific cases dictated by the public interest or the provider's own interest, the Ministry may consider some of the data or information provided as confidential.

Article 19

Annexes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 attached to these Regulations shall be considered part and parcel of hereof.

Article 20

A. Upon the submission of the application, the Ministry shall charge the following: 
1. Twenty-five Jordanian Dinars for projects that do not require an environmental impact assessment study. 
2. Fifty Jordanian Dinars for projects that require a preliminary environmental impact assessment study. 
3. Seven hundred and fifty Jordanian Dinars for projects that require a comprehensive environmental impact assessment study. 
B. Costs of experts and consultants who are assigned to review the environmental impact assessment study shall be borne by the project owner, provided that such costs shall be determined by decision of the Minister, upon the recommendation of the Secretary General.

Article 21