Environmental Regulations in Sri

Lanka
C.S. Kalpage (Ph.D. Birmingham)
Department of Chemical and Process Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
University of Peradeniya

2nd April 2016

 The Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka remains committed for the

management of the environment and natural resources of the country,
maintaining the equilibrium between the trends in rapid economic
development and use of natural resource base
Vision

Mission

National Environment Act No.47 of

1980

An Act to Establish a Central Environmental

Authority to make provision with respect to the
Powers, Functions and Duties of that Authority ;
and to make provision for the Protection and
Management of the Environment and for matters
connected therewith or Incidental thereto

 PART I
Establishment of the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and
an Council (EC)

PART II
Powers, Functions and Duties of the Authority

PART III
Staff of the Authority

PART IV
Environmental Management

PART V
General

PART IV
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

Details are given for the following

Land use management
Land Use Scheme
Natural Resources, Management and
Conservation
Management policy for fisheries and aquatic
resources, Measures for rational exploitation of
fisheries
Management policy for wildlife
Management policy for forestry's
Management policy on soil conservation

Section 31. Offences

Every person who contravenes or fails to
comply with any provision of this Act or of any
regulation made thereunder shall be guilty of
an offence and shall on conviction before a
Magistrate be liable to imprisonment of either
description for a term not exceeding two years
or to a fine not exceeding one thousand five
hundred rupees or to both such imprisonment
and fine.

Section 32. Regulations

(1)The Minister may make regulations in respect of all matters which are
stated or required by this Act to be prescribed or for which regulations are
required by this Act to be made.
(2) Every regulation made by the Minister shall be published in the
Gazette and shall come into operation on the date of such publication or
upon such later date as may be specified in the regulation.
(3) Every regulation made by the Minister shall, as soon as convenient
after its publication in the Gazette, be brought before Parliament for
approval. Every regulation which is not so approved shall be deemed to be
rescinded as from the date of such disapproval but without prejudice to
anything previously done thereunder. Notification of the date on which
any regulation is deemed to be rescinded shall be published in the
Gazette.

 The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) was

established in August 1981 under the provision of the
National Environmental Act No: 47 of 1980
The Ministry of Environment has the overall
responsibility in the affairs of the CEA with the
objective of integrating environmental considerations
in the development process of the country
The CEA was given wider regulatory powers under the
National Environment (Amendment) Acts No:56 of
1988 and No:53 of 2000

MANAGEMENT
The CEA shall consist of three members appointed by the
President in consultation with the Minister
EC consists of following members appointed by the Minister
from senior officers of the Ministry charged with the following
subjects
Local Government, Finance, Plan Implementation, Lands,
Health, Industries, Transport, Power and Energy,
Agriculture, Fisheries, Tourism, Labour, Textile, Plantation,
Foreign affairs, Education, Greater Colombo Economic
Commission , three members nominated by the Minister
to represent the interests of voluntary agencies in the field
of environment

POWERS, FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF

CEA
To administer the provisions of this Act and the regulations
To recommend to the Minister, national environmental policy

Uses and values any environment portion

Protection and management of the environment
Quality to be maintained
Waste discharge limits
Any factor related to protecting the environment

To undertake surveys and investigations

To conduct, promote and co-ordinate research
To specify standards, norms and criteria for the protection
To publish reports and information
To undertake investigations and inspections to ensure compliance
with this Act

National Environmental Act No. 56 of

1988
National Environmental Act, No. 47 of 1980 was
amended by Act, No. 56 of 1988
The title of the National Environmental Act, No. 47 of
1980 is amended by the substitution for the words for
the protection and management of the environment,
of the words for the protection, management and
enhancement of the environment, for the regulation,
maintenance and control of the quality of the
environment; for the prevention, abatement and
control of pollution

 More Regulatory Powers were vested

responsible for the co-ordination of all regulatory activities
relating to the discharge of wastes and pollutants into the
environment and the protection and the improvement of
the quality of the environment (EPL)
require the submission of proposals, for new projects and
changes in or abandonment of existing projects, for the
purpose of evaluation of the beneficial and adverse
impacts of such proposals on the environment (IEE/EIA
established)
the control of noise pollution
the storage, transport and disposal of any material
which is hazardous to health and environment

