Decision on Environmental Impact Assessment for Processing Industry and Commerce in the Lao PDR (No. 2254)

Article 1

Steps for Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment
1. The preliminary environmental impact assessment shall be a summary research report, focusing on the potential impacts of the project on the environment and society, as well as the impacts that may arise in the absence of appropriate preventive measures. The research data on which the preliminary environmental impact assessment is based shall be obtainable from the government, publicly available information on similar projects, the project location, data obtained from comprehensive field surveys, and other existing data.
2. The project owner may conduct the preliminary environmental impact assessment independently, or may entrust a private consulting firm, legal entity, or relevant organization to undertake the relevant work. In such cases, the Department of Industry and Commerce or the Provincial Office of Industry and Commerce shall approve the engagement of the aforementioned consultant. At the same time, the preliminary environmental impact assessment report shall publicly disclose to the public the direct or indirect economic benefits obtained by the engaged private consulting firm or organization during the process of undertaking the preliminary environmental impact assessment work.
3. Based on the results of the preliminary environmental impact assessment, the owner shall prepare an environmental impact assessment report covering the following contents:
(1) A summary of the environmental impact management plan, or the work content to be completed in the preliminary environmental impact assessment;
(2) The content of the report and the determination of the work to be completed in the preliminary environmental impact assessment shall be determined through research and demonstration procedures, and shall comply with the various norms and standards formulated by the relevant departments under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
4. The preliminary environmental impact assessment report shall be written in the Lao language; for projects involving foreign participation, the report shall be prepared in both Lao and English.
5. The owner shall submit the results of the preliminary environmental impact assessment report to the Department or Office of Industry and Commerce for review and decision in accordance with the provisions of Article 11 of this Decision.