Environmental Assessment

Verified 08 August 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

One environmental assessment is required for projects which, by their nature, size or location, are likely to have significant effects on the environment or human health. We present the step-by-step approach.

Step-by-step approach

Environmental Assessment Submission

Prior to the start of the work, the project owner must check if your project is subject to an environmental assessment.

An environmental assessment is required for projects which, by their nature, size or location, are likely to have significant effects on the environment or human health.

To determine whether the project is subject to systematic environmental assessment, is eligible for consideration (case-by-case review), or is not, consult the environmental assessment nomenclature :

Nomenclature of projects subject to environmental assessment

Legifrance

Pour en savoir plus

Where the same project falls under several topics in the bill of materials, a environmental assessment is required once the project meets the thresholds and fulfills the conditions of one of the applicable headings. In this case, only one environmental assessment must be conducted for the project.

It is also possible to ask the competent department, which differs according to the location of the project:

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Metropolitan France (including Corsica)

Île-de-France

The contact point is the Regional and Interdepartmental Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Transport (DRIEAT):

Other regions

The service to contact is the Regional Directorate for Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL).

Who shall I contact

Guiana

The service to be contacted is the Directorate General for Territories and the Sea (DGTM) of Guyana.

Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion, Mayotte

The department to contact is the Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DEAL):

The department responsible for authorizing the project may decide to examine on a case-by-case basis projects submitted to it with thresholds lower than those laid down in the nomenclature. It must inform the contracting authority of its reasoned decision to submit the project for examination on a case-by-case basis, not later than 15 days from the date of submission of the file on the application or declaration.

The contracting authority may also, on its own initiative, carry out a request for case-by-case examination to the competent department, for any project below the thresholds fixed by the nomenclature.

Case-by-case examination

For projects under case-by-case examination according to the nomenclature, the contracting authority shall describe :

  • The characteristics of the whole projectincluding any demolition work
  • The significant impacts that its project is likely to have on the environment and human health
  • If there are any, the measures and characteristics of the project intended for avoid or reduce its likely significant adverse effects.

The request for case-by-case review can be made online or by mail.

Online

It is advisable to prefer the online procedure. The request may be made by the contracting authority via the following online service :

Request for case-by-case review prior to conducting a potential environmental assessment

By mail

For projects submitted for examination on a case-by-case basis, an application may be made by the contracting authority by completing the following form :

Application for a pre-impact assessment (Environmental Assessment)

This form must then be transmitted electronically or by registered mail to the case-by-case examining department, which shall acknowledge receipt thereof.

As from the receipt of the application form, the competent department shall have a 15-day period for requesting the contracting authority to complete itWell, if he's not. In the absence of such a request, the form shall be considered complete on expiry of that period.

The case-by-case review service shall assess whether the effects of the project on the environment and human health are significant (e.g. due to the release of pollutants into waterways), within 35 days from the date of receipt of the complete form. It shall be based on the information provided by the developer.

Please note

L'lack of response within that period shall be obligation to conduct an environmental assessment.

The operator is then informed whether or not the project is subject to environmental assessment.

The department responsible for the case-by-case examination shall state the reasons for its decision. It shall also specify measures and project characteristics presented by the developer which are intended to avoid or reduce significant adverse effects of the project on the environment and human health.

An administrative appeal to the case-by-case review unit must be filed in the event of a challenge to the decision requiring an environmental assessment. Thereafter, an appeal to the Administrative Judge may be filed by the contracting authority if the decision is upheld.

Who shall I contact

Responsibility of the contracting authority

L'impact study prior to the realization of the project is carried out under the responsibility of the contracting authority or authorities.

The developer can ask the competent department to take the decision authorizing, approving or implementing the project to an opinion on the scope and degree of precision of the information to be provided in the impact assessment. The competent service may also organize a meeting with local stakeholders interested in the project in order to allow each to comment on the potential impacts of the proposed project.