 Measures were defined to safeguard Environmental Quality

Restriction regulation and control of pollution of the inland
waters
Restriction on pollution of the atmosphere
Restriction, regulation and control of pollution of the soil
Restriction on noise pollution
Notice to remove litter
Prohibition on discharge of oil into inland waters of Sri
Lanka
Power to prohibit or require use of any material or
equipment

National Environmental Act No. 56 of

1988

National Environmental Act, No. 47 of 1980 and Act No. 47

of 1988 were amended by National Environmental Act, No.
53 of 2000
Activities which involve or result in discharging, depositing
or emitting waste into the environment causing pollution
are referred as Prescribed activities

The Minister shall determine by order published in the

Gazette the activities in respect of which a license is
required
Minister may by Order published in the Gazette specify the
state agencies (hereinafter in this Part referred to as
project approving agencies) which shall be the project
approving agencies

NEA Section 32. Regulations

(1) The Minister may make regulations in respect of all
matters which are stated or are required by this Act to
be prescribed or for which regulations are required by
this Act to be made.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality
of the powers conferred by subsection (1) the Minister
may make regulations in respect of all or any of the
following matters:(a) levy of fees for (i) examining plans, specifications and information relating
to installations or proposed installations ;
(ii) The issue of licences under this Act, and
(iii) carrying out necessary monitoring duties ;

 (b) specification of standards or criteria for the

implementation of any national environmental
policy or classification for the protection of the
environment and for protecting beneficial uses
(c) specification of standards or criteria for
determining whether any matter, action or thing
is poisonous, objectionable, detrimental to health
or within any other description or referred to in
this Act ;

 (d) prohibition of the discharge, emission, or

deposit into the environment of any matter,
whether liquid, solid or gaseous or of radio
activity and prohibition or regulating the use of
any specified fuel ;
(e) specification of ambient air quality standard,
emission standards and specifying the maximum
permissible concentrations of any matter that
may be present in or discharge into the
atmosphere ;

 (f) prohibition of the use of any equipment, facility, vehicle

or boat capable of causing pollution or regulating the
construction, installation or operation thereof so as to
prevent or minimize pollution ;
(g) requirement of issuing pollution warnings or alerts ;

(h) prohibition or regulation of the open burning of refuse

or other combustible matter ;
(i) regulation of the establishment of sites for the disposal
of solid or liquid waste on or in land ;

 (j) determination of objectionable noise and specification

of standards for tolerable noise ;
(k) prohibition of or regulation of bathing, swimming,
boating or other activity in or around any waters that may
be detrimental to health or welfare or having adverse
cultural effects or for preventing pollution ;
(l) requirement that the oil refineries and installations
operating in Sri Lanka store such substance or material and
equipment necessary to deal with any oil pollution of the
inland waters of Sri Lanka that may arise in the course of
their business ;

 (m) requirement that the oil refineries carrying on business

install such equipment as may be prescribed for the
purpose of reducing or preventing any trade affluent from
containing oil ;
(n) prescribing the procedure relating to appeals against
the decision of the Authority ;
(o) relating to visual amenities in urban and rural areas ;
(p) storage and transportation of harmonious materials ;

 (q) disposal of wastes and hazardous materials

whether to the atmosphere, waters or soil ;
(r) requirement of specific environmental
monitoring duties by the developer or a
specified third party delegated for this
purpose.

National Environment Policy - 2003

The policy aims to promote the sound
management of Sri Lanka's environment
balancing the needs for social and economic
development and environment integrity. It
also aims to manage the environment by
linking together the activities, interests and
perspectives of stakeholders and to assure
environmental accountability.

 Objectives of pollution prevention:

To prevent or minimize the discharges and emissions
into the environment
From the prescribed activities in the gazette 1533/16 dated
25.01.2008.
In compliance with the national discharge and emission
standards.

