Through Resolution 821 of September 24, 2020, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADS) published the terms of reference (TdR 029) for the preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for obtaining the environmental licenses for the development of Pilot Projects for Integral Research (PPII) over Non-Conventional Deposits (YNC per its acronym in Spanish) of hydrocarbons with the Multi-stage Hydraulic Fracturing with Horizontal Drilling technique (FH-PH per its acronym in Spanish).
The Resolution establishes, among others, the following provisions:
The Resolution establishes, among others, the following provisions:
- The TdR 029, will be applied by the National Environmental Licenses Authority (ANLA per its acronym in Spanish) to the individuals interested in performing PPII over YNC using FH-PG technique.
- The party interested in obtaining the environmental license shall include in the EIA all the material aspects that could affect either the renewable resources or the environment and if not, it shall justify technically and legally the reasons for the exclusion of this information.
- The ANLA is entitled to request additional information that may be useful and essential to evaluate the project´s viability, even if that information is not established in the TdR 029.
Finally, the TdR 029 states that the EIA should contain, among others, the following:
- Objectives of the PPII, according to Decree 328 of 2020.
- Geographical location and characterization of the area of influence to determine the local baseline.
- Description of the needs for the use and exploitation of natural resources.
- Summary of the prior consultation process, if applicable.
- The baseline of the hydrological component, including the identification of potential water contamination sources.
- Aquifer and related ecosystems protection measures in FH-PH activities.
- Method for the environmental evaluation of the impacts and quantification of the significant environmental impacts.
- Environmental Management Plan.
- The estimated budget of both the project and the Environmental Management Plan.
- Schedule for the performance of the project.
- Activities to perform in the decommissioning and abandonment stage.
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