Costa Rica Properties

Assessing Environmental Impact

The international tendency towards a more environmentally friendly country has been defended by Costa Rican governments for at least two decades. We Ticos like to think of ourselves as an ecological Nation.

It’s what we offer --- the beauty of our natural resources, our various national parks, unaltered rainforests, impressive waterfalls, and exuberant wildlife. Nonetheless, Costa Rica is also a developing country, seeking to attract foreign investment as much as eco-tourists and the problem remains how to balance increased development with environmental preservation.

Almost any human activity impacts the environment. It can be positive, but is more likely to lead to deterioration of the natural environment.

Therefore the first step is to development is to assess the possible impact a project may have upon the environment. This is done through an “Environmental Impact Study” or Environmental Feasibility Study, the scope of which makes the environment as a key factor for determining whether a project can go ahead.

Modern environmental legislation, and mainly the 1995 Ley Orgánica del Ambiente, does provide for such an environmental evaluation as a prerequisite to any project in Costa Rica. This could be the construction of a processing plant, the building of a hotel, condominiums or a residential development, and even an individual house. In fact any construction of more than 300 square meters or more.

Most important, without such a study, no “viabilidad ambiental” will be granted, unless authorities have duly considered the environmental impact. And by law, any environmental impact is considered to be “any modification to the environment”, and those impacts must be known to the Costa Rican authorities before the project begins.

In charge of this delicate task of assessing the viability of projects is a small, and often very bureaucratic government agency called the Secretaría Técnica Nacional Ambiental, (the National Technical Environmental Secretariat), or SETENA.

SETENA is supposed to be a technical body, not a political one, meaning that the staff is composed of professionals in various technical fields, like biology, geology, hydrology, and engineering. Their role is to evaluate the impact and possible risks to the environment of the projects submitted to them by private parties and even governmental institutions.

They have considerable power to decide what can or cannot be built in the country.
Say for example, you wish to build a house on a recently-purchased ocean-view lot, you begin the process of a feasibility study by contacting an “environmental consultant” registered before SETENA, so he can fill in the D-1 form. That document will have to include all relevant information concerning the project. This form is used by SETENA to decide what it will ask from you in order to allow your project to go ahead. This could simply amount to a formal notarized affidavit, whereby you declare that you will take certain measures not to harm the environment. It may also include certain terms of reference.

These documents then require you to file an environmental management plan or conduct a full environmental impact study on the issues that may be highlighted, such as a groundwater study, social impact study, or noise pollution.

SETENA will give you a deadline to file your completed Plan or Study, together with other documents. A decision by the body could take as little as a few weeks to a year, depending on the importance of the project, its size and the requested items included in the terms of reference.

The ultimate decision, approving or disapproving your project, will come from SETENA´s Board, known as the Comisión Plenaria. If they rule in favour of your project you will have to hire an “environmental manager” to keep track of the relevant developments through the building process. The manage will also have to periodically inform SETENA that all measures are being properly adhered to.

In other words, once approved, SETENA will insist upon keeping an eye on your project, ensuring it continues to comply with the Environmental Management Plan or Study you presented to them. They can sanction you, claim damages or revoke permits if they suspect the project is not been responsibly managed.

There is a suggestion the new administration will make the process of getting permits easier and faster for investors. However, it is unlikely the need for environmental feasibility form SETENA will be abolished, and it remains to be seen how much simpler the process will be made. Consult your lawyer when undertaking any development.