MINISTERIAL ORDER NO.10 OF 1998 WITH RESPECT TO FEES FOR LICENCES ISSUED BY THE ENVIRONMENT AFFAIRS AUTHORITY AND THE SERVICES IT PROVIDES

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1 MINISTRY OF HOUSING, MUNICIPALITIES & ENVIRONMENT MINISTERIAL ORDER NO.10 OF 1998 WITH RESPECT TO FEES FOR LICENCES ISSUED BY THE ENVIRONMENT AFFAIRS AUTHORITY AND THE SERVICES IT PROVIDES The Minister of Housing, Municipalities and Environment, having examined Legislative Decree No.21 of 1996 with respect to the Environment as amended by Legislative Decree No.8 of 1997, and Decree No.21 of the Year 1996 with respect to Re-organisation of the Ministry of Housing, Municipalities and Environment, and with the approval of the Council of Ministers, and upon the submission of the Director General of Environmental Affairs; Hereby orders: Article 1 Chapter One Definitions in the application of the provisions of this Order, the following words shall have the definitions assigned against each: (a) Environmental Licences: They are the approvals issued by the Environment Affairs Authority pursuant to Legislative Decree No.21 of 1996 with respect to the Environment and the orders issued for its implementation with respect to the environmental licensing of projects on the basis of the details of the form of Evaluation of a Project s Environmental Effect or on the basis of a study for determination of an environmental effect thereof or in respect of licensing various areas of activities and handling hazardous materials and waste. (b) General Environmental Information: It is the information related to one of the elements or areas of the environment or more and which are provided by the Environment Affairs Authority to students, researchers or environmentalists within or outside the State at the request of any of the above including environmental maps to assist in conducting studies or for the promotion and enhancement of environmental awareness or such other matters. (c) Periodical Reports (Annual/ Quarterly/Monthly): They are the reports prepared or issued by the Environment Affairs Authority over regular periods of time and dealing with specific issues or subjects in one area or more of the environmental fields.

2 (d) Environmental Status Reports: It is the descriptive report of the environment in its different conditions in a certain place during a specific period of time and containing the degree of the environment s quality and extent of development projects thereupon. (e) Environmental Maps: They are the maps taken for the entire area of the State s territories or a part thereof including the surrounding seas at a certain official scale indicating thereon the information related to the different areas of the environment such as topography, animal husbandry, plants, natural resources and such aspects of exploiting such territories, seas, distribution of industries in such territories and the like, whether such maps are printed in the form of a hard copy or in a digital form. (f) Environmental Laboratory Tests: They are the tests made at the Environmental Affairs laboratory for samples of air, water or soil to establish the chemical, biological and physical characteristics thereof. (g) Environmental Documents: They are the documents held or maintained by the Environment Affairs Authority with respect to one area or more of the various areas of the environment whether in the form of brochures, bulletins, reports, maps, CD ROM s or the like including laws, orders, standards and instructions issued with respect to environmental affairs. Article 2 Chapter Two Categories and Fee Collection Procedures The fees charged by the Environment Affairs Authority for environmental licences for projects, information, reports, laboratory tests and environmental permits for various activities and other services undertaken by the EAA shall be determined according to the categories indicated in Tables (1), (2) and (3) which are attached to this Order. Article 3 An application for a licence or service shall be submitted by the concerned applicant or by his legal representative to the concerned department at the EAA using the prescribed form and after payment of the required fee. The application shall be accompanied by the documents to be determined by the concerned department. No documents shall be accepted before payment of the prescribed fees. Article 4 The EAA Financial Affairs Section shall collect all the environmental fees. Payment shall be in cash against issue of receipt vouchers indicating the applicant s name, type of service or licence required, project or activity relating thereto, date of payment and cashier s signature. The concerned person shall be delivered a copy of the receipt bearing the EAA s official seal. Article 5

3 Bank cheques may be accepted for payment of all or some environmental fees if the amount of such fees is more than BD500. The Financial Affairs Section shall collect the amount of such cheques by following the approved financial procedures. Chapter Three Article 6 Fee Collection Rules and Regulations For the accrual or non-accrual of environmental fees, no consideration shall be given for the applicant s change of mind in respect of requesting the licence or service subject to the fee. No refund or recovery of all or some of the fees previously paid shall take place except in the following two cases: (a) (b) An error in the assessment of fees. Non-provision of service or a part thereof. Article 7 Refund or recovery of all or part of the fees paid in the cases where this possible shall take place by a memorandum from the concerned department at the EAA of its own initiative or at the request of the concerned person or whoever legally represents him indicating the total fee estimate and the amount to be refunded or recovered and the reason for such refund as well as details of the procedures completed in respect of the licence or service subject to such fees within two weeks from the date of submitting applications for fee recovery or discovering the right to a refund thereof. No applications for fees refund from concerned persons shall be recognised after the lapse of 3 months from the date of payment of such fees. Article 8 Fees for laboratory tests conducted by the EAA with the aim of inspecting establishments and firms or for ascertaining the verification of whatever reports submitted by such establishments and firms or the materials produced by them or whatever waste they produce in conformity with the standards and specifications shall be borne by the EAA if it is found from the results of such tests that the materials, waste or samples taken from the environment conform with such standards and specifications. However, if the tests reveal that there are any violations in this respect, the costs of such tests inclusive of the prescribed fees shall be incurred by the involved establishment or form. The persons concerned shall pay such costs within 15 days from the date of the claim without prejudice to the application of the provisions provided for in Articles 26 and 29 of Legislative Decree No.21 of 1996 with respect to the Environment. Article 9 All costs of tests carried out by the EAA in case of failure by projects owners or establishments to provide results of tests required from them pursuant to the provisions of Legislative Decree No.21 of 1996 with respect to the Environment and its Implementing Regulations to be provided within the time limits therefor including the fees due for such tests, shall be at the expense of the defaulting project or establishment owner even if the results of such tests conform with the required standards and specifications. The concerned persons shall pay such costs within 15 days from the date of claiming them without prejudice to applying the provisions of Articles 26 and 29 of Legislative Decree No.21 of the Year 1996.

