For planned activities that are likely to have a significant impact on the environment, an Environmental Impact Assessment must be carried out already at the project design stage.
An Environmental Impact Assessment is required, for example, in the case of:

• for the extraction of mineral resources in areas of 25 ha or more
• for the construction of wind power plants,
• for the construction of motorways and railway lines etc.

All types of projects requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) are listed in Annex 1 of the Law “On Environmental Impact Assessment”

The Environmental Impact Assessment evaluates the planned activity’s impact on:

• human health,
• biodiversity,
• air,
• water,
• landscape, and other aspects.

According to the procedure, several alternative solutions must be developed, with the potential environmental impacts assessed for each of them.
Subsequently, proposals must be provided on how to prevent or reduce negative environmental impacts.
As a result of such an assessment and the comparison of different possible scenarios, it is possible to identify the most optimal solution.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a multi-stage procedure, including two public consultation phases. The main stages of the Environmental Impact Assessment are as follows:

• preliminary evaluation of the proposed activity,
• initial public consultation,
• development of the assessment programme,
• preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment report,
• public consultation on the report,
• preparation of the opinion on the report and approval of the proposed activity.

If the activity is planned within or near a Natura 2000 site, an additional procedure is included in the Environmental Impact Assessment.

The initial environmental impact assessment (IEIA) of the proposed activity is often the first step in obtaining an A or B category polluting activity permit, as well as in the full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure.

An Initial Environmental Impact Assessment (IEIA) must be carried out for activities that meet the conditions set out in Articles 3.² and 4^.1 of the Law “On Environmental Impact Assessment”.
Therefore, the IEIA is conducted for the activities listed in Annex 2 of this law, for example:

• for the extraction of mineral resources in an area of 5 ha or larger;
• for the construction of large-scale intensive livestock and poultry farming complexes;
• for large metal and metal products manufacturing plants.
• for changes in existing activities, if the scope of changes is 25 percent or more;
• if the proposed activity could significantly impact protected natural areas of European importance.

Taking into account the results of the initial environmental impact assessment, the State Environmental Service shall decide whether an environmental impact assessment should or should not be applied. If the Service decides not to apply an environmental impact assessment for the proposed activity, it issues technical regulations.

The costs of the initial environmental impact assessment vary greatly and are determined individually, typically being completed within 2-3 months. However, both the cost and the speed of preparation significantly depend on the type of the planned activity.

For example, sometimes during the preparation of the initial environmental impact assessment, it may be necessary to draft a project for stationary pollution source emission limits or conduct noise modeling to evaluate air emissions..

The Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment procedure applies to planning documents:

• territorial planning documents – local plans, detailed plans;
• policy planning documents – plans, guidelines, and strategies;

in accordance with Article 4 and criteria specified in Article 23.² of the Law “On Environmental Impact Assessment.” The decision on whether a strategic environmental impact assessment is necessary is made by the State Environmental Bureau.

During this procedure, an environmental report is developed. The environmental report identifies the potential impacts of the planning document and assesses each impact based on:

• probability,
• duration,
• frequency and reversibility of consequences,
• cumulative effects,
• threats to human health or the environment,
• risk of accidents,
• scale and extent of impact,
• impact on cultural monuments,
• existing or potential exceedances of environmental quality standards,
• land use types and intensity,
• impact on specially protected natural areas, etc.

The State Environmental Bureau provides an opinion on the developed environmental report.

During the strategic environmental impact assessment, public information is crucial, and occasionally, a public consultation must also be organized.

The procedure for conducting a strategic environmental impact assessment is determined by Cabinet Regulation No. 157 “Procedure for Conducting a Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment.”