 | The
Republic of the Marshall Islands
Environmental
Protection Authority
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT |
All
development activities, from building a family home or a seawall to
building a shop, road or office, are covered by the Sustainable Development
Regulations, and may also need to follow the Environmental Impact
Assessment Regulations.
If you are building a small
family home or doing personal construction, you must complete a
Sustainable
Development Application. You must consult with the Heritage
Preservation Office, provide a copy of your lease. These Minor permits are free
of charge.
If your construction project is a seawall or for a business, you must complete a
Sustainable
Development Application. You must consult with the Heritage Preservation Office, provide a copy of your lease, and pay the
EPA a fee between $200 and $500 depending on the size of your project. For Major
projects a monitoring fee up to $5,000 may also be charged.
The
EPA may take up to a month to review an Application.
If we determine that your project may have a big impact on the
environment, we may ask you to prepare an Environmental Management Plan
or an Environmental Impact Assessment. We will be happy to guide you
through the process, and can offer templates and guidebooks to assist
you.
Permits are generally valid for 12 months. If you have
not finished your project by month 11, please apply for a permit
renewal.
If you are found to be moving earth without a permit, or with an expired permit, you may receive a fine.
Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA)
EIA is used by the RMI EPA to further the goal of
protecting, restoring and enhancing the environment with all development
activities that take place in the Marshall Islands. This procedure is required
by RMI law for all major development activities in the RMI.
Monitoring
Development Activities
We monitor development activities through the issuance
of permits for all development activities that potentially impact our country’s
environment.