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NCEC deadlines
96 time limits from the NCEC environmental regulations and the other national texts they sit with. How long the authority has to decide, and how long you have to submit, report, renew or object.
WhatsAppEach period is given as the regulation words it. Working days and days are not the same, so note which one applies. The authority column shows who the deadline involves: the body that must decide, or the one you submit to. The regulations page explains each short form. Facilities in Royal Commission cities follow the Royal Commission deadlines instead.
| Deadline | Period | Authority | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permits and EIARead the guide: How long does NCEC take to review an EIA or scoping report? | |||
| NCEC decision on the environmental classification form (the clock starts after the fees are paid) | 10 working days from the date of the form | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 5(2) |
| Final classification decision after NCEC asks for corrected or missing information | 10 working days from receipt of all required information or the amended form | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 5(2)(b) |
| Extension of the classification decision for an activity not previously classified in NCEC lists | Up to 10 additional days | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 5(3) |
| NCEC review of a Category 2 EIA (after the fees are paid) | 30 working days from receipt of the study | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 7(4) |
| NCEC final decision on a corrected or completed Category 2 EIA | 30 working days from receipt of the required information or amended study | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 7(4)(b) |
| NCEC review of the Category 3 scoping report (after the fees are paid) | 15 working days from receipt | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 8, First (2) |
| Extension of the scoping report review. If NCEC sends no approval or comments by the end of the extension, the scoping report is deemed approved | Up to 10 additional working days | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 8, First (3) |
| NCEC review of a Category 3 EIA (after the fees are paid) | 60 working days from receipt of the study | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 8, Second (2) |
| NCEC final decision on a modified Category 3 EIA | 60 working days from the date of the modified study | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 8, Second (2)(b) |
| Validity of the environmental permit to establish | 3 years | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 6, Second (8) |
| Extension of the permit to establish for large projects that need long design and funding periods (the request must be included in the EIA) | Up to 2 additional years | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 6, Second (8) |
| Age limit for an EIA prepared before the permit guide was issued that NCEC may still accept (not if it was previously submitted to NCEC) | Not more than 5 Gregorian years | NCEC | Permit guide, section 1 (b), technical controls |
| ConstructionRead the guide: How loud can a construction site be, and can we work at night? | |||
| Start construction before the permit to establish expires. After expiry a new permit is needed, with an updated EIA (Category 2 and 3) or a new classification form (Category 1) | Before the permit to establish expires | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 9(4) |
| Hours in which construction sites may exceed the zone noise standards, up to the Table 4 corrections (any other exceedance needs a prior NCEC permit) | 7.00 am to 6.00 pm | NCEC | Noise reg. Art. 7(1) |
| Construction noise correction allowed above the zone standard, by duration of the construction activity | Up to 2.5 hours: 10 dB. From 2.5 to 8 hours: 5 dB. Over 8 hours: 0 dB | NCEC | Noise reg. Art. 7, Table 4 |
| Daytime and night-time periods used for the noise standards | Daytime 7.00 am to 8.00 pm. Night-time 8.00 pm to 7.00 am | NCEC | Noise reg. Art. 1 |
| NCEC decision on a noise permit to temporarily exceed the noise periods or limits (after the fees are paid) | 5 working days from registration of a complete application | NCEC | Noise reg. Art. 10(2) |
| Extension of the noise permit decision period | Up to 5 additional working days | NCEC | Noise reg. Art. 10(2) |
| Operation and auditsRead the guide: When is an environmental audit study due, and what does NCEC check? | |||
| Validity of the environmental permit to operate (set by NCEC for each activity) | 3 to 6 years | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 6, Third (7) |
