Single Environmental Statement
What it is and what it means for developers and investors
The Unified Environmental Statement (hereinafter referred to as the "JES") is a binding opinion issued under the Administrative Code. The JES will be issued for all projects subject to the permitting process under the Construction Act, regardless of whether they are projects covered by the EIA, and also for projects subject to an environmental impact assessment, including projects permitted under laws other than the Construction Act (e.g. the Mining Act). The JES is thus intended to replace up to 26 administrative acts (e.g. binding opinions, decisions, statements) contained in 9 different environmental laws.
What is a Single Environmental Statement
The fundamental characteristic of the Single Environmental Statement (JES) is its ability to replace up to 26 different administrative acts (binding opinions, decisions, statements) contained in 9 different environmental laws. Without a valid JES, a construction project cannot be permitted under the Building Act, which means it is an essential prerequisite for the implementation of most construction projects.
Which administrative acts does the JES replace
The JES integrates administrative acts from several key areas of environmental protection. The main group of replaced acts are opinions and decisions under the following laws:
Act on the Protection of Nature and Landscape – includes binding opinions on interventions in habitats, felling of trees, exceptions to prohibitions for specially protected species of plants and animals, and other acts concerning the protection of natural assets.
Water Act – covers consents for constructions, facilities, or activities that may affect water conditions, and binding opinions on the protection of water resources and their protection zones.
Waste Act – contains binding opinions on landscaping and building removal from the perspective of waste or by-product management.
Air Protection Act – includes binding opinions on air protection when permitting constructions that may affect air quality.
Act on the Protection of the Agricultural Land Fund – contains consents for the removal of land from the agricultural land fund.
Forest Act – includes consents for the removal of forest land and other acts related to forest protection.
Act on the Prevention of Major Accidents – contains binding opinions for construction projects that may cause or increase the risk of a major accident.
Act on Geological Works – includes statements on areas with special geological conditions.
Act on Mining Activities and Explosives – contains opinions on projects affecting mining-protected areas.
Who issues the Single Environmental Statement
The competence to issue a JES depends on the nature and scope of the project. State administration in the area of issuing JES is performed by the following authorities:
The Ministry of the Environment is competent to issue a JES if it is competent to assess the project under the Act on Environmental Impact Assessment (the EIA process). In other words, whenever the Ministry of the Environment assesses a project in the EIA process, it also issues a Single Environmental Statement for it.
Regional authorities issue a JES if the Ministry of the Environment is not competent, especially for projects subject to an EIA at the regional level, including projects for which the impact assessment under the Act on Environmental Impact Assessment was carried out before the application for the JES was submitted.
Municipal authorities of municipalities with extended powers are competent for projects that do not fall within the competence of the ministry or a regional authority.
The Ministry of Agriculture is competent in certain specific cases related to water management.
In practice, this means that for major development projects, industrial parks, or infrastructure constructions subject to an EIA, the competent authority will usually be the regional authority or the Ministry of the Environment directly. Determining the correct competent authority and preparing the documentation can be complex – the lawyers at ARROWS will help you navigate the administrative requirements. Write to us at konzultace@arws.cz.
What are the deadlines for issuing a JES and its validity
The competent authority is obliged to issue the JES without undue delay, but no later than 60 days from the date of submission of a complete application. In exceptional cases, the deadline can be extended by up to another 30 days.
If the authority finds that the application is incomplete, it will ask the applicant to remedy the defects and provide a reasonable time for doing so. In such a case, the deadline for issuing the JES is suspended and begins to run again from the beginning after the defects are remedied. A JES is valid for 5 years from the date of its issuance. At the applicant's request, its validity can be extended for another 5 years, and this can be done repeatedly.
This flexible extension option is a significant advantage over the EIA process, where the validity of a separate statement is limited to 7 years with the possibility of only a single extension of another 5 years. If circumstances that were the subject of the assessment of the project's environmental impacts change during the validity of the JES (for example, changes in the affected area, changes in legislation, or changes to the project), the applicant may ask the competent authority to amend it.
