Environmental Assessment Code

Law of Georgia

Environmental Assessment Code

Article 1. Scope of Regulation of the Code🔗

1. This Code regulates issues related to such strategic document and state or private activity, the implementation of which may have a significant impact on the environment, human life and/or health.

2. The scope of regulation of this Code includes the procedures for environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment, transboundary environmental impact assessment, public participation in the relevant decision-making process and conducting expert examination.

Article 2. Objectives and Tasks of the Code🔗

1. The objectives of this Code are:

a) to promote the protection of the environment, human life and/or health, cultural heritage and material values in the process of implementation of such strategic document or activity that may have a significant impact on the environment, human life and/or health;

b) to ensure, for the purpose of promoting the democratic development of the country, the realization of the fundamental human right guaranteed by the Constitution of Georgia to receive complete and objective information about the state of the environment in a timely manner, as well as public participation in the decision-making process on environmental issues;

c) proportionate consideration of the environmental, social and economic interests of the state and society in the process of making a decision related to the implementation of such strategic document or activity that may have a significant impact on the environment;

d) introduction of the best international practice in the implementation of the environmental assessment procedure.

2. The tasks of this Code are:

a) to define the rights and obligations of the implementer of the activity, the planning body, the public and the authorized administrative bodies in the process of decision-making on issues provided for by this Code;

b) to ensure public access to information on all possible consequences of the implementation of a strategic document or activity, so that negative impact on the environment, human health and safety, cultural heritage and material values is avoided, reduced or mitigated to the maximum extent;

c) to define the procedures to be implemented in the event of transboundary impact.

Article 3. Definition of Terms🔗

The terms used in this Code have the following meaning for the purposes of this Code:

a) Non-technical summary – a brief description of the environmental impact assessment report/strategic environmental assessment report, which includes information on the planning body/implementer of the activity, the place of implementation of the strategic document/activity, the possible impact on the environment/human health and other issues provided for by the report, is prepared in non-technical language and is accompanied by graphic and illustrative materials;

b) Environmental decision – an act issued in accordance with Article 13 of this Code, which is a mandatory precondition for the implementation of an activity subject to environmental impact assessment. If for the implementation of the activity a licence/permit provided for by the legislation of Georgia that depends on an environmental decision and/or the completion of any stage of such licence/permit is required, the said licence/permit may enter into force and/or the relevant stage of such licence/permit may be completed only after the issuance of the environmental decision, except for the case provided for by paragraph 2 of Article 5 of this Code;

c) Environmental impact – any impact on the environment caused by the implementation of a strategic document or an activity, which may include impact on the following factors: human health and safety, biodiversity and its components, water, air, soil, land, climate, landscape and protected areas. Environmental impact also includes impact on cultural heritage or socio-economic factors caused by their alteration;

d) Environmental impact assessment (hereinafter – EIA) – a procedure, based on relevant studies, for identifying and examining the possible impact on the environment for a planned activity that may have a significant impact on the environment and that belongs to the activities provided for by Annex I to this Code and, in accordance with the screening decision, to the activities provided for by Annex II to the same Code. EIA includes scoping, preparation of the EIA report, public participation, holding consultations with authorised administrative bodies, preparation of an expert opinion based on the assessment of the results obtained and its consideration when issuing the environmental decision provided for by this Code and/or when issuing the relevant enabling administrative-legal act determined by the legislation of Georgia;

e) EIA report – a document prepared by the implementer of the activity and/or a consultant for the implementer of the activity in the EIA process, which includes the information provided for by this Code;

e¹) Change of operating conditions – a change which provides for the replacement of the production technology of an activity defined by an environmental decision with a different technology, a change of operating conditions and/or an increase in capacity. A change of operating conditions shall also be deemed to be the expansion of the place of implementation of an activity defined by an environmental decision, if the relevant territory is necessary for the placement of infrastructure technically and/or functionally related to the implementation of the activity;

f) interested public – the public which may be interested in a decision related to a strategic document or the implementation of an activity, or which is or may be affected by this decision. The interested public shall also include a non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entity registered in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia, whose activity objectives are related to the promotion of environmental protection in the country;

g) planning body – an administrative body or another authorised organisation which, in accordance with the relevant normative act, is responsible for the preparation of a strategic document;

h) ecological audit – a comprehensive analysis of the technical, ecological and social indicators of an ongoing activity in the process of its implementation, which covers the entire production-technological cycle, is carried out for the purpose of determining the means of minimising the negative impact on the environment and ensuring the compliance of the said activity with environmental norms, and as a result of which an ecological audit report is drawn up;

i) expert examination – a set of scientific-research measures carried out by an expert commission established in accordance with the procedure established by this Code, for the purpose of preparing an expert opinion;

j) consultant – a person who has the qualification, scientific, technical and methodological capabilities necessary for the preparation of an EIA report/strategic environmental assessment report;

k) decision on the continuation of an ongoing activity – an order of the Head of the Agency which grants the person carrying out an ongoing activity the right to continue the ongoing activity;

l) Minister – the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia;

l¹) Agency − a legal entity of public law within the system of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia − the National Environmental Agency;

m) public – one or more natural or legal persons, as well as other organisational formations provided for by the legislation of Georgia which are not legal entities;

n) Ministry – the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia;

n¹) (removed – 26.06.2025, No. 786);

o) day – a working day provided for by the legislation of Georgia;

p) activity – construction, production and installation works, other activities provided for by this Code, including the extraction/processing of mineral resources, which have a certain impact on the environment;

q) person carrying out the activity – a natural person, legal person, administrative body or other organizational formation that is not a legal person, provided for by the legislation of Georgia, which wishes to carry out the activity provided for by Annex I and/or Annex II of this Code or to continue the ongoing activity;

r) scoping – a procedure that determines the list of information to be obtained and examined for the EIA/strategic environmental assessment and the means of reflecting this information in the EIA report/strategic environmental assessment report;

s) scoping report – a preliminary document prepared by the person carrying out the activity and/or the consultant, on the basis of which the Agency issues the scoping conclusion;

t) scoping statement – a preliminary document prepared by the planning body and/or the consultant, on the basis of which the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia issue scoping conclusions;

u) screening – a procedure that determines the need to conduct a strategic environmental assessment for a strategic document, to conduct an EIA for the activity provided for by Annex II of this Code, and to submit an EIA report on the change of the operating conditions of an activity determined by an environmental decision;

v) strategic environmental assessment (hereinafter – SEA) – the procedure of examining and generally forecasting the possible impact on the environment and human health of the implementation of a strategic document provided for by this Code. The SEA includes scoping, preparation of the SEA report, public participation, holding consultations with the competent administrative bodies and taking into account the recommendations received from them and the results of the assessment when adopting/approving the strategic document;

w) SEA report – a document prepared by the planning body and/or by a consultant for the planning body in the SEA process, which includes the information provided for by this Code;

x) strategic document – a subordinate normative act of an administrative body issued on the basis of the legislation of Georgia, which establishes the framework for future development for individual sectors in accordance with Chapter III of this Code and determines characteristics and/or volumes for the types of activities provided for by Annexes I and II of this Code;

y) implementation of a strategic document – implementation of the measures provided for by the strategic document;

z) transboundary impact – any impact on the environment of Georgia or another state caused by the implementation, in whole or in part, of a strategic document or a planned activity in Georgia or another state;

aa) Force majeure situation – a natural phenomenon in a specific territory (earthquake, landslide, flood or another similar event), as well as a crisis situation caused by a catastrophe, large-scale industrial accident and/or fire and the result of which is disruption of the normal living conditions of the population.

Law of Georgia of 7 December 2017 No. 1700 – website, 14.12.2017.

Law of Georgia of 5 July 2018 No. 3106 – website, 11.07.2018.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 26 April 2022 No. 1521 – website, 13.05.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 4. Bodies authorized in the field of environmental assessment🔗

1. In the field of environmental assessment, the competence of the Government of Georgia includes:

a) taking a decision on the commencement of the procedure for assessment of transboundary impact on the environment;

b) on the basis of a submission by the Ministry, taking a decision on the forms of exchange of information with a State subject to transboundary impact, further consultations and the time limits for carrying out the procedure for assessment of transboundary impact on the environment;

c) on the basis of a submission by the Ministry, taking a decision on exemption from EIA;

d) taking a decision on the matter provided for by paragraph 8 of Article 5 of this Code.

2. In the field of environmental assessment, the competence of the Ministry includes:

a) implementation of State policy in the field of environmental assessment;

b) submission to the Government of Georgia of a proposal on exemption from EIA;

c) submission to the Government of Georgia of proposals on the commencement of the procedure for assessment of transboundary impact on the environment, the forms of exchange of information with a State subject to transboundary impact, further consultations and the time limits for carrying out the procedure for assessment of transboundary impact on the environment;

d) for the purposes of accessibility of information, effectiveness of public administration and public involvement, the creation of a unified information database of data relating to matters within the competence of the Ministry and ensuring the security, publicity and accessibility of the information contained therein.

3. In the field of environmental assessment, the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia includes:

a) within the scope of its competence, taking a decision on the subjection of a strategic document to SEA;

b) within the scope of its competence, in the SEA process, review of the scoping application and the attached documents and issuance of the scoping conclusion;

c) within the scope of its competence, development of recommendations in relation to the SEA report and the strategic document;

d) within the scope of its competence, ensuring the publicity of information, public participation in the decision-making process and the accessibility of decisions.

4. In the field of environmental assessment, the competence of the Agency includes:

a) on the basis of the screening procedure, determination of the need to conduct an EIA for an activity provided for by Annex II to this Code, to submit an EIA report on a change in the operating conditions of an activity determined by an environmental decision, and, within the scope of its competence, to conduct an SEA;

b) issuance of the scoping conclusion in the EIA process and, within the scope of its competence, in the SEA process;

c) establishment of an expert commission for the purpose of reviewing the EIA report, the SEA report, the EIA report on a change in the operating conditions and the draft strategic document;

d) consideration of the EIA report and, within the scope of its competence, of the SEA report, issuance of an environmental decision and issuance of recommendations in relation to the SEA report and the strategic document, as well as adoption of a decision on refusal to carry out the activity;

d¹) consideration of the EIA report on the change of the operating condition of the activity determined by the environmental decision and adoption of the relevant decision;

e) preparation and submission to the Ministry of a proposal on exemption from the EIA;

f) preparation and submission to the Ministry of proposals on the commencement of the procedure for transboundary environmental impact assessment, on the forms of exchange of information with the State subject to transboundary impact, on further consultations and on the time limits for carrying out the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure, as well as organisation of the relevant procedures;

g) adoption of a decision on continuation of the ongoing activity in accordance with Article 47 of this Code;

h) (removed - 22.022023, No. 2601);

i) ensuring public/and interested public participation in the process of adopting the decisions provided for by this Code, as well as the availability of the relevant information and the holding of public hearings for this purpose.

5. (removed - 26.06.2025. No. 786).

Law of Georgia of 5 July 2018 No. 3106 – website, 11.07.2018.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 5. General Provisions🔗

1. Activities provided for by Annex I to this Code and those activities provided for by Annex II to this Code which, on the basis of a screening decision adopted in accordance with the screening procedure defined by Article 7 of this Code, become subject to EIA shall be subject to EIA.

[ 1¹. If an activity subject to environmental impact assessment is also subject to an integrated environmental permit provided for by the Law of Georgia on Industrial Emissions, an integrated environmental permit shall be issued for that activity. In this case, the procedures established by the Law of Georgia on Industrial Emissions shall apply, and the environmental decision/the conditions determined as a result of the environmental impact assessment shall be reflected in the integrated environmental permit. (shall enter into force from 1 September 2026)]

2. Activities provided for by paragraph 1 of this Article may be carried out only after an environmental decision has been adopted. If the carrying out of the activity requires a licence/permit provided for by the legislation of Georgia that depends on an environmental decision and/or the completion of any stage of such licence/permit, the said licence/permit may enter into force and/or the relevant stage of such licence/permit may be completed only after an environmental decision has been adopted, except for the mineral extraction licence defined by paragraph 1 of Article 7 of the Law of Georgia on Licences and Permits. In such a case, if the activity provided for by the use licence is subject to EIA or screening in accordance with this Code, this licence may be issued without an environmental decision, provided that the extraction of minerals will be possible only after an environmental decision has been adopted and, in the event of inconsistency between the licence conditions and the conditions determined by the environmental decision, priority shall be given to the conditions determined by the environmental decision. Licence/permit conditions contrary to the environmental decision may not be established by a licence/permit provided for by the legislation of Georgia.

3. In the case provided for by the note to paragraph 4 of Article 10 of this Code, a decision on special use of forest for special purposes shall be valid after the issuance of an environmental decision.

4. The purpose of EIA is to identify, study and describe the direct and indirect impact on the following factors caused by the carrying out of the activities provided for by this Code:

a) human health and safety;

b) biodiversity (including plant and animal species, habitats, ecosystems);

c) water, air, soil, land, climate and landscape;

d) cultural heritage and material assets;

e) the interaction of the factors provided for by subparagraphs „a“–„d“ of this paragraph.

5. The identification, study and description of the impact on the factors provided for by paragraph 4 of this Article shall also include threats related to the activity in relation to the risks of a major accident and/or natural disaster.

6. An environmental decision shall not be required for activities related to oil and gas operations and natural hydrogen operations, which are regulated by the legislation of Georgia regulating the relevant field.

7. The Agency is authorized, with the consent of the activity implementer, to make an amendment to the relevant authorizing administrative act, if the body exercising state control in the field of environmental protection and use of natural resources, based on an inspection, determines that the situation existing at the place of implementation of the activity does not correspond to the circumstances reflected in the EIA report/documentation on exemption from EIA and/or the negative impact of the activity on individual components/elements of the environment was not fully assessed by the EIA report/documentation on exemption from EIA.

8. The activity implementer is authorized to apply to the Agency with a reasoned motion and request a change of a condition determined by the environmental decision, if it substantiates that the fulfillment of this condition cannot ensure the prevention or reduction of the impact on the environment and/or the replacement of the said condition with another condition is necessary and effective for the prevention or reduction of the impact on the environment.

9. For the purpose of considering the issue provided for by paragraph 8 of this Article, the Agency creates the expert commission provided for by Article 42 of this Code. After considering the said issue, the expert commission submits a relevant recommendation to the Agency, which applies to the Ministry with a request to submit an appropriate motion to the Government of Georgia.

10. The Minister submits the recommendation provided for by paragraph 9 of this Article to the Government of Georgia. In case of the consent of the Government of Georgia, the Head of the Agency issues the relevant individual administrative act.

11. The Agency is authorized to make an amendment to the environmental decision or to the relevant authorizing administrative act issued in the field of EIA, if this individual administrative act determines the obligation of additional study of individual elements/components constituting the environment and, based on the results of the study, the Agency determines the necessity of changing the condition.

11¹. Within 3 days from the initiation of administrative proceedings related to making amendments to the relevant permissive administrative-legal act on the basis of paragraph 7, paragraph 8 and/or paragraph 11 of this Article, the Agency shall ensure the placement of the received application/documents on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality, and, upon request, the accessibility of their printed copies or electronic versions in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia. The public shall have the right, within 15 days from the placement of the said application/documents on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality, to submit to the Agency, in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph 1 of Article 34 of this Code, opinions and comments concerning this application/documents. In the course of the said administrative proceedings, the Agency shall consider the opinions and comments submitted by representatives of the public and, where the relevant grounds exist, shall take them into account.

12. A change of operating conditions shall be considered an activity subject to the screening procedure defined by this Code.

[ 12. A change of the operating conditions of an activity envisaged by an environmental decision shall be considered an activity subject to the screening procedure defined by this Code. For an activity for which an integrated environmental permit has also been issued, the screening application shall be submitted to the Agency together with the documentation envisaged by the Law of Georgia "On Industrial Emissions". In the said case, the procedures established by the Law of Georgia "On Industrial Emissions" shall apply. (shall enter into force from 1 September 2026)]

12¹. If the person carrying out the activity plans a change of operating conditions, he/she shall be entitled, in accordance with the procedure established by Article 7¹ of this Code, to submit to the Agency, without undergoing the screening stage, an application and an EIA report on the change of operating conditions. In this case, the procedure established by Article 7¹ of this Code for issuing a decision on the change of operating conditions shall apply.