In its request, the contracting authority shall provide at least the information available to it on the specific characteristics of the project and, in the area likely to be affected:

  • The key environmental issues of area
  • The main project impacts.

Content of the impact assessment

The content of the impact assessment must be proportional to:

  • The environmental sensitivity of the area likely to be affected by the project: it needs to be further developed in areas with high biodiversity, protected areas, etc.
  • The importance and nature of the workproposed facilities, structures or other interventions in the natural environment or landscape and their foreseeable effects on the environment or human health.

He take account of any opinion delivered by the department responsible for the scope and degree of precision of the information to be provided in the impact assessment. It shall include information that may reasonably be required, taking into account existing knowledge and assessment methods.

In order to ensure the completeness and quality of the impact assessment, the contracting authority shall :

  • Make sure it is prepared by competent experts
  • Consider the available results of other relevant environmental impact assessments required under other applicable legislation.

The impact study includes the following, depending on the specific characteristics of the project and the type of environmental impact it is likely to cause:

  • Non-technical summary the information provided below. This summary may be the subject of an independent document.
  • Description of the project, including in particular:
    • Description of project location
    • Description of physical characteristics of the whole projectincluding, where applicable, necessary demolition work, and land use requirements during the construction and operation phases
    • Description of the main characteristics of the operational phase of the project, relating to the manufacturing process, energy demand and use, the nature and quantities of materials and natural resources used
    • Estimation of the types and quantities of residues and emissions expected, such as pollution of water, air, soil and subsoil, noise, vibration, light, heat, radiation, and the types and quantities of waste produced during the construction and operating phases.
  • Description of the following:
    • Relevant aspects of theinitial state of the environment
    • Evolution of the state of the environment if the project is implemented
    • Likely environmental change in the absence of project implementation, insofar as natural changes in relation to the initial state of the environment can be assessed with reasonable effort on the basis of available environmental information and scientific knowledge. This evolution takes the form of an overview of what this evolution is.
  • Description of the factors likely to be significantly affected by the project : population, human health, biodiversity, land, soil, water, air, climate, material assets, cultural heritage, including architectural and archeological aspects, and landscape
  • Description of the likely significant environmental effects of the project. These effects shall cover the direct effects and, if any, indirect, secondary, cumulative, transboundary, short, medium and long-term, permanent and temporary, positive and negative effects of the project. Notable impacts include:
    • The construction and existence of the project, including, where applicable, demolition
    • The use of natural resources, in particular land, soil, water and biodiversity, taking into account, as far as possible, the sustainable availability of such resources
    • The emission of pollutants, noise, vibration, light, heat and radiation, the creation of nuisances and the disposal and recovery of waste
    • Risks to human health, cultural heritage or the environment
    • Cumulation of impacts with other existing or approved projects, taking into account, where relevant, environmental problems relating to the use of natural resources and areas of particular environmental importance likely to be affected
    • Project climate impacts and vulnerability to climate change
    • Technologies and substances used.
  • Description of significant expected negative environmental impacts resulting from the vulnerability of the project to risks of major accidents or disasters in relation to the project concerned. This description shall include, where available, the measures envisaged to avoid or reduce significant adverse environmental impacts of such events and details of the preparedness for and response to such emergencies.
  • Description of reasonable alternatives that have been examined by the developer, in the light of the proposed project and its specific characteristics, and an indication of the main reasons for the choice made, including a comparison of the effects on the environment and human health
  • Measures provided for by the contracting authority to avoid significant adverse effects of the project on the environment or human health and to reduce unavoidable effects. The description of these measures shall be accompanied by the estimated expenditure involved and a statement of the expected effects of these measures on the resulting environmental impacts of the project.
  • When there are, the conditions for monitoring avoidance, reduction and compensation measures proposed
  • Description of forecasting methods or the evidence used to identify and assess significant environmental impacts
  • Names, qualifications and qualifications of the expert(s) which prepared the impact assessment and the studies which contributed to its preparation
  • When some of the required elements are included in the hazard study for classified installations for the protection of the environment (PCI), this should be indicated in the impact assessment.

