Saudi Arabian Law Overview

The first comprehensive Saudi Arabian national environmental legislation was enacted on 24 September 2001 in the form of the General Environmental Regulation, Council of Ministers Resolution No 193. It entered into force on 31 October 2002, and its Implementing Rules were published on 30 September 2003. The Environment Regulation, Royal Decree No M/165 of 19 Dhul Qada 1441 Hejra (corresponding to 10 July 2020) entered into force on 13 January 2021, superseding the 2011 Regulation.

Under the General Environmental Regulation, the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (the PME), an agency of the Ministry of Defence, was charged with the general supervision of environmental affairs in Saudi Arabia, and had the responsibility of granting environmental permits.

In 2019, the PME’s functions and responsibilities were transferred to four centers for environment sector development: The National Center for Environmental Compliance, the National Center for Vegetation Cover and Combating Desertification, the National Center for Wildlife and the National Center for Meteorology. The Ministry of Agriculture was renamed to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) in 2016, and now handles responsibilities related to environmental sustainability as well.

The General Environmental Regulation sets out wide-ranging prohibitions of pollution and contamination of air, land and water, with particular reference to all parties involved in services, industry or other economic activities. Owners of “projects”, which are defined as utilities and facilities which may have an effect on the environment, are required to comply with existing and future environmental specifications, standards, measurements and guidelines as promulgated by the PME and set out in the appendices of the Implementing Rules.

The details of the legislation are contained in the appendices of the Implementing Rules, as follows:

• Appendix 1: Environmental Protection Standards
• Appendix 2: Procedures for the Assessment of Environmental Effects of Industrial and Development Projects
• Appendix 3: Manual of Environmental Qualification Procedures
• Appendix 4: Rules and Procedures for the Control of Hazardous Waste
• Appendix 5: National Contingency Plan for Combatting Pollution by Oil and other Harmful Substances of the Marine Environment in Emergency Cases
• Appendix 6: Violations and Fines

Apart from the national environmental legislation, the following specific regulations are also applicable in certain areas of Saudi Arabia:

• The Royal Commission for the industrial cities of Jubail and Yanbu has issued detailed local environmental regulations applicable to facilities located within the Royal Commission areas and contractors operating therein, of which the Jubail Industrial City Royal Commission Environmental Regulations of 2015 are the most recent.
  
  
• Pollution and contamination incidents within ports under the administration of the Saudi Arabian Seaports Authority are governed by the Rules and Regulations for Seaports of the Co-operation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf of 1985, as revised in 2006.
  
  
• Saudi Aramco, which administers the oil loading terminals at Ras Tanura, Ju’aymah and several smaller terminals independently of the of the Seaports Authority, has its own set of rules entitled “Saudi Aramco, Oil Ports & Terminals, Rules, Regulations and General Information”.
  
  
• Saudi Arabia has ratified the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil of 1954 (Oilpol 1954), the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage of 1969 (CLC 1969) and the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.