A new Decree on the list of projects subject to mandatory environmental impact assessment, the list of projects requiring submission of a request for a decision on the need for environmental impact assessment, and the criteria for determining the need for environmental impact assessment (“Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 106/2025, the “Decree”) has been published.
This Decree more precisely regulates which projects automatically require an Environmental Impact Assessment Study (the ,,EIA Study”) (List I), and for which projects it is mandatory to first request a decision from the competent authority on whether an assessment is required (List II). The Decree repeals the previous regulation from 2008 and harmonizes the system with the provisions of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (“Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 94/2024, the “Act”).
Key obligations and deadlines under the Act:
Mandatory initiation of the procedure before project commencement
- For projects listed in List I – the investor must prepare an EIA and obtain approval prior to any permit or authorization.
- For projects listed in List II – the investor must first submit a Request for a Decision on the Need for Environmental Impact Assessment before any preparatory works begin.
Statutory deadlines within the environmental assessment procedure
- The competent authority issues a decision on whether an assessment is required within 10 days following the expiry of the deadlines for the submission of opinions; the decision is delivered to the investor within 5 days. In case of an appeal, the second-instance authority must decide within 30 days;
- In the scoping phase (determination of the scope and content of the Study), the authority notifies the public and relevant institutions within 15 days, and opinions are submitted within 15 days, extendable to 30 days. Once the Study is supplemented after public consultation, the approval decision must be issued within 30 days;
- The decision of the competent authority is valid for two years; if the project does not commence within that period, a new procedure must be initiated.
Projects that are effectively covered by the Decree:
- In practice, the new Decree most significantly affects projects in the energy, industry, communal utilities, tourism and agro-food sectors – although not uniformly. Some projects are automatically subject to a mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment Study, while others are subject only to the obligation to submit a request, after which the authority determines whether a Study is required.
- Projects for which the Study is mandatory (List I) include, inter alia:
- large-scale energy systems (e.g., major solar and wind power plants, thermal energy facilities, significant fuel or chemical storage facilities);
- major transport infrastructure (motorways, express roads, airports with longer runways, large ports);
- specific industrial installations exceeding prescribed capacity thresholds;
- large landfills and waste/wastewater treatment facilities;
- extensive livestock production facilities.
- Projects that do not automatically fall under mandatory assessment, but for which submission of a request is obligatory (List II) include, inter alia:
- small and medium-scale energy facilities (boiler houses, gas systems, 1–50 MW projects, smaller solar or wind projects);
- construction or expansion of industrial and logistics-storage facilities;
- tourism and recreational complexes (large hotels, tourist resorts, ski centres with cableways and associated facilities, amusement and sports-recreational parks);
- food processing and agro-industry (medium-capacity meat, dairy, fruit/vegetable facilities; large cold-storage units; irrigation systems; land-use conversion; medium-scale livestock and aquaculture operations).
Investor obligations in the environmental impact assessment procedure:
- Determine whether the project falls under List I (mandatory EIA Study) or List II (mandatory request for a decision);
- Submit the request or prepare the EIA Study, depending on the applicable list;
- Obtain the approval of the EIA Study or the decision that the Study is not required prior to obtaining a construction permit;
- Verify whether the project site is located within a protected area, an ecological network zone, or the surroundings of a cultural property, where stricter rules apply;
- Re-initiate the procedure if the project does not commence within two years or if there are material changes to the project or environmental conditions;
- Integrate the environmental protection requirements into the design documentation and project implementation.
For additional information or consultations, the Tasić & Partners team is at your disposal.