S.L. 549.46 Art. 26Transboundary impacts of projects in other States.

(1) The Minister shall have the right to be notified by another State about any project in that State which may have a potentially significant effect on the environment in Malta, as soon as possible and no later than when the public in that same State is informed. The Minister shall respond to any such notification, acknowledging receipt and indicating whether Malta intends to participate in the relevant procedures in line with this regulation.

(2) Where, following such notification, the Minister is of the opinion that a project proposed in another State may have a potentially significant effect on the environment in Malta, or where the Minister deems appropriate in line with the provisions of the Directive or of the Convention, he shall as soon as possible and within the time-frame specified in the notification, inform the State in which the project is to be undertaken, of Malta’s request to participate in the environmental decision-making procedures in that State, including the development consent procedure, the environmental impact assessment and or scoping, as may be relevant, and he shall request the information listed in sub-regulation (1) of regulation 25.

(3) If the Minister considers that the environment under Malta’s jurisdiction is likely to be adversely affected by a project which is proposed to be carried out in another State, but no notification has taken place in accordance with sub-regulations (1) and (2), the Minister shall as soon as possible request that State to exchange sufficient information for the purposes of determining whether there is likely to be a significant adverse transboundary impact such that the matter should be followed up further in line with this regulation.

(4) The Minister shall forward to the Authority the information indicated in sub-regulations (2) and (3), as relevant. The Authority shall make this information available to the consultees and the public in Malta such that they can forward their opinion and participate effectively in the environmental decision-making procedures before any consent for the project is granted, and may apply any provisions of these regulations as it deems relevant and appropriate to this effect. The Minister shall also seek an agreement with the State in which the project is to be undertaken on a reasonable time-frame for consultation, taking into account the nature, scale and characteristics of the proposed project and its location. The Minister shall also promptly provide that State with reasonably obtainable information relating to the potentially affected environment under Malta’s jurisdiction, where such information is necessary or relevant for the assessment.

(5) The Minister, acting on the advice of the Authority and taking into consideration the comments of the public, shall enter into consultations with the State in which the project is to be undertaken concerning, inter alia, the considerations listed in sub-regulation (4) of regulation 25.

(6) The State in which the project is to be undertaken shall provide to the Minister information about the aspects listed in paragraphs (a) to (d) of sub-regulation (6) of regulation 25, and any other ancillary information which the Minister may reasonably request in line with the Directive or the Convention. When the Minister receives such information, he shall provide a copy thereof to the Authority which shall then publish it through at least one daily or weekly newspaper in Maltese and one in English, and on the Authority’s website.

(7) If additional information on the significant transboundary impact of a project proposed in another State, 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 that State before work on that project commences, the Minister shall immediately inform the other 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 State in which the project is to be undertaken or shall ensure that such State immediately informs him, 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 possible mutual assistance to this effect.

(9) The transmission of information by the State in which the project is to be undertaken, and the receipt of such information by the Minister, shall be subject to the limitations in force in the State in which the project is to be undertaken.