How to Get an ECC from DENR

Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and Certificate of Non-Coverage (CNC) Application Requirements

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

Environmental Impact Statements are prepared and submitted by Category A and B project proponent and/or EIA Consultant. It is a comprehensive study of the significant impacts of a project on the environment. It includes an Environmental Management Plan or Program that the proponent will fund and implement to protect the environment. The EIS must contain the following as a minimum:

1. EIS Executive Summary
2. Project Description
3. Matrix of the scoping agreement identifying critical issues and concerns
4. Baseline environmental conditions focusing on the sectors and resources most significantly affected by the proposed action
5. Impact assessment focused on significant environmental impacts 
6. Environmental Risk Assessment (if determined by EMB as necessary during scoping)
7. Environmental Management Program or Plan (EMP)
8. Supporting documents
9. Proposals for Environmental Monitoring and Guarantee Funds 
10. Accountability statement of EIA consultants and the project proponent
11. Other clearances and documents 

WHAT IS SCOPING?

Scoping is described as “a proponent-driven multi-sectoral formal process of identifying the most significant issues and impacts of a proposed project.” It includes information necessary to evaluate and mitigate the identified impacts. The process results in a signed Formal Scoping Checklist by the review team, with final approval by the EMB Chief.

Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) Report

The IEE Report is a simpler EIS. It has the salient points of the EIS but with reduced details and depth of assessment and discussion.

Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)

The Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) is a documentation of comprehensive studies on environmental baseline conditions of a contiguous area. It includes the following sections:

1. Executive Summary
2. Project Description
3. Summary matrix of scoping agreements
4. Eco-profiling of air, land, water, and relevant people aspects
5. Environmental carrying capacity analysis
6. Environmental Risk Assessment (if found necessary during scoping)
7. Environmental Management Plan (EMP) to include allocation scheme for discharge of pollutants 
8. Criteria for acceptance of locators, environmental management guidebook for locators, and environmental liability scheme
9. Duties of the Environmental Management Unit
10. Proposals for Environmental Monitoring & Guarantee Funds
11. Terms of reference for the Multi-partite Monitoring Team
12. Other supporting documents and clearances 

Programmatic Environmental Performance Report and Management Plan (PEPRMP)

The Programmatic Environmental Performance Report and Management Plan (PEPRMP) is the documentation of actual cumulative environmental impacts of co-located projects with proposals for expansion. The PEPRMP should also describe the effectiveness of current environmental mitigation measures and plans for performance improvement. PEPRMP contains:

1. Project Description of the co-located projects;
2. Documentation of the actual environmental performance based on current/past environmental management measures implemented
3. Environmental Management Program or Plan (EMP) 

WHAT ARE CO-LOCATED PROJECTS?

Co-located projects are defined as “projects, or series of similar projects or a project subdivided to several phases and/or stages by the same proponent, located in contiguous areas.”

Environmental Performance Report and Management Plan (EPRMP)

While the PEPRMP is for co-located projects, the Environmental Performance Report and Management Plan (EPRMP) is for single projects that are already operating without ECC. This is a documentation of the actual cumulative environmental impacts and effectiveness of current measures. EPRMP maybe a checklist that contains the following:

1. Project Description
2. Baseline conditions for critical environmental parameters
3. Documentation of the environmental performance based on the current/past environmental management measures implemented
4. Detailed comparative description of the proposed project expansion and/or process modification 
5. Environmental Management Program or Plan (EMP) 

Project Description

This is the document describing the nature, configuration, use of raw materials and natural resources, production system, waste or pollution generation and control, and the activities of a proposed project. It has the following sections:

1. Description of the project
2. Location and area covered
3. Capitalization and manpower requirement
4. For process industries:
   1. List of raw materials to be used
   2. Description of the process or manufacturing technology
   3. Type and volume of products and discharges
5. For Category C projects, detailed description on:
   1. How environmental efficiency and overall performance improvement will be attained, or
   2. How an existing environmental problem will be effectively solved or mitigated
6. Detailed location map of the impacted site showing relevant features
7. Timelines for construction and commissioning

NOTE THAT:

The issuance of an ECC or CNC for a project under the PEISS does not exempt project proponents from securing other government permits or clearances as required by other laws.

Public hearing and consultation

The conduct of public hearings and consultation is mandatory for Category A projects unless otherwise determined by the EMB.  For other project types, this is needed only when specifically required.  The project proponents must initiate this to ensure that environmentally relevant concerns of stakeholders are taken into consideration in the EIA study and the formulation of the management plan. All public consultations and public hearings conducted during the EIA process are to be documented. 

Documentation of ECC application process proceedings

The proceedings of the application process will be documented by the EMB office, the documentation of such proceedings includes the (1) Review Process Report, (2) Environmental Impact Assessment Review Committee (EIARC) Report, and finally the (3) Decision Document. 

Review Process Report. This report is maintained as part of the records on the ECC application as it serves as the Director or Secretary’s reference for decision-making. A Review Process Report contains the following:

1. Summary of the environmental impacts of the undertaking, along with the
2. proposed mitigation and enhancement measures
3. Key issues/concerns and the proponent’s response to these
4. Documentation of compliance with procedural requirements
5. Acceptability of proposed EMP including the corresponding cost of mitigation, EGF, and EMF if required
6. Key bases for the decision on the ECC application

Environmental Impact Assessment Review Committee (EIARC) Report. The EIARC Report is written by the designated member of the EIARC and signed by all the members within five days after the final review meeting. This report contains:

1. Detailed assessment of the proposed mitigation and enhancement measures for the identified environmental impacts and risks
2. Description of residual or unavoidable environmental impacts despite proposed mitigation measures
3. Documentation of compliance with technical/substantive review criteria
4. Key issues/concerns and the proponent’s response to these, including social acceptability measures
5. Assessment of the proposed EMP (including risk reduction/management plan) and amounts proposed for the Environmental Guarantee Fund and the Environmental Monitoring Fund, and
6. Recommended decision regarding the ECC application as well as proposed ECC conditions.

Decision document. There are three forms of decision documents namely, Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), Certificate of Non-Coverage (CNC), or Denial Letter. 

An ECC certifies that the proponent has complied with all the requirements of the EIS System and has committed to implement its approved Environmental Management Plan. The ECC certifies that the proposed project will not cause any significant negative environmental impact based on the representations of the proponent. This contains specific measures and conditions that the project proponent has to undertake before and during the operation of a project, and in some cases, during the project’s abandonment phase to mitigate identified environmental impacts.

The Certificate of Non-Coverage (CNC) certifies that, based on the submitted Project Description Report, the project is not covered by the EIS System and is not required to secure an ECC. The CNC instead advises the Proponent to other requirements by government agencies. 

Lastly, the Denial Letter shall contain an explanation for the disapproval of the application and guidance on how the application can be improved to a level of acceptability in

the next EIA process. 

IMPORTANT: 

If no decision is made within the specified timeframe, the ECC/CNC application is deemed automatically approved and the approving authority shall issue the ECC or CNC within five (5) working days after the prescribed processing timeframe has lapsed.