INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Science helps to improve our understanding of natural processes while engineering uses the understanding of science to develop and
apply technologies that will maintain or improve environmental quality. Environmental engineering is the application of science and
engineering principles to minimize the adverse effects of human activity on the environment. Engineers are problem solvers who uses
science to solve real world problems. Environmental engineers solve environmental problems using scientific tools.
Factors affecting the environment
1. Increasing number of humans (population growth) which gives rise to increase in extraction of resources, modification and
manipulation of the environment, and pollution in land, air, and water
2. Rising standard of living (advances in agriculture, urbanization, and industrialization)
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs.
ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the primary agency responsible for protecting the environment, although several other
agencies are also involved in particular areas. In the Philippines, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
was designated to play that role according to Executive Order No. 192 in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Environmental
Management Bureau (EMB) is specifically tasked to implement, recommend, and provide technical assistance for their
implementation and monitoring for pollution control and prevention. Aside from DENR, Laguna Lake Development Authority
(LLDA) is authorized to grant discharge permit for areas releasing effluent in Laguna Lake. The jurisdiction and scope of authority
of LLDA comprises the Rizal and Laguna provinces, towns of Silang, General Mariano Alvarez, Carmona, Tagaytay City in Cavite,
Lucban, Quezon, City of Tanauan, Sto. Tomas and Malvar in Batangas, cities of Marikina, Pasig, Taguig, Muntinlupa, Pasay,
Caloocan, Quezon and town of Pateros in Metro Manila.
Philippine Environmental Law:
1. Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System (Presidential Decree 1586)
It provides the legal and procedural framework for conducting Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for projects likely to
have significant environmental impact in order to safeguard the Philippine environment and natural resources in the face of growing
industrialization and urbanization. Its implementing rules and regulation is under DENR Administrative Order No. 2003-30. EIS
system requires completion of an EIA and preparation of an EIS report for any environmentally critical project (ECP) or any
project located in an environmentally critical area (ECA). For ECPs, the EIS System requires preparation of an EIS because these
projects will most likely have high risk or negative environmental impact. For projects in ECAs, the EIS system requires an initial
environmental examination (IEE) that includes a project description, and may require an EIS. After a thorough review of the project
plans and EIA documents submitted by the project proponent, the project will be issued an Environmental Compliance Certificate
(ECC) by DENR.
Environmentally Critical Projects (ECP):
Heavy Industries: including non-ferrous metal industries, iron and steel mills, smelting plants, and petroleum and petrochemical
industries, including oil and gas;
Resource Extractive Industries: including major mining and quarrying projects, forestry projects (logging, major wood
processing, introduction of exotic animals in public or private forests, forest occupancy, extraction of mangrove products,
grazing), and fishery projects (dikes for/and fishpond development projects);
Infrastructure Projects: including major dams, major roads and bridges, major power plants (fossil-fueled, nuclear, coal-fired,
hydroelectric, geothermal), and major reclamation projects; and
Golf Course Projects: golf courses and golf resorts are now subject to EIS requirements
Other: Many other types of coastal projects not explicitly listed above may, at the discretion of DENR, require an EIS if they
are considered ECPs. Some likely examples include major resorts or hotels, airports, ports, shoreline fortifications, fish
processing plants, and major military development.
Environmentally Critical Areas (ECA):
National parks, watershed reserves, wildlife preserves, and sanctuaries declared by law;
Areas set aside as potential tourist spots;
Habitats of endangered or threatened species indigenous to the Philippines;
Areas of unique historic, archaeological, or scientific interest;
Areas traditionally occupied by indigenous people and cultural communities;
Areas frequently hit by natural calamities (geologic hazards, floods, typhoons, volcanic activity, etc.);
Areas with critical (steep) slopes;
Areas classified as prime agricultural lands;
Aquifer recharge areas;
Water bodies used for domestic supply or support of fish and wildlife;
Mangrove areas supporting critical ecological functions or on which people depend for livelihood; and
Coral reefs with critical ecological functions.
Projects not covered under the EIS system include:
Projects that are not ECPs or not located in ECAs
Projects or structures that have been operating or existing since 1982, even if they are ECPs or in an ECA; however, expansion
of developed area or production output by these enterprises requires an ECC.
2. Pollution Control Law (Presidential Decree 984) provides permitting requirements, penalty provisions, and air and water
standards
a. Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Act of 1990 or Republic Act 6969 with implementing rules and
regulations under DENR Administrative Order No. 29
b. Clean Air Act of 1999 or Republic Act 8749 with implementing rules and regulations under DENR Administrative Order
No. 2000-81
Sources of Air Pollution:
i. Mobile sources such as vehicles
ii. Point or stationary sources such as industrial firms and power plants, hotels, and other establishments
iii. Area sources which refers to sources other than mobile and stationary such as smoking, burning of garbage, and dust from
construction, unpaved ground, and such
All sources must have a valid Permit-to-Operate valid for one year while construction with a potential to emit of 100
tons per year or more of pollutants should have an Authority-to-Construct and for purposes of sampling, planning,
research, and other similar purposes, the establishment should be issued a Temporary Permit-to-Operate valid for only
90 days. Appropriate fines and penalties are given for violators.
c. Clean Water Act of 2004 or Republic Act 9275 with implementing rules and regulations under DENR Administrative
Order No. 2016-08
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Ecological Waste Management Act of 2000 or Republic Act 9003 with implementing rules and regulations under DENR
Administrative Order No. 2001-34
ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Ecology is the study of living organisms and their relationship as well as its relationships between their environments. Environment
includes not only the physical but also the biological conditions under which an organism lives while relationships involve interactions
with the physical world as well as the interrelationships with the number of species and individuals of the same species. Ecology is
important because it helps us understand how pollution impacts our environment as well as to give us a better understanding of how
human induced changes affect organisms and their environment. Ecosystem is an organism or group of organisms and its surroundings.
