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Obtaining consents in environmentally sensitive
locations. What are the programm and cost risks?
Community Engagement and Environmental PR?
Limassol 19 October 2018
w w w. a i j a . o rg

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AIJAOslo, 29 Sept – 1 Oct 2016
Introduction to
Into the Bright Blue Yonder
Current Challenges in Ship and Aviation Financing
The role of an environmental lawyer
for real estate projects in sensitive locations
Belgian / European point of view
Jeroen De Coninck
Jeroen@dc-advocaten.be

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Content
I. Clarification: ‘Sensitive’ locations
II. Role of the environmental lawyer
during the 4 phases of a building of the
permitting and building process
- in order to get your project done
- to understand the environmental and
urban planning risks
III. Environmental Risk Summary for the
Real Estate developer
IV. Environmental Strategic advice
summary for the Real Estate developer

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AIJAOslo, 29 Sept – 1 Oct 2016
Introduction to
Into the Bright Blue Yonder
Current Challenges in Ship and Aviation Financing
I. Sensitive location?
• ‘Environmental sensitive risks’ in the broad sense
• Environmental issues (air quality - European Directive 2008/50/EC, noise – European
Directive 2002/49/EC,…)
• Transportation / mobility issues (transportation routes / infrastructure requirements
to the project)
• Urban planning issues (‘concrete stop’, zones non aedificandi,…)
• Safety and health issues (Seveso restrictions,…)
• …
• Environmental Impact Assessment (Directive 2014/52/EU)
• Local sensitivities (competition between projects, relevant actors…)
• Change in law due to changing society due to environmental policies

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Belgium – ‘Sensitive location’

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AIJA
Introduction to
Blue Yonder
Current Challenges in Ship and Aviation Financing
I. Sensitive location? – Air quality
Organized NGO actions (Ex. Client Earth)
https://www.clientearth.org/pollution-how-much-do-
you-care/
“How much do you care about your own health? How much do
you care about the health of your family, your friends, your
children and theirs. How much do you care about the well-
being of the planet and of future generations? Do you wish
politicians would act?
The more pressure we put on politicians and governments
to tackle pollution and the health and respiratory problems it
causes, the more governments are likely to act.
Please help fund our cases
We all need to act. Say #No2dirtyair now. And please help to
fund our air quality cases.”
-> Air Quality is a concern to be taken into account

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AJA
Blue Yonder
Current Challenges in Ship and Aviation Financing
I. Effect of Sensitive location on urban planning
II. Example: The Ringland Project
Urban Planning instruments take into account the ‘air
quality’
Source: (https://ringland.be/about/the-project/)
“The Ringland-project is a large-scale sustainable urban
development, focusing on a complete redesign of the highway
system in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. The research underlying
this complex infrastructure project has been entirely organized
by local citizens in a unique and innovative bottom-up manner.
Detailed research studies, executed by external academics and
financed through crowdfunding, were subsequently presented
to the government. The Ringland-project supports a new kind
of social interaction between scientists, policy makers and
citizens.”

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AIJA
Introduction to
Blue Yonder
Current Challenges in Ship and Aviation Financing
Local Protest
‘no to Clay Quarry’a p
I. Sensitive location? – Transportation/mobility risks
Source:
https://www.focus-wtv.be/nieuws/nogmaals-protest-tegen-kleigroeveroute
https://www.focus-wtv.be/video/bezwaren-tegen-transportroute-kleigroeve-kortrijk
Example
Environmental permit for Clay operations in new clay quarry
- 2013 Clay Quarry
- Investigation of 5 different routes to transport clay to
- Clay quarry operator: deal with 1 action committee
- permit granted
- 2018 - Proposal of city of Kortrijk: a 6th transportation of clay route
- Local Protests of habitants besides new clay route;
- No prior investigation;
- Complaint from new action committee (80 inhabitants – 3 schools)
- New transportation route blocked

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I. Local sensitivities – knowledge of local situation
Example Competition of shopping Moles Uplace, Neo and Docks

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AIJAOslo, 29 Sept – 1 Oct 2016
Introduction to
Into the Bright Blue Yonder
Current Challenges I”Stop ‘concrete’ in 2040 Ship and Aviation
Financing
I. Sensitive location? – Urban Planning risks – Change of law
Environmental policies affecting urban
planning:
“The Flemish government has reached an
agreement on a general town and country
planning frame in Flanders. The accord has
been nicknamed "betonstop" or "concrete
stop", a clampdown on consuming open
green space for construction projects,
whether it concerns housing, industry or road
infrastructure.”
Source:
https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2016/12/01/town_and_co
untryplanningtheconcretestopdeal-1-2833048/

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I. Sensitive locations – final
“All large scale building projects are nowadays built in
‘sensitive locations’. Environmental lawyers should
inform their clients regarding this fact and should give
strategical advice hereto”

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II. The role of the environmental lawyer besides the other consultants
“We as environmental lawyers have a specific role
besides the environmental consultants in real estate
projects. We should get into the process as soon as
possible, in order to review the environmental
documents and make them legally more robust. Most
environmental consultants do not have the legal
knowledge of an environmental lawyer. Real Estate
Developers should be aware of it”
pre-phase – getting the permit – administrative courts - operations

