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Environmental Impact Assessment by L W Canter PDF
Environmental Impact Assessment by L W Canter PDF
Environmental Impact Assessment by L W Canter PDF
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On: 15 July 2012, At: 13:47
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Impact Assessment
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ASSESSMENT
a b
L. W. Canter
a
Civil Engineering and Environmental
Science
b
National Center for Ground Water
Research, University of Oklahoma, Norman,
Oklahoma
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use of this material.
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
L.W. Canter*
Over 14,000 environmental impact statements (EISs) have
been prepared in the United States since the January 1,1970 ef-
fective date of the National Environmental Policy Act (Public
Law 91-190). In addition, the number of prepared environmen-
tal impact assessments (EIAs) exceeds, by a t least a n order of
magnitude, the number of EISs. An EIA refers to a document
that provides sufficient analysis for determining whether to
prepare a n EIS or a finding of no significant impact (FONSI).
The basic purpose of NEPA is to ensure that the environment is
considered in project planning and decision-making along with
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BASIC ACTIVITIES
Basic activities include the formulation of alternatives for
meeting identified needs and the thorough review of ap-
propriate laws, regulations, and executive orders. There are
6
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AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT
The second element is the preparation of a description of the
affected environment for the potential area of influence. This
requires identification of environmental factors and their
organization into physical-chemical, biological, cultural, and
socio-economic components. Numerous checklists of environ-
mental factors are available (Dee, et al., 1972; Carstea, et al.,
1975; Voorhees and Associates, 1975; Fitzsimmons, Stuart, and
Wolff, 1975; Duke, et al., 1977; Canter and Hill, 1979). Major
tasks include the procurement of existing baseline information
as well as the planning and conduct of necessary field studies.
Table 1 lists example references on data sources and planning.
An important need is to recognize interrelationships among en-
vironmental factors; one approach is to use indices for air and
water quality, and biological and socio-economic features
(Inhaber, 1976; Ott, 1978).
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tion of changes in environmental factors resulting f r o 6 alter7
native plans, and the interpretation and assessment of their
significance. Every attempt should be made to quantify an-
ticipated changes and to use scientific rationale for significance
assessment. Impact prediction and assessment can be con-
sidered relative to environmental components, and within the
physical-chemical component are mathematical models for
predicting changes in air, water, and noise quality as well as
other geological or physical features. Table 2 lists some example
references for various models. Assessment of impact
significance can be based on environmental standards for air,
water, and noise quality; and the exercise of professional judg-
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ment.
Biological impact prediction is primarily based on habitat or
land use changes or more sophisticated approaches such as the
Habitat Evaluation Procedure (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
1980) and the Habitat Evaluation System (U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, 1980). A key limitation is the absence of techniques
for quantifying habitat changes, particularly when considering
long-term effects. Highly sophisticated approaches involve the
use of energy systems diagrams, although this technique is not
widely used due to data, personnel, and resource requirements.
Significance interpretation should be based on appropriate
laws, regulations, and executive orders as well as the applica-
tion of ecological principles and professional judgement. Table
3 lists some example references for biological impact prediction
and assessment.
Impact prediction and assessment for the cultural environ-
ment involves eonsideration of changes in historic and
archeological resources as well as cultural attributes such as
visual quality. Several methodologies exist for describing the
visual quality of an area, and, by use of conceptual drawings
and photographs, these same methodologies can be used to
quantify and evaluate project-induced changes in visual
quality. Table 4 identifies some example references for the
cultural environment.
Socio-economic impact prediction can be based on models
ranging from simple extrapolation techniques to complicated
econometric approaches. Interpretation of changes can be
based on recommended standards or criteria, geographical
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averages, and the relationship of the information to original
design standards or concepts (Voorhees and Associates, 1975;
Fitzsimmons, Stuart,-and Wolff, 1975; Chalmers and Anderson,
1977). Table 5 lists some example references for socio-economic
impact prediction and assessment.
DOCUMENTATION
The final element is the preparation of written documenta-
tion. Appropriate technical writing principles should be utilized
in the preparation of either an EIA or EIS. One of the best aids
is the development of an extensive outline prior to initiating the
writing process. Liberal usage should be made of visual display
materials such as maps, photographs, tables, and figures.
