Ghana

Screening process
Screening is a required step in the Ghanaian EIA procedures. The EPA makes the screening decision.

The Environmental Assessment Regulations (1999) contain positive lists that specify the projects subject to EIA. Schedule I of the regulation lists the activities that require registration and an environmental permit, and may also require a preliminary or a full EIA. The list specifies minimum thresholds. Schedule II lists the activities that require a full EIA, this list also specifies minimum thresholds. EPA can also request a full EIA for any activity that is not listed.

A proponent has to submit a registration form or environmental screening form to the EPA for all activities listed in Schedule I and II. The EPA then decides on the need for further study of the activities and on the level of detail of the study. For Schedule I activities, EPA may request a preliminary or full EIA, it may also request a full EIA after review of the preliminary EIA. For all activities in Schedule II the EPA will require a full EIA. Furthermore, the EPA may accept the proposed activities directly if no EIA is deemed necessary, or reject proposed activities outright. The screening decision is issued in a report.

Sensitive areas
Schedule V of the EIA regulation defines environmentally sensitive areas. This list has been substituted in 2006 by a list of 8 types of Environmentally Sensitive Areas. All activities in these areas require an EIA.

Contents of the starting document
The EPA has developed an online system This link opens in a new tab for proponents to submit application for EIAs. The screening documentation submitted by the proponent should contain information on:

• Details on the proposed activity (including a description of waste generation);
• The proposed location ( location, zoning, site description, land cover and topography);
• Infrastructure and utilities;
• Environmental impacts (air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, water quality and hydrology, noise, other impacts);
• Health and safety impacts;
• Management of impacts (air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, water quality and hydrology, noise others);
• Alternatives to the establishment of the activity;
• List of stakeholders consulted (including evidence).

For large scale projects with significant impacts: Upon submission of the Registration Form, EPA would within 25 days request the proponent to conduct a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study in order to understand fully the environmental impacts of the proposal and how they would be mitigated.

For small and medium scale activities: Upon submission of the Registration Form, EPA would conduct an inspection of the proposed site and issue a report (screening report) which would be presented to a cross-sectoral technical committee (the EIA Technical Review Committee) for a decision on the application within 25 working days from the date of registration.

The preliminary EIA should complement the information already submitted in the screening document, in particular, it should contain a more detailed description of the effects on the environment.

Timeline Screening
EPA makes the screening decision within a maximum of 25 days.

Scoping process
Scoping is a required step, resulting in an approved Terms of Reference for the ESIA.

The proponent has to produce a scoping report, which includes a Terms of Reference for the EIA and has to submit 10 copies of the report to EPA for review and acceptance.

During scoping, the proponent should consult with affected parties. Furthermore, the proponent should give notice of the proposed undertaking to the relevant Ministries, government departments and organisations and the relevant Metropolitan, Municipal or District Assembly. The scoping report is made available for the general public. The EPA reviews the Scoping report with the help of a Technical Review Committee and has to approve the report before the EIA can proceed.

Contents of the scoping document
The scoping report contains a description of any issues raised during the consultation process, and how these will be addressed in the EIA. The scoping document should contain a draft Terms of Reference. The EIA regulation stipulates that this ToR contain:

• A description of the activity;
• The need for the activity;
• Alternatives (including a ‘no-build’ alternative, and site-alternatives);
• Site selection;
• The current environmental, social and economic situation;
• Potential impacts;
• The potential impact on health;
• Mitigation measures;
• Monitoring;
• Contingency plans;
• Public consultation;
• Illustrative materials;
• An Environmental Management Plan;
• Financial compensation for possible damage; and
• Transboundary impacts.

Timeline scoping
The EPA reviews the Terms of Reference within 25 days.

Assessment process
There are no methodological requirements, but the regulation does require that the assessment covers potential positive and negative impacts on environmental, social, economic and cultural aspects and in relation to the different phases of development of the activity and transboundary impacts.