Please note

Where the contracting authority asks the competent department about the need to update the impact assessment of a project or on the scope of the update, it transmits to it the elements available on the project. The service has a one-month time limit for delivering its opinion. In the absence of a reply within that period, the Committee shall be deemed not to have any comments to make.

Release of raw biodiversity data

Project promoters who have carried out an impact assessment must to transmit raw biodiversity data acquired during the evaluation studies of their project.

The release of raw biodiversity data, acquired on the occasion of the impact assessment, must be carried out before the start of the public participation procedure.

This payment shall take place via environment-projects.gouv.fr or via the online service Depobio :

Depobio: platform for the legal deposit of biodiversity data

Process and objectives

Environmental assessment makes it possible to describe andappreciate in an appropriate manner, depending on each particular case, the significant direct and indirect impacts of a project on the following factors:

  • Population and human health
  • Biodiversity, with special attention to protected species and habitats
  • Land, soil, water, air and climate
  • Physical assets, cultural heritage and landscape
  • Interaction between these factors

The developer shall take into account the effects resulting from the vulnerability of the project to major-accident hazards and disasters, where these are relevant for the project concerned.

Example :

Releases to the environment, habitats destroyed by the implementation of the project, etc.

Application for Environmental Assessment

The environmental assessment must be filed via an online service, accompanied by the impact assessment:

Consultation and submission of projects for impact assessment (Environmental Assessment)

It will thus be forwarded to the relevant department, as well as to local and regional authorities and their groups interested in the project.

The contracting authorities shall make available to the public, at the latest at the time of the initiation of the public inquiry or of the public participation by electronic means:

  • The impact study. The impact assessment file must be accompanied by a file of the raw environmental data used in the study, in an open and easily reusable format, i.e. machine-readable and usable by standardized data processing.
  • The written answer which they have formulated following the opinion of the competent department

Please note

Where a project consists of several works, installations, works or other interventions in the natural environment or landscape, it must be apprehended as a whole, including in the case of splitting up over time and space and where there is a multiplicity of contracting authorities, so that its effects on the environment are assessed in their entirety.

The competent department shall take a decision within two months of the date of receipt of the file including the impact assessment and the application for authorization.

Local and regional authorities and their groups interested in the project may be consulted and give opinions on the application. The competent department shall forward these notices to the contracting authority as soon as it receives them. Opinions or information on the absence of comments within the deadline shall be attached to the public investigation file, the electronic public participation procedure or the public consultation.

Please note

Deadlines for the appraisal of the project authorization may be extended by a maximum of 3 months.

Public inquiry or participation by electronic means

Projects subject to environmental assessment shall be subject to the public participation, by the competent department. This participation takes the form of:

  • Or of a public inquiry
  • Or of a participation by electronic means

Projects for works, works or improvements to include an environmental assessment shall be systematically subject to public inquiry, except of:

  • Projects to which the public consultation provided for in an application for approval appliesenvironmental authorization
  • Collaborative Development Area Projects
  • Projects of a temporary or minor nature:
    • Creation of anchorages and light equipment, unless this entails a substantial change in the use of the public maritime domain
    • Applications for temporary authorization
    • Applications for temporary operating authorizations for PCIs
    • Clearing, where less than 10 hectares are concerned.
  • Applications for building, development or demolition permits and advance declarations for work, construction or development projects that result in an environmental assessment after a case-by-case review. Application files for these city planning authorizations shall be subject to a public participation procedure by electronic means.
  • Projects for artificial islands, related installations, works and installations on the continental shelf or in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ)
  • Projects which are located within the scope of an operation of national interest, or a large city planning operation, and which meet the objectives of that operation, where electronic public participation is organized.

Projects falling under this exception shall be subject to public participation by electronic means.