12². If, on the basis of the screening procedure, a change of the operating conditions of an activity envisaged by an environmental decision does not require the submission of an EIA report on the change of operating conditions, the decision on the change of operating conditions shall include the obligation of the person carrying out the activity to carry out the activity in accordance with the conditions defined by the environmental decision, taking into account the planned changes. The condition established by the decision on the change of operating conditions shall be an integral part of the conditions defined by the environmental decision, and its fulfilment shall be mandatory.

13. If the person carrying out the activity carries out an activity provided for by the relevant enabling administrative-legal act issued in the field of EIA, or such activities provided for by Annex I and/or Annex II to this Code for which several environmental decisions have been issued and which are technically and/or functionally interconnected, it is entitled to apply to the Agency with an application and to request the consolidation of these environmental decisions into one decision. The Agency decides on the consolidation of the said environmental decisions in accordance with the simple administrative procedure.

14. If the person carrying out the activity plans to carry out such activities provided for by Annex I and/or Annex II to this Code which are technically and/or functionally interconnected, it is entitled to submit a joint scoping report to the Agency and to request the issuance of one environmental decision in accordance with this Code.

15. The amounts of the fee for the provision of expedited service by the Agency, and the procedure for payment and refund of the fee, shall be determined by a Resolution of the Government of Georgia.

16. The Agency is entitled, in the process of reviewing the screening application, the application for the issuance of a scoping conclusion, the scoping report, the scoping conclusion, the EIA report on the change of operating conditions and the documentation submitted to it for the purpose of complying with the relevant conditions, as provided for by this Code, to involve, where necessary, the public expert(s) provided for by the legislation of Georgia. The procedure for remuneration of the public expert shall be established by an Order of the Minister.

17. In the course of the administrative proceedings provided for by this Code, if the relevant administrative body fails to submit comments or a reasoned refusal within a reasonable time established by the Agency within the time limits of the administrative proceedings determined by this Code, the relevant matter shall be considered as agreed with the said administrative body, and the Agency is entitled to issue the relevant decision.

Law of Georgia of 22 May 2020 No. 5951 – website, 28.05.2020.

Law of Georgia of 15 December 2021 No. 1106 – website, 24.12.2021.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 26 April 2022 No. 1521 – website, 13.05.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 29 June 2023 No. 3391 – website, 30.06.2023.

Law of Georgia of 12 June 2025 No. 680 – website, 16.06.2025.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 787 – website, 04.07.2025.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 6. Main stages of the EIA🔗

1. The main stages of the EIA are:

a) the scoping procedure defined by Articles 8 and 9 of this Code;

b) preparation of the EIA report by the activity implementer or a consultant in accordance with Article 10 of this Code;

c) public participation;

d) assessment by the Agency of the information reflected in the EIA report, of additional information submitted to the Agency by the activity implementer, if necessary, and of information obtained during public participation and consultations with authorized administrative bodies;

e) conduct of expert examination in accordance with Chapter VI of this Code;

f) if necessary, implementation of the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure in accordance with Chapter V of this Code.

2. After completion of the main stages of the EIA provided for by the first paragraph of this Article, the Agency issues an environmental decision or, in the case provided for by this Code, adopts a decision on refusal to implement the activity.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24 March 2022.

Article 7. Screening of activities🔗

1. Before conducting an EIA for a change of the operating conditions defined by paragraph 12 of Article 5 of this Code and for the activity provided for by Annex II of this Code, a screening procedure shall be carried out, except for the cases provided for by paragraph 12¹ of Article 5 of this Code and paragraph 13 of this Article.

2. The person carrying out the activity shall, at the earliest possible stage, submit to the Agency a screening application for the planned activity and receive a decision from the Agency as to whether or not the planned activity is subject to an EIA, except for the cases provided for by paragraph 12¹ of Article 5 of this Code and paragraphs 3, 12 and 13 of this Article.

2¹. The person carrying out the activity shall, at the earliest possible stage, submit to the Agency a screening application on the change of operating conditions and receive from the Agency the relevant screening decision.

3. For the purpose of obtaining a screening decision for the activity provided for by Annex II of this Code, which is subject to a mineral extraction licence defined by paragraph 1 of Article 7 of the Law of Georgia "On Licences and Permits", the administrative body issuing the licence shall, before announcing the auction, apply to the Agency with a screening application in accordance with the requirements established by this Article.

4. A screening application submitted by the person carrying out the activity to the Agency shall, in addition to the information provided for by Article 78 of the General Administrative Code of Georgia, contain:

a) brief information on the planned activity;

b) information on the characteristics of the planned activity, on the place of implementation of the planned activity, indicating GIS (geographic information systems) coordinates (together with the shp file), as well as on the nature of the possible impact in accordance with the criteria defined by paragraph 6 of this Article;

c) in the case of carrying out the activity provided for by paragraph 12 of Article 5 of this Code − also information on the activity provided for by the environmental decision and the planned changes and on the possible impact arising from the said changes.

[ c) in the case of carrying out the activity provided for by paragraph 12 of Article 5 of this Code − also information on the activity provided for by the environmental decision and the planned changes and on the possible impact arising from the said changes. If the conditions of water abstraction from a surface water body and/or water discharge into a surface water body change and/or water abstraction from a surface water body is required − the documentation provided for by Article 17 of the Law of Georgia "On Water Resources Management". (shall enter into force from 1 September 2026)]

4¹. (Removed - 26 June 2025. No. 786).

5. Within 3 days after registration of the screening application, the Agency ensures the placement of this application on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality, and, upon request, the accessibility of its printed copy or electronic version in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia. Representatives of the public have the right, within 7 days after the placement of the screening application on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality, to submit to the Agency, in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph 1 of Article 34 of this Code, opinions and comments in relation to the said application. The Agency reviews the opinions and comments submitted by representatives of the public and, if there is an appropriate basis, takes them into account in the process of adopting the screening decision.

5¹. When carrying out the screening procedure, for the purpose of adopting a screening decision or a decision on amendment of operating conditions, in the absence of the information provided for by paragraphs 4 and 6 of Article 7 of this Code and/or in the presence of a significant inconsistency in the documentation, the Agency, no later than 8 days after the placement of the screening application in accordance with this article, adopts a decision on termination of administrative proceedings.

6. The Agency, no earlier than 10 days and no later than 15 days after registration of the screening application, in connection with the activity provided for by Annex II to this Code, adopts a decision on whether the planned activity is subject to EIA, and in the case of a screening application on amendment of operating conditions — a decision on whether the amendment is subject to the submission of an EIA report on amendment of operating conditions, on the basis of the following criteria:

a) Characteristics of the activity:

a.a) Scale of the activity;

a.b) Cumulative impact with the existing activity and/or the planned activity;

a.c) Use of natural resources (in particular, water, soil, land, biodiversity);

a.d) Generation of waste;

a.e) Environmental pollution and noise;

a.f) Risk of a large-scale accident and/or disaster related to the activity;

b) Location of the planned activity and its compatibility:

b.a) with wetlands;

b.b) with the Black Sea coastal strip;

b.c) with forested areas where species of the "Red List" of Georgia are predominant;

b.d) with protected areas;

b.e) with populated areas;

b.f) with cultural heritage monuments and other objects;

b.g) with landscape, recreational and forest areas (zones) defined by the legislation of Georgia;

c) Possible impact on the environment as a result of the activity:

c.a) Transboundary nature of the impact;

c.b) Possible degree and complexity of the impact.

7. When adopting a screening decision, the Agency is entitled to use the guidance document “On Environmental Impact Assessment”.

8. If, after completion of the screening procedure, the Agency establishes that the planned activity is not subject to EIA, the applicant shall comply with the requirements and environmental norms established by the environmental technical regulations in force in Georgia.

9. After completion of the screening procedure, where the ground defined by Article 14 of this Code exists, the Agency adopts a decision refusing the carrying out of the activity.

10. Within 1 day after completion of the screening procedure, the Agency notifies the applicant thereof and, within 5 days, ensures the placement of the screening decision on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality, and, upon request, the accessibility of its printed copy or electronic version in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

11. If, during the conduct of the screening procedure, it is established that the carrying out of the planned activity may cause transboundary impact, the procedure provided for by Chapter V of this Code shall apply.

12. In the case of carrying out an activity provided for by Annex II to this Code, the person carrying out the activity is entitled to submit to the Agency simultaneously a screening application and an application on the issuance of a scoping conclusion, together with the documentation provided for by Article 8 of this Code. If, on the basis of the screening procedure, the Agency establishes that the said activity is subject to EIA, it shall, by the same decision, in accordance with Article 9 of this Code, initiate administrative proceedings for the purpose of issuing a scoping conclusion.

13. If the person carrying out the activity plans to carry out an activity subject to the screening procedure and considers that the issuance of an environmental decision is necessary for this activity, it is entitled, without passing the screening stage, to submit to the Agency an application on the issuance of a scoping conclusion in accordance with the procedure established by Article 8 of this Code. In such a case, the requirements established by this Code for the issuance of an environmental decision shall apply.

Law of Georgia No. 1445 of 17 March 2022 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia No. 1521 of 26 April 2022 – website, 13.05.2022.

Law of Georgia No. 2601 of 22 February 2023 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia No. 3391 of 29 June 2023 – website, 30.06.2023.

Law of Georgia No. 786 of 26 June 2025 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 7¹. Administrative proceedings related to the adoption of a decision on the change of operating conditions🔗

1. If, as a result of the screening procedure, it is determined for an activity envisaged by an environmental decision that an EIA report on the change of operating conditions needs to be submitted, the person carrying out the activity shall submit to the Agency an application on the change of operating conditions drawn up in accordance with the General Administrative Code of Georgia and an EIA report on the change of operating conditions. The EIA report on the change of operating conditions shall be prepared in accordance with Article 10 of this Code, and the application on the change of operating conditions shall also be accompanied by the documentation defined by paragraph 2 of Article 11 of this Code.

[2. For an activity for which an integrated environmental permit has also been issued, the application on the change of operating conditions shall be submitted to the Agency together with the documentation defined by the Law of Georgia on Industrial Emissions. In the said case, the procedures established by the Law of Georgia on Industrial Emissions shall apply. (shall enter into force from 1 September 2026)]

3. Within 5 days from the registration of the application on the change of operating conditions and the EIA report on the change of operating conditions envisaged by paragraph 1 of this Article, the Agency shall ensure:

a) placement of the application on the change of operating conditions and the EIA report on the change of operating conditions on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality, and, upon request, accessibility of their printed copies or electronic versions in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia;

b) verification of the formal compliance of the submitted documentation with the requirements defined by Article 10 of this Code and, if there is an appropriate ground, terminates the administrative proceedings, notifies the applicant thereof within 1 day and, within 2 days, ensures the placement of information on the termination of the administrative proceedings on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality.

4. Administrative proceedings related to the adoption of a decision on the change of operating conditions include:

a) expertise;

b) participation of the public and authorised administrative bodies;

c) in the case of possible transboundary impact – the procedure envisaged by Chapter V of this Code.

5. If, in the course of the administrative proceedings initiated for the purpose of issuing a decision on a change to the operating conditions, and/or as a result of an expert examination, and/or on the basis of the consideration of the opinions and comments submitted by representatives of the public, substantial defects are identified in the EIA report on the change to the operating conditions (for example, insufficient analysis of the expected impact, unclear or clearly ineffective mitigation measures, etc.), the Agency shall be entitled, no later than 15 days after the publication of the application on the change to the operating conditions in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph 3 of this Article, to terminate the administrative proceedings. In this case, the Agency shall, within 1 day, notify the applicant thereof and, within 2 days, ensure that information on the termination of the administrative proceedings is posted on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality.

6. Within 5 days after the registration of the application on the change to the operating conditions, the Agency shall, for the purpose of considering the EIA report on the change to the operating conditions, establish the expert commission provided for by Article 42 of this Code. Within 20 days after its establishment, the expert commission shall submit to the Agency the expert opinion on the change to the operating conditions.

7. Representatives of the public shall be entitled, within 20 days after the publication of the application on the change to the operating conditions in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph 3 of this Article, to submit to the Agency, in accordance with the procedure established by subparagraphs „a“ and „c“ of the first paragraph of Article 34 of this Code, opinions and comments relating to the EIA report on the change to the operating conditions. The Agency shall consider the opinions and comments submitted by representatives of the public and, where there are relevant grounds, shall take them into account.

8. The Agency shall be entitled, on the basis of the consideration of the submitted documentation and expert opinions and/or the opinions and comments submitted by representatives of the public, to adopt, on a one-time basis, a decision on the identification of a defect and the suspension of the administrative proceedings related to the change to the operating conditions. This decision shall be adopted no later than 30 days after the registration of the application on the change to the operating conditions. The Agency shall notify the person carrying out the activity of this decision within 1 day after its adoption. At the same time, the Agency shall, within 2 days after the adoption of the said decision, ensure that it is posted on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality.

9. Within 3 days from the submission to the Agency of the refined documentation prepared taking into account the defect identified in accordance with paragraph 8 of this Article, the Agency shall adopt a decision on the extension of the term of authority of the expert commission. The expert commission shall be granted an additional term — not more than 10 days — for the consideration of the refined documentation and for the submission of the expert opinion. Within 1 day from the submission of the refined documentation to the Agency, the Agency shall notify the applicant of the continuation of the administrative proceedings. At the same time, within 2 days from the adoption of this decision, the Agency shall ensure its placement on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality. Representatives of the public shall have the right, within 10 days from the placement of the relevant application/documentation on the said portal and information board, to submit to the Agency, in the manner established by subparagraphs „a“ and „c“ of paragraph 1 of Article 34 of this Code, opinions and comments concerning the said application/documentation. When issuing an environmental decision or when issuing a legal act on refusal to allow the carrying out of an activity, the Agency shall consider the opinions and comments submitted by representatives of the public and, where there is a relevant ground, shall take them into account. Within 10 days from the submission to the Agency of the expert opinion prepared as a result of the consideration by the expert commission of the refined documentation, the Agency shall adopt a decision on the issuance of a decision on the change of the operating condition and shall issue the corresponding individual administrative-legal act.

10. The Agency shall adopt a decision on the change of the operating condition not earlier than 40 days and not later than 45 days from the registration of the application. A decision on the change of the operating condition shall, in addition to satisfying the requirements established by Article 53 of the General Administrative Code of Georgia, contain the conditions determined by the Agency taking into account the change of the operating condition.

11. The person carrying out the activity shall be obliged to comply with the conditions determined by the decision on the change of the operating condition. The condition established by this decision is an integral part of the conditions determined by the environmental decision, and its fulfilment is mandatory.

12. Where there is a ground determined by Article 14 of this Code, the Agency shall adopt a decision on refusal to change the operating condition.

13. The Agency shall, within 1 day, notify the applicant of the decision on the completion of the administrative proceedings related to the change of the operating condition and, within 4 days, ensure the placement of this decision on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality, and, upon request, ensure access to its printed copy or electronic version in accordance with the procedure established by Georgian legislation.

Law of Georgia No. 786 of 26 June 2025 – website, 4 July 2025.

Article 8. Scoping application and scoping report in the EIA process🔗

1. The person carrying out the activity shall, at the earliest possible stage of activity planning, submit to the Agency an application for issuing a scoping conclusion and a scoping report.

