Key part of Chile’s proposed environmental review overhaul prompts mixed reactions

One of the key aspects of the planned reform to Chile’s environmental review system SEIA – eliminating a ministerial committee – is drawing mixed reactions regarding its potential impact though there is a consensus on the current politicized nature of the process.

The reform, which is expected to be submitted to congress next year, would eliminate the committee led by the environment minister that currently acts as an appeals body when a party seeks to contest a ruling known as an RCA issued by environmental review service SEA.

“[The committee] has many projects that have spent a lot of time there, and that creates a lot of uncertainty,” María José Zegers, partner and founding member at local law firm Zegers, told BNamericas during the biennial conference of the Latin American desalination and water reuse association Aladyr.

Currently there are 77 projects involving US$12.1bn that have been either approved or rejected by the SEA and whose RCAs have been challenged, according to agency data, with some originally submitted for review as far back as 2003.

Some of the committee’s resolutions have caused controversy, with some arguing that the body is too politically motivated. 

In 2014, the committee overturned the positive RCA for the US$3.5bn, 2.75GW Hidroaysén hydro power plant, even after its approval was upheld by the supreme court, following intense citizen opposition to the project over its potential environmental impact.

A similar situation was seen earlier this year with the US$3.5bn Dominga port-mining project, another proposal facing citizen opposition. Its positive RCA was overturned by the committee, with project owner Andes Iron claiming political intervention.

“On many occasions ministers’ decisions are political and not technical. This is part of what removing the ministers committee is aiming at, to make decisions in this regard eminently technical, and secondly to shorten review times,” Zegers said.

Peter Hatton, CEO of local water infrastructure firm Cramsa, agrees with the criticism regarding the political nature of the committee but is cautious about scrapping it entirely. 

“Personally, with the work I’ve done leading several projects [through environmental evaluation], it seems extremely complex to eliminate the ministerial committee, because it is the last administrative instance where mistakes made during the review process can be corrected,” he told BNamericas during the Aladyr congress, adding the committee’s administrative role is still important.

Cramsa desal plant

Last year Cramsa submitted an environmental impact study (EIS) for the US$5bn Aguas Marítimas desalination plant planned for northern region Antofagasta.

The review is currently suspended until the end of March, and Hatton said the delay was mainly caused by a series of archeological excavations that were requested by the country’s monuments council that took longer than expected but have been sorted out now. 

“We are working at full speed to deliver [responses to observations] by March 31, which is our deadline. We will likely be presenting [the responses] before that,” the CEO said.

The Aguas Marítimas project entails a reverse osmosis desalination plant with four modules, each with capacity of 175,000m3/d that would serve regional capital Antofagasta and nearby Sierra Gorda and Calama.

Other works include installing four water intakes with capacity of 420,000m3/d each, 18 pumping stations, an outflow capable of disposing of 985,000m3/d, and 480km of pipelines to transport treated water to distribution centers.