Preparation of the file

The files subject to public inquiry or public participation by electronic means must contain, at least:

  • The impact assessment and its non-technical summary, or the impact assessment or the environmental impact report and its non-technical summary
  • If there is one, the decision made after a case-by-case review or, in the absence of such a decision, a statement that an implied decision to submit for environmental assessment has been made, along with the application form for the case-by-case review
  • The opinion of the competent department and the written reply of the contracting authority to that opinion
  • Opinions of the other persons consulted, where there are any: municipalities where the project is located, local and regional authorities and their interested groups, prefects of departments where the project is located, minister responsible for health, etc.
  • Reference to the texts governing the public inquiry in question and an indication of how this inquiry fits into the administrative procedure relating to the project in question, as well as the decision or decisions which may be adopted at the end of the inquiry and the department competent to take the decision on authorization or approval
  • Where they are made mandatory by a legislative or regulatory instrument prior to the initiation of the investigation, the opinions issued on the draft
  • The outcome of the public debate procedure, prior consultation or any other procedure enabling the public to participate effectively in the decision-making process. It shall also include the final act or report published following public consultation. Where no public debate or prior consultation has taken place, this must be stated in the file.
  • A statement of the other authorizations required to carry out the project of which the contracting authority or authorities are aware
  • If the project is concerned, a statement that the project is the subject of a cross-border environmental impact assessment or consultations with a border state which is a member of the European Union or a party to the Convention of 25 February 1991 signed at Espoo.

Participation Process

The participation process to which the project is submitted is:

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Public Inquiry

General

The public inquiry shall be opened and organized by the competent department to take the decision for which the investigation is required. It is not organized by the project owner.

One investigating commissioner or a commission of inquiry shall be appointed by the administrative tribunal to ensure the proper conduct of the inquiry. The contracting authority shall then be informed thereof.

Please note

Where the implementation of a project is subject to the organization of several public consultations, a single public inquiry may be held. This also applies where public consultations can be held simultaneously and where this contributes to improved public information and participation.

The public investigation file shall be made available to any person on request and at his or her own expense, before or during the public inquiry. The public investigation file is uploaded throughout the investigation. During the same period, he shall remain available in paper form at one or more specified places as soon as the public inquiry has been opened.

FYI  

The project manager is responsible for the costs of the investigation, including compensation to the investigating commissioner or the commission of inquiry. The president of the administrative tribunal or the adviser delegated for this purpose may ask the project manager to make a provision. The President or the Counselor shall fix the amount and the time limit for payment.

Course of the investigation

The department responsible for initiating and organizing the investigation inform the public at least 15 days before and during the initiation of the investigation. Information to the public shall be provided by electronic means and by means of posters at the place or places concerned by the investigation and, depending on the size and nature of the project, by means of local publications.

L'notice of public inquiry is published in newspapers and posted, at a minimum, in town halls whose territory is likely to be affected by the project.

Unless it is not physically possible to justify it, the project manager shall display the same notice on the premises designated for the implementation of the project. These signs must be visible and legible from public roads.

The notice shall include the following:

  • Purpose of the investigation
  • Decisions which may be adopted at the end of the investigation and department responsible for taking a decision
  • Name and qualifications of the investigating commissioner or members of the commission of inquiry
  • Date of initiation, duration and conduct of the investigation
  • Address of the website(s) on which the investigation file may be consulted
  • Places and times at which the investigation file can be consulted in paper form and the investigation register accessible to the public
  • Access points and times for places where the public inquiry file can be accessed on a computer station
  • Addresses to which the public may send its comments and proposals during the period of investigation. If a dematerialized register exists, the notice shall specify the address of the website to which it is accessible.
  • The existence of an environmental impact report, an impact assessment or a dossier including environmental information relevant to the subject matter of the investigation, the address of the website and of the place or places where these documents may be consulted
  • The existence of the opinion of the competent service, and the opinions of local and regional authorities and their groupings, accompanied by the place or places and the addresses of the websites where they can be consulted.

