Restructuring of Environmental Approval Authority under Regulation of the Minister of Environment/Head of the Environmental Control Agency Number 22 of 2025

Summary

Regulation of the Minister of Environment/Head of the Environmental Control Agency Number 22 of 2025 on the Authority to Issue Environmental Approvals (“Regulation 22/2025”) was issued on October 22, 2025, and took effect on its date of promulgation, October 27, 2025.

The primary objective of this regulation is to provide legal certainty and resolve obstacles in the process of issuing Environmental Approvals, by clearly regulating the division of authority between the Central Government (Minister/Head), Governors, and Regents/Mayors, as well as the Nusantara Capital Authority (IKN) and the Batam Free Trade Zone and Free Port Concession Agency (BP KPBPB Batam).

Background and Context

Regulation 22/2025 was issued as a follow-up to Government Regulation No. 28 of 2025 on the Implementation of Risk-Based Business Licensing (“GR 28/2025”), which mandates that Environmental Approvals be issued based on the location of the activity. The Regulation aims to ensure legal certainty in determining the competent authority for issuing Environmental Approvals for business and/or activity proponents, thereby addressing previous overlaps.

Comparison with the Previous Regulation

This regulation specifically revokes and declares inapplicable 3 (three) articles from the previous regulation, namely Articles 56, 57, and 58 of the Regulation of the Minister of Environment and Forestry Number 18 of 2021 on Competency Certification for Environmental Impact Analysis, and Environmental Feasibility Tests (“Regulation 18/2021”).

Key Provisions

Annex I: Authority of the Minister/Head

Details the list of activities considered to have high polluting potential or high risk of environmental damage. The main sectors included are:

1. Transportation: Development of main/collector ports, primary collector airports, and national public railway infrastructure.

2. Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR): Including production operations for minerals and coal (Amdal required), sub-sea tailing placement, oil and gas upstream and downstream activities (exploration, exploitation, LNG/LPG/oil refineries), power plants (Amdal required), and carbon capture storage (CCS) activities.

3. Nuclear Energy: Activities related to nuclear reactors (large, small, micro), uranium ore mining, radioisotope production industries, and category III & IV irradiator facilities.

4. Industry & Estates: Development of Industrial Estates and Special Economic Zones (KEKs).

5. B3 Waste & Solid Waste Management: B3 (Hazardous and Toxic) waste management service industries (combination of 2 or more activities), B3 waste landfills (class 1-3), and thermal waste processing (capacity ≥ 50 tons/day).

Annex II: Authority of the Governor

Details the list of activities located in one regency/city but considered to have an important role for the province. The main sectors included are:

1. Transportation: Development of regional feeder ports, inter-regency ferry ports, special terminals, feeder airports, and Type A/B passenger terminals.

2. EMR: Production operations for non-metallic minerals and rocks, as well as power plants and transmission/distribution networks (UKL-UPL scale or permits issued by the Governor).

3. Marine Affairs, Agriculture: Various businesses in these sectors that use Foreign Investment [Penanaman Modal Asing (PMA)] facilities.

4. Forestry: Includes Timber Forest Product Utilization Businesses [Usaha Pemanfaatan Hasil Hutan Kayu (UPHHK)], environmental service utilization, and certain forestry industries (this criterion is not based on PMA status).

5. Public Works: Toll road concessions.

6. Health: Development of Type A and Type B Hospitals.

7. Industry: PMA industries located outside of Industrial Estates or KEKs.

Conclusion

Regulation 22/2025 changes the division of authority in the issuance of Environmental Approvals based on locational considerations. The following are several key points in Regulation 22/2025:

1. Determination of authority (Central, Provincial, or Regency/City) is now purely based on the location, scale, and risk of the activity (as regulated in Annex I and II);

2. The existence of a mechanism to "pull" authority to a higher level if a project is integrated or located in multiple locations with different authorities; and

3. The affirmation of the Central Government's (Minister/Head) supervisory role, accompanied by administrative sanctions up to the takeover of authority from the region if sanctions for violations of commitments (such as timelines or issuance) are not implemented.