[1¹. If an activity subject to environmental impact assessment is also subject to the integrated environmental permit provided for by the Law of Georgia "On Industrial Emissions", the person carrying out the activity shall, at the earliest possible stage of activity planning, submit to the Agency the scoping report together with the documentation provided for by the Law of Georgia "On Industrial Emissions". The scoping conclusion shall be issued in compliance with the procedures established by the Law of Georgia "On Industrial Emissions". (shall enter into force from 1 September 2026)]

2. The Agency shall, within 5 days from the registration of the application for issuing a scoping conclusion, ensure the placement of information on this application and on the holding of a public hearing on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality, as well as the placement of the said application and the attached documents on the environmental information portal, and, upon request, the accessibility of their printed copies or electronic versions in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

2¹. In the case of the initiation of administrative proceedings for the purpose of issuing a scoping conclusion under an expedited procedure, the Agency shall, within 1 day from the registration of the application for issuing a scoping conclusion, ensure the placement of this application and the scoping report on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality, and, upon request, the accessibility of their printed copies or electronic versions in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

2². The Agency shall, within 5 days from the registration of the application for issuing a scoping conclusion, and in the case of the initiation of administrative proceedings for the purpose of issuing a scoping conclusion under an expedited procedure − within 3 days from the registration of the application for issuing a scoping conclusion, ensure the verification of the formal compliance of the submitted documentation with paragraph 3 of this Article and the legislation of Georgia and, where an appropriate ground exists, terminate the administrative proceedings, notify the applicant thereof within 1 day and, within 2 days, ensure the placement of the said decision on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality.

3. The scoping report shall include:

a) the following information on the planned activity:

a.a) information on the location of the implementation of the planned activity, indicating GIS (geographic information systems) coordinates (together with the shp file);

a.b) information on the physical characteristics of the planned activity (capacity, scale, production process, amount of possible output and others);

a.c) information on alternatives to the planned activity and the place of its implementation;

b) information on the possible impact on the environment and its types, including:

b.a) information on the impact on protected areas (if any);

b.b) information on possible transboundary impact (if any);

b.c) information on the possible impact of the implementation of the planned activity on human health, the social environment, cultural heritage monuments and other objects;

c) information on the baseline/exploratory studies conducted and/or to be conducted and on the methods necessary for preparing the EIA report;

d) the project for the development of the object of use of subsurface resources, including the recultivation project (if necessary), drawn up in accordance with the requirements established by the legislation of Georgia;

e) information on the measures that will be envisaged to prevent, reduce and/or mitigate significant adverse impact on the environment.

4. The person carrying out the activity shall submit the scoping report provided for by paragraph 3 of this article to the Agency in both material and electronic form. The person carrying out the activity and/or the consultant shall be responsible for the correctness of the scoping report and for the submission of the relevant information necessary for the planned activity.

4¹. In the case of administrative proceedings for the provision of services under the accelerated procedure, the scoping report shall be accompanied by a document confirming payment of the fee for the provision of services under the accelerated procedure. The amount of the fee for the provision of services under the accelerated procedure shall not exceed GEL 5,000.

5. The person carrying out the activity is entitled to submit to the Agency any other information that may be necessary in the process of taking the decision provided for by Article 9 of this Code.

6. If the planned activity is carried out on forest territory and requires the termination of forest status or the acquisition of the right of special use of forest for a special purpose, the person carrying out the activity shall attach to the scoping report information on the termination of forest status/special use of forest for a special purpose.

Law of Georgia of 15 December 2021 No. 1106 – website, 24.12.2021.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 26 April 2022 No. 1521 – website, 13.05.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 29 June 2023 No. 3391 – website, 30.06.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 9. Issuance of a scoping conclusion in the EIA process🔗

1. The Agency shall, in accordance with the procedure established by this Article, consider the application for the issuance of a scoping conclusion and the scoping report and shall issue the scoping conclusion in accordance with the procedure established by Chapter IX of the General Administrative Code of Georgia. In case of inconsistency with the procedure established by Chapter IX of the General Administrative Code of Georgia, the norms established by this Code shall apply.

2. The public shall have the right, within 15 days from the placement of the application for the issuance of a scoping conclusion in accordance with the procedure established by Article 8(2) or 2¹ of this Code, to submit to the Agency opinions and comments related to the scoping report in accordance with the procedure established by Article 34(1) of this Code. When issuing the scoping conclusion, the Agency shall ensure consideration of the opinions and comments submitted by the public and, if there is a relevant basis, shall take them into account.

3. Not earlier than the 10th day and not later than the 15th day from the placement of the application for the issuance of a scoping conclusion in accordance with the procedure established by Article 8(2) or 2¹ of this Code, the Agency shall ensure a public hearing of the scoping report. The Agency shall be responsible for organizing and holding the public hearing and shall ensure reimbursement of the costs of its organization, including the publication of information on the holding of the public hearing of the scoping report. The Agency shall conduct the public hearing process. An authorized representative of the Agency shall draw up the minutes of the public hearing of the scoping report. The Agency shall be responsible for the accuracy of these minutes. Information on the holding of the public hearing of the scoping report shall be published not later than 10 days before its holding, in accordance with Article 32 of this Code. If the activity is planned to be carried out within the administrative boundaries of a self-governing community, the public hearing shall be held in the building of the relevant administrative body located closest to the place of carrying out this activity or in its adjacent territory, and if the said activity is planned to be carried out within the administrative boundaries of a self-governing city — in the building of the relevant administrative body determined by the Agency or in its adjacent territory, except for the case provided for by subparagraph „a“ of Article 34(2¹) of this Code. The public hearing shall be open and any representative of the public shall have the right to participate in it.

4. Not earlier than the 26th day and not later than the 30th day from the registration of the application for the issuance of a scoping conclusion, the Agency shall issue the scoping conclusion, which shall be approved by an individual administrative-legal act of the Agency. The scoping conclusion shall determine the list of studies and information to be obtained and examined that are necessary for the preparation of the EIA report. When issuing the scoping conclusion, the guidance document “On Environmental Impact Assessment” may be used.

4¹. In the case of administrative proceedings initiated for the purpose of issuing a scoping conclusion under the expedited procedure, the Agency shall, no later than the 21st day from the registration of the application on the issuance of the scoping conclusion, issue the scoping conclusion, which shall be approved by an individual administrative-legal act of the Agency.

5. Before the approval of the scoping conclusion, the Agency shall ensure the participation, within the scope of its competence in the administrative proceedings, of the Ministry of Culture of Georgia as another administrative body, in the manner established by Article 84 of the General Administrative Code of Georgia.

6. The scoping conclusion issued by the Agency shall be binding on the implementer of the activity when preparing the EIA report.

7. If, within 5 years from the approval of the scoping conclusion, the implementer of the activity is unable to obtain an environmental decision in accordance with the procedures provided for by this Code, the individual administrative-legal act of the Agency on the approval of the scoping conclusion shall be declared invalid.

8. Where the ground defined by Article 14 of this Code exists, the Agency shall be entitled to adopt a decision on refusal of the implementation of the activity.

9. Within 5 days from the completion of the scoping procedure, from the adoption of the scoping report, the scoping conclusion and/or the decision on refusal of the implementation of the activity, the Agency shall ensure the placement of the said documents on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality, and, upon request, the accessibility of their printed copies or electronic versions in the manner established by the legislation of Georgia.

10. If, during the implementation of the scoping procedure, it is established that the implementation of the planned activity may cause a transboundary impact, the procedure provided for by Chapter V of this Code shall apply.

Law of Georgia of 7 December 2017 No. 1700 – website, 14 December 2017.

Law of Georgia of 5 July 2018 No. 3106 – website, 11 July 2018.

Law of Georgia of 18 September 2020 No. 7164 – website, 22 September 2020.

Law of Georgia of 16 March 2021 No. 390 – website, 18 March 2021.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24 March 2022.

Law of Georgia of 26 April 2022 No. 1521 – website, 13 May 2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 9 March 2023.

Law of Georgia of 30 November 2023 No. 3877 – website, 15 December 2023.

Law of Georgia of 12 December 2024 No. 96 – website, 28 December 2024.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 4 July 2025.

Article 10. EIA report🔗

1. After the Agency approves the scoping conclusion, and, in the case provided for by Article 7¹ of this Code, after determining the need to submit an EIA report on a change in operating conditions, the activity implementer and/or consultant shall ensure the preparation of the EIA report. The activity implementer shall reimburse the costs necessary for the preparation of the said EIA report. The activity implementer and/or consultant shall be responsible for the accuracy of the documentation submitted in the EIA process and for the submission of appropriate information necessary for carrying out the planned activity.

2. The EIA report shall be signed by the person(s) participating in its preparation, including by the consultant (if any). The EIA report and information about the person(s) participating in its preparation are public.

3. The EIA report shall include:

a) a description of the planned activity, namely:

a.a) a description of the place of implementation of the activity, indicating GIS (geographic information systems) coordinates (together with the shp file), as well as a description of the current state of the environment for the planned activity;

a.b) information on the land category and the form of land use, both at the construction and operation stages;

a.c) information on the physical characteristics of the planned activity (capacity, scale and production process, including the amount of possible products to be produced, required energy, materials and natural resources to be used during production, etc.);

a.d) information on dismantling works and methods (if necessary);

a.e) information on possible negative effects and emissions at the construction and operation stages (such as pollution of water, air, land and subsoil, noise, vibration, electromagnetic radiation, thermal radiation, radiation);

a.f) information on the types, characteristics and quantity of waste that may be generated at the construction and operation stages, as well as, if necessary, additional information determined by normative acts in force in the field of waste management;

b) information on all reasonable alternatives to the planned activity and its place of implementation, proposed for environmental protection purposes, with relevant justification, including the no-action (zero) alternative, which implies a description of the natural development of the current state of the environment in the event of non-implementation of the activity, the assessment of which is possible using existing information and based on scientific knowledge;

c) information on the possible significant impact on the environment during the implementation of the planned activity, including on the population, human health, biodiversity (including plant and animal species, habitats, ecosystems), water (including hydromorphological changes, quantity, quality), air, soil (including soil removal), land (including organic substances, erosion, compaction, degradation), climate (including greenhouse gas emissions), landscape, cultural heritage (including architectural and archaeological aspects) and material assets;

d) information on the possible direct and indirect, cumulative, transboundary, short-term and long-term, positive and negative impact on the components provided for by subparagraph „c“ of this paragraph and on their interaction, caused by the implementation of the planned activity, which is caused by:

d.a) construction works required for the planned activity, including, where necessary, dismantling works;

d.b) the use of natural resources (in particular, water, soil, land, biodiversity), taking into account the availability of these resources;

d.c) the emission of environmental pollutants, noise, vibration, radiation, waste disposal and recovery;

d.d) risks of impact on the environment, human health or cultural heritage (for example, in the event of an accident or disaster);

d.e) cumulative impact with other existing activities or planned activities;

d.f) the impact of the activity on the climate and the vulnerability of the activity caused by climate change;

d.g) the technology, material and/or substance used;

e) information on the identification of possible incidents as a result of the implementation of the planned activity and the assessment of their consequences, including an action plan for responding to emergency situations, which the person carrying out the activity shall agree with the relevant competent agency in the manner established by the legislation of Georgia;

f) an action plan on the consequences of the negative impact on the environment and human health caused by the implementation of the planned activity, and on measures for their avoidance, reduction, mitigation and compensation. The information shall cover both the stages of implementation of the activity and subsequent operation;

g) an assessment of the irreversible impact on the environment and justification of its necessity, which implies a balancing of the loss caused by the irreversible impact on the environment and the benefit obtained in the environmental, cultural, economic and social context;

h) information on the means of restoring the state of the environment existing before the commencement of this activity in the event of termination of the planned activity;

i) a description of the significant impact on the environment caused by the implementation of the planned activity, which is conditioned by the vulnerability of the activity to the risk of accident and disaster;

j) assessment of the information of the public at the scoping stage and of the opinions and comments submitted by it;

k) information on the methodology of the research and on the sources of information about the environment;

l) a brief non-technical summary of the information provided for by subparagraphs "a"–"k" of this paragraph, in order to ensure public information and participation.

3¹. The information provided for by paragraph 3 of this article, the content of the EIA report and the list of mandatory documents to be submitted shall be determined by a Resolution of the Government of Georgia.

4. The EIA report shall be accompanied by:

a) a project for the development of the subsoil use object, including a recultivation project (if necessary), drawn up in accordance with the requirements established by the legislation of Georgia;

b) information on the name and legal address of the consultant who participated in the preparation of the EIA report (if any);

c) a general plan of the location of the planned activity, indicating GIS (geographic information systems) coordinates (together with the shp file), which shows the location of the planned activity, temporary structures and utility systems;

d) for a legal entity of private law and an individual entrepreneur – an extract from the public registry, for a natural person – a copy of the identity document provided for by the legislation of Georgia, for a legal entity of public law – a copy of the founding document;

e) information on the alternatives for the territory of placement (dump site) of the extractive waste generated in the course of the construction envisaged by the planned activity, indicating GIS (geographic information systems) coordinates, as well as information on the placement of the said extractive waste (if any).

Note: if the activity subject to an environmental decision simultaneously requires the termination of forest status, the EIA report shall be accompanied by the documents provided for by the legislation of Georgia for the termination of forest status, and if the activity subject to an environmental decision simultaneously requires special use of forest for special purposes, the agency carrying out the activity shall submit, together with the EIA report, the opinion of the body having the right of state forest management as defined by the Forest Code of Georgia.

5. The activity implementer shall submit the documents provided for by paragraphs 3 and 4 of this article to the Agency in both material and electronic form.

6. If the EIA report contains state, commercial or professional secrets and/or personal data provided for by the legislation of Georgia, the activity implementer shall indicate in the relevant application the classification of this information. The Agency shall, in the cases provided for by the legislation of Georgia and in accordance with the established procedure, ensure the classification of the said information.

[ 6. If the EIA report contains a state, commercial or professional secret and/or personal data provided for by the legislation of Georgia, it shall be regulated in accordance with the legislation of Georgia. (shall enter into force from 1 September 2026)]

7. When preparing the EIA report, the guideline document “On Preparing an Environmental Impact Assessment Report” may be used.

Law of Georgia No. 5951 of 22 May 2020 – website, 28.05.2020.

Law of Georgia No. 1106 of 15 December 2021 – website, 24.12.2021.

Law of Georgia No. 1445 of 17 March 2022 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia No. 1521 of 26 April 2022 – website, 13.05.2022.

Law of Georgia No. 3391 of 29 June 2023 – website, 30.06.2023.

Law of Georgia No. 786 of 26 June 2025 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 11. Application for an environmental decision-making🔗

1. The person carrying out the activity shall submit to the Agency an application for an environmental decision-making. The Agency shall ensure consideration of this application in accordance with the procedure established by Chapter IX of the General Administrative Code of Georgia. In the event of inconsistency of the said application with the procedure established by the General Administrative Code of Georgia, the norms established by this Code shall apply. The applicant shall be entitled to request the issuance of an environmental decision under the expedited procedure, on the basis of payment of the fee for the provision of the service under the expedited procedure, in accordance with the procedure established by this Article.

[ 1¹. If an activity subject to environmental impact assessment is also subject to the integrated environmental permit provided for by the Law of Georgia on Industrial Emissions, the person carrying out the activity shall submit the environmental impact assessment report to the Agency together with the application provided for by Article 13 of the Law of Georgia on Industrial Emissions. In this case, the procedures established by the Law of Georgia on Industrial Emissions shall apply, and the environmental decision/the conditions determined as a result of the environmental impact assessment shall be reflected in the integrated environmental permit. (shall enter into force from 1 September 2026)]

2. The application submitted by the person carrying out the activity shall be accompanied by:

a) the EIA report prepared in accordance with Article 10 of this Code;

b) projects on the calculation of the norms of maximum permissible emission of harmful substances into ambient air and the norms of maximum permissible discharge of pollutants discharged into surface water bodies together with wastewater;

[ b) the draft norms of maximum permissible emission of harmful substances into ambient air and, in the case of special water use on a surface water body, the documentation provided for by Article 17 of the Law of Georgia on Water Resources Management. The term and conditions of special water use shall be determined by Article 20 of the Law of Georgia on Water Resources Management and by the environmental decision; (shall enter into force from 1 September 2026)]

c) a request for classification of information (if any);

d) a copy of the document confirming payment of the EIA fee established by the legislation of Georgia, and, in the case of a request for the issuance of an environmental decision under the expedited procedure, also the document confirming payment of the fee for the provision of the service under the expedited procedure;

e) electronic versions of the documents provided for by subparagraphs „a“–„c“ of this paragraph.