To develop an approach to Pollution Control through

The best practicable Environmental Option (BPEO)
Best Available Techniques Not Entailing Excessive costs
(BATNEEC)

Environmental Protection License

Scheme
The Environmental Protection License (EPL) is a
regulatory/legal tool under the provisions of the
National Environmental Act No: 47 of 1980
amended by Acts No 56 of 1988 and No 53 of
2000
Standards and Criteria
Section 23 A of the National Environmental Act (NEA)
explicitly states that no person shall carry out any
prescribed activity except under the authority of an
EPL and in accordance with such standards and other
criteria as may be prescribed under the Act.

 Industries and activities which required an EPL are listed

in Gazette Notification No 1533/16 dated 25.01.2008
Industries are classified under 3 lists
List "A (80 nos of significantly high polluting industrial activities)
List "B" (33 numbers of medium level polluting activities)
List "C" (25 nos of low polluting industrial activities)

Approval Agency
EPL for industries in lists "A" and B have to be obtained
from the relevant Provincial Offices or District Offices of
the CEA

EPL for industries in lists C" have to be obtained from

Local Government Authorities (Municipal Councils, Urban
Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas)

 Validity Period of an EPL

List A-Maximum of one year from the effective
date of the Licence.
List B-Maximum of three years from effective date
of the Licence.
List C-Maximum of three years from the effective
date of the Licence

Objectives of the Environmental

Protection License (EPL)
To prevent or minimize the release of discharges and emissions into
the environment from prescribed (industrial) activities in
compliance with national discharge and emission standards.
To develop an approach to pollution control that considers
discharges from prescribed (industrial) processes to all media (air,
water, land) in the context of the effect on the environment.
To contain the burden on industry, in particular by providing
guidance on pollution control for polluting processes.
To ensure that the system responds flexibly both to changing
pollution abatement technology and to new knowledge such as
cleaner production, waste minimization etc.

 The standards for discharge of wastewater into the environment were

published in the Gazette Notification No. 1534/18 dated
01/02/2008 termed as the National Environmental (Protection &
Quality) Regulations No 01 of 2008
SCHEDULE I.
List I. TOLERANCE LIMITS FOR THE DISCHARGE OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE IN
TO INLAND SURFACE WATERS
LIST II. TOLERANCE LIMITS FOR INDUSTRIAL WASTE DISCHARGED ON
LAND FOR IRRIGATION PURPOSE
LIST III. TOLERANCE LIMITS FOR INDUSTRIAL AND DOMESTIC WASTE
DISCHARGED INTO MARINE COASTAL AREAS
LIST IV. TOLERANCE LIMITS FOR WASTE FROM RUBBER FACTORIES BEING
DISCHARGED INTO INLAND SURFACE WATERS
LIST V. TOLERANCE LIMITS FOR WASTE FROM TEXTILE INDUSTRY BEING
DISCHARGED INTO INLAND SURFACE WATERS
LIST VI. TOLERANCE LIMITS FOR WASTE FROM BEING DISCHARGED
FROM TANNING INDUSTRIES
LIST VII. TOLERANCE LIMITS FOR DISCHARGE OF EFFLUENTS INTO PUBLIC
SEWERS WITH CENTRAL TREATMENT PLANTS

 Licence is required for

carry out any prescribed activity (Gazette
Notification No 1533/16 dated 25.01.2008)
generate collect, transport, store, recover, recycle
or dispose waste or establish any site or facility for
the disposal o scheduled waste (Schedule VIII in
the Gazette Notification No. 1534/18)

 Application procedure for prescribed activities

(refer schedule II)
Application for the license shall be made
substantially in Form A in Schedule II and Schedule
IV
Every license issued by the Authority shall be
made substantially in Form B of Schedule II
An application for a renewal of a license shall be
made substantially in Form C of Schedule II

 Application procedure for scheduled waste

(refer schedule IV)
application for a license shall be submitted using
Form A in Schedule IV
license issued by the Authority shall be
substantially in such from as set out in Form B of
Schedule IV

