Category: Guatemala

The regulation that will govern waste management in Guatemala is published

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources published the Ministerial Agreement No. 164-2021 that contains Regulations for the comprehensive management of waste and common solid waste. Said regulation enters into force on August 11, 2021 and stands out for the following points:

• Promote the development of municipal plans for the comprehensive management of residues and solid waste.
• Detail of compliance with occupational health and safety measures for any person (natural or legal) that operates or carries out activities related to the comprehensive management of residues and solid waste.
• Promotion of industrial activities related to recycling.
• Detail of technical standards applicable to activities related to the comprehensive management of residues and solid waste.
• Regulation on treatment of common solid waste.
• Regulation for the final disposal of common solid waste.
• Detail of administrative permits and government authorizations for said activities.
• Promotion of the circular economy.
• Infringements and sanctions.

ZONE has a team that can provide specialized advice to be in compliance with the new environmental regulation. Contact us at[email protected] or by phone +502 2225-7000.

On September 20, 2019, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources published Government Agreement 189-2019 through which   the use and distribution of single-use plastic bags, plastic straws, plates and glasses is prohibited at the national level. disposable plastics, disposable plastic mixers and stirrers, disposable plastic containers or containers for storing or transporting food; as well as expanded polystyrene products (duroport) used to store or transport food .

At that time, a period of two (2) years was set for all individuals or legal entities that use the aforementioned products to replace them with articles made with materials that comply with the European Union standard UNE-EN 13432.  This term expires on September 21, 2021 .

We recommend taking this issue into consideration since the Government Agreement has not been suspended or repealed, and as it is in force it becomes a mandatory rule.

ZONE has a team of experienced professionals who can advise you on the scope of this prohibition and the due environmental compliance of your company in Guatemala. For more information, contact us at +502 2225-7000 or by email at [email protected].

In Guatemala, every project, work or industry must have an approved Environmental Instrument and in this sense must comply with the provisions of the Environmental Evaluation, Control and Monitoring Regulation.

Through this regulation, the entire structure, requirements and procedures related to environmental instruments, also known as Environmental Impact Studies, which are approved by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources -MARN-, are established.

The current Regulation was approved in July 2016, and established a grace period of two years, expiring in July 2018, so that all companies that did not have an approved environmental instrument could regularize their situation, paying a fine for a value of Q. 5,000.00 (US$ 700.00) regardless of the impact category of the project. After that term, the fine could increase from Q. 5,000.00 (US$700.00) to Q. 100,000.00 (US$14,000.00).

However, the extension was extended when on July 10, 2018, the reforms related to the Environmental Evaluation, Control and Monitoring Regulation were published in the Official Gazette, in which the term was extended until January  3, 2020  for Existing projects, works and industries that do not have an Environmental Instrument, can present the corresponding corrective, keeping the value of the fine of Q. 5,000.00 (US$ 700.00) regardless of the impact category of the project.

There are two types of environmental instrument that can be submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources:

• Environmental Impact Study (EIA): it is the environmental instrument, which must be carried out for activities or projects  that have not been carried out,  and its environmental impact will be predicted. Here it is established how the impact will be mitigated, from construction to operation. This environmental instrument does not generate a fine.

• Environmental diagnosis: It is the environmental instrument that contemplates the evaluation of the impact of all the activities  that are already  built or operating  and that already generated the environmental impact. This establishes the way in which it will mitigate the impact it is already generating (in water, noise, air, and others). This environmental instrument does generate a fine.

The elaboration of these environmental instruments must be carried out by a registered environmental consultant, or a consulting company registered in the MARN and it takes from 15 days to two months to prepare it before its presentation to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

In this sense, it is important to consider and take advantage of this new term so that any work, project or industry can present its environmental instrument and avoid being subject to fines or even criminal complaints for pollution or non-compliance with environmental issues and, most importantly, help mitigate pollution. that occurs in general.

By Elizabeth Cardona : Lawyer and Environmental Consultant for Zone in Guatemala.

Forest fires involve large, unforeseen fires that burn in natural areas; that is, in forests, grasslands or prairies. Wildfires can:

• Be caused by humans or lightning.
• Happen anytime, anywhere. The risk increases in periods of little rain and strong winds.
• Cause flooding or interruptions in transportation, gasoline, electricity and communication services.

In Guatemala, the causes of forest fires are generally negligence and slashing with few controls, that is, when a producer burns his harvest to plant again.

According to the Coordinator for the Reduction of Disasters -CONRED-, (entity in charge of preventing, mitigating, attending and participating in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the damages derived from the presence of disasters), so far in 2019, the fire It has consumed a total of 498.62 hectares, the equivalent of 697 soccer fields, in places outside protected areas.

