Environmental licensing of new transmission systems in brazil: framing criteria by environmental agency

The growing demand for electricity in large Brazilian cities and the distance to the region with the largest energy production have encouraged the construction of transmission lines thousands of kilometers long, crossing several states of the federation. Therefore, the heterogeneity of requirements in federal, state and district environmental laws tend to lead to uncertainty for the investor regarding procedures and investments necessary for the completion of the project, as well as the time that the requirements will take to be fulfilled. In the present study, we identify and compare the criteria used by the various environmental licensing agencies for classifying transmission system projects in the different procedures(simplified and ordinary) of environmental licensing. It was possible to expose the differences and demonstrate some inconsistencies in the legislation of some Brazilian states. In particular, we note an absence of proportionality between the licensing requirements and the expected environmental impacts for projects on the physical, biological and social environments. Additionally, it was identified subjectivity in the requirement for social participation through public hearings, demanded by the legislation for the projects classified in the ordinary procedure.

An Overview of Industrial Source Discharges into Water in the Albanian Territory

Direct and indirect discharges are released in the environment by many economic entities which operate in the territory of Albania.Different installations release many substances from separated sources or widespread,affecting the environmental quality and often causing pollution.Each economic entity that discharges substances in the environment is equipped with an environmental permit which is granted according to a system composed by two categories,A and B.Each Albanian citizen has the right guaranteed by the constitution to collect information regarding the city or country environmental conditions by this system.Furthermore,this system provides data regarding the state of the environment,polluting activity,different chemical components discharged,etc.The purpose of this study is to identify different sources of industrial discharge into water bodies,aiming to provide information that can be useful for the environmental protection,its preservation and improvement,the prevention and reduction of risks related to human and animal health and the improvement of the life quality.Data gained from the identification of economic entities equipped with an active environmental permit type A and B showed the various sources of waste discharges in the Albanian territory.The study was conducted using the QKB(National Business Center)database for a period of eight years from 2014 to 2022.Data show that an increase of technical unit discharging substances into water has increased over years due to a major number of installations of polluting economic entities in the country territory.