The Government Council has approved the new Environmental Management Law, as a consequence of the administrative simplification decree approved in February. This new regulation replaces the previous one dating back to 2007 and has undergone various modifications over time.
The Environmental Management Law modifies the current functioning of the environmental qualifications granted by municipalities for activities such as workshops, warehouses, nightclubs, clinics, or gyms. These qualifications can be granted through a license or through a Responsible Declaration, where the business owner must ensure compliance with regulations.
For large projects with greater environmental impact, which did not benefit from the simplification decree in February, the Junta de Andalucía has approved a reduction in the timelines for unified environmental authorizations, decreasing from eight to six months. The aim is to modernize, simplify, and ensure an efficient and safe environmental administration.
The new law strengthens businesses' environmental responsibility, where the owner must demonstrate that they have conducted an environmental risk analysis and have established financial guarantees. Additionally, a new regulation of the sanction regime is established, incorporating the figure of substitutive environmental performance instead of monetary fines for violations.
The regulation incorporates the Simplified Unified Environmental Authorization for 49 activities, whose approval will be the responsibility of the Junta de Andalucía through a reduced process with a maximum timeframe of five months. Furthermore, 32 more activities are added that can be authorized through a Responsible Declaration.
The new Environmental Management Law represents an advance in the simplification and streamlining of administrative procedures for the opening of businesses and projects in Andalucía. This measure is part of a pact of social and economic measures signed between the Andalusian Government, unions, and the Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Andalucía in March 2023.
