Section 131 of the Environment Act 2000 is the transparency provision, and it gives effect to the object in section 4(i): to regulate in an open and transparent manner, ensuring consultation with those likely to be affected.
Section 131(1) — what the Register contains
(a) each registration of intention to carry out preparatory work (s 48);
(b) each notice to undertake environmental impact assessment (s 50);
(c) each inception report and environmental impact statement (ss 52, 53);
(d) each direction on a programme of public review (s 55);
(e) each representation and submission received in public review;
(f) each assessment of an impact statement by the Director — excluding confidential information withheld under s 55;
(g) each referral to the Council (s 57);
(h) each Council recommendation (s 58);
(i) each approval in principle, or refusal, by the Minister (s 59);
(j) information on permits — each application, each application for transfer, renewal, amendment or surrender, and a copy of each permit and the conditions endorsed on it;
(k) each notice requiring a person to apply for a permit (s 45);
(l) each Council decision on a review of a decision of the Director (s 68);
(m) each decision to suspend or cancel a permit (s 72);
(n) each direction to conduct or commission an environmental audit, the terms of reference, and the Council’s approval of the auditor (s 74);
(o) each approved environmental improvement plan (s 75);
(p) each monitoring and management report submitted by a permit holder under permit conditions;
(q) each emergency authorisation (s 76);
(r) each Environment Protection Order, Clean-up Order and Emergency Direction;
(s) each requirement for information (s 108); and
(t) copies of information for offences against this Act.
Paragraph (j) puts a copy of each permit and the conditions endorsed on it on a public register. Paragraph (p) puts each monitoring and management report submitted under those conditions there too.
Between them, a community can find out what a project is permitted to do and what its own monitoring says it is actually doing — the two documents that matter most in any dispute about a discharge.
Section 131(2) and (3) — the right of inspection
The Register shall be made available for inspection by any person at all reasonable times.
Any person may search for, request and obtain copies of any entry, subject to payment of the fees fixed by the Director under section 100.
“Any person” — no standing requirement, no need to show an interest. That is a wider right than the section 68 review, which is confined to the applicant or the person carrying on the activity.
It also connects to section 51 of the Constitution — the right of reasonable access to official documents, subject to the need for such secrecy as is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society.
Section 131(4) — the Register as evidence
The production of a copy or extract from the Register, certified by the Director to be a true copy or extract, is evidence of the matters contained in it.
Section 127(4) goes further for two categories: a certified extract containing a decision or approval of the Minister, or a recommendation, referral or decision of the Council, constitutes proof in the absence of proof to the contrary. See how prosecutions are brought.
Section 131(5) and (6) — the withholding power
Where the Director is of the opinion that (a) information or data in an environmental impact statement, or (b) the assessment of one, is of a nature that it is in the public interest that it should not be divulged, he may withhold any part from public inspection.
Where information is withheld, the document shall be endorsed with a notice that the Director has exercised his power under that subsection, and the reason for that exercise.
So the fact of withholding, and the reason for it, are themselves public. A reader can see that something has been removed and why — which is what makes the exercise of the power reviewable.
There is a separate and narrower withholding rule at the public review stage: under section 55(5) the Director shall exclude, before release, information about a manufacturing or industrial process or trade secret, or information of a business or financial nature, that is confidential to the applicant. Paragraph (f) of section 131(1) carries that exclusion into the Register.
- Section 55(5) — mandatory, confined to trade secrets and confidential business or financial information, and applies before public review.
- Section 131(5) — discretionary, based on the public interest, applies to the Register, and must be endorsed with reasons.
Neither extends to environmental data, monitoring results or impact predictions as such.
Section 131(7) — misuse of information
A person who discloses or uses any information provided under this Act for purposes other than in accordance with this Act is guilty of an offence: a fine not exceeding K50,000.00 or imprisonment for up to two years, or both.
This applies to everyone, including officials. It is the counterpart of the confidentiality protections in sections 55(5), 77(3) and 94(3).
Sections 132 and 133 — Operational Procedures and Regulations
Section 132 allows the Director to issue Operational Procedures consistent with the Act for achieving its objectives. They appear throughout: the form of applications (s 63(2)), guidelines for inception reports (s 52(2)), the form and content of impact statements (s 53(2)), the time for serving an assessment notice (s 50(3)), the form of a section 108 information notice, and the form for a water investigation permit application (s 89(1)(a)).
Section 133 is the general regulation-making power. Much of the operational detail of the Act — the schedules of level 1, 2 and 3 activities, application procedures, fees, bond calculation and forfeiture — sits in the Regulation rather than the Act.
How to use the Register
- Ask the Authority for access — inspection is available to any person at all reasonable times.
- Ask for the permit and its conditions under paragraph (j). That tells you exactly what is authorised.
- Ask for the monitoring and management reports under paragraph (p), and compare them with the conditions.
- Ask for the impact statement, the assessment and the Council’s recommendation — paragraphs (c), (f) and (h).
- Check for orders under paragraph (r), and for suspension or cancellation decisions under paragraph (m).
- Look for withholding endorsements under section 131(6), and read the stated reason.
- Ask for a certified copy if you may need it in evidence — section 131(4).
- Expect to pay a fee fixed under section 100.
Sources
- Environment Act 2000 — ss 4, 45, 48–59, 63, 68, 72, 74–77, 89, 94, 100, 108, 127, 131–133; Part X
- Conservation and Environment Protection Authority Act 2014
- Constitution — s 51
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Environment Act 2000 and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.