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II. The role of the environmental lawyer besides the other consultants
pre-phase – getting the permit – administrative courts - operations
“We as environmental lawyers have a specific role
besides the environmental consultants in real estate
projects. We should get into the process as soon as
possible, in order to review the environmental
documents and make them legally more robust. Most
environmental consultants do not have the legal
knowledge of an environmental lawyer. Real Estate
Developers should be aware of it”
1. pre-phase – 2. getting the permit –3. administrative courts - 4 operations

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AIJAOslo, 29 Sept – 1 Oct 2016
Introduction to
Into the Bright Blue Yonder
Current Challenges in Ship and Aviation Financing
II. Phase 1 - Pre-phase environmental docs
environmental consultants vs environmental lawyers
• Environmental consultants / experts – environmental reports
• Depending on the project preparation + at least 4 months to +1year
• Look into the project from a technical point with a basic legal review
• Environmental lawyers- legal review / follow up
• Awareness of importance of specific motivations
• Legal Project reviews
• Attention for change in laws during preparation phase
• Priorly taking into account of later upcoming issues due to urban planning legislation

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AIJAOslo, 29 Sept – 1 Oct 2016
Introduction to
Into the Bright Blue Yonder
Current Challenges in Ship and Aviation Financing
II. Phase 2 - Getting your permit
environmental consultants – architects - engineers vs environmental lawyers
• Permitting process– timeline – at least 4 to 5 months but up
to 2 years
• Prior to start - informal talks with civil servants and/or
politicians
• First instance: Municipality
• Broad Possibilities to appeal with the Provincial
Authorities (low cost procedure)
• Role of the Environmental lawyers besides the other actors:
• Legal coordinators
• Legal arguments
• Legal strategies
• We need the other actors and the other actors needs us

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AIJAOslo, 29 Sept – 1 Oct 2016
Introduction to
Into the Bright Blue Yonder
Current Challenges in Ship and Aviation Financing
II. Phase 3 – Possibilities to appeal permits before administrative courts
Environmental lawyers vs other consultants
• Flemish Case: legal actions after permitting process:
• Administrative courts (Raad voor Vergunningsbetwistingen (only in Flemish Region) – Raad van State (Conseil
d’Etat)
• Procedures typically last 2 to 4 years (but no hard deadlines for judges);
• Annulment and/or suspension procedures
• In case of annulment – competent authority should decide again and again period of 2 to 4 years of
incertainty
• Role of Environmental lawyers:
• Leading actor
• Feedback of environmental consultants/architects/engineers crucial
• If not involved in the prior process – gathering information in a short time frame is crucial

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AIJAOslo, 29 Sept – 1 Oct 2016
Introduction to
Into the Bright Blue Yonder
Current Challenges in Ship and Aviation Financing
II. Phase 4 – Operational phase (‘building the project’)
environmental consultants – architects - engineers vs environmental lawyers
• Operational phase:
• Environmental issues could cause higher costs, which were not necessarily known prior to the start of the
project:
• Soil issues (remediations during the project, ex-situ cleaning of soil,….)
• Civil liabilities and environment / urban planning
• Belgian courts may not take into account illegal permits (article 159 of the Belgian Constitution)
• Civil judge may hence declare a certain way of operating still illegal, although (illegally granted) permits
are in place.
• Architects / contractors
• Leading actors
• Environmental Lawyers to be consulted in time – legal actions should be taken within short time frames

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AIJAOslo, 29 Sept – 1 Oct 2016
Introduction to
Into the Bright Blue Yonder
Current Challenges in Ship and Aviation Financing
III. Environmental and urban planning risks
@start of a project and thereafter
Summary for the real estate developer
• Feasibility of the project: only (partially known) after prior environmental and/or urban planning
assessments
• Time: as from the beginning no certainty regarding timing with respect to the permit
• Risk of annulment of a permit due to Administrative Courts
• Risk of (illegally (formally or substantially) permits do not go away and can be invoked during
every moment of the building process and thereafter
• Risk of environmental and/or urban planning costs (consultants and technical costs)
• Risk that the competent authority will request (costly) more stringent conditions
• Change in law
• …

19. w w w . a i j a . o r g
AIJAOslo, 29 Sept – 1 Oct 2016
Introduction to
Into the Bright Blue Yonder
Current Challenges in Ship and Aviation Financing
IV. Summary of legal strategy
Role of the environmental lawyer – strategic advice
Points of attention to be discussed:
• Marketing of your project (by doing the mile more)
• Public support (NIMBY - Don Quichote)
• Media (review press communications by the lawyer)
• Political willingness (knowledge of the local decision takers)
• Local knowledge of the sensitivity of the area (priorly refused permits, priorly granted permits, ….)
• Always look after the real issue at stake – the issue is in private disputes mostly not environmental related
• Think in advance: advisory bodies will not always give a good and clear advice, have your own advice already
prepared in case of….
• Influence of NGO’s
• Kind of actions of third parties:
• ‘All for One’ (E.g. 1 in front, others pay)
• ‘One for All’ (1 interested party pays a lot of parties to start protest) …

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IV. Example - Green marketing ’t Pakt (Antwerp)

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IV. Example Nimby versus Don Quichote
Environmental PR

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Thank you !
Jeroen De Coninck – lawyer-partner
Real Estate & Public Law Niche law firm
Belgium - Europe
jeroen@dc-advocaten.be – +32(3)600.79.54
www.dc-advocaten.be