THE NEW ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN BRAZIL: A DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN CONTROL AND ECONOM­IC GROWTH

­by Rafael Martins Costa Moreira

Environmental permitting plays a crucial role in environmental regulation in Brazil, as any activity or facility that exploits natural resources or has the potential to cause environmental degradation must obtain a prior environmental permit before installation and operation. It stands as one of the most vital tools for environmental regulation and management, due to its preventive and precautionary nature. It also contributes for the application of the polluter-pays and sustainability principles, as well as the socio-environmental function of property.

The environmental permitting process is carried out by an administrative agency or branch belonging to one of the three levels of the Federation. 

Such procedure results mainly from the constitutional duty, imposed on the government, to control the production, commercialization, and use of techniques, methods, and substances that involve risk to life, the quality of life, and the environment (The Brazilian Constitution, art. 225, § 1, V). This constitutional provision promotes not only the prior assessment of a project’s environmental feasibility and sustainability, but also ongoing follow-up and monitoring of the activity or facility throughout its operation, including during decommissioning and dismantling stages.

For decades, environmental permitting and the Environmental Impact Assessment had been regulated nationwide by administrative rules and state legislation. Until then, there had been no federal legislation establishing minimum and uniform guidelines applicable to all permitting procedures carried out in the country. 

This normative gap was recently filled with the enactment of the General Environmental Permitting Act (Federal Statute Law n. 15.190/2025). The new legislation is the outcome of a legislative process that spanned more than two decades and brought to an end a prolonged period in which the matter had been governed by administrative regulations, subject to a high degree of administrative discretion, and by state-level rules frequently challenged in court on constitutional grounds.

It can be stated that Statute Law n. 15.190/25 represents a milestone for a new environmental permitting framework in the Country. Although it incorporates concepts and rules previously established in other regulations, the new regulatory framework synthesizes a lengthy period of controversy among divergent views on the delicate balance between environmental protection, sustainable development, and economic growth.  The outcome of the dispute has become a significant body of rules and legal instruments which have been shaped by a philosophy that prioritizes economic growth and the reduction of bureaucracy, even at the cost of relaxing essential environmental control mechanisms.

Indeed, the new statute seeks to address several relevant issues. For example, it provides that, in every permitting procedure requiring a prior Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), a public hearing must be held. This represents a significant improvement over the previous rule, under which such a hearing was required only upon request by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, an environmental association, or at least fifty citizens.

It also exempts from prior permit urgent works and interventions undertaken in response to infrastructure collapse, accidents, or disasters, as well as measures designed to prevent imminent environmental damage or to halt situations posing a risk to human life. However, the absence of a prior permit obviously does not exempt the project from being subject to inspection by the environmental authority.

The new statute also introduces further significant advances, including improved access to information through online platforms, new mechanisms for public participation, and specific rules governing the Terms of Reference for environmental studies.

Nevertheless, Statute Law n. 15,190/2025 has also introduced a number of problematic and controversial provisions. Perhaps the most contentious aspect of the statute lies in the excessive simplification of permitting procedures. The legislature sought to promote economic development by streamlining administrative processes and reducing bureaucratic burdens for private parties. In the view of many experts, however, the statute surpassed reasonable limits and weakened important environmental safeguards.

It is important to stand out that among such questionable provisions are the exemption of certain activities from requiring a permit; the requirement that categories of activities be expressly listed in regulations as a prerequisite for requiring a permit; the possibility of simplified permits for mid-size undertakings or medium-impact polluting activities, rather than only for small-scale activities with low pollution potential; and other similar measures.

The ultimate interpretation of this statute, as well as the proper calibration of the legal mechanisms it establishes, now lies with the Judiciary, and especially with the Supreme Federal Court. Indeed, Statute Law n. 15,190/2025 has already been placed under judicial review before the Supreme Court on constitutional grounds, with judgment still pending.

Federal Judge . Master’s and Doctorate in Law (PUCRS) . Visiting researcher at Heidelberg University (2019) . Author of the books: Brazilian Envirommental and Climate Change Law; Acordos Ambientais e os Limites do Inegociável; Manual de Direito Ambiental; Direito Administrativo e Sustentabilidade