However, the area of ​​Petén (north of the country), where most of the protected areas are located, especially the Laguna del Tigre National Park, has been the victim of large-scale forest fires, consuming approximately 1,490 hectares, the equivalent of 2,086 soccer fields, according to the National Council of Protected Areas.

Forest fires cause damage to the forests, flora and fauna of the place, especially seriously affecting when they are species that are in danger of extinction such as the red macaw in Petén.

Among the recommendations that CONRED has established to prevent forest fires, are:

• Monitor weather conditions (increase or decrease in wind speed).
• When making bonfires, take the necessary precautions in the place where it will be made and put them out before leaving the site.
• Make a barrier with stones to prevent a fathom from rolling or a spark from flying due to the effects of the wind.

Finally, it should be taken into account that during the first months of the year, due to the dry season, the risk of forest fires increases, so in this period one must be especially careful and act actively in the prevention of this type of emergency.

On January 3, 2020, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources decreed a 3-year extension to the term for regularization of environmental instruments in Guatemala. Thus, existing projects have until December 16, 2022 to request their respective environmental license.

The environmental instrument is a technical document that establishes the environmental impacts or risks and the actions that will be carried out to mitigate those damages; said instrument is approved by means of an environmental license. The obligation to have an environmental instrument exists since 1986 according to article 8 of the Law for the Protection and Improvement of the Environment (Decree 68-86). However, the national interest in complying with environmental legal provisions has recently increased, following the global trend of concern for the preservation of the environment and the fight against climate change.

In 2016, the Environmental Control and Monitoring Regulation -RECSA-, Government Agreement 137-2016, was issued, setting a two-year term for companies to regularize themselves by presenting their environmental instrument. It is important to clarify that the fact of being regularized by presenting an environmental instrument does not exempt the interested party from being subject to the imposition of a fine of Q. 5,000.00. for having started operations without presenting its environmental instrument. However, despite the fact that such a fine is legally established, the Ministry of the Environment is not currently imposing such a sanction.

Due to the large number of interested parties who decided to regularize their situation in terms of environmental regulations, on December 24, 2019, the reform to RECSA was published in the Diario de Centro América and established two important modifications:

1. A term of 3 more years ( expiring on December 16, 2022 ) was set for the process of regularization of environmental instruments, with the imposition of a fine of Q. 5,000.00 regardless of the category of the project.
2. The obligation to present a bond or better known as surety insurance, which was a requirement for obtaining an environmental license, was eliminated.

Therefore, it is clear that all works, projects and industries must carry out the environmental instrument considering:

• In the first place, the opportunity of the new fixed term;
• Secondly, the fact that it is no longer necessary to hire a surety bond or insurance, which implied an additional cost for the companies and
• Third, but not least, it is a mechanism to identify the environmental damage that occurs and seek to mitigate it.

Let us remember that the purpose of all of the above implies being in compliance with local legislation, guaranteeing the protection of our environment and seeking to mitigate the damage we cause.

Persons, companies, businesses or institutions whose activities are subject to environmental requirements must annually carry out a verification of environmental compliance with their obligations. This verification is intended to collect and analyze information on the status of compliance, and will also allow detecting and correcting possible violations of the law.

Art. 9 of the Special Wastewater Regulation establishes that the owners must prepare and submit to the Ministry operational reports on the wastewater treatment systems and the conditions of their discharges, reflecting the frequency of sampling and that this will form part of the annual report on the results of the application of the Environmental Management or Environmental Adaptation Programs.

The Annual Operation Report (IOA) is the environmental compliance mechanism of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), by means of which companies and institutions that have the Environmental Permit for their work, activity or project, either in the construction or operation stage, they must report annually during the first three (3) months, the operational status of their activity, detailing key information on the generation, management and disposal of: Solid waste, Wastewater, Atmospheric emissions , Use of hazardous materials and waste, consumption of water and other raw materials used in its production process.

The Annual Operational Report, being prepared by the company or institution itself, provides much more complete information on the compliance of the company or institution than that which can be obtained through periodic inspections, and its main purpose is to provide the necessary information to carry out a mapping of the country’s environmental situation and determine the points of greatest problems, in terms of polluting stationary sources. Likewise, the information in these reports constitutes a source for identifying sectors of the productive activity that need to improve their environmental performance.

The IOA must show the environmental performance information of the immediately previous year and must be complemented with proof of execution of the environmental measures and of the laboratory analyzes of the study period.

Failure to comply with this annual obligation is sanctioned in article 87 of the Environmental Law, which classifies as Serious Offenses the breach of the obligations contained in numerals c) and i) of article 86 of the same legal body, allowing the initiation of an administrative sanctioning process and the imposition of fines.