Revised Procedural Manual - Central Office

1 Revised Procedural Manual FOR DAO 2003-30 FOREWORD This Revised Procedural Manual of DAO 2003-30 supersedes the Procedural Manual issued under DENR-EMB Memorandum Circular No. 2005-01 on 05 January 2005. All memoranda, memorandum circulars, MOAs based on DAO 96-37 or earlier IRRs of PD 1586, and other issuances where provisions are inconsistent with this Revised version are amended accordingly. The Manual derives its legal basis from Section of DAO 2003-30, which prescribes a Manual of Procedures for the processing of applications for Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECCs) and Certificates of Non-Coverage (CNCs) within the timeframes specified in Malacanang Administrative Order No.

2 42 (issued in November 2002). This Revised Manual integrates new DENR-EMB policies to further promote EIA as a planning and decision-making tool, foremost of which is the segregation from the EIA process of the practice of prior submission of permits, clearances, licenses, endorsements, resolutions and other government approvals within the jurisdiction of other National Government Agencies and Local Government Units which can pre-empt the EIA evaluation process. Thus, it is the EIA findings and recommendations, which shall be transmitted through the ECC for consideration of other GAs and LGUs prior to the issuance of government documents under their mandates. In effect, the policy recognizes the primacy of jurisdiction of these entities over a project s implementation.

3 Mandated to be done simultaneous with the Feasibility Study, EIA marks the beginning, rather than the end, of the integration of environmental concerns throughout the project cycle. This Revised Manual further simplifies the original version by presenting application and review procedures in process flowcharts, tabulating all requirements with new annexed supplements of mostly pro-forma documents for easy compliance. EIA scoping and review processes as well as EIA Report outlines, contents and lengths have been rationalized, condensed and provided with specific guidance to focus analysis to the most relevant significant impacts and corresponding baseline data requirements.

4 The EMB shall continually improve on these procedures with the end view of shorter but quality EIA Reports and faster review timelines through more efficient and meaningful EIA processes. EMB seeks your improvement proposals through a feedback form provided at the back of this Manual . By virtue of the authority vested upon me, I am hereby issuing this Revised Procedural Manual , effective immediately upon signing. Any queries or clarifications may be addressed to the EMB EIAMD Central Office . DR. ELY ANTHONY R. OUANO DENR-EMB OIC-DIRECTOR Date Signed: August 21, 2007 Revised Procedural Manual FOR DAO 2003-30 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The publication of this Manual evolved from a series of consultation with various stakeholders.

5 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided support through the Technical Assistance (TA) on Harmonization and Managing for Results part D: Improving Quality at Project Entry Environment. The following actively shared in the development of this Manual : ENGR. ESPERANZA A. SAJUL, TA Manager and Chief EIAMD ENGR. PURA VITA G. PEDROSA, Co-TA Manager and Chief Monitoring Section, EIAMD ENGR. ELSIE P. CEZAR, Chief Review and Evaluation Section, EIAMD ENGR. JENNIFER A. GAPPE, TA Coordinator MS. MAY M. GUILLERMO, Administrative Support Staff MS. SONIA C. ALCON, Administrative Support Staff MS. JO ROWENA D. GARCIA, Environmental Impact Assessment Specialist DR. MARY ANN P. BOTENGAN, Information Education Campaign Specialist MR.

6 EMMANUEL A. MIRAFLORES, Information Technology Specialist MR. VANDERLEAF C. CAPALUNGAN, Technical Associate ENGR. MALOU P. AVENIDO, Field Operations Resource Person MS. JAN IRISH P. VILLEGAS, Technical Assistant MR. BERNABE M. REMOQUILLO, Layout Artist Staff of the following DENR Offices: Environmental Impact Assessment and Management Division-EMB Pollution Adjudication Board Legal Division-EMB Management Information System Division-EMB Environmental Education and Information Division-EMB ADB TA Officers: MR. JOVEN BALBOSA ENGR. NORIEL SICAD MS. CARMIE RICERRA The EIAMD-EMB further acknowledges earlier initiatives and contributions by the former EMB Director, JULIAN D. AMADOR, and the late REYNALDO P. ALCANCES, Division Chief of the EIAMD-EMB.

7 Revised Procedural Manual FOR DAO 2003-30 MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR 002 Series of 2007 Revised Procedural Manual FOR DAO 2003-30 INTRODUCTION This Revised version of the Manual has three (3) major features: 1) Integration of new EMB policies on application, review, decision-making and public participation, including explicit instructions on how to consider EIA within the project planning cycle as well as how to situate the EIA process in relation to issues and concerns outside the mandate of the DENR-EMB; 2) Standardization and shortening of procedures from EIA Scoping to EIA Review, and flowcharting of the EIA application procedures across EIA Report types, project groupings and across EMB offices (CO or RO) for more efficient EIA processes and easy tracking of status of applications; 3) Condensation and Revised formatting of EIA Reports and Decision Documents, and inclusion of more matrices, checklists, outlines, pro-forma documents and specific guidelines to focus EIA Study Terms of Reference, EIA Reports, Review and Evaluation, Decision Making, and Monitoring, Validation and Evaluation/Audit to the essentials.

8 The Revised Procedural Manual (RPM) has four (4) main sections, as follows: 1) Overview of the Philippine EIS System (PEISS), which provides the basic policy and operating principles of the PEISS, defines what an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is as a process and how it best serves as a planning and decision-making tool. This section also situates the EIA Process in relation to the project cycle, to other environmental laws and to other regulatory agencies/units who exercise their own mandates over the project proposal. An overview is also provided on the coverage of the EIS System under five (5) project groupings, seven (7) EIA report types, three (3) decision documents and six (6) key stages of the EIA process.

9 2) Procedural Requirements of the EIA Process,which describes the steps and requirements per stage of the EIA process, which include Screening, Scoping, Conduct of EIA Study and Report Preparation, EIA Report Review and Evaluation, Decision Making, and Monitoring, Validation and Evaluation/Audit. This section presents a consolidated screening procedure for coverage or non-coverage in the EIS System as well as determination of other requirements for application. The procedures for ECC and CNC application are presented in flowcharts across EMB offices ( Central and regional) and across seven (7) EIA Report types (P/EIS, P/EPRMP, IEER, IEEC and PDR).

10 The monitoring stage describes the Procedural flow of various modes of how to validate Proponent s performance against the ECC and its commitments in the EIA Report and Review Stages. This section also describes the process flow of administrative investigation for projects, which are suspected or found to be in violation of the terms and conditions of the ECC or other PEISS regulations, and consequently presents the resulting fines and penalty provisions. 3) Miscellaneous Provisions provides the provisions for the effectivity of the Manual , repealing clause and continual improvement. 4) Annexes, which provides supporting documents and guidelines to any interested party for a facilitated compliance and performance evaluation against the EIS System s Procedural requirements.