Basics of Energy and Environment Short Notes Part-7

By Vineet Vijay|Updated : December 12th, 2019

ENVIRONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Introduction

Environment assessment involves a study to determine any unique environmental attributes from endangered species to existing hazardous waste to historical significance.

Environment Assessment procedure ensures consideration of environmental implications before making a final decision of assessing the environmental attribute.

Process of assessment analyses the effects on environment and is useful for reporting those effects undertaking a public consultation exercise and lastly it reveals decision to public after reviewing the comment of the report.

In principle, environmental assessment can be undertaken for Individual projects such as a dam, motorway, airport or factory and call it as 'Environmental Impact Assessment' (EIA).

Plans, programs and policies and call it as 'Strategic Environmental Assessment'(SEA).

Principle of EIA

  • Social Impact Assessment
  • Risk Assessment
  • Life Cycle Analysis
  • Energy Analysis
  • Health Impact Assessment
  • Regulatory Impact Assessment
  • Species Impact Assessment
  • Technology Assessment
  • Economic Assessment
  • Cumulative Impact Assessment
  • Strategic Environmental Assessment
  • Integrated Impact Assessment

Purposes of EIA

  • To facilitate decision-making: For the decision-maker, for example the local authority, it provides a systematic examination of the environmental implications of a proposed action, and sometimes alternatives, before a decision is taken.
  • To aid in the formation of development: It can be an aid to the formulation of developmental actions, indicating areas where the project can be modified to minimise or eliminate altogether the adverse impacts on the environment. The consideration of environmental impacts early in the planning life of a development can lead to environmentally sensitive development; to improved relations between the developer, the planning authority and the local communities; to a smoother planning permission process and sometimes to a worthwhile financial return on the expenditure incurred.
  • To be an instrument for sustainable development: The key characteristics of sustainable development include maintaining the overall quality of life, maintaining continuing access to natural resources and avoiding lasting environmental damage. Institutional responses to sustainable development are, therefore, required at several levels. Governments have recognised the interaction of economic and social development and the ecosystems, and the reciprocal impact between human actions and the biogeophysical world. While there are attempts to manage this interaction better, investigation reveal disquieting trends that could have devastating consequences for the quality of the environment. These trends are likely to be more pronounced in developing countries where, because of greater rates of population growth and lower current living standards, there is more pressure on environmental resources.

Steps in EIA

  • Project screening: This entails the application of EIA to those projects that may have significant environmental impacts. It is quite likely, however, that screening is done partly by the EIA regulations, operating in a country at the time of assessment.
  • Scoping: This step seeks to identify, at an early stage, the key, significant environmental issues from among a host of possible impacts of a project and all the available alternatives.
  • Consideration of alternatives: This seeks to ensure that the proponent has considered other feasible approaches, including alternative project locations, scales, processes, layouts, operating condition and the no-action option.
  • Description of the project/development action: This step seeks to clarify the purpose and rationale of the project and understand its various characteristics, including the stages of development, location and processes.
  • Description of the environmental baseline: This includes the establishment of both the present and future state of the environment, in the absence of the project, taking into account the changes resulting from natural events and from other human activities.
  • Identification of key impacts: This brings together the previous steps with a view to ensuring that all potentially significant environmental impacts (adverse and beneficial) are identified and taken into account in the process.
  • The prediction of impacts: This step aims to identify the likely magnitude of the change (i.e., impact) in the environment when the project is implemented in comparison with the situation when the project is not carried out.
  • Evaluation and assessment of significance: This seeks to assess the relative significance of the predicted impacts to allow a focus on key adverse impacts. Formal definition of significance is the product of consequence and likelihood as Significance =consequence X Likelihood
  • Mitigation: This involves the introduction of measures to avoid, reduce, remedy or compensate for any significant adverse impacts.
  • Public consultation and participation: This aims to assure the quality, comprehensiveness and effectiveness of the EIA, as well as to ensure that the public’s views are adequately taken into consideration in the decision-making process.
  • EIS presentation: This is a vital step in the process. If done badly, much good work in the EIA may be negated.
  • Review: This involves a systematic appraisal of the quality of the EIS, as a contribution to the decision-making process.
  • Decision-making: At this stage, decisions are made by the relevant authority of the EIS (including consultation responses) together with other material considerations as to whether to accept, defer or reject the project.
  • Post-decision monitoring: This involves the recording of outcomes associated with development impacts, after the decision to proceed with the project. It can contribute to effective project management.
  • Auditing: This follows monitoring and involves comparing actual outcomes with predicted outcomes, and can be used to assess the quality of predictions and the effectiveness of mitigation. It provides a vital step in the EIA learning process.

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