Environmental Permit Requirements for High-Risk Projects under Omani Law

Environmental compliance remains central to Oman’s expanding industrial and infrastructure sector. Royal Decree 114/2001, the Law on Environmental Protection and Pollution Control, sets out the legal framework for environmental permitting, impact assessment, and pollution control.Speaking to Times of Oman, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Zadjali, Chairman of Mohammed Ibrahim Law Firm, said “the law requires an environmental permit before erection begins for any source or work area, with the Minister setting the procedures, conditions, rules, duration, and renewal terms. Any source or work area that, under principles set by the Ministry, poses an environmental risk capable of being avoided or treated must submit a detailed impact assessment study before applying for the permit, and that study must confirm that its benefits outweigh the potential environmental damage; where such damage cannot be avoided or remedied, licensing is barred.” “Once a source or work area is established, its owner is subject to a range of ongoing obligations under the law. They must adopt approved technical measures and clean production techniques to reduce waste at the source. They must also submit a Ministry-approved contingency plan, reviewed periodically. Discharges must stay within set pollution standards and discharge specifications. Additionally, every work area must maintain a designated safety area to ensure that pollutant levels do not exceed permitted limits, whether from a single source or from all sources within that work area combined,” he said.He added that “any discharge that violates the law, the regulations and decisions implementing it, or the environmental permit granted, or any accident causing pollution or environmental damage, must be reported to the Ministry in writing immediately, while owners must monitor compliance, keep records, and report periodically at Minister-specified intervals.”“Violations such as unauthorised discharge or unpermitted construction carry fines of OMR200 to OMR2,000, increasing by ten percent daily from the fourth day after notifying the offender of the discovery of the violation, with suspension possible if the violation continues for more than one month. Separate penalties include imprisonment or a fine for certain prohibited discharges, or for failing to notify the Ministry of an environmental disaster or a violation, while false or misleading data in an environmental permit application or an application to erect a source or work area carries imprisonment not exceeding six months, a fine not exceeding five percent of capital invested, or one of those two punishments, as well as work suspension and permit cancellation,” he concluded. * (Mohammed Ibrahim Law Firm ([email protected]), (+968 244 87 600) was established on 14th December 2006 and is serving clients through its offices in Muscat and Sohar, as well as operating on a request basis in other areas. It offers legal representation across a wide range of practice areas that include Labour Law, Corporate, Commercial, Contracts, Banking and Finance, International Trade, Foreign Investment, Maritime Law, Construction and Engineering Contracts, International Arbitration, Intellectual Property and more).