Warning  

The person responsible for the project shall bear the costs relating to the various measures to publicize the public inquiry.

The Commissioner-Investigator may visit the premises concerned by the project. The owners and occupants concerned shall be informed at least 48 hours in advance.

The duration of the public inquiry shall be determined by the competent department responsible for opening and organizing it. It lasts at least 30 days.

By reasoned decision, the investigating commissioner or the chairman of the committee of inquiry may extend the investigation for a maximum of 15 days, in particular when it decides to hold an information and exchange meeting with the public during this period of extension of the investigation.

FYI  

The public can to forward its comments and proposals for the duration of the public inquiry.

The contracting authority of the transaction subject to public inquiry may request to be received by the investigating commissioner.

During the public inquiry, the person responsible for the project may deem it necessary to provide the project, the impact assessment or the environmental impact report relating thereto, with substantial amendments. In this case, the department responsible for initiating and organizing the investigation may to suspend the investigation for a maximum period of 6 months. This possibility of suspension can only be used once.

Closure of the investigation

The Commissioner of Inquiry or the Board of Inquiry provide its report and reasoned conclusions within 30 days of the end of the investigation. If this deadline cannot be met, an additional period may be granted at the request of the investigating commissioner or the committee of inquiry by the department responsible for organizing the investigation, after consulting the project manager.

The report shall set out the observations and proposals which have been submitted during the investigation and any replies from the contracting authority. The report and the reasoned conclusions shall be made public by dematerialized means on the public inquiry website and at the where they can be consulted in paper form.

The department responsible for taking the decision may organize, in the presence of the contracting authority, a public meeting in order to respond to any reservations, recommendations or unfavorable conclusions of the investigating commissioner or the commission of inquiry. It is organized in a two months after the end of the investigation. The Commissioner of Inquiry or the Board of Inquiry shall be informed of such a meeting.

At the end of the investigation period, the investigation register shall be made available to and closed by the investigating commissioner.

After closure of the investigation register, the investigating commissioner shall, within eight days, meet with the project manager and shall communicate to it the written and oral observations recorded in summary minutes. This period shall run from the date of receipt by the investigating commissioner of the investigation register and the documents annexed thereto. The project manager has a deadline of 15 days to file comments.

Report and conclusion of the investigation

The Commissioner of Inquiry prepares a report detailing the progress of the investigation and reviews the observations received. In particular, it shall state the reasons on which it is based and whether they are favorable, favorable subject to conditions or unfavorable to the project.

The investigating commissioner shall forward to the department responsible for organizing the investigation a copy of the investigation file lodged at the seat of the investigation, together with the register or registers and the documents annexed thereto, together with the report and the reasoned conclusions.

The competent department shall send a copy of the report and conclusions to the project manager upon receipt.

Warning  

When projects that have been the subject of a public inquiry have not been undertaken within 5 years of the decision, a new survey shall be conducted, unless an extension of up to 5 years is decided before the expiry of that period.

Public participation by electronic means

The electronic public participation is applicable to projects that are subject to an environmental assessment and are exempt from a public inquiry, if they are not subject to public consultation as part of theenvironmental authorization a classified installation for the environment (ICPE).

Public participation by electronic means is opened and organized by the department responsible for authorizing these projects (the prefecture).

One file shall be made available to the public electronically and, on request, may be made available for consultation on paper in:

  • Prefectures
  • Sub-prefectures
  • Spaces France Services
  • Town halls of the municipalities where the project is located
  • Other State public institutions

Where the volume or characteristics of the draft decision or the application file do not allow it to be made available electronically, the presentation note shall specify the subject of the participation procedure, the places and times at which the entire project or application file can be consulted.