Risks and penalties | How ARROWS helps (konzultace@arws.cz) |
Submitting an incomplete JES application and repeated returns of documentation, which delays the entire project and increases costs | Preparation of a complete JES application including all requirements under the component laws – we will ensure your application passes on the first try. |
Issuance of a negative JES, which makes it impossible to implement the project in its proposed form | Legal consultation before submitting the application and analysis of the project's risks from an environmental protection perspective – we will help modify the project to make it permissible. |
Expiration of the JES before construction begins and the need to apply for an extension or a new statement | Monitoring JES validity deadlines and timely submission of extension applications – we will ensure the continuity of your project. |
Relationship of the JES to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process
To fully understand the JES, it is necessary to distinguish between the Single Environmental Statement and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. The EIA is a process of systematic examination and evaluation of the possible impacts of projects on the environment, aiming to assess the significant impacts of a project on the environment and public health in advance.
The EIA process always takes place before a project is permitted and before its implementation begins. Projects are classified into two categories according to Annex No. 1 of the Act on Environmental Impact Assessment:
Category I – projects that are always subject to a full EIA process (e.g., motorways, nuclear power plants, large industrial plants).
Category II – projects that are subject to at least a screening procedure, the purpose of which is to assess whether the given project will be subject to a full EIA process (e.g., smaller development projects, agricultural complexes, mining areas).
The JES is issued based on the results of the EIA process if the project is subject to an EIA. The law allows for two procedural options:
Separate procedure – first, a separate EIA process is carried out and a separate opinion on the environmental impact assessment is issued. Only then is an application for a JES submitted, which already reflects the conditions of the EIA opinion.
Joint procedure – the applicant submits an application for a JES at the same time as submitting the EIA documentation. In this case, the resulting Single Environmental Statement is also the EIA opinion, meaning both processes are integrated into a single binding opinion.
The choice between the separate and joint procedure is entirely up to the applicant. The joint procedure may be more advantageous in terms of time savings, but it requires very careful preparation of comprehensive documentation from the very beginning.
Which projects require a JES
A JES is issued for all projects permitted under the Building Act (Act No. 283/2021 Coll.), whether they are projects requiring an EIA or other projects.
In practice, this means a wide range of construction and non-construction projects:
Residential buildings – apartment buildings, residential complexes, family houses (for some types).
Buildings for family recreation – recreational facilities, cottages, chalets.
Industrial and production buildings – production halls, warehouses, logistics centres, processing plants.
Retail and commercial buildings – shopping centres, office buildings, hotels.
Transport infrastructure – roads, railways, airports, ports.
Energy infrastructure – power plants, substations, gas holders.
Water works – dams, reservoirs, wastewater treatment plants.
Landscaping – terrain modifications that require a permit under the Building Act.
Changes in land use – changes in the type of land or the way the land is used.
Removal of buildings – if it may have an impact on the environment in terms of waste management.
The construction of a family house does not usually require an EIA, but a JES is required in almost all cases. On the other hand, larger projects such as development or industrial constructions may be subject to an EIA, the conclusions of which are then taken into account within the JES.
Requirements for an application for a JES
An application for a JES must contain the general requirements stipulated by the Administrative Procedure Code and also all the requirements stipulated by other legal regulations for the issuance of the individual administrative acts that the Single Environmental Statement replaces.
This means that the application must meet the requirements of all relevant component laws (Act on the Protection of Nature and Landscape, Water Act, Waste Act, etc.). Identical data does not need to be stated multiple times – if one piece of data is required by multiple legal regulations, it is sufficient to state it only once.
The application must be accompanied by project documentation in a scope corresponding to the nature of the project. If the applicant did not submit an application for a building permit before 1 July 2024, they are obliged to upload the project documentation to the Builder's Portal. The project documentation must be prepared in sufficient detail to allow for the assessment of the project's impacts on all affected environmental components.
It is recommended to attach any already issued statements, opinions, or decisions from the environmental field to the application, if the applicant already has them.
Preliminary consultation – how to avoid problems
The JES Act introduces the institute of preliminary consultation. To bring the project documentation into compliance with environmental protection requirements, a preliminary consultation is used in accordance with Section 9 of the JES Act.
An application for a preliminary consultation does not need to be submitted via the Builder's Portal, and the project documentation can be in a draft stage. It is advisable to attach any already obtained statements, opinions, or decisions from the environmental field to the application.
The preliminary consultation is an extremely useful tool that allows you to find out the requirements of the competent authority even before completing the project documentation and submitting the JES application. This can prevent a situation where the application is returned for completion or where a negative opinion is issued due to an insufficiently prepared project.
