From today 1 February, requests for environmental impact assessments (EIA) can be submitted electronically. It is an important step for companies committed to building renewable energy plants which will be able to avoid sending the documentation by post or delivering it by hand.
A week ago the companies of Electricity future have asked to centralize the authorizations in the Ministry of the Environment. The snail proceedings at the Regions end after years with serious damage to the planned investments and energy efficiency improvements. A technical-administrative situation that is as unbearable as it is onerous. To open a construction site and not suffer interruptions in the operational phase, you need years. Companies often give up and there have been cases in Sardinia and Puglia where projects have even been taken abroad. The proposal of a single interlocutor arises from these considerations. It's not a given that it's the best idea.
The new method in force from today should become definitive after a transitional period. The General Directorate for Environmental Assessments of Mase has made the web portal available https://va.mite.gov.it, dedicated, in fact, to the publication of the Via/Vas/Aia procedures. Applications until April 30th can still be made by post, with hand delivery or certified e-mail: https://va.mite.gov.it/it-IT/ps/DatiEStrumenti/Modulistica
Trust…until proven otherwise
The novelty in the process also concerns the public offices that propose jobs. Also in this case there are numerous entities committed to spending money on public structures. It is worth asking ourselves whether it is the right time that with digitalisation we will have greater efficiency. Applications may contain all documentation from the outset, but will need to be examined once submitted. At the start phase, as the Minister defined it Pichetto Fratin, a rapid examination by officials and Commissions will have to follow. The main hub is in the bureaucratic structure which, despite the dematerialisation of documents, must speed up assessments and issue permits.
It is no coincidence that the electricity companies have asked to unravel the tangle of authorizations by relying on a single national commission. In their initiative they have confidence in the Ministry of the Environment, seen as the final decider of their worries, including economic ones. In fact, Via's requests in 2023 cost 40 million euros and are stuck in dozens. Everything in Rome? From today we use the web, but it is prudent not to fully trust those who have disappointed you, says an old adage. Industrialists know it.
