Significant Changes in the Environmental Agency and Legislation in the State of São Paulo, Brazil
São Paulo, Brazil - The São Paulo state leads the agricultural, financial and industrial activities in Brazil, generating a GDP of approximately 670 billion dollars (35% of the Brazilian GDP).
Since the significant economic growth in Brazil and in Sao Paulo in the mid-90's, some of the resources dedicated to environmental enforcement and the environmental regulations have had to be reviewed and improved. In 2009, a series of new regulations were released. These included a total restructuring of the state environmental regulator agency (CETESB), approved by the state law 13542, from May 8th 2009.
Going forward, most of the environmental licensing and permitting will be under CETESB's responsibilities. The new attributions, previously divided by several different state agencies and entities, will also include the management of some natural resources and the overseeing of environmental impact studies that might take place in the state.
According to Ana Cristina Pasini da Costa, currently the CETESB Director for Engineering, Technology and Environmental Quality and one of the key note speakers in the Inogen Worldview® Conferences in Guarujá, Brazil in 2008;
"This restructuring will allow CETESB to speed up the environmental licensing processes in the state, as the majority of the decisions will now be centralised in a single entity"
She also commented that other areas of old environmental rules and regulations will be reviewed as well.
"These changes will result in a stronger capacity by the state of São Paulo to face the environmental challenges in the coming years."
Also in 2009, the São Paulo State released the new state law on contaminated areas. This is the first state legislation that is strictly linked to this issue after the release of a series of technical documents and guides. The state law 13.577 from July 8th 2009 includes a series of definitions, procedures, management practices and legal instruments that will work as an incentive for the reuse of contaminated areas in the state of São Paulo
This law will bring significant changes to the way these areas are being managed in the state of São Paulo, including, for some projects, very challenging new perspectives on issues like stakeholder communication, professional insurance and project financing.
For further information please contact Hilton Lucio, Commercial Director of Angel Ambiental, hilton.lucio@angelambiental.com.br