Glossaries of technical terms can also be useful in documenta-
tion. Scientific referencing should be utilized for procured en-
vironmental setting information as well as impact prediction
techniques.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Numerous scientific methods and techniques are available
for usage in environmental impact studies; however they have
not been extensively used due to one or more of the following
reasons: (1)minimal emphasis on their use until the 1979 CEQ
regulations; (2) information gap due to lack of knowledge of
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available approaches on the part of many practitioners; (3)
non-existence of current technology during the early years of
the decade of the 1970s; and (4) general reluctance to use ap-
proaches which 3re perceived to be time and cost consuming.
Usage of scientific methods and techniques is expected to in-
crease due to the 1979 CEQ regulations and the growing
emphasis on public participation. Active public participation
programs encourage practitioners to utilize the most ap-
propriate methods and techniques in environmental impact
studies. In fact, public participation undergirds all elements in
the framework for environmental impact studies. Appropriate
public participation techniques should be selected based on the
objectives of the public participation effort, the potential
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TABLE 1: EXAMPLES OF REFERENCES ON STUDIES
OF THE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT
Naval Environmental
Support Office (1976)-
Sources of environment-
al information are listed,
including federal and
California state sources.
11
Study Planning Burns (1978)-Proceed-
ings of symposium on
planning for environ-
mental impact studies.
Ward (1978)-Book on
planning, conducting,
and interpreting bio-
logical impact studies.
12
TABLE 2: EXAMPLES OF REFERENCES ON IMPACT
PREDICTION A N D ASSESSMENT FOR THE
PHYSICAL-CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT
Turner (1970)-Work-
book of atmospheric
dispersion calculations
from multiple source
types.
Nemorow (1974)-Book
on modeling water
quality resulting from
organic pollution.
13
Orlob (1977)-Literature
review of mathematic-
al modeling of surface
water impoundments.
Ozturk (1979)-Model of
dissolved oxygen in es-
tuaries.
Velz (1970)-Book on
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Prickett (1979)-Sum-
mary of ground water
modeling techniques.
14
U.S. Environmental Pro-
tection Agency (1976)
-Procedures for pre-
dicting impacts of ur-
ban stormwater.
Walker (1976)-Litera-
ture review of irriga-
tion return flow models.
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Magrab (1975)-Book on
noise prediction from
variety of source types.
15
U.S, Fish and Wildlife
Service (1980)-Proce-
dural manual for es-
timating and compar-
ing development pro-
ject impacts on fish
and wildlife resources.
analysis of activities
a t White Sands Mis-
sile Range.
16
Ostrofsky and Duthie
(1978)-Methodology
for modeling productiv-
ity in reservoirs.
Mueller (1977)-Discus-
sion of burdening ca-
pacity of ecosystems.
17
Perez (1978)-Discussion
of persistence limits in
ecological systems.
Sharma (1975)-Confer-
ence proceedings on
determining the sig-
nificance of biological
impacts.
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T m L E 4: EXAMPLES OF REFERENCES ON I M P E T
PREDICTION A N D A S S E S S M E N T FOR THE
CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
King (1978)-Description
of methods for con-
ducting archeological
surveys.
18
Visual Quality Bagley, Kroll, and Clark
(1973)-Review of 12
methodologies for
measuring or quan-
tifying aesthetics.
Felleman (1975)-Review
of numerical, geomet-
ric, and geomorphic
landform description
approaches for eval-
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Harper (1975)-Use-ori-
ented method for visual
quality evaluation of
the coastal zone.
U S . Bureau of Land
Management (19783)-
Description of visual
resource contrast ra-
ting system.
19
Forest Service studies
in the northwestern
United States.
U S . Soil Conservation
Service (1978)-De-
scription of procedure
for landscape resource
quality.
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Frendeway, Monarchi,
and Taylor (1977)-
Model for regional im-
pacts of population,
employment, manufac-
turing, commerce, and
service industries.
20
Shapiro, Luecks, and
Kuhner (1978)-Eval-
uation of the infra-
structure requirements
resulting from secon-
dary development.
Christiansen (1976)-
Methodology for ad-
dressing social impacts
of land development
projects.
