EIA reports 'must be done by local officials'

The provincial authorities would take charge of approving EIA reports for condominium projects and would also produce a "code of practice" handbook to assist the authority with decentralisation.

ONEP deputy chief Santi Boonprakub said about 200 property projects submitted EIA reports for construction permission each year. A major problem involved obligatory space outside buildings. Many projects tried to use legal loopholes to avoid leaving such spaces and failed to follow EIA measures after the units were transferred legally to the condominiums, he said.

Santi was speaking to a seminar yesterday on property development projects' impact on the environment, hosted by the Senate committee for natural resources and environment.

Admitting that ONEP had some delays as it was overwhelmed by work - especially with the more-urgent EIA reports for the industrial sector - he said ONEP planned to produce a "code of practice" handbook on EIA reports for condominiums.

Local authorities, such as district or provincial offices, could be authorised to inspect and issue permits, following ONEP guidelines. They would also have a review every two years to solve delayed permit issuing. The handbook, after being approved by the Environment Committee and public forum, would take five months to produce before being implemented.

EIA reports were required from residential property projects when the buildings were sited on riverbanks, the sea coast, near national parks or historic sites, or environmentally-sensitive areas; if they were over 23 metres tall; or had at least 10,000 square metres in overall floor space.

Jumpol Sampaopol, director of the BMA's Public Works Department, said 27,000 residential building projects applied for permits each year, about 3,000 of which were tall buildings. The environment impact occurred after construction including traffic jams, parking disputes and wastewater management - forcing the city to adjust to supporting two million cubic metres of wastewater each day.

Supalai president Prateep Tangmatitham said problems with EIA report submissions came mainly from the EIA expert review committee which faced duplication with other state agencies, such as building safety, already covered under the BMA building control regulations. It applied various standards and considered EIA reports very slowly.

Plus Property managing director Monthian Soisuwan said he agreed the property development projects needed EIA reports and urged ONEP to pick up its work pace, clarifying the next steps after the units were transferred legally to the condominiums. The responsible agency for the environmental impact-follow through system also needed clarification.