Environmental regulations in doing business in Poland
attorney Igor Bąkowski
Bakowski Law Firm, Warsaw, Poland
Key environmental regulations
The most important environmental regulations in Poland are included in the following acts:
- the Act of 27 April 2001 – the Environmental Protection Law, which is a central piece of environmental legislation;
- the Act of 20 July 2017 – the Water Law;
- the Act of 14 December 2012 on waste;
- the Act of 9 June 2011 – Geological and Mining Law;
- the Act of 16 April 2004 on nature protection;
- the Act of 3 October 2008 on providing information on the environment and its protection, public participation in environmental protection and environmental impact assessments;
- the Act of 13 April 2007 on environmental damage prevention and remediation; and
- the Act of 12 June 2015 on the greenhouse gas emission trading scheme.
The Polish legal framework regarding environmental protection is largely based on EU regulations.
Environmental Permits
There are several environmental permits that may be required according to Polish law.
Below is the list of the most common ones.
Decision on Environmental Conditions
A decision on environmental conditions (decyzja o środowiskowych uwarunkowaniach) is required for the projects likely to have a significant effect on the environment. The types of projects are listed in a special regulation. The purpose of a decision on environmental conditions is to assess the environmental impact of the project.
A decision on environmental conditions must be obtained before issuing certain types of decisions including, among others, a zoning permit, building permit, waste treatment or waste collection permit or a mining permit of considerable size or potential impact on the environment.
The procedure for a decision on environmental conditions is regulated in the Act of 3 October 2008 on providing information on the environment and its protection, public participation in environmental protection and environmental impact assessments.
The procedure includes:
- screening whether the project requires an environmental impact assessment;
- an environmental impact assessment;
- verifying the environmental impact report;
- obtaining the opinions and agreements required by law; and
- ensuring the possibility of public participation in the proceedings (including the participation of NGOs).
Depending on the circumstances, a decision on environmental conditions can be issued by the mayor or the president of the city, head of the district, marshal of voivodship, the regional director of environmental protection or the general director of environmental protection, or the director of the Regional Directorate of State Forests.
If the legal requirements are met, the relevant authority will issue a decision on the environmental conditions. An appeal against a decision on environmental conditions may be lodged by a party to the proceeding, or an appeal may also be submitted by an ecological NGO. Authorities do not have a right of appeal.
Permit for Introducing Gases or Dust into the Air
This permit (pozwolenie na wprowadzanie gazów lub pyłów do środowiska) is required for installations that emit gases or dust into the air.
The procedure is regulated in the Act of 27 April 2001 – the Environmental Protection Law.
The procedure is initiated by an application submitted by the operator of the installation to the relevant authority (head of the district, marshal of voivodship, the regional director of environmental protection).
If the legal requirements are met, the relevant authority will issue a permit for introducing gases or dust into the air. An appeal against a permit may be lodged by a party to the proceeding. Authorities do not have a right of appeal.
Permit for Waste Generation
This permit (pozwolenie na wytwarzanie odpadów) is required for installations that generate more than 1 Mg per year, in the case of hazardous waste, or more than 5,000 Mg per year, in the case of non-hazardous waste.
The procedure is regulated in the Act of 27 April 2001 – the Environmental Protection Law.
The procedure is initiated by the application submitted by the operator of the installation to the relevant authority (head of the district, marshal of voivodship, the regional director of environmental protection).
If the legal requirements are met, the relevant authority will issue a permit for waste generation. An appeal against a permit may be lodged by a party to the proceeding. Authorities do not have a right of appeal.
Water Permit
This permit (pozwolenie wodnoprawne) is required for several activities involving water use and sewage discharge, such as for water intake or for the discharge of waste water from a factory.
The procedure is regulated by the Act of 20 July 2017 – the Water Law.
The procedure is initiated by the user submitting an application to the relevant authority (director of the water board of Polish Waters, director of a regional water management board of Polish Waters, the minister responsible for water management).
If the legal requirements are met, the relevant authority will issue a water permit. An appeal against a permit may be lodged by a party to the proceeding. Authorities do not have a right of appeal.