3. The Agency shall, within 5 days from the registration of an application for an environmental decision, ensure the placement of this application on the information board of the executive body and/or the representative body of the relevant municipality, as well as the placement of the said application and the attached documents on the environmental information portal, and, upon request, the accessibility of their printed copies or electronic versions in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

4. A person carrying out an activity shall be entitled, by a single application, to request the adoption of a single environmental decision in relation to several activities provided for by this Code, if these activities are substantially interrelated.

5. For the adoption of an environmental decision, as well as of a decision on a change of operating conditions (if, as a result of screening, the need to submit an EIA report on the change of operating conditions was determined), an EIA fee shall be paid. The amount of the EIA fee is 500 GEL. The procedure for payment of the EIA fee shall be determined by the Law of Georgia “On the Fundamentals of the Fee System”.

6. The paid EIA fee shall not be refunded in the event of refusal to adopt an environmental decision.

7. The amount of the fee for the provision of the accelerated service established for the issuance of an environmental decision under the accelerated procedure shall not exceed 15,000 GEL.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 29 June 2023 No. 3391 – website, 30.06.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 12. Administrative proceedings related to the adoption of an environmental decision🔗

1. Administrative proceedings related to the adoption of an environmental decision include:

a) expertise;

b) participation of the public and of the authorised administrative bodies;

c) in the case of possible transboundary impact – the procedure provided by Chapter V of this Code.

2. Within 5 days from the registration of the application on the adoption of an environmental decision, the Agency ensures the verification of the formal compliance of the submitted documentation with the requirements defined by Article 10 of this Code and, if there is an appropriate ground, terminates the administrative proceedings, notifies the applicant thereof within 1 day, and within 2 days ensures the placement of information on the termination of the administrative proceedings on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality.

3. Within 5 days from the registration of the application on the adoption of an environmental decision, for the purpose of reviewing the EIA report, the Agency creates the expert commission provided by Article 42 of this Code. Within 30 days from the creation of the expert commission, the members of the expert commission submit expert conclusions to the Agency, and the expert commission, within 40 days from its creation, submits to it the expert conclusion on the EIA report.

4. The public has the right, within 40 days from the placement of the application on the adoption of an environmental decision in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph 3 of Article 11 of this Code, to submit to the Agency, in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph 1 of Article 34 of the same Code, opinions and comments concerning the EIA report, the planned activity and the conditions to be taken into account by the environmental decision. When issuing an environmental decision or issuing a legal act on refusal to carry out the activity, the Agency ensures the review of the opinions and comments submitted by the public and, if there is an appropriate ground, takes them into account.

5. Not earlier than the 25th day and not later than the 30th day after the placement of the application on the adoption of an environmental decision in the manner established by paragraph 3 of Article 11 of this Code, the Agency shall ensure a public discussion of the EIA report. The Agency shall be responsible for organising and conducting the public discussion of the EIA report. The Agency shall lead the process of the public discussion. An authorised representative of the Agency shall draw up the minutes of the public discussion of the EIA report. The Agency shall be responsible for the accuracy of these minutes. Information on the holding of the public discussion of the EIA report shall be published not later than 20 days before it is held, in accordance with Article 32 of this Code. The public discussion shall be held in the building of the competent administrative body located closest to the place of implementation of the planned activity, or in the territory adjacent thereto. If the implementation of the activity is planned within the administrative boundaries of a self-governing community, the public discussion shall be held in the building of the competent administrative body located closest to the place of implementation of this activity, or in the territory adjacent thereto, and if the implementation of the said activity is planned within the administrative boundaries of a self-governing city — in the building of the competent administrative body determined by the Agency, or in the territory adjacent thereto, except for the case provided for by subparagraph „a“ of paragraph 2¹ of Article 34 of this Code. The public discussion shall be open and any representative of the public shall have the right to participate in it.

6. The announcement on the holding of the public discussion shall contain the following information:

a) the essence and a brief description of the matter to be discussed, the format of the discussion of the matter;

b) information on the time, place and procedure of holding the public discussion and/or, in the case provided for by paragraph 2¹ of Article 34 of this Code, information on the form of holding the public discussion and the procedure for participation therein;

c) the address of the website where this announcement, the EIA report and other important information are available, as well as an indication of the possibility of receiving printed copies of the said documents during the public discussion.

6¹. The Agency shall be entitled, on the basis of the examination of the submitted documentation and expert opinions and/or the opinions and comments submitted by the public, to adopt once a decision on establishing a defect in the EIA report and on suspending the administrative proceedings for the adoption of an environmental decision. This decision shall be adopted not later than 50 days after the registration of the application on the adoption of an environmental decision. The Agency shall notify the applicant thereof within 1 day after the adoption of this decision. At the same time, the Agency shall, within 2 days after the adoption of the said decision, ensure that this decision is placed on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality.

6². Taking into account the defect identified in accordance with paragraph 6¹ of this Article, within 3 days from submission of the corrected documentation to the Agency, the Agency shall adopt a decision on extension of the term of authority of the expert commission. The expert commission shall be granted an additional term — not more than 10 days — for considering the corrected documentation and submitting the expert opinion. Within 1 day from submission of the corrected documentation to the Agency, the Agency shall notify the applicant of the continuation of the administrative proceedings. At the same time, within 2 days from adoption of this decision, the Agency shall ensure its placement on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality. Representatives of the public have the right, within 10 days from placement of the relevant application/documentation on the said portal and information board, to submit to the Agency, in accordance with the procedure established by subparagraphs “a” and “c” of paragraph 1 of Article 34 of this Code, opinions and comments regarding the said application/documentation. When issuing an environmental decision or when issuing a legal act on refusal to carry out an activity, the Agency shall consider the opinions and comments submitted by representatives of the public and, if there are relevant grounds, shall take them into account. Within 10 days from submission to the Agency of the expert opinion prepared as a result of consideration by the expert commission of the corrected documentation, the Agency shall adopt a decision on issuing an environmental decision and shall issue the corresponding individual administrative-legal act.

6³. If, in the process of administrative proceedings initiated for the purpose of issuing an environmental decision and/or as a result of expert examination and/or on the basis of consideration of opinions and comments submitted by representatives of the public, substantial defects of the EIA report are revealed (for example, insufficient analysis of expected impact, unclear or clearly ineffective mitigation measures, and others), the Agency is entitled to terminate the administrative proceedings no later than 15 days from placement of the application for adoption of an environmental decision in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph 3 of Article 11 of this Code.

7. In the process of issuing a legal act on adoption of an environmental decision, the Agency shall consider and, if there are relevant grounds, shall take into account the opinions and comments submitted in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 34 of this Code by the public and other administrative bodies, the results of the study of the EIA report, and, in the case of possible transboundary impact, the results of the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure carried out in accordance with Chapter V of this Code.

8. Before issuing a decision on refusal to grant an environmental decision or to carry out an activity, the Agency shall, within its competence in the administrative proceedings, ensure the participation of the Ministry of Culture of Georgia as another administrative body in accordance with the procedure established by Article 84 of the General Administrative Code of Georgia.

9. Not earlier than the 85th day and not later than the 90th day from the registration of the application for an environmental decision, the Agency shall issue an individual administrative-legal act on the granting of the environmental decision, and, where the ground defined by Article 14 of this Code exists, shall adopt a decision on refusal to carry out the activity. When adopting an environmental decision, the guidance document "On Environmental Impact Assessment" may be used. In the case of the initiation of administrative proceedings for the purpose of issuing an environmental decision under an expedited procedure, the decision shall be adopted not earlier than the 51st day and not later than the 55th day from the registration of the application for an environmental decision.

10. Within 5 days from the issuance of the environmental decision or from the issuance of the legal act on refusal to carry out the activity, the Agency shall ensure the placement of the EIA report, the expert opinion, the legal act on the granting of the environmental decision or on the refusal to carry out the activity, and information on the results of public participation in the public discussion on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality, and, upon request, the accessibility of their printed copies or electronic versions in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

11. An environmental decision shall be issued for an indefinite term. If the person carrying out the activity does not commence the activity provided for by this decision within 7 years, the Agency shall declare the environmental decision invalid.

Law of Georgia of 7 December 2017 No. 1700 – website, 14.12.2017.

Law of Georgia of 5 July 2018 No. 3106 – website, 11.07.2018.

Law of Georgia of 18 September 2020 No. 7164 – website, 22.09.2020.

Law of Georgia of 16 March 2021 No. 390 – website, 18.03.2021.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 26 April 2022 No. 1521 – website, 13.05.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 30 November 2023 No. 3877 – website, 15.12.2023.

Law of Georgia of 12 December 2024 No. 96 – website, 28.12.2024.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 13. Content of environmental decision🔗

1. An environmental decision, in addition to the requirements established by Article 53 of the General Administrative Code of Georgia, shall include:

a) information on the place of carrying out the activity and the type of activity;

b) information on environmental measures that shall be envisaged by another administrative body when issuing a licence/permit;

c) conditions the fulfilment of which is mandatory during the construction and operation period and after the completion of operation;

d) information on the purpose, scope and frequency of the subsequent analysis of the activity;

e) in the case of carrying out the procedure provided for by Chapter V of this Code in connection with transboundary impact – information on the results of the said procedure.

2. An environmental decision, in addition to the information provided for by paragraph 1 of this Article, may contain:

a) requirements for preventing impact as a result of an industrial accident;

b) the obligation to prevent, reduce or mitigate the possible impact on the environment caused by carrying out the activity and/or the obligation of appropriate compensation;

c) in the case provided for by the note to paragraph 4 of Article 10 of this Code, compensatory measures and/or mitigation measures for special use of a forest with a special designation, which are determined in agreement with the person having the right to manage state forest as defined by the Forest Code of Georgia;

d) conditions determined by another administrative body participating in the administrative proceedings (if any).

3. The Agency shall, in the reasoning of the individual administrative-legal act on the issuance of an environmental decision, reflect information:

a) on the carrying out of public participation procedures and on taking into account the opinions and comments submitted thereby;

b) on taking into account the expert opinion provided for by Chapter VI of this Code;

c) on taking into account the assessments given in the EIA report.

4. The person carrying out the activity shall fulfil the conditions determined by the environmental decision.

Note: The issuance of an environmental decision does not give rise to an obligation of the State towards the person holding the environmental decision in relation to property rights and covers only matters related to the assessment of impact on the environment.

Law of Georgia of 22 May 2020 No. 5951 – website, 28.05.2020.

Law of Georgia of 15 December 2021 No. 1106 – website, 24.12.2021.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 14. Decision on refusal to carry out an activity🔗

1. The Agency adopts a decision on refusal to carry out an activity if:

a) the carrying out of the activity contradicts the requirements established by the legislation of Georgia or a court/arbitration judgment that has entered into legal force;

b) the EIA report on the change of the operation condition, the scoping report, the EIA report and/or the expert opinion establish the unacceptability of the nature and extent of the environmental impact, the impossibility of preventing the risk of environmental impact and/or the impossibility of implementing measures mitigating the environmental impact.

2. The decision on refusal to carry out an activity may be appealed to a higher administrative body (official) or to a court.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24 March 2022.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 4 July 2025.

Article 15. Transfer of an environmental decision to another person🔗

1. A person carrying out an activity is entitled to transfer an environmental decision in full or in part to another person, if this does not contradict the essence of the activity provided for by this decision, the determined conditions and/or the requirements established by the legislation of Georgia. The transfer of an environmental decision implies the transfer of both rights and the corresponding obligations (including the obligations determined by an administrative instruction before the transfer of this decision).

2. The basis for the issuance by the Agency of an individual administrative-legal act on the transfer of an environmental decision is the joint application of the holder and the recipient of this decision, a contract or another document provided for by the legislation of Georgia, which confirms the fact of the transfer of the environmental decision.

3. In the case of partial transfer of an environmental decision, the holder of the decision and the person to whom the environmental decision was transferred shall be responsible for the fulfilment of the conditions determined by the decision and the obligations related thereto.

4. The Agency shall consider the application on the transfer of an environmental decision and adopt a decision in accordance with the simple administrative proceedings established by the General Administrative Code of Georgia.

4¹. The Agency shall issue a decision on the full transfer of an environmental decision to another person under the expedited procedure within 10 days. In the case of administrative proceedings, upon the full transfer of an environmental decision to another person under the expedited procedure, the joint application must be accompanied by a document confirming the payment of the fee for the provision of the service under the expedited procedure. The amount of the fee for the provision of the service under the expedited procedure shall not exceed GEL 1,000.

5. A person to whom an environmental decision has been transferred shall be obliged to carry out the relevant activity only after the adoption of the decision determined by paragraph 4 or 4¹ of this article.

6. Within 3 days after the adoption of the decision provided for by paragraph 4 or 4¹ of this article, the Agency shall ensure the placement of the legal act determined by paragraph 2 of this article on the environmental information portal.

7. If the holder of an environmental decision, who is at the same time the holder of a licence for use, alienates part of the licence or the entire licence in accordance with the Law of Georgia on Licences and Permits, the rules established by this Code and the Law of Georgia on Licences and Permits shall apply, and for the dissemination of information — the rule established by paragraph 6 of this article.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 26 April 2022 No. 1521 – website, 13.05.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 16. Exemption from the EIA🔗

1. The person carrying out the activity may be exempted from the EIA for the implementation of the specific activity the purpose of which is ensuring state security or the implementation of measures arising from urgent necessity caused by a force majeure situation.

2. In the case provided for by paragraph 1 of this Article, the person carrying out the activity shall submit to the Agency a reasoned application stating that the EIA procedure may pose a threat to state security or to the timely implementation of measures arising from urgent necessity caused by a force majeure situation. If the purpose of the activity is ensuring state security, the said application shall also be accompanied by the relevant request of the State Security Service of Georgia.

3. The application on exemption from the EIA by the person carrying out the activity, provided for by paragraph 2 of this Article, in addition to the information provided for by Article 78 of the General Administrative Code of Georgia, shall contain the following data:

a) the name of the activity, the name of the person carrying out the activity;

b) the place of implementation of the activity, indicating GIS (geographic information systems) coordinates (together with the shp file);

c) the estimated time of commencement of the activity and the estimated time of completion;

d) the purpose of the activity.

3¹. In the case of implementation of the activity on the territory of a state forest, where the ground provided for by this Article exists, the person carrying out the activity shall attach to the documentation on exemption from the EIA the documents provided for by the legislation of Georgia for the termination of forest status/for special use of forest for special purpose.

4. Within 2 days from the registration of the application submitted by the person carrying out the activity, the Agency shall ensure the placement of this application on the Environmental Information Portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality.

5. The decision on exemption from the EIA shall be taken by the Government of Georgia, on the basis of a request of the Ministry, in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

6. Within 2 days from the receipt by the Agency of the decision provided for by paragraph 5 of this Article taken by the Government of Georgia, the Agency shall ensure the placement of the legal act on exemption from the EIA or on refusal of exemption from the EIA on the Environmental Information Portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality.

Law of Georgia No. 1106 of 15 December 2021 – website, 24.12.2021.

Law of Georgia No. 1445 of 17 March 2022 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia No. 2601 of 22 February 2023 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia No. 786 of 26 June 2025 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 17. Follow-up analysis of activity🔗

1. Follow-up analysis of activity includes:

a) monitoring of the conditions and mitigation measures determined by the environmental decision;

b) analysis of the impact on the environment caused by the implementation of the activity;

c) assessment of changes in the environmental characteristics envisaged by the EIA report.

2. The person carrying out the activity shall submit the results (document) of the follow-up analysis of the activity to the Agency within the time limit established by the environmental decision.

3. Within 2 days of receiving the results (document) of the follow-up analysis of the activity envisaged by paragraph 2 of this Article, the Agency shall ensure their/its placement on the environmental information portal.

4. The Agency shall take into account the results of the follow-up analysis of the activity in the process of adopting the relevant decision for another activity subject to EIA.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24 March 2022

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09 March 2023

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04 July 2025

Article 18. General provisions🔗

1. SEA includes scoping, preparation and review of the SEA report, public participation and consultations with the public, taking into account, in the process of adopting a decision on a strategic document, the information reflected in the SEA report, as well as the recommendations issued by the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia in relation to the draft strategic document and the SEA report when adopting/approving the strategic document, and the results of public participation, and providing information on the adopted decision to the public and interested agencies.