Fitzsimmons, Stuart,
and Wolf (1975)-
Methodology for de-
velopment of social
well-being account for
water resources pro-
jects.
21
Guldberg and DAgos-
tino (1978)-Total air
pollutant emissions
from induced develop-
ment from a waste-
water project.
Muller (1975)-Method-
ology for addressing
fiscal impacts of land
development projects.
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Muller (1976)-Method-
ology for addressing
economic impacts of
land development pro-
jects.
Willeke (1978)-Socio-
economic impacts from
wastewater manage-
ment plans.
22
TABLE 6: EXAMPLES OF METHODOLOGIES FOR
COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES AND SELECTION
OF PROPOSED ACTION
Methodology Reference
water management
system.
Schwind (1977)-Matrix
used to evluate im-
pacts of alternative
land uses in terms of
cost-benefit approach-
es.
23
Checklists Ahmed, Husseiny, and
Cho (1979)-Checklist
for development of in-
dex of site acceptabil-
ity for nuclear power
plants.
technical judgements
relative to nuclear
power plant siting.
Coastal Environments,
Inc. (1976)-Checklist
for evaluating on-shore
impacts from off-shore
oil and gas develop-
ment.
Gertz (1978)-Ranking
checklist coupled with
non-parametric statis-
tical analysis.
Sondheim (1978)-Sca-
ling checklist for eval-
uation of a proposed
dam project.
24
water management al-
ternatives.
Lavine (1979)-Energy a-
nalysis model for con-
ducting environmental
cost-benefit analyses
for transportation ac-
tions.
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Hydrologic Engineering
Center (1978)-Use of
grid cell banks in en-
vironmental impact as-
sessment.
25
Keeney (1976)-Decision-
making using multi-
attribute utility tech+
niques.
Decision-Making Techniques
26
SELECTED REFERENCES
Ahmed, S., Husseiny, A.A., and Cho, H.Y. (1979). Formal
Methodology for Acceptability Analysis of Alternate Sites for
Nuclear Power Stations, Nuclear Engineering Design, 51,
361-388.
27
Brown, R.J. (1979). Thermal Pollution, Part 3. Hydrology and
Hydrodynamics (A Bibliography with Abstracts), National
Technical Information Service, U S . Department of Com-
merce, Springfield, Virginia.
Busse, A.D. and Zimmerman, J.R. (1973). Users Guide for the
Climatological Dispersion Model, Environmental Monitoring
Series EPA-R4-73-024, NERC, .EPA, Research Triangle
Park, North Carolina.
28
Carstea, D. et al. (1975). Guidelines for the Environmental
Impact Assessment of Small Structures and Related Activities
in Coastal Bodies of Water, MTR-6916, Rev. 1, The Mitre
Corporation, McLean, Virginia.
29
Duckstein, L., et al. (1977). Practical Use of Decision Theory
to Assess Uncertainties about Actions Affecting the Environ-
ment, Completion Report, Department of Systems and
Industrial Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson,
Arizona.
30
Fletcher, J.L. and Busnel, R.G. (1978). Effects of Noise on
Wildlife, Academic Press, New York.
32
Kessler, F.M., et al. (1978). Construction Site Noise Control
Cost-Benefit Estimating Procedures, CERL-IR-N-36, U.S.
Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Cham-
paign, Illinois.
33
Muller, T . (1976). Economic Impacts of Land Development:
Employment, Housing, and Property Values, URI 15800, The
Urban Institute, Washington, D. C.
35
Rubinstein, S. and Horn, R.L. (1978). Risk Analysis in Environ-
mental Studies. I. Risk Analysis Methodology: A Statistical
Approach; 11. Data Management for Environmental Studies,
CONF-780316-8, Atomics International Division, Rockwell
Hanford Operations, U.S. Department of Energy, Richland,
Washington.
36
Sorenson, J.C. (1971). A Framework for Identification and
Control of Resource Degradation and Conflict in the
Multiple Use of the Coastal Zone, University of California,
Berkeley, California.
Washington, D. C.
39
Yorke, T.H. (1978). Impact Assessment of Water Resource
Development Activities: A Dual Matrix Approach, FWS/OBS-
78/82, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kearneysville,
West Virginia.
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