Contents of the ESIA report
The EIA report has to contain information on direct and indirect impacts of the undertaking on the environment at the pre-construction, construction, operation, decommissioning and post-decommissioning phases, including:

• Concentrations of pollutants in the environment;
• Direct ecological changes;
• Alteration in the ecological processes;
• Consequences such as direct destruction of existing habitats;
• Noise and vibration levels;
• Odour;
• Traffic generation and potential increase of road accidents;
• Changes in social, cultural and economic patterns;
• Health impact;
• If relevant, reclamation plans (for extractive industry and mining).

The Environmental Assessment reports (both preliminary EIA and EIA report) are required to be easily understandable and must contain a non-technical summary.

The proponent needs to submit 12 copies of a draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (called Environmental Impact Statement) to the EPA for review.

Accreditation of consultants
There is no accredicted system to certify consultants. The EPA has a list of all consultants trained by the Agency.

There is the so-called Akoben initiative, which refers to an initiative which aims to improve the monitoring system following the EIA, rating companies on their environmental performance to implement the environmental management system (EMS) and making this information available on a publicly available website. This innovative approach is expected to improve compliance. The software has been developed by a consultant and has been subject of a public review. It is now being installed by EPA for wide application.

Review process
The EIS draft report is reviewed by the EPA, assisted by cross-sectoral technical committees at the regional and at the national level. EPA uses an ‘instructions for reviewing EIA reports’ document. The review should result in a summary of strengths and weaknesses of the report, needs for further study (if any), any impact monitoring required and any terms and conditions that should apply if approval is granted.

The EPA and Committee make the decision whether a revision of the EIA report is required or whether approval can be issued by the EPA. Then the EIA report may be finalized.

Where an environmental impact statement is acceptable to the Agency this shall be communicated in writing to the applicant and the requisite environmental permits hall be issued to the applicant upon the submission of 8 hard copies of the approved environmental impact statement and a digital copy.

Review expertise
Through the review committee relevant expertise from within government (e.g. officials of the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation and other government agencies) can be involved in review. In certain cases the EPA may request for review support from external/international accredited EIA institutions in the review of EIA reports.

Timeline Review
The draft EIA report is reviewed in a maximum of 50 days.

Integration of ESIA into decision-making
In Ghana, EIA is linked to the environmental permitting system. The decision on the environmental permit is made by the EPA and should be based on the preliminary EIA or full EIA. There is no detailed information available in the regulations on the considerations/criteria on which this environmental permit decision is based. There are, however, specific criteria for reviewing EIA reports, which can lead to three decisions: EIS is acceptable and permit is recommended, revision required or additional information required. There is thus limited separation between the EIA report approval decision and the decision on the issuance of the environmental permit.

To ensure compliance with the environmental permit, the permit is linked to an environmental certificate. The environmental permit is seen as a provisional license, which needs to be replaced by an environmental certificate.

ESIA is also linked to the planning permit process, water abstraction and use permits, Energy Commission Permits and National Petroleum Licenses, Mining licenses etc.

The EPA is the competent authority for all consent decisions in the ESIA process. The Agency takes the decision on the EIA report approval, but also on the environmental permit decision. In general, the Executive Director of the EPA is responsible for the decision on the environmental permit and its conditions. He can, however, delegate his mandate to the director of the Environmental Assessment and Audit department. Finally, the decision on the issuance of an environmental certificate is also taken by the EPA.

The environmental permit comes with conditions. These are strongly based on the statements made in the ESIA report and the EMP.

Decision justification
The EPA publishes a notice for every environmental permit that has been issued. This is done within 3 months of the date of the issuance of the permit.

Timeline decision-making
After finalization of the ESIA report the Environmental Permit should be issued within a maximum of 15 days. The whole application process should not take more than 90 days (at the responsible agencies’ part). This timeline does not apply when public hearings are held or where only a preliminary ESIA is required. Nor does it apply to the period taken to prepare and submit an ESIA report.

