Law Summary
Application Requirements for Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and Certificate of Non-Coverage (CNC)
- ECC applications must include:
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report focused on essential information per project type.
- Proof of compatibility with existing Land Use Plan if necessary.
- Proof of ownership or authority over the project site.
- Accountability statements from the project proponent and EIS preparers.
- Photographs of the project site, impact areas, and affected communities.
- Completed Project Environmental Monitoring and Audit Prioritization Scheme (PEMAPS) Questionnaire.
- Copy of previous ECC if available.
- Latest Self Monitoring Report or Compliance Monitoring Report for projects with previous ECC.
- No other documents should be required.
- CNC applications for projects below coverage threshold now require only a 1-Page Application Form via Automated Processing System (APS), removing need for Project Description Reports.
Focus and Content of EIA Reports
- Reports should concentrate strictly on scientifically based and verifiable environmental aspects.
- Public environmental concerns obtained through community engagement methods (scoping, consultation) must be included in ECC review.
Public Participation in the EIA Process
- Project proponents must conduct a scoping meeting with the community for proposed ECPs to identify significant impacts and define study scope.
- The necessity and scope of Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) are determined during scoping.
- DENR-EMB ensures public consultation presentations involve all legitimate stakeholders.
- Environmental concerns raised during consultations must be documented and addressed by the project proponent.
Identification and Involvement of Legitimate Stakeholders
- Stakeholders in both direct and indirect impact areas must be informed and consulted early in the EIA process.
- Guidelines for determining impact areas and stakeholders are specified in annexes (not included in this summary).
Role of Local Government Units (LGUs) in the EIA Process for ECPs
- City/Municipal Planning and Development Officers (PDO) or Environment and Natural Resources Officers (ENRO) must be invited as resource persons to the EIA Review Committee.
- For projects spanning multiple LGUs, the provincial PDO or ENRO is invited.
- Draft ECC and EIA review findings must be presented to concerned LGUs to solicit inputs before ECC issuance.
Review Process and Timelines for ECC Applications
- Only one request for additional information/clarification can be made; proponents must respond within 5 days.
- If no timely response, decision is made based on submitted materials.
- Maximum processing times post acceptance and fee payment are:
- 40 working days for ECP, co-located or programmatic ECCs, mining, forestry projects (DEC Secretary/EMB Director authority).
- 20 working days for non-ECPs including EIS or Programmatic Environmental Performance Report and Management Plan (PERRMP) - EMB Regional Director authority.
- 20 working days for Initial Environment Examination (IEE) or Environmental Performance and Management Plan based ECCs.
- ECCs for all ECPs must include a condition mandating a greening program.
Repealing and Effectivity Provisions
- All prior issuances inconsistent with this memorandum are repealed or modified accordingly.
- The memorandum takes immediate effect.
- EMB Regional Offices must conduct intensive Information Education Campaigns (IEC) to disseminate this circular comprehensively.