환경영향평가제도상 주민참여 내실화를 위한 제도개선방안

The environmental impact assessment(EIA) system is an important means of minimizing environmental pollution caused by development projects. Recently, however, criticism has been raised about the simple formalization of resident participation in the EIA process. Consequently, there is an urgent need to establish a legal framework that expands resident participation and enhances the effectiveness of collecting resident opinions, thereby addressing the growing distrust in the current EIA system. Therefore, this paper presents four issues related to resident participation in the EIA system based on actual cases and intends to improve them through legal revision. First, there is a problem of insufficient qualifications and lack of expertise for resident representatives within the EIA committee. This issue can be addressed by defining resident representatives as individuals elected by the residents through a voting process, while also allowing residents to recommend the appropriate experts as committee members. Second, there is a problem of legal defects in the newly introduced online briefing system. To rectify this, it is essential to establish an enforcement ordinance that specifies the platform and operational procedures for online briefing sessions. Third, there is a problem of infringement of residents’ right to know during the EIA process. To address this, it is necessary to ensure that administrative agencies are obliged to disclose the contents of the EIA process to residents. Lastly, the problem of residents' inability to participate after the EIA consultation process must be addressed by granting residents the right to request adjustments to the consultation content and the right to demand investigations into the management of that content. In the EIA system, resident participation is a significant channel for sharing opinions between developers and residents in order to listen to the opinions of residents. Therefore, it is imperative to address legal gaps to ensure that resident participation is not merely a formal requirement for project implementation.