| Environmental audit study for renewal of the permit to operate, Category 2 and 3 activities | Every 3 years | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 6, Third (6) |
| Application to renew the permit to operate | 30 days before the permit expires | NCEC | Permit guide, section 5 (h) |
| Environmental measurements and analyses after start-up, for activities that held a permit to establish (undertaking given at the permit to operate stage) | Within 3 months of starting operation | NCEC | Permit guide, section 7-2-3 (b) |
| Corrective action plan for measures that cannot be implemented immediately after an NCEC inspection | 30 days from publication of the inspection results | NCEC | Audit reg. (1446H) Art. 4, Third (1) |
| NCEC decision on the corrective action plan | 15 working days from receipt | NCEC | Audit reg. (1446H) Art. 4, Third (2) |
| Extension for developing the corrective action plan (a preliminary plan must accompany the request) | Up to 30 additional days | NCEC | Audit reg. (1446H) Art. 4, Third (4) |
| NCEC review of an environmental audit study submitted with the renewal application | 30 days from receipt | NCEC | Audit reg. (1446H) Art. 5, Second (2) |
| NCEC final decision on a revised audit study | 30 days from receipt of the revised study | NCEC | Audit reg. (1446H) Art. 5, Second (2)(b) |
| Extension of the NCEC review period for an audit study, with notice to the person | Up to 15 days | NCEC | Audit reg. (1446H) Art. 5, Second (3) |
| Validity of the environmental compliance certificate | Same as the validity of the environmental permit | NCEC | Compliance certificate guide, section 11 (4) |
| Collection of the annual financial dues for the permit to operate | First quarter of each calendar year, or in parts of the year | NCEC | Fees reg. Art. 4(6) |
| Validity of the closure approval acknowledgement (NCEC may extend it depending on the activity size) | 120 days | NCEC | Permit guide, section 11-1 |
| Earliest date to apply for closure approval (all hazardous and non-hazardous waste must already be disposed of through licensed providers) | At least 30 days after the last production run | NCEC | Permit guide, section 11-2 (a) |
| First measurements on all stacks of a new facility | Within 120 days of establishment or 40 days of reaching the target production rate, whichever comes first | NCEC | Air reg. Art. 5, Fourth (3)(c) |
| Stack measurements for point sources that are not under continuous monitoring | Every year | NCEC | Air reg. Art. 5, Fourth (1) |
| Measurement of every stack where NCEC approves testing a reduced number of identical stacks each year | At least once every 4 years | NCEC | Air reg. Art. 5, Fourth (3)(b) |
| Notice to NCEC before measuring primary sources that are not under continuous monitoring | 30 working days before the measurements | NCEC | Air reg. Art. 5, Fourth (8) |
| Report on measurements of primary sources that are not under continuous monitoring | Within 40 working days of the measurements | NCEC | Air reg. Art. 5, Fourth (10) |
| Operating procedures for continuous emission monitoring systems submitted to NCEC | Within 90 days of installing the monitoring systems | NCEC | Air reg. Art. 5, Third (10) |
| Continuous monitoring audit report submitted to NCEC | 40 working days from completion (reference method) or 10 working days (other methods) | NCEC | Air reg. Art. 5, Third (16) |
| Repair of defects found in a continuous monitoring audit | Within 10 working days of the report | NCEC | Air reg. Art. 5, Third (17) |
| Retention of point source records on start-up, shutdown, failures, tests, calibration and maintenance (NCEC may increase the period) | At least 5 years | NCEC | Air reg. Art. 5, Fifth (1)(a) |
| Emergency or shutdown exceedance of point source emission standards that becomes subject to NCEC evaluation (firefighting is exempt at all times) | Beyond 6 hours | NCEC | Air reg. Art. 5, First (6), Table 1 |
| NCEC decision on a temporary exemption from point source emission standards (after the fees are paid) | 15 working days, extendable by 5 working days | NCEC | Air reg. Art. 5, Second (4) |
| NCEC decision on an ambient air quality monitoring network licence | 15 working days, extendable by 10 working days | NCEC | Air reg. Art. 4, Third (5) |
| Repair of VOC storage tank defects found by NCEC | Within 30 working days of the inspection | NCEC | Air reg. Art. 6, Third (11) |
| Retention of noise monitoring data by permit holders required to monitor noise | At least 3 years | NCEC | Noise reg. Art. 8(2) |
| Water and dischargesRead the guide: Where can dewatering water go: the sea, a storm drain or the sewer? | |||