2. For the adoption/approval of a strategic document which, in accordance with this Code, is subject to SEA, the issuance of recommendations by the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia is necessary.

3. The planning body shall be obliged to submit the concept or draft of the strategic document to the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia at the earliest possible stage of its development.

4. The planning body shall be responsible for conducting the SEA.

5. If the implementation of a strategic document causes transboundary impact, the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure provided for by Chapter V of this Code shall be applied.

6. A strategic document adopted before the entry into force of this Code and an amendment to be made to this strategic document shall not be subject to SEA, and the procedures established by this Code for SEA shall not apply to them, except where the planning body itself requests the conduct of SEA.

Law of Georgia of 5 July 2018 No. 3106 – website, 11 July 2018

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24 March 2022

Article 19. Purpose of SEA🔗

The purpose of the SEA is:

a) minimising the negative impact on the environment and human health;

b) ensuring public participation in the process of preparation and adoption/approval of a strategic document;

c) taking into account environmental and human health-related aspects in the process of decision-making on a strategic document;

d) carrying out, where necessary, the procedure for transboundary environmental impact assessment in the process of decision-making on a strategic document.

Article 20. Strategic document subject to SEA🔗

1. If a normative act provides for the possibility of adopting/issuing a strategic document, the following shall be ensured in this normative act:

a) the reflection in the strategic document, taking into account the specifics of the relevant sector and activity, of the following general environmental aspects: the approximate geographic area of implementation of the measures (activities) envisaged by the strategic document, the indicative duration, distribution in protected areas, urban and rural zones, and the main types of possible impact on the environment from their implementation;

b) the possibility of public discussion of the strategic document, receipt of comments on it and their analysis;

c) the possibility of issuing recommendations by the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia in relation to the draft strategic document and the SEA report.

2. The procedure for preparing the draft strategic document, adopting/issuing and implementing the strategic document shall be determined by the legislation of Georgia.

3. A strategic document whose implementation may have a significant impact on the environment and human health shall be subject to SEA, taking into account paragraphs 4 and 5 of this Article.

4. The conduct of SEA is mandatory for such a strategic document, as well as for such a significant amendment to a strategic document provided for by paragraph 5 of this Article (including where the amendment entails an increase in the scale of the activity/activities to be carried out as determined by the strategic document, a change (including an increase) in the place of implementation of the activity, a change in the type(s) of activity/activities, operating conditions or capacity), which establishes the framework for future development for the activities provided for by Annexes I and II to this Code in the following sectors:

a) Agriculture;

b) Forestry;

c) Fishing;

d) Energy;

e) Industry;

f) Transport;

g) Waste management;

h) Water resources management;

i) Electronic communications;

j) Tourism;

k) Spatial planning and urban development.

5. An amendment to such a strategic document provided for by paragraph 4 of this Article, on which recommendations have been issued by the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, shall be subject to the SEA screening procedure. The SEA procedure is mandatory for such a significant amendment to a strategic document which:

a) has a long-term and irreversible or high cumulative effect impact on the environment;

b) creates an increased risk to the environment and/or human health;

c) has an impact on an area containing unique natural features or cultural heritage, a protected area, as well as an area and/or landscape that has been granted the status of local and/or international importance.

6. If the planning body considers that the strategic document provided for by paragraph 5 of this Article or a minor amendment to the strategic document requires the conduct of an SEA, it shall be entitled to apply directly to the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia with a scoping application for the conduct of the SEA. If the planning body considers that the conduct of an SEA is not necessary, it shall be entitled, for the purpose of determining the necessity of conducting an SEA, to use the screening procedure provided for by Article 23 of this Code, according to the results of which the SEA shall or shall not be conducted.

7. In a case directly provided for by a legislative act of Georgia, the obligation to conduct an SEA may be extended to a strategic document that establishes a framework for the future implementation of activities that are not provided for by Annexes I and II of this Code and/or do not belong to the sectors defined by paragraph 4 of this Article.

Law of Georgia of 5 July 2018 No. 3106 – website, 11.07.2018.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 21. Exceptions🔗

An SEA shall not apply to a strategic document that concerns matters related to ensuring state security or to the implementation of a measure arising from an urgent necessity caused by a force majeure situation, and to financial and/or budgetary matters.

Article 22. Stages of the SEA🔗

The stages of the SEA are:

a) submission by the planning body of an application to the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia;

b) the scoping procedure defined by Articles 24 and 25 of this Code;

c) preparation of the SEA report by the planning body and/or a consultant in accordance with Article 26 of this Code;

d) assessment by the planning body of the SEA report and of the information obtained as a result of public participation and consultations;

e) where necessary, conduct of the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure in accordance with Chapter V of this Code;

f) public participation;

g) issuance by the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia of recommendations in accordance with Article 27 of this Code in relation to the draft strategic document and the SEA report.

Law of Georgia of 5 July 2018 No. 3106 – website, 11.07.2018.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Article 23. Screening of a strategic document🔗

1. In the case provided for by paragraph 6 of Article 20 of this Code, a screening procedure shall be carried out in order to determine the need to conduct an SEA.

2. The planning body is entitled to apply to the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia with a screening application and to submit, in both material and electronic form, the concept or draft of the strategic document (which shall contain brief information on the goals, objectives and measures envisaged by the strategic document) at the earliest possible stage of its development.

3. The screening application submitted by the planning body to the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall, in addition to the information provided for by Article 78 of the General Administrative Code of Georgia, contain information on the area of implementation of the strategic document (including the population living in that area), as well as information on the nature of the possible impact on the environment and human health.

4. Within 3 days of the registration of the screening application, the Agency shall ensure that this application and the concept or draft of the strategic document are posted on the environmental information portal. Within 3 days of the registration of the screening application, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia and the planning body shall post the said application and the concept or draft of the strategic document on their official websites, and the Agency shall also ensure that the screening application is posted on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality. Upon request, the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall ensure access to printed copies or electronic versions of these documents in the manner established by the legislation of Georgia. Representatives of the public shall be entitled, within 7 days of the posting of the screening application and the concept or draft of the strategic document on the said websites and the information board, to submit opinions and comments on these documents in the manner established by paragraph 1 of Article 34 of this Code. The Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall consider the opinions and comments submitted by representatives of the public and, where there is a relevant basis, shall take them into account in the decision-making process.

5. The Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall review the concept or draft of the strategic document submitted by the planning body in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article and, not earlier than the 10th day and not later than the 15th day after the registration of the screening application provided for by paragraph 2 of this Article, shall, within their competence, adopt decisions individually on the subjection of the strategic document to the SEA.

6. When the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia adopt individually, within their competence, decisions on the subjection of a strategic document to the SEA, in addition to the criteria defined by paragraph 5 of Article 20 of this Code, the following criteria may be taken into account:

a) characteristics of the strategic document, namely:

a.a) the extent to which the strategic document sets a framework for activities to be carried out in the future in terms of the place, type, scope and working conditions of their implementation or the distribution of natural resources;

a.b) the relation of the strategic document to another strategic document (where such a document exists);

a.c) the importance of the strategic document from the viewpoint of integrating environmental issues, namely, for the promotion of sustainable development;

a.d) general environmental aspects related to the strategic document;

b) general information on the nature of the impact of the measures provided for by the strategic document and on the characteristics of the territory subject to the impact, namely:

b.a) the transboundary nature of the impact;

b.b) risks related to the environment and/or human health;

b.c) the value and vulnerability of the territory subject to the impact, namely, natural characteristics or cultural heritage, in protected areas, as well as the impact on the territory and/or landscape that has been granted the status of local and/or international importance.

7. When adopting a decision on the subjection of a strategic document to the SEA, the guiding document "On Strategic Environmental Assessment" may be used.

8. Within 3 days after the completion of the screening procedure, the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall send the screening decisions to the planning body.

9. The Agency shall, within 5 days of the adoption of the screening decisions, ensure the placement of these decisions, as well as the opinions and comments submitted by representatives of the public, on the environmental information portal. Within 5 days of the adoption of the screening decisions, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia and the planning body shall post these decisions, as well as the opinions and comments submitted by representatives of the public, on their official websites, while the Agency shall also ensure the placement of the said documents on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the respective municipality. Upon request, the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall ensure access to their printed copies or electronic versions in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

Law of Georgia of 5 July 2018 No. 3106 – website, 11 July 2018.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24 March 2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 9 March 2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 4 July 2025.

Article 24. Scoping application in the SEA process🔗

1. The planning body shall, at the earliest possible stage, but no later than the preparation of the concept or working version of the strategic document, apply to the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia with a scoping application for the purpose of issuing a scoping conclusion, to which the concept or working version of the strategic document is attached (in both material and electronic form). The planning body shall ensure that the scoping application and the attached documents are posted on its website.

2. A scoping application submitted in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph 1 of this Article shall include:

a) information on the planning body;

b) brief information on the strategic document, as well as on the geographical area and the respective settlements where implementation of the strategic document is planned;

c) brief information on the environment (including protected areas, as well as the area and/or landscape that has been granted the status of local and/or international importance) and on the scale of possible impact on human health;

d) general information on possible transboundary impact on the environment and human health;

e) a general description of possible alternatives to the measures envisaged by the strategic document;

f) information on the types of possible impact on the environment that will be subject to study and reflection in the SEA report;

g) the relationship of the strategic document to another strategic document;

h) general information on the baseline studies to be conducted in the SEA process;

i) an indicative list of the measures planned, in the event of implementation of the strategic document, for the avoidance, mitigation and compensation of possible negative impact (if any).

3. The planning body is entitled to submit to the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia any other information that is important in the process of preparing the scoping conclusion.

4. Within 3 days of the registration of the scoping application, the Agency shall ensure that this application and the accompanying documents are posted on the environmental information portal. Within 3 days of the registration of the scoping application, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia and the planning body shall post the said application and the accompanying documents on their official websites, and the Agency shall also ensure that the scoping application is posted on the information board of the executive body and/or the representative body of the relevant municipality. Upon request, the Agency, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia and the planning body shall ensure access to printed copies or electronic versions of these documents in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

5. The public shall have the right, within 15 days of the posting of the scoping application on the relevant websites, to submit to the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph 1 of Article 34 of this Code, opinions and comments relating to the scoping application and the concept or working version of the strategic document. The Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall review the opinions and comments submitted by the public and, where there are relevant grounds, shall take them into account in the decision-making process.

6. The planning body shall be entitled to submit the screening application and the scoping application to the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia simultaneously. If, as a result of the screening procedure, it is established that the strategic document is subject to SEA, the same decision shall also indicate the commencement of administrative proceedings for the purpose of issuing the scoping conclusion.

Law of Georgia No. 3106 of 5 July 2018 – website, 11.07.2018.

Law of Georgia No. 1445 of 17 March 2022 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia No. 2601 of 22 February 2023 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia No. 786 of 26 June 2025 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 25. Issuance of a scoping conclusion in the SEA process🔗

1. The Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall, in accordance with the procedure established by this Article, review the scoping application submitted by the planning body and the attached documents and, within the scope of their competence, issue scoping conclusions.

2. Not earlier than the 20th day and not later than the 25th day from the registration of the scoping application, the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall, within the scope of their competence, issue scoping conclusions individually. The scoping conclusion shall determine the list of studies and of the information to be obtained and examined that are necessary for the preparation of the SEA report. When issuing the scoping conclusion, the guidance document "On Strategic Environmental Assessment" may be used.

3. The Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall, within 3 days of the issuance, send the scoping conclusions issued in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article to the planning body.

4. The Agency shall, within 5 days of the issuance of the scoping conclusions, ensure the placement of these conclusions and of the concept or working version of the strategic document on the environmental information portal. Within 5 days of the issuance of the scoping conclusions, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia and the planning body shall ensure the placement of these conclusions and of the concept or working version of the strategic document on their official websites, and the Agency shall also ensure the placement of the scoping conclusions on the information board of the executive body and/or the representative body of the relevant municipality. Upon request, the Agency, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia and the planning body shall ensure access to printed copies or electronic versions of the said conclusions in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

5. If, within 5 years of the issuance of the scoping conclusion, the planning body fails to submit the SEA report and the draft strategic document to the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, the scoping conclusion shall lose force.

Law of Georgia of 5 July 2018 No. 3106 – website, 11.07.2018.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 26. SEA report🔗

1. The SEA report may be prepared as part of a strategic document and integrated into it, or be drawn up as a separate document.

2. The SEA report shall include:

a) information on the content and objectives of the strategic document and its relationship with other strategic documents;

b) a general assessment of the current state of environmental and human health protection in the area on which the implementation of the strategic document may have a significant impact;

c) a general analysis of the main environmental and human health-related aspects for the territory that may be subject to significant impact;

d) general predictive information on the possible significant impact on the environment from the implementation of the strategic document;

e) information on possible transboundary impact from the implementation of the strategic document – where the grounds defined by this Code exist;

f) a brief description of measures to prevent, reduce or mitigate the possible impact on the environment and human health from the implementation of the strategic document;

g) considerations related to the justification of the considered alternatives;

h) a non-technical summary of the SEA report.

3. The degree of detail of the SEA report shall correspond to the degree of detail and content of the strategic document.

4. When preparing the SEA report, account shall be taken of the hierarchical system of documents subject to SEA in the relevant sector and, in this regard, the need to avoid duplication of appropriate studies.

5. The methods used in preparing the SEA report and the information reflected in the SEA report shall correspond to the relevant scoping conclusions.

Article 27. Consideration of the SEA report and issuance of recommendations🔗

1. The planning body shall apply to the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia with an application and shall submit, in both material and electronic form, the SEA report and the draft strategic document. The SEA report shall be signed by the person(s) participating in its preparation (drawing up), including a consultant (if any). The SEA report and information on the person(s) participating in its preparation (drawing up) shall be public. Within 3 days of the registration of the said application, the Agency shall ensure the posting of this application and the attached documents on the environmental information portal. Within 3 days of the registration of the said application, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia and the planning body shall post this application and the attached documents on their official websites, while the Agency shall also ensure the posting of the said application on the information board of the executive body and/or the representative body of the relevant municipality. Upon request, the Agency, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia and the planning body shall ensure access to printed copies or electronic versions of these documents in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

2. The application provided for by paragraph 1 of this article shall also contain information on the estimated time, place and procedure of holding the public discussion.

3. Within 3 days of the registration of the application submitted by the planning body in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article, the Agency shall, for the purpose of considering the SEA report and the draft strategic document, create an expert commission in accordance with the procedure established by Chapter VI of this Code. The expert commission shall, within 40 days, submit an expert opinion to the Agency.

4. The planning body shall, within the time limit determined in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article, hold a public discussion of the SEA report with the participation of the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia. The public shall have the right, within 40 days of the posting of the application in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph 1 of this article, to submit to the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph 1 of Article 34 of this Code, opinions and comments relating to the SEA report and the draft strategic document. The Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia shall consider the opinions and comments submitted by the public and, where there is an appropriate ground, shall take them into account in the decision-making process.

5. The planning body shall disseminate information on the place, time and procedure for holding the public discussion of the SEA report, using the rules and means established by Chapter IV of this Code, not later than 30 days before the holding of the public discussion.

6. Within 5 days of holding the public discussion of the SEA report, the planning body shall ensure the drawing up of minutes on the results of the public discussion of the SEA report. These minutes shall reflect in detail the opinions and comments expressed at the public discussion of the SEA report. These minutes shall be signed by, and the planning body shall be responsible for, their accuracy. Within 5 days of drawing up the minutes on the results of the public discussion of the SEA report, the planning body shall submit them to the Agency and to the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia.

7. Not earlier than the 51st day and not later than the 55th day from the registration of the application provided for by paragraph 1 of this Article, the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall, within the scope of their competence, issue relevant recommendations in relation to the SEA report and the draft strategic document. When issuing these recommendations, the guidance document "On Strategic Environmental Assessment" may be used. The Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall send the said recommendations to the planning body within 3 days of their issuance.