Coordinated binding opinion and its relationship to the JES
In addition to the JES, the Building Act also introduces the institute of a coordinated binding opinion. A coordinated binding opinion is a tool for coordinating multiple public interests if the same administrative authority is competent for their protection.
A coordinated binding opinion allows the developer to request the issuance of a comprehensive opinion, and the administrative body itself obtains the individual opinions of the concerned authorities that exercise their competence within the municipal office, and issues a comprehensive coordinated opinion. However, this opinion cannot be issued if the individual opinions are in mutual conflict.
The JES is a specific form of a coordinated opinion focused exclusively on the area of environmental protection. While a coordinated binding opinion may also include other areas (e.g., transport, heritage protection), the JES focuses only on the environmental aspects of the project.
What the JES brings to developers and investors
According to the explanatory memorandum to the act, the introduction of the JES is intended to bring several key advantages:
Centralised procedure – The JES unifies the process of assessing the environmental impacts of construction projects. A large number of different opinions and decisions from various administrative authorities will be replaced by a single comprehensive statement.
Faster process and reduced administrative burden – Thanks to the introduction of the JES, the process of obtaining the necessary permits is expected to be accelerated due to the elimination of duplication and redundant administrative steps associated with obtaining various opinions and decisions. With a single statement, the administrative burden for all parties involved should be reduced.
Transparency – The JES brings greater transparency for developers and authorities, as uniform criteria and procedures reduce uncertainty regarding environmental protection requirements.
Higher quality control of projects – The JES evaluates a wide range of environmental impact aspects, leading to a more thorough analysis and assessment of construction projects in relation to the environment, and thus to greater environmental protection while reducing the administrative burden on developers.
Cost reduction – The introduction of the JES may ultimately also reduce the costs associated with project implementation due to the reduction of administration related to obtaining various opinions from different administrative authorities, which require different forms of supporting documentation.
Strengthened legal certainty – With the introduction of the JES, situations where, for example, an investor obtains a positive EIA opinion but two years later fails to get consent for the removal of land from the agricultural land fund should completely disappear. All environmental aspects are assessed at once in a single statement.
However, it must be noted that the practical implementation of these benefits depends on many factors, especially the quality of the documentation prepared by the applicant and the capacities of the relevant authorities.
Penalties for breaching the conditions of a JES
The JES Act defines the constituent elements of an administrative offence for a natural person, an entrepreneurial natural person, and a legal entity. An offence is committed if one of the above-mentioned subjects fails to comply with any of the conditions set on the basis of a JES by a decision in a subsequent procedure.
The administrative authority competent to deal with the offence is the one that issued the JES whose conditions were breached. For this offence, a natural person can be fined up to CZK 1,000,000, while an entrepreneurial natural person and a legal entity can be fined up to CZK 10,000,000.
These relatively high upper limits for fines are one of the tools to ensure compliance with the conditions set in the JES and effective environmental protection. It is therefore crucial for entrepreneurs and investors not only to obtain a JES but also to consistently comply with all the conditions set therein during the implementation of the project and its subsequent operation.
Risks and penalties | How ARROWS helps (konzultace@arws.cz) |
A fine of up to CZK 10,000,000 for breaching the conditions set in the JES | Ongoing monitoring of compliance with JES conditions and legal advice during project implementation. |
Administrative offence proceedings and possible order to remedy defects or halt construction | Representation in offence proceedings and defence of your interests – we have experience in defending clients before environmental protection authorities. |
Project delays due to non-compliance with environmental conditions and the need for additional modifications | Regular audits of compliance with JES conditions and timely risk identification – we help prevent problems. |
Practical challenges and risks in obtaining a JES
Although the JES is supposed to bring considerable simplification on paper, certain complications may arise in practice. It is important to realise that the JES Act and its application are relatively new, having only come into effect on 1 January 2024. This means that authorities, designers, and lawyers are still learning how to work effectively with this new tool.
Complexity of documentation requirements – Since the JES covers up to 26 different administrative acts, the documentation must meet the requirements of all these acts simultaneously. This places high demands on the designers and lawyers preparing the documents.
Coordination between different authorities – Although the JES is issued by a single competent authority, this authority must coordinate opinions and documents from a number of other concerned authorities active in the field of environmental protection when preparing the JES. This coordination can be time-consuming and complex.
Different interpretative approaches by authorities – Due to the novelty of the institute, individual regional authorities or municipal authorities of municipalities with extended powers may differ in their approaches to assessing JES applications. This creates a degree of uncertainty for applicants.
