Muscat: The chairman of the Environment Agency (EA) has issued decision 107/2023 regulating environmental permits, which was published in the official gazette on Sunday.
The new decision canceled the decision that regulated environmental requirements for service and industrial activities.
The decision specified the procedures for obtaining environmental permits, including the most important data included in the application for obtaining an environmental permit, including the project site, and the study of environmental impact assessment if needed, with the permissibility of requesting any other data or documents according to the nature of the project. It does not exceed (30) days, and the permit period is set at (3) renewable years.
Article 12 of the environmental permit is based on applications related to mining and construction activities and specified a sum of money to be deposited by the owner of the project as a guarantee of his commitment to the terms of the permit, which are as follows.
Existing executive regulations:
No ceiling for fines, which in some cases cross RO10,000.
The highest fee imposed was RO 1,500 for 3 years.
Updating or changing an activity was inflexible.
No prior warning was given before issuing a violation.
New regulations:
The clear ceiling for fines not exceeding the permit's value and no more than RO900.
Fees are lowered with a maximum of RO 900 for three years.
More flexibility in updating, changing, or adding new activities.
Prior notice before a violation is issued.
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