Procedure on Issuing EPL for

Industrial activities
Step 1: Application Procedure
EPL application is published in the Form A of the schedule II of
the Gazette Notification No. 1534/18 dated 01/02/2008
The applicant must provide all the particulars requested in the
application form and submit to the Provincial Office (PO) or District
Office (DO) with following supporting documents.
Certificate for the Registration of Business
Legal authorization to use the land for the particular industrial activity. (Copy
of deed, copy of the Lease agreement of the land etc.)
Copy of Survey Plan of the land.
Legal authorization for establishing the particular industry at the site.
(Certificate of Conformity/Trade License or Consent paper from relevant LA)
Production Certificate necessary for specific products. (Distilleries, medicinal
products, pesticide manufacturing etc.)
Proposal for pollutant abatement.
Any other detail/document requested by the Authority

 Step 2: Pre-Evaluation of the Application

Relevant Provincial/ District office of the CEA will preevaluate to check the relevancy of issuing the EPL, the
adequacy of the details furnished and to determine
the inspection fee to be requested.

Step 3: Determination and payment of

inspection fee
Based on the details furnished by the industrialist, the
relevant Provincial/District Office decides the amount
of the inspection fee (Rs: 3360/- to 11200/) to be paid
After the payment is made the receipt should be
submitted to the relevant Provincial/District Office.

 Step 4: Field Inspection

A team of officers will carry out a field inspection in order to
assess the data furnished in the application with respect to the
industry and to decide the possibility to operate such industry
with controlling pollution.

Step 5: Inspection Report with Recommendations

Inspection team will prepare a report based on the field
inspection details (technical and social aspects) along with
recommendations.
If the recommendation requests a proposal for additional
pollution control measures, the industrialist will be informed to
fulfill such request.
Decision to issue the EPL will be made based on the evaluation
of the additional details provided by the applicant
If it is decided to refuse issuing of the licence, the applicant can
appeal in writing against such decision, to the Secretary of the
Ministry of Environment within thirty (30) days

 Step 6: Approval for issuing EPL

Authorized officers of the CEA grant approval for issuing of EPL
based on the recommendation made by the inspection team
and then Legal Division of the CEA grant legal approval for the
draft conditions of the EPL.

Step 7: License Fee

Once the legal approval is granted; the industrialist is requested
to pay the License Fee so as to enable the CEA to issue an EPL
for the industrial activity.
List A-Rs: 7,500.00 per License (for not more than one year)
List B and C -Rs:-6,000.00 per License (for not more than 03 years)

Step 8: Issuing EPL

Once the license fee is paid the license will be issued with the
signature of the authorized signatory for a period of time not
more than the period as specified in the gazette.

Initiating Legal Proceedings against

industries
Legal proceedings are adopted under part IV A of the NEA when;
An industrial activity/ process acts in violation of any terms, conditions
and standards stipulated in the license.
The prescribed industries who do not obtain an EPL
A prescribed activity emits waste to the environment with out
conforming to the stipulated standards.

If the industrialist continues to violate the conditions legal action

will be initiated

Cancellation /suspension of EPL

Rejection of application for EPL
Hearing of appeals by the secretary of the Ministry of Environment.
Sending Legal Notices
Filing Cases

Environmental Impact Assessment

(EIA)
The National Environment Act introduced an internationally
accepted process called Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) as part of the strategy to achieve sustainable
development
EIA is a simple and straightforward process of first predicting
the potential impacts of development activities on the natural
and social environment, and then suggesting measures to
prevent or minimize negative impacts and to enhance positive
impacts
The legal framework for the EIA process in Sri Lanka has been
laid down in the National Environmental Act (NEA) in 1988

Projects require EIA

EIA process is mandated only for large scale development projects
or projects which are located in environmental sensitive areas
The types of projects which require EIA have been prescribed in the
Gazette (Gazette No. 772/22 of 24.06.1993).
30 Nos in area outside the area covered by coast conservation act
21 Nos irrespective of size if located within area covered by

