Section 22: EIA Committee

22. EIA Committee (1) There shall be for the purposes of this Act an EIA Committee which shall consist of— (a) the Permanent Secretary, as Chairperson; (b) the Permanent Secretaries of the Ministries responsible for the subjects specified in the Sixth Schedule, or their representatives; (c) the Director who shall have no voting right. (2) The EIA Committee shall examine applications for an EIA licence referred to it after review by the Director and shall make such recommendations to the Minister as it thinks fit. (2A) In the course of the examination of an application under subsection (2), the EIA Committee may request the applicant to attend a meeting of the EIA Committee, within the time limit referred to in subsection (8), for the purpose of giving such clarification or explanation relating to the application as the EIA Committee may determine. (3) At any meeting of the EIA Committee, 5 members, including the Chairperson shall constitute a quorum. (4) The EIA Committee may— (a) establish any sub-committee for the purpose of examining the whole or any specific aspect of an EIA; (b) with the approval of the Minister, co-opt any person as member. (5) A co-opted member shall not— (a) by virtue of his designation as member of the EIA Committee, be deemed to be a public officer; E12 – 21 [Issue 7] Environment Protection Act (b) have any voting right. (6) Subject to this section, the EIA Committee shall regulate its meetings and proceedings in such manner as it may determine. (7) The Chairperson may request the attendance of any officer of the Department at a meeting of the EIA Committee to provide such information it may require, but the officer shall not have any right to vote at the meeting. (8) The EIA Committee shall, except in a case of force majeure or where further consultation is required, give its recommendations to the Minister not later than 14 days after the date the application was referred by the Director under section 21 (1) (b). (9) Where the EIA Committee is examining an EIA submitted by a Ministry, the Permanent Secretary of that Ministry or his representative shall not take part in the proceedings. [S. 22 amended by ss. 11 and 33 (1) of Act 6 of 2008 w.e.f. 15 July 2008; s. 16 (b) of Act 9 of 2015 w.e.f. 14 May 2015.]