High demands on expertise – Preparing a high-quality JES application requires a deep knowledge not only of construction law but also of the acts on nature and landscape protection, the Water Act, the Waste Act, and other component legal regulations. A layperson has little chance of preparing such an application without errors.
Risk of a negative opinion – If the authority assesses that the project is inadmissible in terms of its impact on the individual affected environmental components and on the environment as a whole, it will issue a negative JES, which prevents the project from being permitted in its proposed form. This may mean that the entire project has to be redesigned.
Why entrust the preparation of a JES to the experts at the ARROWS law firm
As is clear from the above, obtaining a Single Environmental Statement is a very demanding process, both procedurally and professionally. Although it may at first glance seem that it is "just" one statement instead of several, in reality, the JES is a complex document that must reflect the requirements of nine different laws and take into account a wide range of environmental aspects.
The ARROWS law firm has extensive experience in construction law and environmental law. Our portfolio includes more than 150 joint-stock companies, 250 limited liability companies, and 50 municipalities and regions, which gives us a unique overview of the practical aspects of permitting projects in various sectors. We pride ourselves on the speed and high quality of the services we provide.
The international dimension of project permitting
For investors and entrepreneurs operating internationally, it is important to mention that the ARROWS law firm has extensive experience with legal services involving an international element. Thanks to the ARROWS International network, which has been built over ten years, we also provide legal services abroad and deal with cases with an international element on a daily basis.
If your construction project has cross-border impacts (for example, on a cross-border river basin or on special protection areas extending into neighbouring states), an international assessment may be required as part of the EIA process. In such cases, coordination with the environmental protection authorities of neighbouring states and compliance with international conventions are essential. Our international network will enable you to obtain comprehensive legal services even in these complex cases. For an immediate solution to your situation, write to us at konzultace@arws.cz.
Tito klienti nám důvěřují
Connecting clients and business opportunities
The ARROWS law firm prides itself not only on excellent legal services but also on building long-term relationships with clients and connecting our clients with each other when they have interesting investment or business opportunities.
For example, if you are looking for a partner for a development project, an investor for an infrastructure construction, or, conversely, an interesting property or piece of land for the implementation of your project, we will be happy to connect you with other clients from our portfolio. We can also provide legal support in structuring joint ventures, preparing cooperation agreements, or in land acquisitions.
We are also happy to listen to interesting business ideas in the field of real estate and development. If you are looking for financing or a business partner for a purchase or sale in the construction or real estate sector, do not hesitate to contact us – konzultace@arws.cz.
Conclusion – leave the JES to the experts
The Single Environmental Statement represents a significant shift in the permitting of construction projects in the Czech Republic. The aim is to unify and speed up the process of obtaining environmental permits, which should bring benefits to investors and developers as well as to public administration bodies.
In practice, however, the JES is a complex tool, the successful acquisition of which requires a deep knowledge of construction law, environmental law, and component legal regulations. Errors in the application can lead to its repeated return, the issuance of a negative opinion, or subsequent penalty proceedings for breaching the conditions of the JES.
If you do not want to risk mistakes, damages, or fines, you can safely leave the whole matter to the ARROWS law firm. Our Prague-based legal team specialises in construction law and environmental law, deals with similar cases daily, and has experience with permitting projects ranging from small family houses to large industrial and development projects. Our portfolio includes more than 150 joint-stock companies, 250 limited liability companies, and 50 municipalities and regions, which gives us a unique overview of the practical aspects of this issue.
The ARROWS law firm deals with the JES agenda on a daily basis, which can significantly shorten your time and minimise the risk of errors. Moreover, we are insured for damages up to CZK 500,000,000, so it is safer for you to have the matter professionally handled. We also regularly partner with in-house lawyers to resolve special issues.
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Disclaimer:
The information contained in this article is for general informational purposes only and serves as a basic guide to the issue as of 2026. Although we strive for maximum accuracy, laws and their interpretation evolve over time. We are ARROWS Law Firm, a member of the Czech Bar Association (our supervisory authority), and for the maximum security of our clients, we are insured for professional liability with a limit of CZK 400,000,000. To verify the current wording of the regulations and their application to your specific situation, it is necessary to contact ARROWS Law Firm directly (consultation@arws.cz). We are not liable for any damages arising from the independent use of the information in this article without prior individual legal consultation.