The EC environmental legislation began to develop in the 1960´s. However only the Single European Act from 1987 provided a basis for specific measures for environmental protection in the EC. The environmental legislation could be divided into six groups, according to the subject of regulation. First group covers general legal instruments of the environmental protection. The most important of these instruments is the environmental impact assessment. Other groups concern the protection of air, water, nature, waste and chemical substances management and protection against noise and vibrations.