Environment Impact Assessment

Introduction
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a relatively new planning and decision making tool
first enshrined in the United States in the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. It is a
formal study process used to predict the environmental consequences of any development project.
It is a technique which is meant to help us understand the potential environmental impacts of
major development proposals. It gives a view of the actors involved in the development-
environment linkages. This is required in view of the fact that the community at large is always at
a loss in terms of deterioration of living environment that accompanies industrial development.
Based on Environmental Assessment, the regulatory measures can be identified and the roles of
concerned agencies defined for achieving more efficient environmental management.

What is EIA?
EIA is just an information gathering exercise carried out by the developer and other bodies which
enables a Local Planning Authority to understand the environmental affects of a development
before deciding whether or not it should go ahead. The really important thing about
environmental assessments is the emphasis on using the best available sources of objective
information and in carrying out a systematic and holistic process which should be bias free and
allow the local authority and the whole community to properly understand the impact of the
proposed development. Environmental impact assessment is meant to be a systematic process
which leads to a final product, the Environmental Statement (ES).

EIA is an iterative process. The key stages in the process include proposal identification,
screening, scoping, impact assessment, mitigation, review, decision making and follow up. Good
EIA is integrated into the project development process and is not seen as a barrier to development.

Definition

"Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the process of assessing the likely environmental
impacts of a proposal and identifying options to minimise environmental damage. The main
purpose of EIA is to inform decision makers of the likely impacts of a proposal before a decision
is made. EIA provides an opportunity to identify key issues and stakeholders early in the life of a
proposal so that potentially adverse impacts can be addressed before final approval decisions are
made." (Australian EIA Network).

Immediate objectives of EIA are to:

improve the environmental design of the proposal;

check the environmental acceptability of the proposals compared to the capacity of the site
and the receiving environment;
ensure that resources are used appropriately and efficiently;
identify appropriate measures for mitigating the potential impacts of the proposal; and
facilitate informed decision making, including setting the environmental terms and
conditions for implementing the proposal.
Long term objectives of EIA are to:

avoid irreversible changes and serious damage to the environment;

safeguard valuable resources, natural areas and ecosystem components;
enhance the social aspects of proposals; and
protect human health and safety.

History of EIA
EIA is one of the successful policy innovations of the 20th Century for environmental
conservation. Thirty-seven years ago, there was no EIA but today, it is a formal process in many
countries and is currently practiced in more than 100 countries. EIA as a mandatory regulatory
procedure originated in the early 1970s, with the implementation of the National Environment
Policy Act (NEPA) 1969 in the US. Much of the initial development was in a small number of
high-income countries, like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (1973-74). However, there were
some developing countries as well, which introduced EIA relatively early - Columbia (1974),
Philippines (1978). The EIA process really took off after the mid-1980s. In 1989, the World Bank
adopted EIA for major development project, in which borrower country had to undertake the EIA
under the Bank's supervision.

Stages/process in an EIA
The EIA process is an iterative one containing many feedback loops to allow the development
proposal to be continually refined. So whilst the process of EIA follows a number of commonly
accepted steps, it does not observe a linear pattern. The EIA process is summarised in the figure
below.
Feedback Loops
Proposal Identification

A large number of decisions are made at the project identification and proposal development
stage. Decisions are made regarding:

the location of the development

the land uses the development will cater for
the scale, layout and design of the development.

If environmental issues are considered at this point in the development process, impacts can be
significantly reduced and in some cases removed altogether. The advantages and disadvantages of
the alternatives should be investigated, not only in environmental terms but also in terms of cost
effectiveness, reasonableness and feasibility. The assessment of alternatives will result in the
development of a preferred project proposal, which should then be the subject of a screening
assessment.

Screening

Screening is undertaken to decide whether an EIA is required and focus resources on projects
most likely to have significant impacts, those where impacts are uncertain and those where
environmental management input is likely to be required. Official EIA guidelines usually contain
lists or schedules specifying which developments require an EIA. These criteria include:

development characteristics
characteristics of the location
characteristics of potential effects

Scoping

During the scoping stage the key issues that the EIA will address are identified. Effective scoping
will ensure that the EIA focuses on those areas where significant effects are likely, therefore
preventing resources being used to address issues where no significant effects are likely. A good
scoping process will consist of three key components:
Proposal Identificati
consultation with relevant stakeholders and interested parties to provide them with
information on the development proposal and what technically appear to be the key issues
and to find out what their key concerns are regarding the location and the developmentScreening
proposal; Scoping
analysis of the issues identified during consultation to determine which are likely to be
significant and therefore must be included within the scope of the EIA; and Impact
negotiation with the decision makers and other interested parties to refine the scope of the
Mit
EIA.
E
There are a number of issues that are considered (to varying depths) within the scope of the
majority of EIAs. These include:

landscape and visual

ecology
land use
traffic and transport
air quality
noise
water
ground conditions
archaeology
cultural heritage

Impact Analysis

Impact analysis involves characterising the impact in terms of its likely nature, spatial and
temporal distribution, duration, frequency, reversibility and magnitude. Finally a judgement must
be made as to whether the impact is likely to be significant or not.

