Brazil's Sao Paulo State Consolidates Environmental Licensing Within One Agency

摘要

Rio De Janeiro-A law (No. 13,542) that makes one state agency responsible for all environmental licensing went into effect Aug. 7 in Sao Paulo state, Brazil's most industrialized. Previously, four agencies in the state's Environmental Secretariat (SMA) did environmental licensing. One agency licensed all projects that involved the cutting and suppression of trees and other native vegetation; another licensed all projects built around the state's huge drinking-water reservoirs; another licensed large-scale projects which, because of their significant potential environmental impacts, required environmental impact assessments; and one agency, CETESB, the SMA agency in charge of pollution control, licensed all projects that would be sources of air or water pollution.