City of Buenos Aires: New Environmental Aptitude Certificate

New validity terms for the Environmental Aptitude Certificate
 

Decree 414/2025 was published in the Official Gazette of the City of Buenos Aires on October 29, 2025, amending Decree 85/2019, Annex I, article 30, which regulates Law 123 on environmental impact assessment.

The Decree extends the validity term of the Environmental Aptitude Certificate (CAA) as follows:

1. Certificates granted to projects categorized as With Relevant Effect (CRE) or those resulting in such categorization will now be valid for four years.
2. Certificates for projects that, after following the procedure for projects Subject to Categorization (s/C), are categorized as Without Relevant Effect (SRE) will be valid for six years.
3. Certificates issued and categorized as SRE and Without Relevant Effect with Conditions will remain valid as long as the circumstances declared at the time of issuance remain. In these cases, renewal is not required.

To renew the certificates in 1 and 2, the titleholder must submit a sworn statement signed by themselves and a professional, at least 60 days before the certificate expires, in accordance with the requirements set by the Environmental Protection Agency of the City of Buenos Aires (APRA).

Those issued or requested before the Decree become enforceable will maintain the terms established in the previous regulations.

Amendments to the Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure

Following Decree 414/2025, APRA issued Resolution 315/APRA/25, which repealed Resolution 103-GCABA-APRA/25 and amended the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure for activities, projects, and ventures in the City of Buenos Aires.

The Resolution approves new procedures for obtaining, renewing, and amending the the CAA; categorization tables for uses; environmental impact categorization forms; CAA models for SRE and CRE projects; procedures for closure and/or dismantling of construction projects; conditions for construction projects categorized as Without Relevant Effect with Conditions; valuation criteria for construction projects or purposes classified as With Sworn Statement (c/DDJJ); registration conditions for professionals and consultancies in the Environmental Evaluation Registry and its sanctioning regime; and the regulations of the Inter-functional Commission for Environmental Authorization, among others.