Possibilities for appeal
A person aggrieved by a decision or action of the EPA may submit a complaint in writing to the Minister within 14 days. As an “aggrieved person” is not further defined in the regulations LI 1652, this could mean the proponent, the public/non-governmental organizations or private parties. This implies that:

When a proponent is dissatisfied with an unfavorable decision by the EPA at any stage of the process, there is a right of appeal. The Minister responsible for environment appoints a board to hear the appeal and take a final decision on the proposed undertaking.
In cases where a public hearing is held because adverse public reaction appeared upon a notice of the draft EIA, the public also has the right to submit a complaint against the decision by the EPA to issue an Environmental Permit.

Compliance monitoring
Monitoring is required. The EPA has established Field Offices and headoffice departments that undertake compliance monitoring, evaluation and enforcement of conditions.

The monitoring regimes and parameters are defined in permitting schedules on a case by case basis. Firstly self-compliance is expected from the proponent. In general, the proponent is required to submit a (provisional) Environmental Management Plan to the EPA within 18 months of the commencement of the activities and thereafter every three years. The Environmental Management Plan shall set out steps that are intended to manage any significant impacts that may result from the operation of the undertaking. Moreover, an Annual Environmental Report should be submitted to the EPA after 12 months and every 12 months thereafter. These deliverables have to be approved by the EPA.

Within 24 months after commencing the activity, the proponent should send evidence to the EPA that the activity is in line with the conditions written in the EIA. The proponent then obtains an Environmental Certificate, if the first Annual Environmental Report has been submitted.

Non-compliance penalties
The EPA may revoke an environmental permit or environmental certificate if the holder of the environmental permit or environmental certificate:

• Fails to obtain any other required authorization in relation to his undertaking before the commencement of operation;
• Is in breach of any provision of any regulations relating to EIA;
• Fails to make the required payments addressed in the EIA regulations on the due date;
• Acts in breach of any conditions to which his environmental permit or environmental certificate is subject; or
• Fails to comply with the mitigations commitments in his EIS or Environmental Management Plan

Furthermore, the EPA may suspend an environmental permit or environmental certificate if fundamental changes in the environment occur due to natural causes before or during the project implementation. Complaints of aggrieved people can further trigger the suspension of an environmental permit or environmental certificate.

Public participation requirements for ESIA process stages
Public concerns are key criteria for the screening decision (LI 1652). For a full EIA, the affected and interested parties should be consulted at every stage of the EIA process. The public may make comments on the scoping report, make field visits, may comment on the draft EIA report and, if a public hearing is deemed necessary, be involved in the public hearing.

During scoping, the Proponent is directed to advertise the project in at least one national newspaper and a local newspaper. The proponent should consult with affected parties. The public may also express their view to the managing director of the proposed activity and the executive director of EPA.

In the course of gathering data for the assessment, a public information program has to be initiated by the proponent aiming to fully inform the local residents about the potential impacts of the undertaking.

The draft EIS is has to be published for 21 days so that the public can express their concerns. During the review process, EPA can decide to hold a public hearing in the following cases:

• The expected environmental impacts are considered extensive and far reaching;
• There is great adverse public reaction to a proposal; and/or
• There will be relocation or dislocation of communities.

The EPA will then appoint a panel of three to five persons to gather information on the public concerns and how these could be addressed. At least two-thirds of the panel members must be residents of the geographic area where the activity will be undertaken.

The stakeholders to be involved are: the general public, relevant public agencies, organizations, NGOs, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and local communities.

A draft for public consultation guidance has been completed in 2013.

Timeline for public comments
A 21 day period for public disclosure is required. In case a public hearing is held, the panel shall make recommendations in writing to the EPA within a period of not less than 15 days from the date it starts hearing representations.

Access to information
The intention of the proponent to initiate the proposed activity, the scoping report, the (draft) EIA and the decision of the EPA on the environmental permit, should all be available to the public.

When a full EIA report has been prepared, the proponent publishes a notice for at least 21 days in at least a national and a local newspaper. No specific language requirements are made in the regulations for reporting but consultation is conducted in the local language.

The decision on the environmental permit is published in the Gazette and through mass media.