8. Within 5 days of issuing recommendations in relation to the SEA report and the draft strategic document in accordance with paragraph 7 of this Article, the Agency shall ensure their placement on the environmental information portal. The Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia and the planning body shall, within 5 days of the issuance of the said recommendations, place them on their official websites, while the Agency shall also ensure the placement of these recommendations on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality. Upon request, the Agency, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia and the planning body shall ensure accessibility of printed copies or electronic versions thereof in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

9. If, within 10 years of the issuance of the relevant recommendations, the strategic document is not adopted/approved, the planning body shall be obliged to re-implement the procedure provided for by this Chapter.

Law of Georgia of 5 July 2018 No. 3106 – website, 11.07.2018.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 28. General requirements related to the adoption/approval of a strategic document🔗

1. A strategic document may be adopted/approved only after the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia have issued recommendations in relation to the SEA report and the draft strategic document.

2. Before the adoption/approval of a strategic document, the planning body shall consider the recommendations issued by the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, the opinions and comments submitted by the public, and, where an appropriate basis exists, take them into account at the time of the final elaboration and adoption/approval of the strategic document.

3. If a transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure was carried out in the course of the SEA, the results of that procedure shall also be taken into account at the time of the adoption/approval of the strategic document.

4. The decision on the adoption/approval of the strategic document shall be accompanied by the relevant reasoned information on the results of the consideration of the following data:

a) the results of the public hearing held and the opinions and comments submitted by the public at that hearing;

b) the recommendations issued by the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia;

c) the results of the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure (if any).

5. The planning body shall ensure that the decision on the adoption/approval of the strategic document is posted on its official website and shall send that decision, within 3 days of its adoption, to the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia.

6. Within 3 days of the sending by the planning body of the decision on the adoption/approval of the strategic document, the Agency shall ensure that information on the foregoing is posted on the environmental information portal and on the information board of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality. The Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall, within 3 days of the sending by the planning body, post the decision on the adoption/approval of the strategic document on its official website. Upon request, the Agency and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia shall ensure access to a printed copy or an electronic version of the said document in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

Law of Georgia of 5 July 2018 No. 3106 – website, 11.07.2018.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 29. Subsequent analysis of the results of the implementation of a strategic document🔗

Where the relevant capability exists and if necessary, the Agency, based on the data at its disposal, shall ensure the conduct of an independent analysis of the significant environmental impact caused by the implementation of the strategic document and the systematic placement of the results of the said analysis on the environmental information portal.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 30. Right of public participation🔗

1. The public shall have the right to participate in the decision-making process provided for by this Code.

2. Public participation shall be ensured:

a) in the decision-making process related to activities subject to EIA;

b) in the decision-making process on a strategic document subject to SEA;

c) in the event of the implementation of a transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure.

Article 31. Obligations of an administrative body🔗

1. The authorised administrative body/agency provided for by this Code shall be obliged to ensure:

a) participation of the public in the decision-making process at the earliest possible stage (when its effective participation is possible) in accordance with the procedure established by this Chapter;

b) timely provision of information to the public, by effective and adequate means, on the commencement of the administrative proceedings provided for by this Code and on the possibility of public participation in the said proceedings;

c) accessibility to the public of the documentation provided for by this Code;

d) public participation in the public discussion and the possibility for its representatives to submit opinions and comments.

2. The authorised administrative body/agency provided for by this Code shall be obliged to ensure that the opinions and comments submitted by the public in the decision-making process, as well as the results of the public discussion, are taken into account.

3. The Agency shall be obliged to ensure accessibility and provision to the public of information on the adopted decisions in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 32. Informing the Public🔗

1. Information on holding a public hearing shall be placed:

a) on the official website of the relevant administrative body provided for by this Code, on the environmental information portal and on an information board accessible to the public;

b) in a newspaper that is widely distributed in the territory subject to possible impact and accessible to the majority of the interested public (if such exists);

c) on the information board and/or website of the executive body and/or representative body of the relevant municipality, as well as at the customary place for the dissemination of information (transport stop, school, pre-school education institution, shopping centre, post office and/or other place of public gathering);

d) at the public place nearest to the implementation of an activity subject to EIA or a strategic document subject to SEA.

2. The notice on holding a public hearing shall include information:

a) on the matter on which, in accordance with this Code, a decision must be adopted;

b) on the authorised administrative body adopting the decision;

c) on the means of access to the documentation required for adopting the decision provided for by this Code, as well as data on the place and address where it is possible to review the said documentation;

d) on the possibility of attending the public hearing/participating in the public hearing and submitting opinions and comments on it;

e) on the procedure for transboundary environmental impact assessment – in the event this procedure is carried out;

f) on any other data provided for by this Code (including on the availability of a non-technical summary) that will facilitate effective public participation in the decision-making process.

3. The time for placing the notice on holding a public hearing shall be determined in such a way as to ensure effective public participation in the decision-making process.

Law of Georgia of 18 September 2020 No. 7164 – website, 22.09.2020.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Article 33. Access to Information🔗

1. The administrative body taking a decision on the matters provided for by this Code shall, upon request, ensure access, in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia, to any public information related to the exercise of its powers.

2. The Agency, in the process of taking a decision provided for by this Code, shall determine, in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia, the scope of information necessary for effective informing of the public and shall ensure:

a) placement of the said information on the environmental information portal;

b) availability of a printed copy.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 34. Submission of Opinions and Comments. Public Hearing🔗

1. Opinions and comments may be submitted to the administrative body:

a) in writing;

b) orally, during a public hearing;

c) by electronic means, if they allow reliable identification of the author and the sender.

2. The public shall be provided with complete information on the purpose, time, place and procedure of the public hearing and on the possibility of obtaining the necessary documentation. In the case provided for by paragraph 2¹ of this Article, the public shall be provided with the relevant information. A public hearing is open and any person has the right to participate in it. Information on the holding of a public hearing shall be published/placed in accordance with the procedure established by this Code.

2¹. During an epidemic/pandemic determined by the legislation of Georgia, taking into account the epidemiological situation in the country, a public hearing provided for by this Code shall be held in one of the following forms:

a) remotely, using electronic means of communication;

b) in a hybrid format.

Note: For the purposes of subparagraph „b“ of this paragraph, hybrid format means holding a public hearing at the place determined by paragraph 3 of Article 9 and paragraph 5 of Article 12 of this Code, using electronic means of communication, which ensures remote participation of the public in the public hearing.

3. The procedure of a public hearing shall be established in accordance with the General Administrative Code of Georgia and this Code by a subordinate normative act of the Minister "On Approval of the Procedure of a Public Hearing".

Law of Georgia of 18 September 2020 No. 7164 – website, 22.09.2020.

Law of Georgia of 26 April 2022 No. 1521 – website, 13.05.2022.

Article 35. Consideration of the results of public participation🔗

1. The administrative body adopting a decision provided for by this Code shall be obliged to consider the opinions and comments submitted by the public and shall duly reflect the results of public participation in the written reasoning of the respective decision provided for by this Code.

1¹. Comments and opinions recorded by representatives of the public during a public discussion and/or submitted to the Agency, which do not concern matters of environmental impact assessment, shall be sent by the Agency to the respective authorized administrative body (bodies)/municipality (municipalities).

2. The Agency shall be obliged, after the adoption of a decision by the administrative body adopting a decision provided for by this Code, to ensure the timely provision of information about the said decision to the public, in accordance with the procedure established by this Chapter, by appropriate means.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 36. Appealing a decision🔗

Any representative of the public has the right, in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia, to appeal a decision adopted by an administrative body in accordance with this Code, if he/she considers that the administrative body failed to ensure his/her participation in the process of adopting a decision provided for by this Code or otherwise violated the requirements established by the legislation of Georgia.

Article 37. Activities and strategic document subject to the environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure🔗

1. The environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure shall be carried out if:

a) the activity subject to EIA, which is carried out in Georgia, may have a significant transboundary impact on the environment;

b) the strategic document subject to SEA, which is carried out in Georgia, may have a significant transboundary impact on the environment;

c) the activity or strategic document, which is carried out in another state, may have a significant impact on the environment of Georgia.

2. The environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure shall be carried out if another state has assumed such an obligation under an international treaty in the environmental field, or a bilateral treaty on the implementation of the environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure has been concluded between Georgia and that state.

3. The Agency shall be responsible for the implementation of the environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure.

4. The Agency shall make available to the public all documents related to the environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure in accordance with the procedure established by Chapter IV of this Code.

5. If a treaty/agreement concluded between Georgia and another state provides for a procedure and grounds for environmental transboundary impact assessment different from those defined by this Code, the provisions of the relevant international treaty/agreement shall apply in the environmental transboundary impact assessment.

Law of Georgia No. 1445 of 17 March 2022 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia No. 2601 of 22 February 2023 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia No. 786 of 26 June 2025 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 38. Procedure for Assessment of Transboundary Impact on the Environment🔗

1. If there is a ground defined by the first and second paragraphs of Article 37 of this Code and the implementation of the activity/strategic document may have a transboundary impact on the environment, which is identified by the implementer of the activity, the planning body, the Agency and/or the state subject to transboundary impact, on the basis of a petition of the Ministry, the Government of Georgia issues an individual administrative-legal act on the commencement of the procedure for assessment of the transboundary impact on the environment of the activity/strategic document, which determines the obligation of the implementer of the activity or the planning body to submit to the Agency, in both material and electronic form, copies of the relevant application and attached documents translated into the state language of the country that may be subject to transboundary impact and certified in accordance with notarial procedure, and the time limit provided for by paragraph 2 of this Article. Before the submission to the Agency, in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia, of the documents translated by the implementer of the activity or the planning body, on the basis of the aforementioned decision of the Government of Georgia, the Agency adopts a decision on the suspension of the initiated administrative proceedings. The Agency shall, within 1 day from the adoption of the decision on the suspension of the initiated administrative proceedings, make it available to the public in accordance with the procedure established by Chapter IV of this Code.

2. Immediately upon submission of the translated documentation by the implementer of the activity or the planning body, the Agency, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, shall, within 7 days, send this documentation to the state subject to transboundary impact and notify it of the reasonable time limit established on the basis of the relevant decision of the Government of Georgia, within which the state subject to transboundary impact must notify the Agency of its participation in the procedure for assessment of transboundary impact on the environment.

3. If none of the states subject to transboundary impact expresses an interest in participating in the procedure for assessment of transboundary impact on the environment within the time limit provided for by paragraph 2 of this Article, the Agency, with the consent of the Government of Georgia, adopts a decision on the termination of the procedure for assessment of transboundary impact on the environment and the continuation of the EIA or SEA procedure. The Government of Georgia, together with granting consent to the Agency, adopts a decision on declaring invalid the individual administrative-legal act issued on the basis of paragraph 1 of this Article.

4. If any State subject to transboundary impact expresses interest in participating in the environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure, within 1 month from the expression of such interest by it, on the basis of a submission by the Ministry, the Government of Georgia shall adopt a decision on initiating the environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure with that State. This decision shall include information on the forms of exchange of documents and data, further consultations and the timeframes for implementing the environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24 March 2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09 March 2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04 July 2025.

Article 39. Rights and obligations of the activity operator and the planning body in the environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure🔗

1. The activity operator and/or the planning body shall be obliged to:

a) indicate the possible transboundary impact in the screening application or the scoping application;

b) properly assess the possible transboundary impact in the EIA report or the SEA report;

c) ensure proper translation of the documentation and notarial certification of the correctness of translation from one language into another in accordance with the legislation of Georgia;

d) in the case of attendance of foreign nationals at a public hearing, ensure proper translation;

e) if necessary, during the implementation of the environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure, ensure the provision of appropriate assistance to the Agency;

f) ensure that the environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure is taken into account in the scoping report, the EIA report, the SEA report and/or the strategic document.

2. The activity operator and/or the planning body shall be entitled to engage in the environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure at any stage.

3. The activity operator/planning body shall be obliged to ensure reimbursement of the expenses related to the implementation of the environmental transboundary impact assessment procedure.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24 March 2022.

Article 40. Consideration of the results of the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure at the EIA and SEA stages🔗

1. As a result of consultations related to the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure with another state, the Agency:

a) determines for the activity implementer or the planning body the obligation to reflect in the scoping report/scoping statement the results of consultations related to the transboundary impact assessment procedure;

b) determines those parts of the EIA or SEA report that must be translated by the activity implementer or the planning body into the state language of the country that is subject to the transboundary impact;

c) when adopting an environmental decision, takes into account the results of the consultations;

d) ensures that the results of the consultations are taken into account in the process of issuing a recommendation in relation to the draft strategic document and the SEA report.

2. The activity implementer or the planning body shall, within 1 month from its adoption, translate into the relevant language and submit to the Agency the environmental decision or strategic document and the recommendation issued in relation thereto, which provides for the implementation of the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure. The Agency shall send the said documents, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, to the state that participated in the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure.

3. The activity implementer/planning body shall ensure the translation into the relevant language and submission to the Agency of the results of the monitoring of the implementation of the strategic document subject to the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure or of the post-activity analysis. The said documents shall be sent, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, to the state that participated in the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24 March 2022.

Article 41. Procedure for assessment of transboundary impact on the environment caused by activities outside the borders of Georgia and by the implementation of a strategic document🔗

1. The Agency shall be entitled to participate in the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure if it receives a notification from another state about the possible impact on the environment of Georgia from an activity or the implementation of a strategic document in that state.

2. On the basis of a request by the Ministry, the Government of Georgia shall initiate the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure if there are appropriate grounds that an activity or the implementation of a strategic document in another state will have an impact on the environment of Georgia, and no notification has been received from the other state in this regard.

3. After the initiation of the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure, the Agency, on the basis of a decision of the Government of Georgia, shall hold consultations with the state in which the activity or the strategic document is being implemented.

4. Before holding consultations with another state, the Agency shall ensure public information, in accordance with the procedure established by Chapter IV of this Code, about the said consultations in the territory subject to transboundary impact.

5. The costs related to public information shall be reimbursed by the Agency, unless otherwise determined as a result of the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 42. Expert Commission🔗

1. For the purpose of conducting the expert examination provided for by this Code, the Agency shall create an expert commission in each specific case.

2. The expert commission shall consist of experts. An expert may be a representative of the Ministry or of an institution within its system and/or a public expert provided for by the legislation of Georgia. Depending on the specifics of the planned activity or strategic document, the Agency shall have the right to invite a foreign entity (natural person or legal person) or a stateless person as a member of the expert commission.

3. A public expert shall participate in the expert examination process on the basis of an employment contract concluded with him/her by the Agency. The remuneration of the public expert's work shall be carried out by the Agency within the limits of the allocations allocated to it from the state budget. The procedure for remuneration of the public expert's work shall be determined by order of the Minister.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Article 43. Functions and Powers of the Expert Commission. Expert Opinion🔗

1. The functions of the Expert Commission are:

a) preparation of an expert opinion on the EIA report on the change of operating conditions, on the issue of changing a condition defined by an environmental decision, on the EIA report, on the SEA report and on the draft strategic document;

b) preparation of an expert opinion on the ecological audit report;

c) exercise of other powers provided for by the legislation of Georgia;

d) carrying out scientific-research activity in the expert examination process.

2. Members of the Expert Commission are entitled to inspect and study on site the territory envisaged by the planned activity, by the strategic document, as well as by the application on the change of operating conditions. The body carrying out/planning the activity shall ensure the unimpeded movement of the members of the Expert Commission on the said territory.

3. The Expert Commission is entitled, within the scope of its competence, to receive information from an administrative body in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia.

4. The results of the work of the Expert Commission shall be reflected in the expert opinion, which shall be prepared by the Expert Commission and signed by the chairperson and members of the Expert Commission.

5. The expert opinion prepared by the Expert Commission is of a recommendatory nature and its consideration by the Agency in the decision-making process is not mandatory. An expert who does not agree with the expert opinion may formulate in writing his/her dissenting opinion, which shall be attached to the expert opinion. At the same time, refusal to consider the expert opinion shall be substantiated.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 44. Control of the Fulfilment of Conditions Defined by an Environmental Decision🔗

The fulfilment of conditions defined by an environmental decision shall be controlled, in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia, by a state sub-agency institution implementing state control within the system of the Ministry.

