SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, July 14. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Governing Council has accepted the delegation of the City Council of Arona, in Tenerife, of the competence for the strategic environmental evaluation of the municipal urban planning instruments, their modifications and adaptations.
Likewise, this agreement also includes the delegation of competence for the environmental impact assessment of projects that must be authorized or approved by the town hall.
Law 4/2017 on Land and Protected Natural Areas of the Canary Islands (LSENPC) establishes that the approval, substantial modification and adaptation of territorial, environmental and urban planning instruments will be subject to the environmental evaluation procedure of plans and programs, in the terms contemplated in the basic state legislation and the delegation agreement must be adopted by the Plenary of the local entity.
The Government points out in a note that Decree Law 15/2020 on urgent measures to promote the primary, energy, tourism and territorial sectors of the Canary Islands gave a new wording to the LSENPC, enabling the possibility of direct delegation of competence for environmental assessment of instruments or projects in the regional environmental body, introducing a more agile and effective mechanism than the agreement.
This direct intersubjective delegation only requires a delegation agreement from the local entity and an acceptance agreement from the Government of the Canary Islands.
This delegation of powers is justified by the lack, on the part of the Arona City Council, of sufficient human and technical resources to undertake this type of action.
The accepted delegation falls on the Collegiate Body for Environmental Assessment and Single Report of the Canary Islands, more specifically in the Autonomous Commission for Environmental Assessment, which is a collegiate body of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Fight against Climate Change and Environmental Planning.
Therefore, it is this committee that will carry out the delegated functions.