| NCEC decision on a discharge permit, a temporary exceedance permit or an ambient water monitoring licence (after the fees are paid) | 30 working days from meeting all application requirements | NCEC | Aqueous reg. Art. 8, First (2) |
| Extension of that decision period | Up to 10 additional working days | NCEC | Aqueous reg. Art. 8, First (2) |
| Validity of a permit to discharge water into environmental media, including ground wells | Up to 6 months, extendable by 4 months (the English text prints 'six (4) months' and the Arabic text says 4 months) | NCEC | Aqueous reg. Art. 8, Fourth (3) |
| Validity of a permit to temporarily exceed the treated wastewater standards | Up to 6 months, extendable by 4 months | NCEC | Aqueous reg. Art. 8, Third (3) |
| Validity of an ambient water monitoring network licence | Up to 3 years | NCEC | Aqueous reg. Art. 8, Second (5) |
| Capacity of emergency containment tanks at activities that treat wastewater or send it to central treatment plants | Volume of wastewater treated in 36 hours | NCEC | Aqueous reg. Art. 7(2) |
| Retention of wastewater monitoring and analysis records (NCEC may extend by 5 years) | At least 5 years | NCEC | Aqueous reg. Art. 6, Fourth (5) |
| Report any exceedance of the discharge standards to NCEC and stop the source | Immediately after detection | NCEC | Aqueous reg. Art. 6, Fourth (4) |
| Decision on a licence under the marine and coastal regulation by the competent authority (NCEC, the National Center for Wildlife or the Red Sea coral reef and turtle foundation, each within its mandate), other than a marine hunting licence | 30 working days from meeting all requirements, extendable by 10 working days | NCEC | Marine reg. (1448H) Art. 7, Second (2) |
| Notify NCEC of any oil spill, release of harmful substances, loss of cargo, or accident that may have an environmental impact in the marine or coastal environment, and start containment | Immediately on learning of it | NCEC | Marine reg. (1448H) Art. 4(5) |
| Warning period to correct a non-serious marine or coastal violation before the fine (unlicensed Article 7 activity, unlicensed monitoring networks, late activity data) | 30 days | Competent authority | Marine reg. (1448H) Table 1, rows 43, 48 and 49 |
| Decision by the National Center for Wildlife on a marine hunting licence | 10 working days from meeting all requirements, extendable by 5 working days | National Center for Wildlife | Marine reg. (1448H) Art. 7, Fourth (3) |
| Soil and rehabilitationRead the guide: What if we find contaminated soil during excavation? | |||
| Rehabilitation plan for Category 1 activities designated by NCEC at classification | 30 working days from the classification decision | NCEC | Rehab reg. Appendix 1, First |
| NCEC review of that Category 1 rehabilitation plan | 15 working days from receipt (revised plan: 5 working days) | NCEC | Rehab reg. Appendix 1, First |
| NCEC review of a rehabilitation plan included in a Category 2 or 3 EIA or in an audit study | Within the EIA or audit study review period | NCEC | Rehab reg. Appendix 1, First |
| Submit or update a rehabilitation plan after an incident that causes degradation, or on NCEC request after an inspection or audit | 10 working days | NCEC | Rehab reg. Appendix 1, First |
| NCEC decision on that rehabilitation plan | 5 working days (revised plan: 5 working days) | NCEC | Rehab reg. Appendix 1, First |
| Submit a remediation plan after a pollution incident during establishment, operation or closure, or on NCEC request | 10 working days | NCEC | Rehab reg. Appendix 1, Second |
| NCEC decision on a remediation plan | 10 working days (revised plan: 5 working days) | NCEC | Rehab reg. Appendix 1, Second |
| Inform NCEC when soil pollution is detected during an activity | As soon as it is detected (no number of days is set) | NCEC | Soil reg. Art. 7(7) |
| Objections and penaltiesRead the guide: How do I object to an NCEC decision or fine? | |||
| Written objection to an NCEC decision on an environmental permit (late objections are not accepted) | 15 working days from notification | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 10(1) |
| NCEC decision on a permit objection | 30 working days from receipt | NCEC | Permits reg. Art. 10(2) |
| Written objection to an NCEC decision on a rehabilitation plan (incident or NCEC request) or a remediation plan (late objections are not accepted) | 10 working days from notification | NCEC | Rehab reg. Appendix 1, First and Second, item 3 |
| NCEC decision on that objection | 10 working days from receipt | NCEC | Rehab reg. Appendix 1, First and Second, item 4 |
| Objection to a penalty imposed by the competent authority, filed with the Committee | Under the Committee rules. The 1446H regulation sets no period | NCEC | Violations reg. (1446H) Art. 6 |
