If the small-hydro development in question is of 10 MW of installed capacity or higher, the private entities have to undergo the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process run by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. 

The EIA forces constructors to organize public participation meetings to inform locals about the projects’ positive and negative impacts on the environment. The statements of the locals must be recorded and sent to the ministry. Based on the discussions in the public participation meeting and scientific inquiries, the ministry makes the final decision on whether to approve the project or not.