Legal stand: establishments maintain a record to show the impact of their activities on the environment
Legal requirement: establishments should maintain a record to show the impact of their activities on the environment
The constitutional legislator began the “Egyptian Constitution in force” with the phrase: “Egypt is the gift of the Nile to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians’ gift to humanity.” Then he went on to say: “Arab Egypt, with the genius of its location and history, is the heart of the entire world. It is the meeting place of its civilizations and cultures. It is the crossroads of its maritime transportation and communications, and it is the head of Africa overlooking the Mediterranean, and the mouth of its greatest river, the Nile.
The Egyptian Constitution stipulates in Article No. (45) thereof: “The state is committed to protectingits seas, its beaches, its lakes, its waterways, and its natural reserves. It is prohibited to infringe on them, or Polluting it, or using it in a way that is inconsistent with its nature, and the right of every citizen to enjoy it is guaranteed. The state also guarantees the protection and development of urban green space, the preservation of plant, animal and fish wealth, the protection of those that are in danger of extinction or danger, and the kindness to animals, and all of that. As regulated by law.”
The Egyptian Constitution also stipulates in Article No. (46) that: “Every person has the right to a healthy and sound environment, and protecting it is a national duty, and the state is obligated to take the necessary measures; To preserve it, not harm it, and make rational use of natural resources to ensure sustainable development and guarantee the rights of future generations therein.”
And since the constitutional legislator has recognized the Egyptian environment as sanctity that befits it through its constitutional texts, as we have indicated; With the aim of protecting and preserving them, and protecting the nation’s capabilities and natural wealth, the legal legislator had to follow the approach of the constitutional legislator by determining the necessary rules for these constitutional texts in detail and provisions. Therefore, the legislator issued Environmental Law No. (4) of 1994 and its amendments.
The establishments must maintain a record of the environmental condition
Environmental Law No. (4) of 1994 and its executive regulations and their amendments represent the backbone of the legal structure for regulating everything related to Egyptian environmental affairs. When browsing the Environment Law in its first chapter, which is titled “Protecting the Terrestrial Environment from Pollution,” we find Article No. (22), which concerns the obligation of establishments to maintain a record that explains the establishment’s activities and the extent of the impact of these activities on the environment. The law called this record the “Status Register.” Environmental”.
At the beginning, we review the legislative history of this important article of the Environmental Law, where we can find it as an integral part of Law No. (4) issued in 1994, except that the text of this article was replaced in Law No. (9) of 2009 on With some amendments to many articles of the Environmental Law and the addition of some new articles, we explain below the most important differences between the original text and the replaced text.
The original text of the article assigned the responsibility of maintaining the environmental record to the owner of the facility, as it began with the phrase: “The owner of the facility must keep a record…” However, this wording was replaced by “The person responsible for managing the facility must,” which is a logical thing since he does not necessarily have to be the owner of the facility. He is responsible for its management; Therefore, the legal obligation was directed to the position of responsibility instead of the position of ownership. This is because maintaining the environmental record is considered an act of management.
The text of the original article clarifies that the Environmental Affairs Agency is the authority responsible for reviewing the environmental record, ensuring that the data contained therein is consistent with reality, and determining the extent of the facility’s compliance with environmental standards, as the text indicated: “In In the event of any violations, the agency shall notify the competent administrative authority to assign the facility owner to correct these violations promptly.” On the other hand, the new text, although it maintained making the Environmental Affairs Agency the competent authority regarding By reviewing the environmental record, he detailed the word “violations” from the original text, which is considered quite brief.
The new text stated: “If it becomes clear that the facility does not maintain the environmental register, or that its data recording is irregular, or that it does not match reality, or that the facility does not adhere to the standards…”, and perhaps this amendment made the article clearer and more specific compared to the original text, which is considered flexible. To a large extent, and it is possible for many interpretations that may result in some loopholes to circumvent this article and the penalties that may result from violating it.
The executive role of the substance and the importance of its role
The last part of Article (22) in its original text, we find that the legislator gave a period of sixty days; To correct the violations, starting from the date the facility owner is notified of these violations by the competent administrative authority, and that if this period expires without correction, “the agency, in agreement with the competent administrative authority, may take the necessary legal and judicial measures to stop the activity…”, except that it is in the text What is new contained in Law No. (9) of 2009 is that the legislator assigned the Environmental Affairs Agency alone to take legal measures after notifying the competent administrative authority. The replaced text also specified these legal procedures in two specific points: the first is “granting an additional grace period to the facility; To correct the violations, otherwise the agency has the right to do so at the expense of the facility owner.” The second is: “Stop the violating activity until the effects of the violation are removed and without prejudice to the wages of its workers.”
The article also concluded in its replaced text by stating, “In the event of a serious environmental hazard, its sources must be stopped immediately and by all necessary means and procedures.”
The importance of this article lies in facilitating periodic environmental inspections of establishments by obligating the person in charge of the establishment to record and collect all data, information, and documents related to the establishment in terms of data, information, and documents related to environmental affairs in one file that can be viewed by the inspector. To determine the facility’s commitment to environmental standards, and to identify the nature of the facility’s activity; This is due to the amazing diversity in the various industrial, agricultural and service sectors. This makes it easier for the inspector to understand and understand the nature of the activity.
How to prepare the register and the penalties related to it
On the other hand, the executive regulations of the law explained in Article No. (17) in more detail the responsibilities of the facility owner and the most important data required to be recorded in the environmental record. It also indicated the form that is used to prepare the environmental record, which is “the form shown in Appendix No. (3) for this regulation.”
As for Article (18) of the Executive Regulations of the Environmental Law, it detailed the tasks of the competent authority, the sequence of legal procedures followed towards violating establishments, and the mechanism for identifying the grave environmental risks that would entail completely stopping its sources. Immediately, the article also clarified that the facility must maintain an environmental register permanently, and also indicated the period for which the facility is committed to maintaining the environmental register after updating its data.
Appendix No. (3), which was referred to in Article (17) of the Executive Regulations of the Environmental Law, explains in the first table thereof a comprehensive model of how to prepare the environmental register, and the basic headings that it must include, as well as the sub-headings under each heading. The appendix summarized the environmental record in ten main headings: general information about the facility, general description of the facility, inputs, laws and legislation to which the facility is subject, production processes and facilities, gaseous emissions and their rates, liquid waste, solid waste, work environment, Finally, the self-monitoring plan.
With regard to the penalties for violating the provisions of Article (22) of the Environmental Law, we find that in Chapter Four, which deals with penalties, the legislator clarified in Article (84 bis) – which is the article that was added by Law No. (9) of 2009 – that “the penalty shall be imprisonment.” For a period not exceeding one year, and a fine of not less than five thousand pounds and not exceeding one hundred thousand pounds, or one of these two penalties, whoever violates the provisions of Articles 22…”
