Legislation – Department of the Environment

Environmental Protection Act Chapter 328 of the Substantive Laws of Belize Revised Edition 2020Until the enactment of the Environmental Protection Act in 1992, Belize had no comprehensive environmental protection legislation. The Environmental Protection Act established the Department of the Environment (DOE), and entrusted it the responsibility to monitor the implementation of the Act and subsequent Regulations and to take necessary action to enforce the provisions of the Act and Regulations. The enabling legislation provides the Government with comprehesive environmental protection authority it needs in order to address modern environmental pollution problems. The Act grants the Department of the Environment broad regulatory and enforcement authority for the prevention and control of environmental pollution, conservation and management of natural resources, and environmental impact assessment. The Act became effective January 1993 and has since been amended in 1998, but much remains to be done to ensure effective implementation, including the preparation of necessary implementation regulations. The Environmental Protection Act entrusted the Department of the Environment with a broad range of functions relating to the protection of the environment, including the assessment of water pollution, the coordination of activities relating to the discharge of wastes, the licensing of activities that may cause water pollution, the registration of sources of pollution and the carrying out of research and investigations as to the causes, nature and extent of water pollution, and the necessary prevention and control measures. The Department of the Environment is responsible for the enforcement of several Regulations made under the Environmental Protection Act. These include the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations (S.I. 107 of 1995), the Environmental Protection (Effluent Limitations) Regulations (S.I. 94 of 1995) and the Pollution Regulations (S.I. 56 of 1996). In Apri