On September 30, 2020, the General Comptroller of the Republic (“CGR”), issued Opinion No. 39766/2020, in which it ruled that the Ecological Preservation Areas, defined in territorial planning instruments, must be considered as areas placed under official protection for purposes of Article 10, letter p), of Law No. 19,300, on the General Basis of the Environment, so that projects or activities, likely to cause environmental impact, which are located in such areas, must enter the Environmental Assessment System.

In combination with this, the CGR orders the Environmental Evaluation Service to adapt the Instructional Letter No. 130,844, of 2013, and said service must inform the CGR of this within 30 days. The aforementioned document unifies criteria and technical requirements on areas placed under official protection and protected areas for the purposes of the Environmental Impact Assessment System.

Notwithstanding, this Opinion shall not apply to projects already approved.

In case you require additional information on this matter, please contact Marcelo Mardones, mmardones@jdf.cl; and/or Martín Esser, messer@jdf.cl.