The government amended on Thursday the environment protection act with the provisions of the EU directives on environmental liability and remedial measures for the environment and with the mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, Environment Minister Janez Podobnik told the press.
Podobnik said the amendments requested from ministries and municipalities to guarantee the involvement of the public in adopting regulations that could have a significant environmental impact.
These regulations touch on environmental protection, nature conservation, management, use or protection of parts of the environment, handling of genetically modified organisms and regulations for which the body drafting the them ascertains that they could impact on the environment.
Under the changes, member of the public will have 30 days to submit their opinions, while the drafting body would have to "consider and include them into the regulation to the largest degree possible", the minister said.
On remediation, the amendments limit the definition of environmental damage to large-scale damage, caused to specific internationally and nationally protected species, their habitats and habitat types.
The body that could cause such damage should take all the necessary measures and inform the ministry, while in case the damage has already been caused, the perpetrator must take the necessary preventive steps and send to the ministry a proposal for remedial measures.
The amendments moreover introduce the Kyoto joint implementation and clean development mechanism into the law, which already included the emissions trading scheme.
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