National Heritage Wilderness Act No. 3 of 1988

Forest Ordinance (Chapter 451]
any erodable area declared under the Soil Conservation Act (Chapter 450)
any Flood Area declared under the Flood Protection Ordinance (Chapter 449)
any flood protection area declared under the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and
Development Corporation Act, No.15 of 1968
Botanic Gardens Ordinance (Chapter 446)

 Any prescribed project submitted for approval

requires to submit either an Initial
Environmental Examination (IEE) report or
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
report. The prescribed projects which do not
have complex environmental issues require an
IEE report while the projects which involve
complex environmental issues require an EIA
report.

Project Approving Agencies

EIA process is implemented through
designated Project Approving Agencies
(PAA) led by the Central Environmental
Authority (CEA)
14 government agencies (Gazette No. 772/22 of
24.06.1993)

 The project proponent (PP) needs to submit some preliminary information

about the project to the CEA, in order to initiate the EIA / IEE process.
The project proponent could submit the preliminary information through a
Basic Information Questionnaire which could be obtained from the CEA Head
Office or Provincial / District Offices or downloaded from the CEA website.

EIA / IEE process involves 6 major steps

The step wise process has been defined in the EIA regulations which have
been published in the Gazette No. 772/22 of 24.06.1993

The PAA is responsible for implementation of each step of the process

except preparation of EIA / IEE reports
The time allowed for the PAA for each step has been stipulated in the
Gazette provided that the information submitted by the project proponent
is sufficient to proceed
EIA regulations under the NEA are applicable only for projects which are
located outside the coastal zone. The EIA process for projects located
within the coastal zone is handled by the Coast Conservation Department

EIA / IEE process involves 6 major steps

Steps
1
2

Time allowed for the PAA

Screening (Determining whether an EIA / IEE is required 6 days

for a project)
Scoping (Determining the scope of the EIA / IEE study and 14 days for IEE and 30 days for EIA
issuing of Terms of Reference)
Preparation of the EIA / IEE report
No time limit has been given since
the project proponent is responsible
for this.

Review of the EIA / IEE report

The review involves both public and technical review
(a) Public review (applicable only for EIAs) The project
30 working days
proponent needs to respond to the public comments
received.
(b) Technical review
21 days for IEE and 30 days for EIA.

EIA / IEE Decision

Granting approval with terms and conditions or rejection
with reasons.
Post approval monitoring

 Screening often results in a categorization of the project and from this a

decision is made on whether or not a full EIA is to be carried out.
Scoping is the process of determining which are the most critical issues to
study and will involve community participation to some degree. It is at this
early stage that EIA can most strongly influence the outline proposal
Detailed prediction and mitigation studies follow scoping and are carried
out in parallel with feasibility studies
a detailed plan for managing and monitoring environmental impacts both
during and after implementation
An audit of the EIA process is carried out some time after implementation

Steps in EIA process

Submission of preliminary information.
The project proponent should submit information regarding the
nature, location and impacts of a proposed project that requires an
EIA/IEE.
The best time for a project proponent to submit the preliminary
information on the proposed project is as soon as the project concept
is finalized and the location of the project is decided.

Environmental Scoping
Environmental scoping is an early and open process for determining
the scope of issues to be addressed and for identifying the significant
issues related to a proposed action. The PAA will invite all concerned
agencies, the project proponent and other interested persons (if
necessary) for the scoping process. The PAA will issue the Terms of
References (ToR) for the EIA/IEE after the scoping process.

