Minas Gerais sets environmental licensing transition rules affecting mining

Minas Gerais published Decree 49,298 on October 23, after signing it on October 22, to set transition rules for Brazil’s federal General Environmental Licensing Law within the state. The decree applies to environmental permits under state authority and instructs municipalities that conduct their own licensing to observe the federal provisions within their jurisdiction, while still regulating their own procedures. Mining projects are among the industrial activities whose environmental approvals may fall under these processes.

Until the relevant activity and project categories are defined under the federal law, the state says its existing licensing modalities, review procedures, deadlines and classification rules continue to apply. The decree also recognizes federal-law exemptions for specified activities. Where an ongoing file concerns an activity that becomes exempt, the licensing process is to be closed and archived; the state’s explanation stresses that this does not remove environmental-control measures or other legally required authorizations.

The decree lays out several administrative clocks. The licensing authority should provide a study Term of Reference within 30 days of the request, with a possible extension of equal length in specified cases involving other authorities. After an environmental study is submitted, the authority has 15 days to check whether required items are present. If mandatory information is missing, the proponent must resubmit and the review clock starts again. SEMAD also says requests for supplementary information may be answered within four months, with a justified extension and schedule subject to agency discretion.

For applications already formalized before the federal law took effect, the transitional rule generally retains the previous state procedures, deadlines, obligations and schedules, subject to listed exceptions. Existing licences remain valid until their stated expiry, and licence obligations continue. A transfer or shared change in licence ownership must be filed within 90 days of the event that caused the change; the state has up to 30 days to decide, and the change cannot alter the licence’s location or subject.

The decree also describes a new workflow for authorities that must be consulted on matters such as Indigenous and traditional communities, protected cultural property and conservation units. It requires public hearings for projects subject to EIA/Rima environmental impact studies under the governing rules. The state’s announcement says the decree enters into force 30 days after publication; it also says further guidance on new flows and procedures will be made available before that date.

The practical effect for a mine depends on which authority handles its application, the activity category, the stage of review and whether other approvals are required. The transition decree sets a framework and deadlines; it does not identify individual projects or decide pending cases. Companies and local authorities will need to apply the rule to each file as the federal categories and the state’s detailed procedures become clearer.