Integrated Permit
This permit (pozwolenie zintegrowane) is required for the operation of an installation, when – due to the nature and scale of its activities – it may cause significant pollution to specific natural elements or to the environment as a whole, excluding installations or parts thereof used exclusively for research, development or testing of new products or technological processes.
The list of types of installation that require an integrated permit is provided in the special regulation.
The procedure is regulated in the Act of 27 April 2001 – the Environmental Protection Law.
The procedure is initiated by the operator of the installation submitting the application to the relevant authority (head of the district, marshal of voivodship, or the regional director of environmental protection).
The application must include highly specialized information on environmental emissions from the installation and special attachments. One of them is the initial report that includes information on:
- the activities carried out on the site;
- the activities carried out on the site in the past;
- the names of the risk-causing substances used, produced or released by the installations on the site; and
- the state of the soil, ground and groundwater contamination at the site.
Installations requiring an integrated permit must comply with the environmental protection requirements of the best available techniques (BAT). NGOs may participate in the procedure for issuing the integrated permit.
If the legal requirements are met, the relevant authority will issue an integrated permit. An appeal against a permit may be lodged by a party to the proceeding. Authorities do not have a right of appeal.
Key regulations regarding CO2 emissions, Climate Change and Emissions Trading
Key regulations regarding Climate Change and Emissions Trading in Poland are:
- the Act of 12 June 2015 on the greenhouse gas emission trading scheme;
- the Act of 17 July 2009 on the system for managing emissions of greenhouse gases and other substances; and
- Regulation (EC) No 1005/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on substances that deplete the ozone layer.
Waste
The main acts regulating waste issues in Poland are:
- the Act of 14 December 2012 on waste; and
- the Act of 13 September 1996 on maintenance of cleanliness and order in municipalities – concerning municipal waste.
In addition to the above two basic acts, there are also specific laws dedicated to specific types of waste, such as waste batteries, waste electrical and electronic equipment, and end-of-life vehicles.
Acts of international law are also an important element of the Polish legal framework concerning waste, particularly the following:
- Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste; and
- the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, agreed at Basel on 22 March 1989.
Requirements to design, take back, recover, recycle or dispose of goods
A producer of goods may be required in some circumstances to design, take back, recover, recycle or dispose of goods once they become waste, with respect to waste streams such as packaging waste, batteries, and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Poland is currently undergoing the implementation of extended producer responsibility regulations.
Product fee
According to the Polish Waste Act, every entity is obliged to enter the waste register, if they do introduce to Poland (meaning production, import or intra-Community acquisition to Poland to be used or sold) following categories of product:
- Products in packaging;
- Packaging;
- Electric and electronic equipment;
- Lubricating oils/preparations;
Apart from registration, entities introducing products to the market are obliged to calculate and cover product fee (on an annual basis) or ensure recycling of certain amount of products similar to those that were introduced by the entrepreneur (of example, if you introduce plastic packaging, you need to ensure recycling of plastic packaging, it does not have to be the same packaging).
The obligation applies also to companies who only have VAT registration in Poland (without a permanent establishment in Poland).
Green Taxes
The following are the key environmental taxes in Poland:
- Energy tax – energy products and electricity that is used as motor fuel or heating fuel are subject to excise duty; however, electricity produced from renewable energy sources may be exempt from excise duty.
- Taxes related to the means of transportation – cars are subject to excise duty and the tax rate is differentiated according to the engine capacity and car’s technology;
- Environmental fees – paid for gas emissions, greenhouse gas emissions and waste storage; similar fees are established for water services.
Polish regulations are compliant with EU regulations regarding the European Union Emissions Trading System.
Environmental Due Diligence
Environmental due diligence is becoming increasingly common in transactions, usually in order to verify whether there is land contamination, if there are environmental limitations and restrictions, and whether the seller has all the necessary environment-related permits and has complied with environmental law.
Environmental due diligence includes factual assessment done by technical advisers and legal assessment done by lawyers.
For more information please contact
attorney Igor Bąkowski
tel. +48 22 633 67 66
or other lawyers from Bakowski Law Firm
bakowski.net.pl