Chamber approves PL on environmental licensing in BR-319 – 12/20/2023 – Environment

The plenary of the Chamber of Deputies approved on Tuesday night (19) a bill that relaxes environmental licensing procedures related to paving works on the BR-319 highway, which cuts through the Amazon and connects Manaus to Porto Velho.

The paving of BR-319 has been going on for decades and has faced intense resistance from environmentalists. They argue that the work could lead to more grabbing of public lands along the highway, increase illegal deforestation and boost criminal logging.

Defenders of BR-319, including the political class from the North, argue that the highway is necessary to reduce the isolation of residents of the two connected states, Amazonas and Rondônia.

The provision that relaxes licensing is contained in a bill that recognizes the highway as “critical infrastructure, indispensable to national security, requiring the guarantee of its trafficability.”

There were 311 votes in favor and 103 votes against. The federations PT-PC of B-PV and PSOL-Rede advised against the matter. The text will now go to the Senate.

The approved text says that public acts of release and licensing “of small and medium polluting potential” related to the highway in question “must be carried out through simplified procedures or by adherence and commitment, including accessory services or services necessary to carry out the works of the highway”.

In practice, this means faster release of works due to a simplification of licensing and a less detailed analysis of the environmental impacts of these procedures.

The government reached an agreement with the project’s rapporteur, deputy Captain Alberto Neto (PL-AM), which resulted in the removal of a provision from the bill that established the exemption from environmental licensing for the restoration of the highway’s pavement.

According to people familiar with the negotiations, in return, the government advised in favor of the matter — but there is no commitment to sanction the text.

An article was also maintained in the project, at the request of Palácio do Planalto, which determines that the construction of connections attached to the highway axis is prohibited, “with the exception of access to properties legally constituted in the location”.

The approved project also authorizes that “donations received in kind by the Union intended for carrying out non-refundable actions to promote the conservation and sustainable use of the legal Amazon” may be used for actions of “recovery, paving and increasing the capacity of the highway”.

According to people who followed the negotiations surrounding the text, this means that, in practice, resources such as those from the Amazon Fund could be used for these purposes.

“We cannot accept under any circumstances using the Amazon Fund to build asphalting, I’m sorry. It is to protect against deforestation. There is a lot of inconsistency here that we cannot accept”, said deputy Ivan Valente (PSOL-SP) during the session .

“There’s a lot at stake here. We couldn’t discuss this issue at 11 pm, at the drop of a hat. This discussion is precarious and there is, indeed, a huge impact that needs to be discussed”, continued Valente.

“No one is denying that it is important to provide a solution for the region, that we improve the region’s infrastructure for those who live there, for commerce and movement of people. But it is not possible to do this without robust environmental licensing”, added the deputy Talíria Petrone (PSOL-RJ).

The rapporteur stated, for once, that the “environmental impact has already happened”, since it is not a new highway, but a road that has already been paved before.

“We are not canceling the licensing, we are just simplifying and asking for priority because BR-319 is the only BR in Brazil that is not paved. This project is a cry for help”, continued Neto.

Representative Eli Borges (PL-TO) said during the session that it is time for Brazil to react “to the excessive defense of the environment”.

“I know this will sound bad in the ears of millions of Brazilians who live in the comfort of BRs or paved highways throughout Brazil. But what is known in Brazil is that we have, yes, preserved the environment. It’s not fair to that population pay this price when the rest of Brazil enjoys the comfort of good roads”, he said.

In November, the federal government created a working group to study the highway’s feasibility.

The board is made up only of representatives from the Ministry of Transport — there was an expectation that it would be an inter-ministerial group with the participation of other interested departments, such as the Environment.

The government included in the New PAC, one of Lula 3’s main showcases, studies for the paving of BR-319, and says that it will only come to fruition if it proves to be environmentally viable.