These Regulations implement, in relation to town and country planning, roads and drainage works in Scotland, Council Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment.

The Regulations impose procedural requirements in relation to the consideration of applications for planning permission under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. Environmental Impact Assessments are required for certain developments, which are either to be carried out in a sensitive area, or that satisfy a threshold or criterion.

Planning permission for EIA development will not be granted unless the planning authority or the Scottish Ministers have first taken account of the environmental information that is before them.

The procedures include seeking a 'screening opinion' of the planning authority to determine whether the development is an EIA development, followed by 'a scoping opinion' on the information to be included in an environmental statement from the planning authority. The planning authority must consult bodies with environmental responsibilities such as SEPA before adopting a scoping opinion or scoping direction.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 1999 can be seen by clicking here.