 EIA/IEE Report Preparation

It is the responsibility of the project proponent to prepare the EIA / IEE report
and to submit it to the PAA for evaluation
A list of consulting firms who prepare EIA reports is available at the CEA

Public Participation & Evaluation of the Report

On receipt of an EIA report, it will be subjected to an adequacy check in order
to ensure that the ToR issued by the PAA has been met
It will then be open for public inspection / comments for a period of 30
working days.
If there are any public comments on the EIA report, they will be sent to the
project proponent for response.
Subsequent to the public commenting period the PAA will appoint a Technical
Evaluation Committee (TEC) to evaluate the EIA report and make its
recommendations.
IEE reports are not required to be opened for public comments and are thus
subjected to technical evaluation only

 Decision Making
Based on the recommendation of the TEC, the PAA makes it's decision
on whether to grant approval for a project.
If the PAA is not the CEA, it should obtain the concurrence of the CEA
prior to granting approval.
If the project proponent doesn't agree with the decision he has a right
to appeal to the Secretary to the Ministry of Environment.

Compliance Monitoring
EIA / IEE approval is generally given with conditions which the project
proponent is expected to meet.
The CEA or the PAA will monitor the implementation of conditions /
mitigation measures.
If the project proponent violates the conditions, the approval may be
revoked.

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES TO CONTROL

POLLUTION FROM INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES
Issue Environmental Recommendations for siting of
industries.
Grant concurrence for BOI industries when issuing site
clearance and EPL
Committee for determining the siting of high & medium
polluting industries outside industrial estates and EPZs
Technical Advisory Committee for Management of
Industrial Chemicals (TACMIC)
E Waste management programme among identified stake
holders.

Environmental Recommendation (ER)

Any activity which does not come under the EIA
or IEE procedure and possibility of discharging
effluents, wastes, emission of smoke/ gases/
fumes / vapour or excessive noise/ vibration into
the environment
Environmental Recommendation is a document
issued by the Central Environmental Authority
with conditions to control & manage the
environmental issues before the establishment of
an activity which the investors have to abide by

 Documents to be submitted with the

application
Survey Plan
For state lands consent letter from the relevant
Authority ( Forest Department, Divisional
Secretary, Dept. Wild Life, Mahaweli Authority,
CCD , UDA etc.)
Road map showing the main landmarks from the
nearest town for the easy access to the
industry/activity.

Amended the list of state agencies and Projects & undertakings

Prohibition of polythene

Prohibition of CFC

Ambient Air Quality

Air, Fuel and Vehicle Importation Standards

Vehicle Emission Standards were amended

New regulation on ozone depletion substances

The Order published in Gazette Extraordinary No. 850/4 of December 20,
1994 is hereby rescinded

Noise Control Regulations

Prohibition of the use of equipment for exploration,

mining and, extraction of sand and, gem

Muthurajawela Environmental Protection Area

 Knuckles Environmental Protection Area

No. 1,507/9 MONDAY, JULY 23, 2007

Thalangama Environmental Protection Area

No.1, 487/10 MONDAY, MARCH 05, 2007

Prohibition of cultivation of annual crops in

high gradient area
No. 1456/35 FRIDAY, AUGUST 04, 2006

NEW INITIATIVES
National Green Awards
recognizes the industries, schools and local government
authorities who have operationalized the green idea.

Promote Cleaner production principles

Advisory committee on eco friendly livestock farming

committee consists of livestock sector, health and local
government authority was formed to solve environmental
problems created by livestock industry and to assist them
in pollution control.

 Preparation of guidelines to Site industries at up

stream to water intakes. A joint cabinet paper
submitted by CEA and NWS&DB for policy on
locating high polluting activities down streams of
water intakes
Compliance assistance centers for small &
medium enterprises. identified stake holder
participation to assist in pollution control
through low cost techniques

Assignment II
Make a group presentation on Effluent pollution problems in following
industries

Group 1. Cement Industry

Group 2. Sugar processing
Group 3. Latex processing and surgical glove manufacturing industry
Group 4. Sulphuric acid processing
Group 5. Coconut shell based activated carbon processing

The presentation may include

Process flow diagrammes

Identification of emission sources
Characteristics of emissions
Proposals for waste minimisation and pollution control

Duration: 20 minutes for presentation; 5 minutes for Q&A

Assignment III
Write a 2-page report on the 3 most serious
environmental pollution problems reported i
mass media during the 1st Week of April 2016