Updated: September 2026 · Legal status: August 2026
Short answer: Not to the environmental department. To the county administrator—yes, if the installation’s EIRP is 15 W or more. And this is a completely different requirement than the one discussed a few years ago.
What Has Changed
Until June 2022, radio communication, radio navigation, and radar installations were listed in the regulation on projects that may have a significant impact on the environment. This is the origin of the power thresholds and distance requirements from areas accessible to the public, which are still cited in industry publications and application templates today.
The Regulation of the Council of Ministers of May 5, 2022 (Journal of Laws 2022, Item 1071), effective as of June 4, 2022, repealed both provisions concerning these installations. As of that date There is no environmental permit for the antenna tower — not because a certain threshold wasn’t exceeded, but because the category has ceased to exist altogether. The EIRP thresholds and distances that someone might quote to you from a study from a few years ago are obsolete.
Note: This does not mean that environmental considerations disappear entirely. If the lot is located within a Natura 2000 site or in its vicinity, the authority is required to assess the potential impact before approving the building permit application. This is currently the main environmental procedure for a cell tower, and one must take into account the decision of the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection (RDOŚ) as well as a possible extension of the deadline.
What's Left: Notification of an Installation That Generates an Electromagnetic Field
There is only one requirement, and it is as follows: A device that generates an electromagnetic field with EIRP of 15 W or greater, operating in the 30 kHz to 300 GHz band, is being reported county administrator before the facility begins operations. The agency must 30 days to file an objection. Legal basis: Article 152 of the Environmental Protection Law, in conjunction with § 2(2)(2) of the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of July 2, 2010 (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2019, item 1510).
The Investor is responsible for submitting the application, since they are the operator of the facility. We cannot do this for you—we are not a party to the matter. However, we can provide the structural specifications needed for the application.
EIRP is not the same as transmitter power—and that's where most mistakes are made
This is the most common mistake made when talking to customers, so let's spell it out clearly.
EIRP This is the equivalent isotropically radiated power. It indicates how much power an isotropic antenna would need to have in order to produce the same effect as your antenna in the direction of maximum radiation. Simply put: the transmitter's power plus antenna gain, minus track losses.
A directional antenna does not increase power, but focuses it—and that focus counts toward the threshold. That is why the transmitter 5 W with a high-gain antenna 10 dBi results in an EIRP of approximately 50 W and an installation like this is subject to reporting, even though only 5 W is “on the air.” The statement “you don’t need to report anything up to 15 W” is simply untrue in this form and could end up costing you.
Practical tip: Check the threshold based on the antenna’s data sheet (gain in dBi) and actual output power, not based on the transmitter alone. In a typical installation of a radio link or an access point with a directional antenna, the 15 W threshold is easily exceeded.
In summary
There has been no environmental decision for the antenna tower since June 4, 2022. A notification of the PEM installation must be submitted to the county administrator for EIRP values of 15 W or higher, with a 30-day period for objections, as determined by the investor. In addition, if the location is within or adjacent to a Natura 2000 site, an environmental screening is required as part of the building permit application.
All of this is happening next to The issue of building permits or project notifications—we cover this topic here in a separate post about the building permit for the mast. However, this text does not concern radio licenses or frequency allocations; that is an entirely different procedure and involves a different authority.
If you have any questions about the design specifications required for the application, please let us know, and we'll send them to you.
Legal status: August 2026. Legal Basis: Environmental Protection Law, Article 152; Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of July 2, 2010, as consolidated in the Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1510, § 2, paragraph 2, point 2; Regulation of the Council of Ministers of May 5, 2022, Journal of Laws 2022, item 1071.
The competent authority determines the classification of a specific installation on a case-by-case basis. This text describes the legal situation and our experience—it is not legal advice or an opinion regarding your specific case.