S.L. 549.46 Art. 25Transboundary impacts of projects in Malta.

(1) Where the Minister is aware that a project in

Malta may have significant effects on the environment in another State, or where another State that may be affected so requests in line with the provisions of the Directive or of the Convention, the Minister shall notify that State, as soon as possible and not later than when the public in Malta is informed in accordance with these regulations, and shall include the following information:

(a) information on the project and its location, together with the available information on the possible transboundary impacts;

(b) information on the nature of the possible decisions; and

(c) any other information which the Minister deems reasonable, the Minister shall also give that State, hereinafter referred to as "the interested State", thirty calendar days within which to indicate whether it wishes to participate in the environmental decision-making procedures, including the development consent procedure, the environmental impact assessment and or scoping, as may be relevant.

(2) If another State considers that the environment under its jurisdiction is likely to be adversely affected by a project which is proposed to be carried out in Malta and which is within the scope of these regulations, but no notification has taken place in accordance with sub-regulation (1), the Minister shall, at the request of that State, exchange sufficient information for the purposes of holding discussions on whether there is likely to be a significant adverse transboundary impact.

(3) If, pursuant to sub-regulations (1) and (2), the interested State indicates to the Minister that it intends to participate in such procedures, the Minister shall, if he has not already done so, send to that State the required information as laid down in these regulations and, once it is submitted to the Authority, the EIA report.

(4) The interested State may enter into consultations with the Minister concerning, inter alia:

(a) the potential transboundary effects of the project;

(b) possible alternatives to the project, including the no-action alternative where relevant;

(c) measures to prevent, reduce, eliminate or offset any significant transboundary impacts;

(d) monitoring of the effects of such measures, and of the project;

(e) possible mutual assistance in preventing, reducing, eliminating or offsetting any significant adverse impact of the project; and or

(f) any other appropriate matters as relevant to the project.

To this effect, the interested State shall agree with the Minister on a reasonable time-frame for the consultation period, taking into account the nature, scale and characteristics of the proposed project and its location. The interested State shall also promptly provide the Minister with information relating to the environment under its jurisdiction which may potentially be adversely affected, where such information is necessary or relevant for the assessment.

(5) The interested State may arrange for the information to be made available, within a reasonable time, to the relevant authorities and the public in its territory such that they can forward their opinion within a reasonable time and participate effectively in the relevant environmental decision-making procedures before any consent for the project is granted. Within the time-frame established through the provisions of sub-regulation (4), the interested State shall forward its opinion to the Minister, who shall in turn forward such opinion to the Authority.

(6) The Minister shall provide to the interested State information about:

(a) the final decision on the proposed project;

(b) the reasons and considerations on which the decision was based;

(c) the terms and conditions attached to the decision, including the relevant measures to avoid, reduce, or offset the major adverse effects;

(d) the public participation process; and

(e) any other ancillary information which the interested State may reasonably request in line with the Directive or the Convention, or which the Minister deems appropriate.

The interested State may make such information available in an appropriate manner to the public concerned in its own territory.

(7) If additional information on the significant transboundary impact of a project proposed in Malta, which was not available at the time a decision was made and which could have materially affected the decision, becomes available to the Minister or to an interested State before work on the project commences, the Minister shall immediately inform the interested State and vice-versa, as relevant. In such instances, any one or both parties may request that consultations be held on whether the decision needs to be revised.

(8) Where the monitoring of a project or any other post-project analysis reveals any significant adverse transboundary impacts or any factors that may result in such impacts, the Minister shall immediately inform the interested State or vice-versa, as relevant. Both parties shall then enter into consultations on the measures that should be undertaken to prevent, reduce, eliminate or offset such impact, including any mutual assistance to this effect.

(9) The transmission of information to the interested State, and the receipt of information by such State, shall be subject to the limitations contained in any law in force in Malta.