A large number of impact analysis techniques exist, each have their advantages and
disadvantages. Impact analysis techniques can be quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative
techniques tend to involve a prescriptive method being set out and followed whereas qualitative
techniques rely less upon a prescribed method instead relying heavily upon professional
judgement. The nature of the environmental media being assessed will determine the most
appropriate impact analysis technique.

Mitigation

Where impact analysis identifies that a development is likely to give rise to significant
environmental impacts, mitigation measures are proposed to avoid, reduce and if possible, remedy
them. As mentioned briefly in the section on proposal identification above, mitigation measures
can be incorporated into the design of the development. End of pipe mitigation measures can
also be incorporated into the development at a later stage.

Environmental Statement

The environmental statement is the vehicle used to communicate the results of the EIA to the
decision maker and other stakeholders in the development process.

The environmental statement should objectively document the EIA process and findings giving
equal prominence to positive and negative impacts relative to their importance. The ES should be
clear and concise. Because non specialists are likely to read the document technical language
should be avoided. Any necessary technical information should be provided in appendices.
Review

Quality control is an important stage in any EIA. A review of the quality of the environmental
statement is a way of demonstrating that:

the ES has met all the appropriate legal requirements

the ES contains sufficient information to allow a decision to be made
the ES is consistent with current good practice

A review of the ES can be undertaken at the draft stage or after finalisation. The earlier the review
takes place the greater the influence it can have over the quality of the ES.

Decision Making

This is the point in the process where the development is either granted planning permission or
not. It is necessary at this stage for the environmental statement to be made available to a number
of statutory consultees, the public and other stakeholders. When making a decision on the
application decision makers are required to consider all relevant environmental information,
including the environmental statement and the opinions of statutory consultees, the public and
other stakeholders. Environmental information is only one of many material considerations that
the decision maker must take into account. The decision maker will also consider social and
economic information, current planning policies and the relevant local development
framework/local plan. The final decision will be based upon all of these things.

Follow Up

Follow up is very important in EIA. It is the stage where the mitigation measures proposed within
the environmental statement are actually implemented. It is also the stage where any necessary
monitoring of impacts is undertaken. A common tool for ensuring that the measures proposed are
implemented is a management plan. Management plans demonstrate a clear commitment to
monitoring and mitigation measures and illustrate that the developer values the environment and
the EIA process.

EIA in India
The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of India have been in a great effort in
Environmental Impact Assessment in India. The main laws in nation are Water Act (1974), The
Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972), The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act (1981)
and The Environment (Protection) Act (1986). The responsible body for this is Central Pollution
Control Board. EIC is the repository of one stop secondary data source for environmental impact
assessment in India.

History of EIA in India

The Indian experience with Environmental Impact Assessment began over 30 years back. It
started in 1976-77 when the Planning Commission asked the Department of Science and
Technology to examine the river-valley projects from environmental angle. This was subsequently
extended to cover those projects, which required approval of the Public Investment Board. Till
1994, environmental clearance from the central government was an administrative decision and
lacked the legislative support.

On 27 January 1994, the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), government of
India, under the Environmental (Protection) Act 1986, promulgated EIA notification making
Environmental Clearance (EC) mandatory for expansion or modernisation of any activity or for
setting up new projects listed in Schedule 1 of the notification. Since then there have been 12
amendments made in EIA notification of 1994.

The Indian Experience

Experience on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in India indicates that lack of availability
of timely and reliable environmental data has been the major bottleneck in preparing quality EIA
reports. Since environment is a multidisciplinary area, a multitude of agencies are involved in the
collection of environmental data in India. However, there is no single organization in India that
tracks the data available among the multitude of data generators and makes it available in the
form and manner required by the practitioners in the field of EIA. This in turn affects the
effectiveness of EIA process by causing delays in conducting EIAs and in reviewing the EIA
reports for Environmental Clearance (EC). Further, the environmental data is often not available
in a processed or value added form that can possibly enhance the quality of environmental
decision making to address these issues, Environmental Information Centre (EIC) was conceived
to act as a clearinghouse of environmental data needed for preparation and review of EIAs. EIC
data is also used as a project level decision support system for:

Site selection
Ecological degradation or improvements over time
Early warning system for Glacier Lake Outbursts
Catchment area degradation
Determination of Environmental Status

List of projects requiring environmental clearance from the central government

1. Nuclear Power and related projects such as Heavy Water Plants, nuclear fuel complex,
Rare Earths.
2. River Valley projects including hydel power, major Irrigation & their combination
including flood control.
3. Ports, Harbours, Airports (except minor ports and harbours).
4. Petroleum Refineries including crude and product pipelines.
5. Chemical Fertilizers (Nitrogenous and Phosphatic other than single superphosphate).
6. Pesticides (Technical).
7. Petrochemical complexes (Both Olefinic and Aromatic) and Petro-chemical intermediates
such as DMT, Caprolactam, LAB etc. and production of basic plastics such as LLDPE,
HDPE, PP, PVC.
8. Bulk drugs and pharmaceuticals.
9. Exploration for oil and gas and their production, transportation and storage.
 10. Synthetic Rubber.
11. Asbestos and Asbestos products.
12. Hydrocyanic acid and its derivatives.
13. (a) Primary metallurgical industries (such as production of Iron and Steel, Aluminium,
Copper, Zinc, Lead and Ferro Alloys).

