Turkey updates Environmental Impact Assessment regulations

The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has implemented significant changes to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulation, effective immediately following its publication in the Official Gazette.

The new regulations update the criteria for various industrial and environmental projects. Under the EK-1 list, thermal power plants with a total thermal capacity of 300 MWt or higher, as well as facilities producing gas, steam, or hot water with the same capacity, are now included. Nuclear power plants, including their construction and decommissioning, are also subject to these assessments, with certain research projects excepted.

A notable addition to the EK-1 list is the inclusion of water transfer projects between river basins, though drinking water transport via pipelines is specifically excluded.

Additionally, the EK-2 list has been updated. Thermal power plants and industrial incineration facilities with a total thermal capacity of 20 MWt or higher are now categorized under this list. Furthermore, regulation projects involving riverbeds of continuously flowing rivers with a length of 5 kilometers or more are also subject to EK-2 requirements.