Responsibilities of the parties to the environmental impact assessment report contract
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A common practice in general project management is for the client to entrust an environmental assessment company to prepare the environmental impact report, with the project management company (which also has design responsibilities) assisting the client in conducting technical discussions and obtaining relevant information from the environmental assessment company. My question now is: if the project management company enters into an environmental impact assessment contract directly with the environmental assessment firm, while the owner still provides the relevant data, it is actually the owner who should be held responsible for the accuracy and completeness of that data. However, since the parties to the contract are now the environmental assessment firm and the project management company, does this pose any risks for the project management company?
EIA contracts cannot be signed by engineering management companies. Approvals related to environmental protection and safety are all applicable to the physical investment project, and regulations require that it be the owner who submits the applications. If the engineering company is responsible for signing the contract, then are the **approved pollution discharge limits and daily environmental management requirements, which stem from the environmental impact assessment, also to be implemented by the engineering company? So, engineering companies cannot prepare contracts with environmental assessment firms. Moreover, the approval document will specify consent for a particular project to carry out preliminary research and evaluation work; then who is the entity to which this approval is given?
The situation you’re referring to falls under the category of general project contracting, but I don’t think general contractors would act in this way, because strictly speaking, the project company’s role hasn’t yet begun during the environmental impact assessment phase. Engineering companies cannot represent the owner in full; many fundamental decisions still depend on the owner. The above are purely my personal opinions; if there are any mistakes, I hope experts can point them out!
As you said, there are definitely risks in such a situation, but I don’t think any construction company would be willing to do it. The engineering company can possibly provide you with technical support, but it cannot sign a contract with the environmental assessment company.
So the question is: Are the environmental impact assessment contract and the environmental impact assessment application two separate things? Is it necessary to submit an environmental assessment contract when applying for an environmental assessment?
It does not fall under the general contractor; it is at the BEP stage
Are there reasonable ways to avoid this risk? For example, requiring the owner to sign the submitted information
The environmental impact assessment contract and the submission of the environmental impact assessment should be two separate matters. The environmental impact assessment application is a submission to the **relevant regulatory authorities; the environmental impact assessment contract should be one signed between the project owner and the environmental assessment firm.
In my opinion, at any stage, the environmental impact assessment report, safety assessment report, special report on safety facility design, and safety acceptance report prepared by the project owner must not be the subject of contracts between the engineering company and the agencies responsible for preparing such reports on behalf of the project owner; moreover, the engineering company does not have the authority to do so! If a contract is signed, it is illegal and therefore invalid! The construction entity is the main responsible party for environment and safety; it bears an undeniable responsibility for these aspects!
Thanks for the reminder! It seems better to avoid such risks.
It’s not a matter of avoiding risks; it’s about violations of rules and laws.