4 Article 10 Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding two Articles, in case there is proof concerning a violation by an establishment or firm of the rules and provisions of Legislative Decree No.21 of 1996 with respect to the Environment on the basis of laboratory tests conducted by the EAA, the costs of redoing such tests with the EAA, if possible, shall be at the expense of the concerned person who requests making the retests including the prescribed fees. Chapter Four General Provisions Article 11 The EAA may refuse to deliver the licences, test results or any reports relating to the other services that may be required therefrom unless the concerned person pays all the prescribed fees therefor without prejudice to the right of the EAA to take all the legal actions for claiming such fees. Article 12 The EAA shall be entitled to revise the fees due for licences and other services requested therefrom and to claim any financial differences that may arise from such revision, provided that claiming such discrepancies shall take place within 3 months from the date of complete payment of the fees subject to the aforesaid revision. Article 13 The concerned persons may file their grievances with the minister of Housing, Municipalities and Environment in respect of the fee claims addressed to them within 30 days from the date of notice concerning the claim. The concerned department at the EAA shall reply to such grievance within 30 days from the date of receiving it. Article 14 The EAA Director General shall approve all the claims and settlements and shall sign all the documents relating to the fees collected according to the provisions of this Order and may delegate such power to any of the department directors at the EAA. Article 15 The EAA Director shall implement this Order which shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall come into effect as from 1st January,1999. Signed: Khalid Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Minister of Housing, Municipalities & Environment. Dated: 20th December,1998

5 Table No. (1) Fees for Environmental Licences and Business Licence No Details Unit Fee BD 1 2 First: Environmental Licences Licences after first environmental evaluation Licences after review of environmental evaluation report Second: Hazardous Waste Licences: Licence for disposal of hazardous waste from waste dumping site Licences for disposal of semi-hazardous waste at the waste dumping site Licences for firms transporting hazardous and semi-hazardous waste (annually) Licences for equipment and building maintenance operations involving the use of asbestos materials (annually) Licences for removal and transport of asbestos and disposal of their waste (annually) m3 m Third: Licences for Engaging in Business Import of chemicals Import and use of radioactive equipment (used in universities, laboratories and medial treatment centres) Import and use of radioactive materials in industry Printing Gold melting Machine shops Aluminium cutting and assembly Film processing Carpentry workshops Garment factories

6 Table No. (1) Fees for Environmental Licences and Business Licence No Details Unit Fee 11 Welding and blacksmith workshops Repair of marine engines and boats Hairdressing salons Dry cleaning operations Car wash operations Garages 7 17 Electronic appliances repairs 5 18 Refrigerators and AC repairs 5 19 Motorcycle repairs 5 BD Table No. (2) Cost of Providing Environmental Information, Report and Documents No Details Unit Fee A 1 Environmental Reports Environmental status reports 10 2 Annual report 8 3 Monthly report 3 4 Environmental research report 8 B. Environmental Informations Documents 1 Environmental Standards 10 2 Printed environmental maps 10 3 Digital environmental maps 50 4 General environmental information 3 BD

7 Table No. (3) Cost of Laboratory Tests No Details Unit Fee A. Physical Features BD Acidity ph 2 Temperature celsius 2 Total Solids mg./litre 4 Turbidity N.T.U 2 Salinity mg/litre 2 Soluble solids total % 4 Electrical connectivity umhos/c 3 m Non-organic Chemical Features 1 Ammonia NH+4-n mg./litre 6 2 Alkalinity mg./litre 4 3 Soluble oxygen mg./litre 6 4 H S 2 5 Retained chlorine mg./litre 3 6 CN mg./litre 20 7 CL mg./litre 5 8 NO -N 2 9 NO -N 3 10 Total phosperous 11 SO -S 4 12 Sio 2

8 Table No. (3) Cost of Laboratory Tests No Details Unit Fee BD 13 M.B.B.S mg./litre F C. Oxygen Organic Pollutants 1 B.O.D mg./litre 20 2 C.O.D. mg./litre 20 3 T.K.N. mg./litre 20 4 Total Petroleum materials in water mg./litre 20 5 Total Petroleum materials in soil or fish mg./litre Phenols mg./litre 20 D. Ferrous Metals 10 1 Total Hardness 2 Ca 3 Mg 4 Col 5 Pb 6 Cr 7 Cu 8 Ni 9 Fe 10 Al 11 Zn 12 Hg mg./litre Total chloroform mg./litre 20 NOTES ON TABLE NO. (3) - A sum of BD will be charged for collection of a single sample onshore including the contiguous areas to the coast. A sum of BD 2 shall be added for an additional sample if it is at the same location. - A sum of BD 50 will be charged for collection of a single sample offshore. A sum of BD 8 will be added for an additional sample as well as BD2 per kilometre from the first sample collection site. - A charge of 30% of the cost of testing the first sample will be made for.