(b) Electric arc furnaces (Mini Steel Plants).

14. Chlor alkali industry.

15. Integrated paint complex including manufacture of resins and basic raw materials required
in the manufacture of paints.
16. Viscose Staple fibre and filament yarn.
17. Storage batteries integrated with manufacture of oxides of lead and lead antimony alloys.
18. All tourism projects between 200m500 metres of High Water Line and at locations with
an elevation of more than 1000 metres with investment of more than Rs.5 crores.
19. Thermal Power Plants.
20. Mining projects (major minerals) with leases more than 5 hectares.
21. Highway Projects except projects relating to improvement work including widening and
strengthening of roads with marginal land acquisition along the existing alignments
provided it does not pass through ecologically sensitive areas such as National Parks,
Sanctuaries, Tiger Reserves, Reserve Forests.
22. Tarred Roads in the Himalayas and or Forest areas.
23. Distilleries.
24. Raw Skins and Hides
25. Pulp, paper and newsprint.
26. Dyes.
27. Cement.
28. Foundries (individual)
29. Electroplating
30. Meta amino phenol

Draw backs in the Indian system

One of the biggest concerns with the environmental clearance process is related to the quality of
EIA report that are being carried out. The reports are generally incomplete and provided with false
data. EIA reports ignore several aspects while carrying out assessments and significant
information is found to be omitted. Many EIA report are based on single season data and are not
adequate to determine whether environmental clearance should be granted. All this makes the
entire exercise contrary to its very intent.

It is being found that the team formed for conducting EIA studies is lacking the expertise
in various fields such as Anthropologists and Social Scientists (to study the social impact
of the project) or even wild life experts.
There is a lack of exhaustive ecological and socio-economic indicators for impact
assessment.
Public comments are not taken into account at the early stage, which often leads to
conflict at the later stage of project clearance.
 There is always a lack of reliable data sources.
The secondary data is also not reliable.
The data collectors do not pay respect to the indigenous knowledge of local people.
The credibility of the primary data collected by the data collectors is doubtful.
The detail method used for the prediction and evaluation of the project is not mentioned in
the report. Limited explanations are given both to quantitative estimation of magnitude of
impact and to the assumptions and judgments used in the evaluation of impacts.
The limited coverage of scoping is confined mainly to direct impacts.
Details regarding the effectiveness and implementation of mitigation measures are often
not provided.
Often, and more so for strategic industries such as nuclear energy projected, the EMP s are
kept confidential for political and administrative reasons
Emergency preparedness plans are not discussed in sufficient details and the information
not disseminated to the communities.

Conclusion

The MoEF should provide specialised education and training to the staff of IAA and the PCBs.
IAA and PCB staffs are the authorities responsible for the implementation of the EIA system.
Therefore, a through understanding of public consultation and knowledge of the various
components of the EIA studies such as the environment and social factors will provide benefits
that will improve the quality of studies conducted. Training, especially in social sciences, will
improve and further ensure that the proponents and consultants comply with the social aspects of
EIA and adequately address public concerns. In addition, persons with social backgrounds should
be hired by the Mom and PCBs to manage the social aspects of EIA.

Information is important for creating awareness. One of the key conditions for managing the
environment is information, such as knowledge about the environment and linkages between the
environment and human environment (Gresham, et al., 1997). Participation is a function of
information through which people come to share a development vision, make choices, and
manage activities (World Bank, 1996b). People who participate are found to have better mass
media contact and education (Muthayya, 1995)- It is important to note that lack of technical
education is not a constraint on intelligence and the ability to understand one's surroundings
(Environmental Protection Agency, 1996).

References:

1. Claire Pettit (2006): Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), London: The Institute of
Environmental Management and Assessment.
2. Ron Bisset (1996): Environmental Impact Assessment: Issues, Trends and Practice; United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

3. Industry & Environment Unit, Centre for Science & Environment (2006): Introduction to
Environment Impact Assessment.

4. Innovation Report by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) on The Indian
Innovation Awards, 2005.

5. Aruna Murthy, Himansu Sekhar Patra (2005): ENVIRONMENT IMPACT

ASSESSMENT PROCESS IN INDIA AND THE DRAWBACKS, Bhubaneshwar:
Vasundhara.

6. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA) (2009), London: International

Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)