| Challenge to a Committee decision before the administrative court | Allowed. No deadline in the official sources checked | NCEC | Env Law Art. 39(4) |
| Payment of compensation set by the competent authority | 90 days from the notice date | NCEC | Violations reg. (1446H) Art. 5(2) |
| Violator's commitment in the violation report to appear before the branch or office | Within 15 days | NCEC | Violations reg. (1446H) Appendix 1 |
| Maximum suspension of a licence or permit as an administrative penalty | Not exceeding 6 months | NCEC | Env Law Art. 38 |
| Recidivism period in which committees may double the fine and the suspension | Within 1 year from the date the previous penalty decision becomes final | NCEC | Env Law Art. 38 |
| Precautionary suspension of an activity to avert an environmental disaster, ordered by the Minister or the chairman of the competent authority (referral to the court or committee within 5 days) | Not exceeding 15 days | NCEC | Env Law Art. 44 |
| Objection to an NCEC decision rejecting a self plan for emergency preparedness and response (late objections are not accepted) | 10 working days from the date of the decision | NCEC | Emergency reg. Art. 4, Second (4) |
| NCEC decision on that objection | 15 working days from receipt, extendable by 5 working days | NCEC | Emergency reg. Art. 4, Second (5) |
| Emergency plan objection treated as not accepted if the objector has not been notified of NCEC's decision on it | After 15 working days (the text counts from the issue of the decision) | NCEC | Emergency reg. Art. 4, Second (6) |
| Decision on an objection to the refusal to issue or renew a licence under the marine and coastal regulation (the text sets no deadline for filing the objection) | 30 working days from submission of the objection | Competent authority (the text says 'the Centre' decides) | Marine reg. (1448H) Art. 7, Second (5) |
| Court or Committee decision on whether a precautionary suspension continues | Within 10 days of referral | Competent court or the Violations Review Committee | Env Law Art. 44 |
| Service providersRead the guide: Who is allowed to prepare my EIA, EMP or monitoring report? | |||
| NCEC decision on a service provider licence application | 20 working days from completion of all licence requirements | NCEC | SP reg. (1446H) Art. 6(5) |
| Extension of the licence decision period | Up to 10 additional working days | NCEC | SP reg. (1446H) Art. 6(6) |
| Validity of a service provider licence | Up to 3 years, set by activity size and classification | NCEC | SP reg. (1446H) Art. 6(7) |
| Service provider licence renewal application | At least 3 months before the licence expires | NCEC | SP reg. (1446H) Art. 6(10) |
| NCEC decision on a request to upgrade the classification or add or delete service types | 15 working days from a complete application | NCEC | SP reg. (1446H) Art. 7(4) |
| Validity of the individual professional licence for an environmental specialist | 3 years | NCEC | Accreditation guide, Art. 3, First |
| EmergenciesRead the guide: Do we need an environmental emergency preparedness and response plan? | |||
| Notify NCEC and the relevant authorities of any environmental incident, whatever its size or type (also applies to operators of marine vessels) | Immediately on learning of it | NCEC | Emergency reg. Art. 6(2) |
| Submit or update the self plan for emergency preparedness and response after NCEC notifies you (period set by NCEC by the nature, size and location of the activity) | Not more than 30 working days from notification, extendable by up to 30 working days | NCEC | Emergency reg. Art. 4, Second (1) |
| NCEC decision on a self plan (after the fees are paid) | 30 working days from completion of the application | NCEC | Emergency reg. Art. 4, Second (2) |
| NCEC final decision on an amended self plan after a request for more documents or information | 30 working days from receipt of the amended plan, extendable by 5 working days | NCEC | Emergency reg. Art. 4, Second (2)(b) |
| Self-audit of preparedness and readiness | At least once a year | NCEC | Emergency reg. Art. 4, First (10) |
| Self-audit report submitted to NCEC | Within 30 days of the end of the audit | NCEC | Emergency reg. Art. 4, First (10) |
| Action plan for corrective measures after an emergency or environmental disaster | Within 30 working days of the end of the emergency | NCEC | Emergency reg. Art. 8(2) |
| Amend the corrective action plan in line with NCEC comments | Not more than 30 working days, or as NCEC decides | NCEC | Emergency reg. Art. 8(3) |
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