CONAMA Resolution No. 513/2026 restructured PRONAR, expanding air quality assessment requirements in environmental licensing procedures. The regulation strengthens emissions control, monitoring, and planning instruments, enabling environmental authorities to apply stricter standards and linking the granting of environmental licenses to compliance with air quality standards.
On April 9, CONAMA Resolution No. 513/2026 was published, restructuring the National Air Quality Control Program (PRONAR) within the framework of the National Environmental Policy (Law No. 6,938/1981) and in alignment with the National Air Quality Policy (Law No. 14,850/2024). The Resolution revokes CONAMA Resolution No. 5/1989, which originally established the program.
The Resolution provides that, within 18 months, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA), together with the environmental agencies of the states and the Federal District, shall publish guidance documents on atmospheric emissions inventories for stationary and mobile sources, as well as on the environmental licensing of air pollution sources.
What Changes Under the New Resolution
Under the new framework, the National Environmental Council (CONAMA) is responsible for establishing maximum emission limits and control measures for air pollutants originating from stationary, mobile, and diffuse sources through specific regulatory acts, with periodic review of such parameters.
The environmental agencies of the states and the Federal District may establish more restrictive maximum emission limits whenever local conditions within the source’s area of influence, public health protection, or proper air quality management so require. In the absence of a specific national regulation, these agencies may establish such limits within the scope of environmental licensing procedures.
With respect to environmental licensing, the Resolution consolidates the requirement for an integrated air quality assessment, mandating consideration of applicable emission limits, compliance with existing air quality standards, and the planning and control instruments applicable to the region where the project is located.
The licensing authority may deny an environmental license application if it identifies, based on the information submitted and other available data, the potential for the project to cause non-compliance with air quality standards. The Resolution also details the minimum content of environmental studies, providing that, where an Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Impact Report (EIA/RIMA) is required, such studies must include, among other elements, an environmental diagnosis of the area of influence based on monitoring data and available information, as well as atmospheric dispersion studies and the definition of mitigation measures.
For projects that do not require an EIA/RIMA, the environmental authority may require the submission of information such as estimates of pollutant loads, descriptions of the emission control equipment to be installed, and the preparation of programs for monitoring and tracking atmospheric emissions, pursuant to Article 28. Such requirements may be waived for activities with low emission potential or located in isolated regions, as provided in Paragraph 1 of the same article.
In this context, the restructuring of PRONAR expands the range of air quality management instruments, which now include, among others, maximum emission limits, national air quality standards, emissions inventories, atmospheric modeling, management plans, vehicle emissions control programs (PROCONVE and PROMOT), the national monitoring network, and environmental licensing as an integrated control instrument.
In addition, the Resolution redefines and broadens the objectives of the program, incorporating guidelines related to coordination among governmental entities, the promotion of technological innovation, public access to environmental data, and alignment with public health and climate change policies. Coordination of PRONAR is now assigned to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, in coordination with the agencies that comprise the National Environmental System (SISNAMA).
The provisions entered into force on the date of their publication and may be accessed in full here.
Authors:
Fabricio Soler – partner (fabriciosoler@felsberg.com.br)
Daniela Mota – associate (danielamota@felsberg.com.br)
Rafael Locatelli – associate (rafaelaugusto@felsberg.com.br)
Marina Guttierrez – associate (marinaguttierrez@felsberg.com.br)