Article 45. Responsibility for Violation of Requirements Established by the Legislation of Georgia in the Field of Environmental Assessment🔗

Responsibility for violation of requirements established by the legislation of Georgia in the field of environmental assessment shall be determined by this Code and other legislative and subordinate legislative acts of Georgia.

Article 46. Liability for non-fulfilment of conditions determined by an environmental decision. Declaration of an environmental decision as invalid🔗

1. Non-fulfilment of the conditions determined by an environmental decision shall result in the imposition of a fine on the implementer of the activity in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia. After the imposition of a fine on the implementer of the activity, the state sub-agency institution within the system of the Ministry that exercises state control shall establish a reasonable period for the fulfilment of the conditions determined by the environmental decision.

2. Notwithstanding the imposition of the fine provided for by paragraph 1 of this article on the implementer of the activity, the non-fulfilment by the latter of the conditions determined by the environmental decision within the reasonable period provided for by paragraph 1 of this article shall result in the tripling of the imposed fine. After the imposition of a fine on the implementer of the activity, a reasonable period and the relevant conditions for the fulfilment of the conditions determined by the environmental decision shall be established.

3. After the expiry of the reasonable period following the imposition of the tripled fine provided for by paragraph 2 of this article on the implementer of the activity, the non-fulfilment by the latter of the conditions determined by the environmental decision shall result in the tripling of the imposed fine.

4. If, notwithstanding the imposition of the fines provided for by paragraphs 1–3 of this article on the implementer of the activity, the latter does not ensure the fulfilment of the conditions determined by the environmental decision, the Agency shall declare the environmental decision invalid, except for the cases provided for by paragraphs 7–9 of this article.

5. The grounds for declaring an environmental decision invalid, in addition to the grounds provided for by Article 61 of the General Administrative Code of Georgia and paragraph 4 of this article, are:

a) the request of the holder of the environmental decision;

b) liquidation of the holder of the environmental decision in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia, unless otherwise determined by a court judgment;

c) a guilty verdict of a court that has entered into legal force on deprivation of the right to carry out activity.

5¹. The Agency is entitled not to cancel the environmental decision until the implementer of the activity fully implements the measures determined by the environmental decision that are related to the restoration of the place of carrying out the activity.

5². The implementer of the activity is entitled to apply to the Agency with a request to cancel the relevant decision in respect of those activities for which the relevant approval act in the field of EIA has been issued and which, in accordance with this Code, no longer require undergoing the procedures established by this Code.

6. A screening decision, a scoping decision, an environmental decision and a decision on declaring the environmental decision invalid may be appealed to a superior administrative body (official) or to a court.

7. If the declaration of an environmental decision as invalid may cause more damage than the continuation of the operation of the environmental decision, or if the suspension of the activity is essentially impossible, the Agency shall adopt a reasoned decision on granting the holder of the environmental decision the right to carry out a certain action subject to the additional conditions determined by it for the holder of the environmental decision. In such case, the holder of the environmental decision shall be obliged to ensure the fulfilment of the additional conditions within a reasonable period established by the Agency.

8. If, in the case provided for by paragraph 7 of this Article, the holder of the environmental decision fails to ensure the fulfilment of the conditions determined by the said decision, the Agency shall be entitled, notwithstanding the imposition of liability on the holder of the environmental decision, to adopt a decision on ensuring the fulfilment of the conditions determined by this decision by the Agency or through a third party, in the name and at the expense of the holder of the environmental decision.

9. If the fulfilment of the conditions determined by the environmental decision in the manner established by paragraph 8 of this Article is impossible, the court, on the basis of an application by the Agency, shall adopt a decision on the appointment of a special manager for carrying out the action determined by the said decision and for fulfilling the conditions. In relation to the special manager, the procedure established by Article 34 of the Law of Georgia “on Licences and Permits” shall apply.

Law of Georgia of 2 March 2021 No. 248 – website, 12.03.2021.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 26 April 2022 No. 1521 – website, 13.05.2022.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 47. Procedure for adopting a decision on the continuation of ongoing activity and liability for non-fulfilment of the conditions determined by the decision on the continuation of ongoing activity🔗

1. Activities subject to ecological expertise provided for by paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the Law of Georgia “On Environmental Impact Permit” (except for activities related to the operation of existing landfills as defined by the Waste Management Code, power transmission lines and substations built before the entry into force of this Code, motor roads of international and domestic importance, railways and bridges located on them, road tunnels and their engineering protection structures, the metro, main gas pipelines, as well as water reservoirs used for recreational purposes and/or amelioration purposes and/or for fish-breeding farms, the implementation of which began before 1 June 2022 and which do not have the relevant enabling administrative-legal act in the field of EIA), the implementation of which began before 1 January 2018 and which do not have an environmental impact permit or a decision on the continuation of ongoing activity, if the implementers of the said activities have not applied for the relevant enabling administrative-legal acts in the field of EIA, require the adoption by the Agency of a decision on the continuation of ongoing activity in accordance with the procedures provided for by this Article.

2. In the case provided for by paragraph 1 of this Article, the implementer of the activity shall be obliged to apply to the Agency before 1 January 2024 in order to obtain the right to continue the ongoing activity.

3. In the case provided for by paragraph 1 of this Article, the implementer of the activity shall be obliged to apply to the Agency with an application in order to obtain the right to continue the ongoing activity and to submit an ecological audit report and a plan-schedule of measures to mitigate the environmental impact caused by the ongoing activity. The said application shall contain information on the confidential part of the submitted documentation. The implementer of the activity shall also be obliged to submit to the Agency the complete scheme of the technological cycle, even in the case where the activity contains a commercial secret and/or a state secret.

4. The procedure for drawing up an ecological audit report and for adopting a decision on the continuation of ongoing activity shall be determined by an order of the Minister.

5. The costs necessary for conducting the ecological audit shall be reimbursed by the implementer of the activity.

6. The Agency, immediately upon registration of the documentation provided for by paragraph 3 of this Article, shall ensure the sending of the said documentation to the Centre. The Centre shall immediately ensure the placement of this documentation on the environmental information portal for the purpose of public participation and receipt of relevant proposals.

7. Within 30 calendar days from the placement of the documentation provided for by paragraph 3 of this Article on the environmental information portal, the Agency shall review the written opinions and comments submitted by the public, and on the 40th calendar day from the placement of the said documentation on the specified website, the Centre shall hold a public hearing.

8. In order to adopt a decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity, the Agency shall, in each specific case, conduct an expert examination.

9. To ensure the implementation of the procedure provided for by paragraph 8 of this Article, an expert commission shall be established by order of the Head of the Agency. The members of the expert commission shall be entitled to inspect and examine on site the territory where the ongoing activity is carried out. The person carrying out the activity shall be obliged to ensure the unimpeded movement of the members of the expert commission on that territory.

10. The Agency shall ensure that the reasoned written opinions and comments submitted by the interested public are taken into account in the process of adopting the decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity.

11. In the event of failure to take into account the opinions and comments defined by paragraph 10 of this Article, the Agency shall be obliged to communicate the appropriate decision to the respective interested person.

12. For the purpose of adopting a decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity, the Agency shall, in each specific case, on the basis of the expert examination report, establish the timeframes of the schedule of measures to reduce the environmental impact caused by the ongoing activity.

13. Not earlier than the 50th calendar day and not later than the 60th calendar day from the registration of the respective application, the Agency shall, on the basis of the expert examination report, adopt a decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity, which shall be approved by order of the Head of the Agency.

14. A person carrying out an activity who applies to the Agency with an application to obtain the right to continue the ongoing activity and fails to comply with the environmental norms in force shall be obliged to ensure the fulfilment, within the timeframes established by the schedule corresponding to the conditions defined by the decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity, of those conditions.

15. In the event that the person carrying out the activity fully fulfils, within the timeframes established by the schedule corresponding to the conditions defined by the decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity, those conditions, he/she shall be obliged to apply to the Agency for the adoption of an environmental decision. The Agency shall issue an individual administrative-legal act on the issuance of the environmental decision in accordance with the procedure established by the Minister's Order "On the Approval of the Rules for the Preparation of the Ecological Audit Report and for the Adoption of a Decision on the Continuation of the Ongoing Activity".

16. The adoption of an environmental decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity shall not release the person carrying out the activity from the obligation to compensate for the damage caused to the environment as a result of the carrying out of the activity before and after the adoption of this decision.

17. Failure to comply with the conditions determined by the decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity shall result in the fining of the person carrying out the activity in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia. After the imposition of a fine on the person carrying out the activity, the state sub-agency institution within the system of the Ministry that exercises state control shall set a reasonable time limit for the fulfilment of the conditions determined by the decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity, as well as the conditions that must be observed for the performance of a specific action.

18. Notwithstanding the imposition on the person carrying out the activity of the fine provided for by paragraph 17 of this Article, his failure to comply, within the reasonable time limit provided for by paragraph 17 of this Article, with the conditions determined by the decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity shall result in the tripling of the imposed fine. When imposing a fine on the person carrying out the activity, a reasonable time limit and the relevant conditions shall be set for the fulfilment of the conditions determined by the decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity.

19. After the expiry of the reasonable time limit provided for by paragraph 18 of this Article following the imposition of a tripled fine on the person carrying out the activity, his failure to comply with the conditions determined by the decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity shall result in the tripling of the imposed fine.

20. If, notwithstanding the imposition of the fines provided for by paragraphs 17–19 of this Article on the person carrying out the activity, he fails to ensure the fulfilment of the conditions determined by the decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity, the Agency shall declare the decision on the continuation of the ongoing activity invalid.

Law of Georgia of 2 March 2021 No. 248 – website, 12.03.2021.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022.

Law of Georgia of 26 April 2022 No. 1521 – website, 13.05.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 48. Provisions related to individual authorising administrative-legal acts in the field of EIA🔗

1. In the case of administrative proceedings commenced before 1 January 2018 in accordance with the Law of Georgia “on Environmental Impact Permit”, the environmental decision shall be issued in accordance with the procedure established for the issuance of an environmental impact permit before 1 January 2018.

2. Activities commenced before 1 January 2018 and provided for by Annexes I and II to this Code, which do not include activities subject to ecological expertise as provided for by the Law of Georgia “on Environmental Impact Permit”, do not require an environmental decision. The requirements established by environmental technical regulations shall apply to the said activities.

3. The respective authorising administrative-legal acts issued in the field of EIA before 1 January 2018 shall retain legal force until 1 January 2021.

4. A person in respect of whom a respective authorising administrative-legal act was issued in the field of EIA before 1 January 2018 shall be obliged, before 1 January 2021, to request, on the basis of an application, the issuance of an environmental decision. The Ministry, on the basis of the said authorising administrative-legal act, shall issue an environmental decision by way of simplified administrative proceedings, without the procedures determined by this Code for the issuance of an environmental decision. In such a case, the said person shall be exempt from the payment of the EIA fee established by this Code.

4¹. In the case provided for by paragraph 4 of this Article, all rights and all obligations (including obligations determined by an administrative instruction before the receipt of the environmental decision) that the recipient of the environmental decision had within the framework of the respective authorising administrative-legal act issued in the field of EIA shall apply to the recipient. His/her failure to fulfil these obligations constitutes failure to fulfil a condition of the environmental decision.

5. Notwithstanding the imposition of liability in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia for failure to fulfil, within the established time limit, the obligation provided for by paragraph 4 of this Article, the person shall be entitled to apply to the Agency in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph 4 of this Article and to receive an environmental decision.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022

Law of Georgia of 26 April 2022 No. 1521 – website, 13.05.2022

Article 49. Measures related to the entry into force of the Code🔗

1. The Ministry, taking into account the time limits defined by the "Association Agreement between Georgia, on the one hand, and the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, on the other hand", shall ensure the revision of the technical regulations in force in the environmental field and their submission to the Government of Georgia.

2. The relevant agencies shall, by 1 October 2017, submit to the Government of Georgia drafts of the appropriate subordinate normative acts to ensure compliance with this Code, and the relevant institutions shall, by 31 December 2017, ensure the compliance of the appropriate subordinate normative acts with this Code.

3. Upon the submission of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, the Government of Georgia shall, by 31 December 2018, ensure the adoption of the legal act necessary for the exercise of the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia provided for by this Code.

4. For the purpose of ensuring the compliance of the legislation regulating oil and gas operations with the procedures established by this Code, by 31 December 2017, the Legal Entity of Public Law – the State Agency for Oil and Gas shall ensure that the relevant amendments are made to the Order of the Head of the State Agency for Regulation of Oil and Gas Resources of Georgia "on Approval of the National Rules Regulating the Conduct of Oil and Gas Operations" and to other legal acts.

5. Upon the submission of the relevant institutions, the Government of Georgia and/or the relevant institutions of the executive authority shall, by 1 July 2018, ensure the compliance of those legal acts with the requirements established by paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 20 of this Code and the adoption/issuance of the relevant legal acts which, at the moment of the entry into force of this Code, provide for the possibility of adopting/approving a strategic document or the relevant procedure.

6. By 1 January 2018, the Minister shall issue the following orders:

a) "on Approval of the Procedure for Public Discussion";

b) "on Approval of the Rules for Drawing up an Ecological Audit Report and Adopting a Decision on the Continuation of the Ongoing Activity";

c) "on Approval of the Procedure for Remuneration of the Work of Public Experts".

7. The Minister shall, by 1 January 2028, issue the order "on Conducting Further Analysis of the Results of the Implementation of the Strategic Document".

8. The Government of Georgia shall, by 1 August 2025, adopt the Resolution "on Approval of the Procedure for Drawing up the Environmental Impact Assessment Report and the Report on the Change of the Operating Condition of an Activity Provided for by the Environmental Assessment Code".

Law of Georgia No. 3106 of 5 July 2018 – website, 11.07.2018.

Law of Georgia No. 786 of 26 June 2025 – website, 04.07.2025.

Article 50. Invalid normative acts🔗

From 1 January 2018, the following laws shall be declared invalid:

a) Law of Georgia of 14 December 2007 "On Environmental Impact Permit" (Legislative Herald of Georgia, No 47, 26.12.2007, Art. 404);

b) Law of Georgia of 14 December 2007 "On Ecological Expertise" (Legislative Herald of Georgia, No 47, 26.12.2007, Art. 405).

Article 51. Entry into force of the Code🔗

1. This Code, except for Articles 1 and 2 of this Code, subparagraphs "a"–"g", "i", "j" and "l"–"aa" of Article 3, paragraph 1 of Article 4, subparagraphs "a"–"g", "i" and "j" of paragraph 2 and paragraph 3 thereof, Articles 5–46 and 48, and Annexes I and II, shall enter into force upon publication.

2. Articles 1 and 2 of this Code, subparagraphs "a"–"g", "i", "j", "l"–"s", "u"–"y" and "aa" of Article 3, paragraph 1 of Article 4 (except for subparagraphs "a" and "b") and subparagraphs "a"–"f", "i" and "j" of paragraph 2, Article 5, Article 6 (except for subparagraph "f" of paragraph 1), Article 7 (except for subparagraph "c.a" of paragraph 6 and paragraph 11), Article 8 (except for subparagraph "b.b" of paragraph 3), Article 9 (except for paragraph 10), Article 10 (except for subparagraph "d" of paragraph 3 in the part concerning information on transboundary impact), Article 11, Article 12 (except for paragraph 7 in the part referring to the procedure for transboundary environmental impact assessment and subparagraph "c" of paragraph 1), Article 13 (except for subparagraph "e" of paragraph 1), Articles 14–17, Article 30 (except for subparagraphs "b" and "c" of paragraph 2), Article 31, Article 32 (except for subparagraph "e" of paragraph 2), Articles 33–36, 42–46 and 48, and Annexes I and II shall enter into force from 1 January 2018.

