Information Note on the Regulation Amending the Regulation on Environmental Management Services

Through the Regulation Amending the Regulation on Environmental Management Services (the Amending Regulation), published in Official Gazette No. 33392 on 6 October 2026, various amendments have been introduced, primarily concerning the minimum duration and fee for environmental management services, the notification of breaches of environmental legislation and the qualification requirements to be met by environmental consultancy firms. The amendments entered into force on the date of publication.

Scope Regarding Shipyards

Pursuant to Article 3.20 of Annex 2 to the Environmental Permit and Licence Regulation, shipyards engaged in shipbuilding and/or maintenance and repair, and/or engaged in the construction and/or maintenance and repair of yachts/boats of 20m and above, are included within the scope of Annex 2. Under Article 5/2 of the Regulation on Environmental Management Services (the Regulation): ‘(2) Enterprises listed in Annex-2 of the Environmental Permit and Licence Regulation are obliged to employ at least one full-time staff member continuously, or establish environmental management units by obtaining a certificate of competency from the Ministry, or procure environmental management services from environmental consultancy firms.’ Consequently, shipyards falling within this scope and procuring environmental management services from an environmental consultancy firm are directly affected by the new provisions.

Minimum Service Duration and Fee

With the amendment, the minimum durations for which environmental management services must be procured have been established. Accordingly, enterprises within the scope of Annex 1 are required to procure environmental management services for at least 2 business days per month, whilst enterprises within the scope of Annex 2 must procure them for at least 1 business day per month. The minimum duration is also 1 business day for enterprises that procure environmental management services despite falling outside Annex 1 and Annex 2. The Ministry holds the authority to alter these durations where deemed necessary, taking into consideration the pollution risk and capacity of the enterprise.

Therefore, the minimum service duration for shipyards falling within the scope of Annex 2, Article 3.20 is 1 business day per month.

The monthly minimum service fee to be applied by environmental consultancy firms has been determined as follows:

• 3/4 of the monthly net minimum wage applicable on the date the contract is signed for Annex 1 enterprises
• 1/2 of the monthly net minimum wage for Annex 2 enterprises.

To this amount, 5% of the relevant unit price determined by the Ministry will be added separately for each environmental permit or environmental licence topic included in the temporary activity certificate, environmental permit or environmental permit and licence certificate of the enterprise.

Within this framework, 1/2 of the net minimum wage will be taken as the basis when calculating the monthly minimum consultancy fee for a shipyard under Annex 2, and any additional amounts relating to environmental permit/licence topics, if applicable, will be added to this base.

Existing Contracts

Contracts executed with environmental consultancy firms prior to the entry into force of the amendment must be renewed by 1 January 2027 in accordance with the new minimum price tariff. However, if the fee under the existing contract is equal to or greater than the minimum fee calculated under the new regulation, the contract does not need to be renewed. It is therefore essential to review the fees in existing environmental consultancy contracts against the new tariff.

Notification of Contraventions and Non-Compliances

Along with the amendment, the concepts of ‘contravention’ and ‘non-compliance’ regarding environmental legislation have been differentiated. Circumstances such as failing to have an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) carried out, failing to notify necessary modifications within the scope of existing EIA decisions or opinions, operating without the required temporary activity certificate or environmental permit/environmental permit and licence certificate, and failing to initiate the mandatory permit/licence application processes are considered a ‘contravention’.

An identified contravention must be recorded in the monthly activity report, and if the enterprise does not initiate the formal application process to remedy the contravention within 30 days, the situation will be reported to the competent authority. Other breaches of environmental legislation that do not fall under the definition of a ‘contravention’ must be resolved within 90 days. If the non-compliance is not remedied within this period, a notification will be made to the competent authority within 10 days at the latest following the expiry of the period.

This provision is of particular significance for shipyards. Certain breaches identified within the scope of environmental consultancy services are no longer matters monitored solely within the enterprise but may become subject to mandatory notification to the competent authority if the necessary actions are not taken within the prescribed timeframes.

New Requirements for Environmental Consultancy Firms

Environmental consultancy firms are required to employ at least 5 full-time personnel, and 4/5 of this personnel must be environmental engineers. Furthermore, requirements have been introduced stipulating that firms must hold a valid office registration certificate obtained from the Chamber of Environmental Engineers, and that more than 50% of the partnership shares must be held by partners who possess an environmental management service competency certificate.

Existing environmental consultancy firms must fulfil the office registration certificate requirement from 1 January 2027. The new condition regarding the partnership structure will apply to existing firms where the partnership structure is altered through a sale, without prejudice to specific exceptions.

Recommended Actions for Shipyards

Within the scope of the amendment, taking the following steps will be appropriate for shipyards receiving environmental management services:

1. monitoring the compliance status of the servicing environmental consultancy firm against the new qualification criteria
2. reviewing whether the monthly service duration in the environmental consultancy contract satisfies the requirement of at least 1 business day prescribed for Annex 2
3. comparing the existing consultancy fee against the new minimum tariff and renewing the contract by 1 January 2027 if it falls below the minimum fee
4. verifying the current status of the facility and its environmental permit/licence topics under the Environmental Permit and Licence Regulation
5. monitoring contraventions and non-compliances that may be identified – particularly in EIA and environmental permit/licence processes – in light of the new 30- and 90-day timeframes.

In conclusion, for shipyards, the amendment particularly necessitates reviewing the service duration and pricing of environmental consultancy contracts, and updating internal monitoring processes regarding the remediation of environmental contraventions in line with the new notification timeframes.

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