New Delhi, Oct. 12 -- The Union environment ministry has proposed to exempt common municipal solid waste management facilities and Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) from obtaining prior environmental clearance. In separate draft notifications published on October 3 and October 1, the ministry proposed to exempt these sectors because of their low pollution potential. The draft notifications state that the expert appraisal committee has observed that environmental essential services (EES) projects such as solid waste management facilities are governed under the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. "The regulatory regime under these statutes are stringent and comprehensive, providing for regular monitoring, periodic inspections, and mandatory reporting by the state pollution control boards (SPCBs) and the Central pollution control board (CPCB)..." the notification said. Given the regulatory coverage and robust oversight under existing environmental laws, and to encourage EES, the sectoral expert appraisal committee has recommended that a considered view may be taken by the ministry for exempting such EES from the requirement of prior environment clearance (EC), under the EIA Notification, 2006, it added. The recommendations of the expert appraisal committee were later referred to the expert advisory committee for examination. In an office memorandum, dated November 17, 2017, the Centre had previously clarified that only the common municipal solid waste management facility (CMSWMF), which included a landfill site, required prior EC. "In this regard, after due deliberation the expert advisory committee was of the considered view that all CMSWMF may be exempted subject to environmental safeguards to be implemented," the notification added. In the case of CETPs, the notification said, "Based on the recommendations of the expert appraisal committee and the expert advisory committee, the central government is of the view that CETPs may be exempted from the requirement of prior Environmental Clearance under the EIA Notification, 2006, subject to implementation of environmental safeguards to be enforced by state pollution control boards through the consent mechanism," it said. Experts said noted that facilities, such as CETPs, need to be properly assessed before they are operationalised as they deal with hazardous materials "...Common solid waste management facility handles all types of waste which also includes hazardous. They will also have waste-to-energy plants. These facilities need proper impact assessment before they are allowed to operate," said Nivit Yadav, programme director, industrial pollution, Centre for Science and Environment....