Environmental Impact Assessment: When Is It Needed and How to Prepare?

When people think of environmental impact assessment, they often think of it as a complex and lengthy procedure. While that's true, if properly prepared in advance, the period can be significantly shortened, and there are strategies to design projects at scales that avoid environmental impact assessment altogether.

The Environmental Impact Assessment Act establishes three assessment systems. First is Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment. This reviews environmental impacts at the development plan or policy stage, mainly conducted by government or local governments. Second is Environmental Impact Assessment. Project operators must conduct this for development projects above certain scales, most directly related to factory establishment. Third is Small-scale Environmental Impact Assessment, applied to small-scale development in areas requiring conservation though not subject to Environmental Impact Assessment.

Looking specifically at when environmental impact assessment is needed for factory establishment, for industrial complex development, projects with business area of 75,000㎡ (about 22,700 pyeong) or more are subject to environmental impact assessment. Factory construction on individual sites varies based on land form alteration area, building gross floor area, and industry type (whether specific air pollutants are emitted), but practically, factory construction involving 5,000㎡ or more of land form alteration is likely subject to small-scale environmental impact assessment.

The Environmental Impact Assessment Act amendment enacted February 20, 2024 and effective from February 21, 2025 brought important changes. Most notable is the allowance of online public hearings. Previously, public hearings during environmental impact assessment had to be held in-person, but now they can be conducted online. This reduces physical constraints of holding public hearings and shortens procedure timelines.

Environmental impact assessment procedures progress through draft assessment report preparation → public opinion collection (public hearings/exhibitions) → assessment report preparation → review by consultation agency (Ministry of Environment or regional environmental office) → notification of consultation content → post-environmental impact surveys. This usually takes 6-18 months, with longer periods when there are many survey items like air quality, water quality, noise, and ecosystem.

The key strategy to shorten timelines in practice is thorough 'preliminary environmental review'. By identifying environmental sensitivity of the site before starting environmental impact assessment and proactively addressing potential problems (rare flora/fauna habitats, water source proximity, soil contamination), supplementation requirements during the assessment process can be reduced. Empirically, 3-6 months can be shortened when advance preparation is sufficient.

Another strategy is designing project scale below environmental impact assessment thresholds. For example, setting industrial complex development area below 75,000㎡ allows replacement with small-scale environmental impact assessment instead of environmental impact assessment, significantly reducing time and costs. Of course, such strategies shouldn't undermine the project's essence, but it's a worth-considering approach.

If environmental impact assessment is unavoidable, starting quickly is the answer. Consulting with environmental impact assessment specialized agencies from early project planning stages and proactively beginning necessary field surveys can minimize impacts on overall project schedules.