The Cabinet Tuesday approved the ministerial regulation requiring and providing production guideline for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Health Impact Assessment (HIA) reports.

The regulation required any project or activity that could severely affect communities' environment and health to submit the authority both reports, said deputy government spokesman Phumin Leetheeraprasert.

Permanent Secretary for Environment and Natural Resource Ministry, Saksit Tridech, said that, after this Cabinet approval, the regulation would be announced in the Royal Gazette and should be in effect from December 30, 2009, onwards. The projects whose activities were within the above-mentioned frame had to adhere to the regulation, especially those in Rayong's Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, now protected by the Administrative Court's previous ruling, he said.

The Nation