Environmental Liabilities Law

Law 2327 of 2023 includes in the Colombian legal system the Environmental Liabilities Law.

This provision addresses the following relevant points for the management of environmental liabilities in the country:

Definition

Environmental impacts caused by human activities, whether direct or indirect, authorized or not, cumulative or not, that can be measured, located and geographically delimited, that generate an unacceptable level of risk to life, health or the environment and for whose control there is no environmental instrument.

Public policy

The ministries stipulated in the regulation must establish the guidelines to formulate, implement and evaluate the public policy with the diagnosis of the problem for the management of environmental liabilities, the action plan and follow-up within one year after the Law enters into force.

National Committee

The National Committee on Environmental Liabilities is created, which will be formed within three (3) months following the entry into force of the Law and will be in charge of implementing the public policy and ensuring the coordination of the necessary institutions for the management of environmental liabilities.

Strategy

These are the activities that allow the identification by suspicion, characterization, risk assessment, declaration, registration, prioritization, intervention, monitoring and follow-up of environmental liabilities. It must be formulated and adapted by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development within six (6) months following the entry into force of the Law.

Information system

It constitutes a unique instrument for managing information on the strategy. It includes the REPA - Registry of Environmental Liabilities, which will include complete, public and timely information on the location of the declared liabilities, those responsible, intervention plans and progress status.

Document

Boletín-Pasivos-ambientales-ENG.pdf