National Environmental Legislation. The Azerbaijan Government has committed to a process to align national environmental legislation with the principles of internationally recognised legislation, based on EU environmental legislation. As this process is on-going, the 3D Seismic Survey will comply with the intent of current national legal requirements where those requirements are consistent with the provisions of the PSA, and do not contradict, or are otherwise incompatible with, international petroleum industry standards and practice. The framework for national environmental legislation in Azerbaijan is provided by the Law on the Protection of the Environment (1999), which addresses the following issues: • The rights and responsibilities of the State, the citizens, public associations and local authorities; • The use of natural resources; • Monitoring, standardisation and certification; • Economic regulation of environmental protection; • State Ecological Expertise (SEE); • Ecological requirements for economic activities; • Education, scientific research, statistics and information; • Ecological emergencies and ecological disaster zones; • Control of environmental protection; • Ecological auditing; • Responsibility for the violation of environmental legislation; and • International cooperation. According to Article 54.2 of the Law on Protection of the Environment, EIAs are subject to SEE, which means that the environmental authority (MENR) is responsible for the review and approval of EIA reports submitted by developers. The Law establishes the basis for the SEE procedure, which can be seen as a “stand-alone” check of compliance of the proposed project with the relevant environmental standards (e.g. for pollution levels, discharges and noise). In addition the law determines that projects cannot be implemented without a positive SEE resolution. The SEE approach requires state authorities to formally verify all submitted developments for their potential environmental impacts. Current internationally recognised practice emphasises a proportionate, consultative and publicly accountable approach to assessing impacts. Table 2.3 provides a summary of the key national environmental and social laws.
National Environmental Legislation. Chapter 2: Policy, Regulatory and Administrative Framework The Azerbaijan Government has committed to a process to align national environmental legislation with the principles of internationally recognised legislation, based on EU environmental legislation. As this process is on-going, the SD2 Project will comply with the intent of current national legal requirements where those requirements are consistent with the provisions of the PSA, and do not contradict, or are otherwise incompatible with, international petroleum industry standards and practice. The framework for national environmental legislation in Azerbaijan is provided by the Law on the Protection of the Environment (1999), which addresses the following issues: The rights and responsibilities of the State, the citizens, public associations and local authorities; The use of natural resources; Monitoring, standardisation and certification; Economic regulation of environmental protection; State Ecological Expertise (SEE); Ecological requirements for economic activities; Education, scientific research, statistics and information; Ecological emergencies and ecological disaster zones; Control of environmental protection; Ecological auditing; Responsibility for the violation of environmental legislation; and International cooperation. According to Article 54.2 of the Law on Protection of the Environment, EIAs are subject to SEE, which means that the environmental authority (MENR) is responsible for the review and approval of EIA reports submitted by developers. The Law establishes the basis for the SEE procedure, which can be seen as a “stand-alone” check of compliance of the proposed Project with the relevant environmental standards (e.g. for pollution levels, discharges and noise). In addition the law determines that projects cannot be implemented without a positive SEE resolution. The SEE approach requires state authorities to formally verify all submitted developments for their potential environmental impacts. Current internationally recognised practice emphasises a proportionate, consultative and publicly accountable approach to assessing impacts. Table 2.3 provides a summary of the key national environmental and social laws.