3. Subparagraph “t” of Article 3 of this Code (except for the part within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia), Article 18 (except for paragraphs 1–3 in the part within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia and paragraph 5), Article 19 (except for subparagraph “d”), Article 20 (except for subparagraph “c” of paragraph 1 and paragraph 6 in the part within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia), Article 21, Article 22 (except for subparagraphs “a” and “g” in the part within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia and subparagraph “e”), Article 23 (except for paragraphs 2–5, paragraph 6 (except for subparagraph “b.a”) and paragraphs 8 and 9 in the part within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia), Article 24 (except for paragraphs 1 and 3–6 in the part within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia and subparagraph “d” of paragraph 2), Article 25 (except for the part within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia), Article 26 (except for subparagraph “e” of paragraph 2), Article 27 (except for paragraphs 1, 4 and 6–8 in the part within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia), Article 28 (except for paragraphs 1 and 2, subparagraph “b” of paragraph 4 and paragraphs 5 and 6 in the part within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, paragraph 3 and subparagraph “c” of paragraph 4) and subparagraph “b” of paragraph 2 of Article 30 shall enter into force from 1 July 2018.

4. Subparagraph „t“ of Article 3 of this Code, insofar as it falls within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, paragraph 3 of Article 4, paragraphs 1–3 of Article 18, insofar as they fall within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, subparagraph „c“ of paragraph 1 of Article 20 and paragraph 6, insofar as they fall within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, subparagraphs „a“ and „g“ of Article 22, insofar as they fall within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, paragraphs 2–5 of Article 23, paragraph 6 (except subparagraph „b.a“) and paragraphs 8 and 9, insofar as they fall within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, paragraphs 1 and 3–6 of Article 24, insofar as they fall within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, Article 25, insofar as it falls within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, paragraphs 1, 4 and 6–8 of Article 27, insofar as they fall within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 28, subparagraph „b“ of paragraph 4 and paragraphs 5 and 6, insofar as they fall within the competence of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, shall enter into force from 31 December 2018.

5. Article 29 of this Code shall enter into force upon the entry into force for Georgia of the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment.

6. Subparagraph „z“ of Article 3 of this Code, subparagraphs „a“ and „b“ of paragraph 1 of Article 4, subparagraph „c“ of paragraph 2 and subparagraph „f“ of paragraph 4, subparagraph „f“ of paragraph 1 of Article 6, subparagraph „c.a“ of paragraph 6 of Article 7 and paragraph 11, subparagraph „b.b“ of paragraph 3 of Article 8, paragraph 10 of Article 9, subparagraph „d“ of paragraph 3 of Article 10, insofar as it concerns information on transboundary impact, subparagraph „c“ of paragraph 1 of Article 12 and paragraph 7, insofar as it refers to the procedure for transboundary environmental impact assessment, subparagraph „e“ of paragraph 1 of Article 13, paragraph 5 of Article 18, subparagraph „d“ of Article 19, subparagraph „e“ of Article 22, subparagraph „b.a“ of paragraph 6 of Article 23, subparagraph „d“ of paragraph 2 of Article 24, subparagraph „e“ of paragraph 2 of Article 26, paragraph 3 of Article 28 and subparagraph „c“ of paragraph 4, subparagraph „c“ of paragraph 2 of Article 30, subparagraph „e“ of paragraph 2 of Article 32 and Articles 37–41 shall enter into force upon the entry into force for Georgia of the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context and its Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment.

Law of Georgia of 5 July 2018 No. 3106 – website, 11.07.2018.

Law of Georgia of 17 March 2022 No. 1445 – website, 24.03.2022

President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili

Kutaisi,

1 June 2017

No. 890-IIs

Annex I

Law of Georgia of 26 April 2022 No. 1521 – website, 13.05.2022

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025

Activities provided for by Annex I

1:

1.1. Processing of crude oil (except lubricants);

1.2. Liquefaction and/or gasification of 500 tonnes or more of coal or bituminous shale per day.

2. Construction and operation of a thermal power plant and/or other combustion installation with a capacity of 10 megawatts or more.

3. Location of a nuclear power plant or other nuclear reactor, including its dismantling and decommissioning, except for a research installation used for the production and conversion of fissile materials and nuclear fuel, the maximum capacity of which does not exceed 1 kilowatt of continuous thermal load.

4. An installation related to an activity the purpose of which is:

4.1. production and/or enrichment of nuclear fuel;

4.2. reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste;

4.3. final disposal of irradiated nuclear fuel in a repository;

4.4. storage of irradiated nuclear fuel or radioactive waste outside the production site, if they are planned to be stored for a period of more than 3 years;

4.5. final disposal of radioactive waste in a repository.

5. Production of cast iron, steel and/or ferroalloys, including primary and/or secondary smelting, as well as smelting of cast iron or steel for the purpose of producing products.

6. Production of non-ferrous metals from ore, concentrates or secondary raw materials by means of metallurgical, chemical or electrochemical processes, except jewellery production.

7. Extraction of asbestos, processing and/or transformation of asbestos and asbestos-containing products: production of more than 20,000 tonnes of asbestos-cement products per year; production of more than 50 tonnes of friction material per year; other use of more than 200 tonnes of asbestos per year.

8. Chemical industry:

8.1. production of basic organic compounds;

8.2. production of basic inorganic compounds;

8.3. production of simple and/or complex phosphorous, nitrogen and/or potassium fertilisers;

8.4. production of plant protection products and/or biocides;

8.5. production of pharmaceutical products by means of a chemical and/or biological process;

8.6. production of explosives.

9. Construction and operation of a mainline above-ground and/or underground railway line.

10. Construction and operation of an airport the main runway of which is 1600 metres or more in length.

11. Construction of a motor road of international or national importance.

12. Reconstruction and/or modernisation of a motor road of international or national importance, the total section length of which is 5 kilometres or more than 5 kilometres.

13. Construction of a tunnel and/or bridge on a motor road of international or domestic importance, except for a bridge that is being built to replace an existing bridge at the location of the same bridge and/or adjacent to an existing bridge, at a distance of 100 metres from the road axis on both sides.

14. Construction of an inland waterway or port where the cargo capacity of a vessel exceeds 1350 tonnes.

15. Construction and operation of a sea port, a cargo berth connected to land and to another port (except a ferry berth), which is capable of receiving a vessel with a displacement of more than 1350 tonnes.

16. Recovery and/or disposal of more than 10 tonnes of hazardous waste per year.

17. Recovery and/or disposal of more than 100 tonnes of non-hazardous waste per year.

18. Carrying out of works of abstraction of groundwater or artificial recharge of groundwater, where the volume of water to be abstracted and to be recharged is 10 million m³ or more per year.

19. Transfer of water between river basins (except transfer through drinking water pipes):

19.1. where the transfer of water is carried out to prevent water shortage and the volume of the transferred water exceeds 20 million m³ per year;

19.2. in all other cases, where the average multi-year runoff of the river from which the water is to be redistributed exceeds 2 000 million m³ per year and the flow rate of the transferred water exceeds 5% of the multi-year minimum flow of the river.

20. Construction of an urban wastewater treatment plant for a population of 50 000 or more.

21. Construction and operation of a dam and/or other structure used for retaining or permanently accumulating water and where the volume of water retained or accumulated by it exceeds 50 000 m³.

22. Construction and/or operation of a hydroelectric power plant with a capacity of 5 megawatts or more.

23. Construction and operation of a pipeline of 800 millimetres or more in diameter and more than 40 kilometres in length for the transportation of oil, gas or chemical compounds, as well as for the transportation of carbon dioxide (CO2) for geological storage purposes.

24. Poultry farm (more than 85 000 places for chicks and/or more than 60 000 places for hens) and/or pig farm (more than 10 000 places for piglets (under 30 kilograms) and/or more than 6 000 places for pigs (over 30 kilograms)).

25. Production of cellulose from wood or similar fibrous material, production of more than 200 tonnes of paper and/or cardboard per day.

26. Extraction of minerals by open-pit method, where the surface of the extraction site exceeds 10 hectares.

27. Extraction of peat, where the surface of the extraction site exceeds 150 hectares.

28. Laying of an overhead and/or underground power transmission line of 220 kilovolts or more, the length of which exceeds 15 kilometres.

29. Arrangement and operation of a storage facility for fossil fuel and/or chemical products with a total volume of 1 000 m³ or more.

30. Geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2).

31. Extraction of 1.5 megatonnes or more of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year.

Annex II

Law of Georgia of 24 June 2020 No. 6416 – website, 01.07.2020.

Law of Georgia of 26 April 2022 No. 1521 – website, 13.05.2022.

Law of Georgia of 22 February 2023 No. 2601 – website, 09.03.2023.

Law of Georgia of 29 June 2023 No. 3391 – website, 30.06.2023.

Law of Georgia of 12 June 2025 No. 680 – website, 16.06.2025.

Law of Georgia of 26 June 2025 No. 786 – website, 04.07.2025.

Activities provided for by Annex II

1. Agriculture, forestry and aquaculture:

1. Agriculture and forestry:

1.1. Use of agricultural land with an area of 10 hectares or more for non-agricultural purposes;

1.2. Use of fallow land with an area of 10 hectares or more for agricultural purposes;

1.3. Construction and operation of an amelioration system;

1.4. Planting of forest with an area of 50 hectares or more and/or felling of forest with an area of 5 hectares or more for the purpose of conversion into and use as another category of land;

1.5. Construction of a shed intended for 500 or more head of large domestic livestock;

1.6. Development of sea area (creation of an artificial island, peninsula, etc.).

2. Extractive industry and drilling operations:

2.1. Open-pit mining of peat where the surface of the extraction site exceeds 10 hectares; open-pit mining of solid minerals (except sand and gravel) where the surface of the extraction site exceeds 5 hectares;

2.2. Underground mining of minerals (including extraction of underground fresh water for entrepreneurial purposes) where the volume of the resource to be extracted exceeds 100,000 m3 per year (except for extraction of oil, natural gas and natural hydrogen or use of underground water for personal consumption);

2.3. Extraction of minerals from the sea;

2.4. Drilling operations for the extraction of thermal water (for thermal energy purposes);

2.5. Drilling operations for the storage of radioactive waste;

2.6. Drilling operations using an above-ground production facility for the extraction of coal, ore or bituminous shale.

3. Energy production:

3.1. Combustion plant with a capacity of 2 megawatts or more for electricity generation;

3.2. Production plant for the generation of steam and hot water (except for a steam and hot water plant related to oil and gas operations and natural hydrogen operations) where the development area exceeds 0.5 hectares and their output exceeds 50 megawatts;

3.3. Placement of a pipeline of 5 km or more in length for the transmission of steam and hot water;

3.4. Construction of an above-ground and/or underground power transmission line with a voltage of 35 kilovolts or more, placement of a substation with a voltage of 110 kilovolts or more;

3.5. Construction and operation of an above-ground and/or underground storage facility with a volume of 100 m3 or more for fossil fuel, oil and petroleum products, natural hydrogen, liquefied and/or natural gas;

3.6. Briquetting of coal and/or lignite;

3.7. Processing and/or storage of radioactive waste;

3.8. Construction and operation of a hydroelectric power plant with a capacity of 2 megawatts to 5 megawatts;

3.9. Installation for the generation of electricity by means of wind and/or sea wave energy.

4. Production and processing of metals:

4.1. (removed – 26.06.2025, No. 786).

4.2. Processing of ferrous metal: hot working of metal, forging with an anvil, coating with a protective metal layer, with a capacity of 50 tonnes per year or more;

4.3. Smelting of non-ferrous metal (except precious metal) with a capacity of 20 tonnes per year or more;

4.4. Surface cleaning of metal and/or plastic material using an electrolytic or chemical process in a tank of 10 m³ or more;

4.5. Mechanical engineering (assembly of motor vehicles) and production of vehicle engines;

4.6. Shipbuilding;

4.7. Aircraft construction;

4.8. Extrusion of metal with explosives;

4.9. Roasting and agglomeration of metal-bearing ore.

5. Processing of mineral raw materials:

5.1. Processing of mineral resources;

5.2. Coking of coal;

5.3. Production of asphalt;

5.4. Production of cement, lime, gypsum and/or plaster;

5.5. Production of asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products;

5.6. Production of glass and/or glass products (including glass fibre);

5.7. Production of ceramic clay (except production by the traditional method in a household), production of ceramic products (in particular, tiles, bricks, firebricks, slabs or porcelain).

6. Chemical production:

6.1. Production of a chemical substance by chemical processing of an intermediate product;

6.2. Production of pharmaceutical products, paints, varnishes, peroxide, elastomer and/or plastic material;

6.3. Arrangement and/or operation of a storage facility for petrochemical and/or chemical products.

7. Food production:

7.1. Production of 25,000 tonnes per year or more of vegetable and/or animal fat;

7.2. Canning of animal and/or vegetable products for the purpose of producing 25,000 tonnes or more of products per year;

7.3. Production of more than 20 tonnes of dairy products per day;

7.4. Production of more than 100 tonnes of beer and malt per day;

7.5. Production of more than 3 tonnes of confectionery products per day;

7.6. Arrangement and operation of an animal slaughterhouse where 300 or more animals are slaughtered per day;

7.7. Industrial production of 5,000 tonnes or more of starch per year;

7.8. Processing of more than 5,000 tonnes of fish per year;

7.9. Production of 25 tonnes or more of sugar per day.

8. Production of textiles, leather, paper:

8.1. Production of 10 tonnes or more of paper and/or cardboard per day;

8.2. Pre-treatment (washing, starching, mercerising) and/or dyeing of more than 1 tonne of textile and/or textile fibre per day;

8.3. Tanning/processing of leather;

8.4. Processing of cellulose.

9. Infrastructure projects:

9.1. Placement of a complex of industrial enterprises on an area of more than 10 hectares;

9.2. an urban development project with a built-up area of more than 10 hectares (including the arrangement of a shopping centre and a car park with a capacity of 1,000 vehicles);

9.3. construction and operation of a container terminal and the railway line related thereto;

9.4. construction of an aerodrome;

9.5. construction of a seaport and the buildings and structures related thereto, the design built-up area of which is more than 1 hectare;

9.6. arrangement of a sewerage system with a length of 2 kilometres or more, arrangement of a sewerage system on an area with a built-up area of 5 hectares or more;

9.7. arrangement of an inland waterway;

9.8. (removed - 26 June 2025, No. 786).

9.9. construction of a dam and/or another structure/installation, the construction of which is appropriate for the purpose of water retention or long-term water accumulation and the volume of water retained or accumulated by which is more than 10,000 m³;

9.10. construction of a tram and/or cableway line intended for the transport of passengers;

9.11. laying of a pipeline with a length of more than 5 kilometres for the purpose of transporting oil, gas or carbon dioxide (CO2);

9.12. placement of a water-carrying aqueduct with a length of 5 kilometres or more on an area of 1 hectare or more;

9.13. works to prevent sea coast erosion and marine works by which the coast may be altered through construction (for example, placement of a dike, levee, embankment and other sea protection works), except for their maintenance and reconstruction works.

10. Other projects:

10.1. arrangement of permanent motor racing and testing tracks on a territory with an area of 15 hectares or more;

10.2. recovery and/or disposal of up to 10 tonnes per year of hazardous waste;

10.3. recovery/disposal of from 10 to 100 tonnes per year of non-hazardous waste (except pre-treatment);

10.4. (removed - 26 June 2025, No. 786).

10.5. arrangement of a temporary storage facility for more than 10 tonnes of hazardous waste;

10.6. arrangement and operation of a wastewater treatment plant;

10.7. arrangement and operation of a sludge storage facility;

10.8. recovery or destruction of explosive substances.

11. Tourism and recreation:

11.1. arrangement of a mountain-skiing and/or cableway track on an area of 5 hectares or more;

11.2. construction outside the city of a recreational complex settlement (including a hotel and related structures) on an area of more than 10 hectares;

11.3. arrangement of permanent camping and caravan sites on an area of 5 hectares or more;

11.4. development of an amusement park (including an amusement ride park) on an area of 10 hectares or more, except for the arrangement of recreational/entertainment places (including sports, play, camping, bathing places and urban gardening) on green areas existing in the built environment as a result of landscape construction.

Note: Activities of the same content provided for by Annexes I and II to this Code, for which different thresholds are established, in the case of Annex I shall be subject to the EIA procedure, and in the case of Annex II – to the screening procedure (except for the case provided for by paragraph 13 of Article 7 of this Code).