The Guatemalan Ministry of Energy and Mines decided to revoke the license it had granted in early 2020 to the Rocja Pontilá hydroelectric project, in Coban, Alta Verapaz.
Until December 16, 2022, businesses in Guatemala will have to comply with the rules contained in the Regulations for Environmental Evaluation, Control and Monitoring.
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) reported that after the publication of Government Agreement 317-2019 on December 24, 2019 in the Central American Journal, which reforms Government Agreement 137-2016, the period was extended by three years so that all projects, works, industries or productive activities present their respective environmental instruments in order to function.
In Guatemala, the government has extended until January 3, 2020, the timeframe for regularizing projects, works, industries or activities that do not have an environmental impact study.
Through agreement 137-2016, the government gave a period of two years for the environmental regularization of the different industries to take place, this period expired on July 11 of this year.
Companies have time up until July 2018 to make the necessary modifications to comply with the new environmental rules to avoid fines or even closure of their business.
The government of Guatemala has announced the creation of a one-stop shop to manage environmental permits for social housing construction projects.
Through an agreement between the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) and the Central American Association for Housing, the single window will be implemented to make the process more expeditious.
The new head of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources believes it is illogical to reduce the cost of an environmental permit from $3,000 to $6 per, which would be applied with the entry into force of a new regulation in May.
Government Agreement 20-2016 published on January 12 in the official newspaper, La Gaceta, makes official the new rules for granting environmental licenses that will apply from May.
A proposal has been made to amend the regulations for environmental control so the SMEs can submit affidavits instead of environmental impact studies when applying for environmental permits.
The proposal by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources aims to simplify the processes to be followed when requesting authorization of environmental permits for the development of construction projects.
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has announced that it is working on a number of changes to the regulations on Evaluation, Monitoring and Environmental Controls in order to adapt them to the current regulations.
The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Andreas Lehnoff said that they are working on the modifications and expect them to be completed before the end of the transitional government led by Alejandro Maldonado.
Parking tower blocks, residential developments, hydraulic works, hotels and office buildings are some of the projects for which environmental impact studies were submitted in June.
The report "Construction Projects in Costa Rica - June 2015", prepared by the Business Intelligence unit at CentralAmericaData.COM, contains a detailed list of major construction projects for which environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies were presented to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) in June.
The private sector claims that excessive paperwork and the lack of technical personnel in the Ministry of Environment is delaying the assessment of environmental impact studies and the granting of building permits.
According to the Guatemalan Chamber of Construction, the slowness with which the studies are evaluated and permits granted to construction companies is preventing projects being carried out in the medium-term and moving towards recovery of the sector.
An Environmental Impact Study has been presented for improvements to the RN-01 highway in the town of San Mateo, Department of Quetzaltenango.
The company Mantenimiento Vial y Construcción S.A. has presented an environmental impact study for the improvement works on the RN-01 highway, Rotonda La Licorera Estación 204+300 - Estación San Juan Ostuncalco, Estación 214 + 300, in the town of San Mateo, Department of Quetzaltenango.
An environmental impact study has been presented for a road improvement project of 40.7 kilometers of the highway leading to Puerto Quetzal, with an estimated cost of $74 million.
The General Department of Roads, Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing has presented an EIS to improve 40.7 miles of the CA-9 South road between Escuintla and Puerto Quetzal.
Guatemalan Entrepreneurs are asking for the consultations with communities about the environmental impact of mining and infrastructure projects to be regulated.
The Guatemalan Chamber of Industry (CIG) and the Union of Extractive Companies (GEE) has proposed the creation of a regulation governing community consultations, believing that these should be one more indicator in the approval process, and should not be binding in nature.
The Ministry of Environment of Guatemala has presented a new system to reduce the average time of processing from three months to one day.
The FastTrack Counter at the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), functions as an expedited service, efficiently and effectively, to develop initial environmental assessments where environmental impact is minimal, with a maximum response time of 24 hours.
The National Council of Protected Areas has rejected the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) submitted by Grupo Tomza, for the second time.
On February 2010 the National Protected Areas Council (CONAP) rejected the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the grounds that "in Punta de Manabique there cant be a liquefied gas plant since it is a recovery and conservation area for endangered species... "