This decree-law alters the Decree Law n.º 151-B/2013 and defines new rules for the assessment of environmental impact of public and private projects with the potential to have significant effects on the environment. For this, it introduces into Portuguese law the European directive 2014/52/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment.
The legislation defines that the assessment and decisions about projects will take into account:
– the effects on the soil
– the assessment of the project’s effects on climate
– the projects’ vulnerability to climate change
– the projects’ impact on population health and well-being.
It, therefore, changes project risk assessments; creates requirements for experts who assess the environmental impact; changes deadlines for public consultation and communication and changes the rules on project evaluation for the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA — Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente).
The adoption of these new environmental factors establishes a change in the approach to risk analysis, which is no longer limited to the risks of the project on the environment, but also considers the risks of the environment on the project. Although this policy is not directly related to cultural heritage, concerns about the effects of new public and private projects on cultural heritage are mentioned and taken into account throughout different sections of the document.