Interspecies relationship
Predation is the feeding of one organism on another. A predator is any organism that gets food from other living organisms but
they do not live on or in the prey or they may or may not kill it. Another type of relationship is competition.
Classical types of symbiosis are commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism.
How do you describe life?
An ability to replicate, the production of offspring
Possess a genetic code such as DNA which has the ability to self-replicate and store all information about the organisms and how
to constant essential functions
Utilize energy and matter from its surroundings
Maintain functionality in a hostile environment
Adapt to changes in the environment
Ways on adapting to changes:
Mutation which is the random changing in the genetic code of an organism. Natural selection of helpful genetics that is passed on
to subsequent generations.
Evolution which is the change in genetic code of a population brought about by natural selection.
Tropic Level describes the different feeding levels from the prime source of energy which the sun and has 4 levels.
1. Abiotic which are the non-living or the physical environment that surrounds the living organisms such as air, soil, and water.
2. Producers or Autotrophs which utilize the energy from the sun and nutrients from the abiotic environment to produce protoplasm
by means of photosynthesis and that includes all kinds of plants.
3. Consumers or Heterotrophs which depend on producers for their energy and synthesis needs. These includes herbivores which
only eat plants, carnivores which only eat meat, and omnivores which eat either plants or meat.
4. Decomposers or detritivores or detritus feeders which utilize energy from wastes or dead organisms, completing the cycle by
returning the nutrients to the soil or water and carbon dioxide to the air or water.
Bioconcentration is the accumulation or increase in concentration of a substance as it proceeds up the food chain.
Biosphere contains all the living things on Earth.
1. Atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding a planet or other material body of sufficient mass that is held in place by the gravity of
the body.
Troposphere is layer closest to Earths land and is the site of all weather on Earth. The thin buffer zone between troposphere
and the next layer is called tropopause.
Stratosphere is the next layer in the atmosphere where the ozone layer is located. This is also the area where airplanes fly
smoothly compared in troposphere.
Following stratosphere is mesosphere and finally ionosphere where gases start to ionize. Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis
are the result of electrons colliding in the upper reaches of Earths atmosphere.
2. Hydrosphere is the total amount of water on a planet which includes on the surface of the planet, underground, and in the air.
Limnology is the study of inland waters - lakes (both freshwater and saline), reservoirs, rivers, streams, wetlands, and groundwater
- as ecological systems interacting with their drainage basins and the atmosphere.
Lake stratification is the separation of lakes into three layers. Lake turnover happens when the temperature in the upper part of
the lake changes due to change in weather and changes position with the water at the lower part of the lake. This is important to
ensure the proper temperature in water suitable for species living in it.
a. Epilimnion which is the upper strata.
b. Thermocline or metalimnion is a thin but distinct layer in a large body of fluid in which temperature changes more rapidly with
depth that it does in the layers above or below.
c. Hypolimnion which is cool lower region.
3. Lithosphere is the solid outer section of Earth which includes Earths crust as well as the underlying cool, dense, and rigid upper
part of the upper mantle.
Biodiversity is the variety among living organisms and the ecological communities they inhabit which gives ecosystems stability.
Habitat is a place where population or an individual of a given species lives. Each habitat has a characteristically range physical
and chemical conditions such as the amount of light, temperature, and the depth of the water.
a. Wetlands is a semi-aquatic area that is either inundated or saturated by water for varying periods during each year and that
supports aquatic vegetation. It conserves and provides water, constituting economic, scientific, cultural, and recreational value
for the community which play a vital role in climate change adaptation and mitigation. It can be natural or man-made.
Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Mindanao
Naujan Lake National Park in Oriental Mindoro
Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Cebu
Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park in Palawan
b. Rain forest are treed areas with a closed canopy and more than 25 inches of rainfall per year. These forests are estimated to
hold 50% or more of all species, yet it only accounts for 7% of the Earths surface. In the Philippines, it is the home of tarsiers,
Philippine eagles, Philippine cockatoo, lemurs, peckers, and Philippine crocodiles. The best possibilities to explore tropical
rainforest in the Philippines are on the islands of Bohol, Mindanao, Mindoro, and Palawan.
Population is a group of individuals of the same species occupying a given area. At present, according to the United Nations, world
population reached 7 billion on October 2011. The main question now is how control population growth. One historical period that
influenced the abrupt growth in population was the period of Baby Boom after World War II. The effects of increased population has
also increased the pollution of all kinds (water, land, air, and noise).
Biogeochemical cycle is a summary of different chemical repositories where a particular element resides, coupled with the pathways
that convert and transport the element from one repository or form to another. It distributes nutrients throughout the Earths atmosphere
and upper geological layers. (Refer to your assignments about the different biogeochemical cycles)
Carbon cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Sulfur cycle
Hydrologic or water cycle
d.

Environmental Engineering
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