The public shall be informed by a online reviews and by a display in town hall or on the places concerned and, depending on the size and nature of the project, by local publication (in newspapers) 15 days before the opening of the electronic public participation for projects. The opinion states:

  • Application for project authorization
  • The contact details of the department responsible for taking the decision, those from which relevant information can be obtained, those to which comments or questions can be addressed. The opinion shall specify the conditions under which comments or questions may be made.
  • The decision(s) which may be adopted at the end of the participation and the department competent to take a decision
  • An indication of when, where and under what conditions relevant information will be made available to the public
  • The address of the website on which the file can be consulted
  • The fact that the project is subject to environmental assessment and, if the project is concerned, is likely to have significant effects on the environment of another Member State
  • The place where the report or impact assessment may be consulted
  • Where it has been issued, the opinion of the competent department and the place where it may be consulted.

The period during which public participation is collected electronically shall beat least 30 days.

Please note

The expenditure relating to the organization material nature of such participation shall be at the expense of the contracting authority or the public person responsible for the project.

The decision may not be definitively adopted before the expiry of a period allowing for the consideration of comments and proposals submitted by the public and for the drawing up of a summary of those comments and proposals. Except in the absence of comments and proposals, this period shall beat least 4 days from the date of the close of the consultation.

Not later than the date of publication of the decision and for a minimum of 3 months, the department which took the decision shall public, electronically :

  • Summary of comments and proposals from the public with an indication of those which have been taken into account, including those filed electronically
  • In a separate document, the grounds for decision.

These documents shall also be sent to the contracting authority.

Where the project subject to environmental assessment is subject to a reporting scheme other than that of theenvironmental authorization, the competent department shall have a nine months from the date of submission of the application file to make an authorization decision.

Reasons shall be given for the decision of the competent department in the light of the significant effects of the project on the environment.

Where a decision to grant or refuse authorization of a project subject to environmental assessment has been taken, the competent department shall inform the public thereof.

The following information shall also be made public by the competent department, if it is not already included in the decision:

  • Information on the public participation process
  • Summary of public comments and other consultations and their consideration
  • Locations where the impact assessment can be consulted.

Please note

When issued, the decision refusing authorization shall state the reasons for the refusal, including the significant potential environmental impact of the project.

Requirements and follow-up

When pronounced, the authorization decision specifies the:

  • Requirements to be complied with by developer, which may include compensatory measures
  • Measures and characteristics of the project to avoid negative impacts significant, reduce those that cannot be avoided and compensate those that cannot be avoided or reduced
  • Impact monitoring measures the project on the environment or human health.

The compensatory measures are intended to compensate for significant adverse effects, direct or indirect, of the project on the environment which could not be avoided or sufficiently reduced. They are implemented primarily at or near the affected site to ensure its functionality in a sustainable manner. They must make it possible to conserve the environment as a whole and, if possible, to improve the environmental quality of the environment.

The monitoring the implementation of these requirements, measures and characteristics and their effects on the environment are the subject of one or more balance sheets carried out over a period of time and according to a timetable to be determined by the competent service authorizing the project in order to verify the degree of effectiveness and durability of these requirements, measures and characteristics.

This tracking does not apply to classified environmental installations (PCIs)subject to specific provisions.

Expenditure incurred in carrying out checks, expert appraisals or analyzes prescribed by the competent authority to ensure compliance with the requirements, characteristics and measures shall be at the expense of the contracting authority.

Where the inspection reveals a failure to comply with the requirements, characteristics and measures, the inspector shall draw up a report and forward it to the competent department. A copy of the report shall be issued to the person concerned, who may submit his observations within one month.

Warning  

Failure to comply with the requirements may result in administrative and criminal penalties.

Release of raw biodiversity data

Proponents of projects that have carried out an environmental assessment must to transmit raw biodiversity data acquired in connection with measures to monitor environmental impacts, in particular those relating to avoidance, reduction or compensation measures.

The capture or disbursement of raw biodiversity data, acquired during environmental impact monitoring measures, should be carried out within 6 months of the completion of each data acquisition campaign.

This payment shall take place via environment-projects.gouv.fr or via the online service Depobio :

Depobio: platform for the legal deposit of biodiversity data