EIA – BASIC CONCEPTS

NEPA 1970
•SEMINAL LEGISLATION
•Magna carta for the environment in united states.
•Project planning and decision making should include 3 Es
•Three significant terms
1. Environmental inventory
2. Environmental impact assessment
3. Environmental impact statement.
The preamble to NEPA reads:

To declare national policy which will encourage productive and

enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote
efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment
and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to
enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural
resources important to the Nation; and to establish a Council on
Environmental Quality
Environmental inventory: is a complete description of the
environment as it exist in an area where a proposed action
is being considered.
Compiled from a checklists of descriptors for the physical-
chemical , biological, cultural, socioeconomic environment.
physical-chemical: soil , geology, topography, surface water,
ground water resources, water quality, air quality and
climatology.
Biological: flora, fauna of the area, threatened and
endangered species, general biological features and stability
of ecosystem.
Cultural environment: historic and archeological sites and
aesthetic resources such as visual quality.
Socioeconomic environment: population trend, population
distribution, educational system, economic indicators of
human welfare, transportation networks and other
infrastructural concerns, public services.
 DEFINITION( EIA)
•Activity designed to identify and predict the impact of a project on bio
geo physicochemical environment and on human health so as to
recommend appropriate legislative measures, programs, and
operational procedures to minimize the impact.
•Exercise to be carried out before any project or major activity is
undertaken to ensure that it will not in any way harm the environment
on a short-term or long-term basis.
The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) defines
an environmental impact assessment as "the process of identifying,
predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and
other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major
decisions being taken and commitments made.
An impact can be defined as any change in the physical, chemical,
biological, cultural or socio-economic environmental system as a
result of activities relating to a project.
EIS: The environmental impact statement (EIS) provides
documentation of the information and estimates derived from the
various steps in the EIA process.
Discussion

1. Impact of Land clearance activity in forest area.

LCA- LAND CLEARANCE ACTIVITY
 EIA in INDIA
•EIA in India was started in 1976-77
•when the Planning Commission asked the then Department of Science
and Technology to examine the river-valley projects from the
environmental angle.
•subsequently extended to cover those projects, which required approval
of the Public Investment Board.
•These were administrative decisions, and lacked the legislative support.
•The Government of India enacted the Environment
(Protection) Act on 23rd May 1986.
•To achieve the objectives of the Act, one of the decisions
taken was to make EIA statutory
•After following the legal procedure, a notification was
issued on 27th January 1994 and subsequently amended on
4th May 1994, 10th April 1997 and 27th January 2000
making environmental impact assessment statutory for 30
activities ,investments of Rs. 50 crores and above.
The MoEF recently notified new EIA legislation in
September 2006. The notification makes it mandatory for
various projects such as mining, thermal power plants, river
valley, infrastructure (road, highway, ports, harbours and
airports) and industries including very small electroplating
or foundry units to get environment clearance.
Environmental impact assessment rule

Environmental protection rule , notification 2006

PURPOSE OF EIA
•Provide information for decision-making on the environmental
consequences of proposed actions; and
•Promote environmentally sound and sustainable development
through the identification of appropriate enhancement and
mitigation measures.
 SALIENT FEATURES
(a)The EIA procedure identifies the possible positive and negative impacts to
the environment resulting from a proposed project. These impacts are
identified over both "short-term" and "long-term" time frame;
(b) The EIA provides for a plan, which upon implementation, will reduce or
offset the negative impacts of a project resulting in a minimum level of
environmental degradation.' This minimization may be a result of
implementation of a project alternative or project modifications or
environmental protection measures, which simply reduces the number or
magnitude of negative impacts. The plan may also result in utilization of
positive impacts for enhancement measures which offset negative impacts
c) To measure the level of plan implementation and the degree of
effectiveness of the above environmental protection provisions, the
EIA provides a monitoring programme. This programme will be also
designed so that it identifies the parameters of uncertainty and
measures the related impacts.
Objectives of EIA
Immediate objectives of EIA are to:
•Improve the environmental design of the proposal;
•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:
•Protect human health and safety;
•Avoid irreversible changes and serious damage to the environment;
•Safeguard valued resources, natural areas and ecosystem
components; and
•Enhance the social aspects of the proposal.
core values on which the EIA process is
based
Integrity: The EIA process should meet internationally accepted requirements
and standards of practice.
Utility: The EIA process should provide the information which is sufficient and
relevant for decision-making.
Sustainability: The EIA process should result in the implementation of
environmental safeguards which are sufficient to mitigate serious adverse
effects and avoid irreversible loss of resource and ecosystem functions.
Basic principles
Guiding principles of EIA good practice
Principles Practical application

EIA should meet its aims of informing decision making and ensuring an appropriate level of environmental protection
Purposive
and human health.
Focused EIA should concentrate on significant environmental effects, taking into account the issues that matter.
Adaptive EIA should be adjusted to the realities, issues and circumstances of the proposals under review.
Participativ EIA should provide appropriate opportunities to inform and involve the interested and affected publics, and their
e inputs and concerns should be addressed explicitly.
EIA should be a clear, easily understood and open process, with early notification procedure, access to
Transparent
documentation, and a public record of decisions taken and reasons for them.

Rigorous EIA should apply the best practicable methodologies to address the impacts and issues being investigated.

Practical EIA should identify measures for impact mitigation that work and can be implemented.
Credible EIA should be carried out with professionalism, rigor, fairness, objectivity, impartiality and balance.
EIA should impose the minimum cost burden on proponents consistent with meeting process requirements and
Efficient
objectives.
Cost and benefits of EIA
Major benefits of the EIA process for project sponsors to be
•Cost-saving modifications in project design.
•Reduced time and costs of approvals of development
applications
• Increased project acceptance.
• Avoided impacts and violations of laws and regulations.
• Improved project performance.
•Avoided treatment/clean up costs.
The benefits to local communities from taking part in environmental
assessments include:
•A healthier local environment (forests, water sources, agricultural potential,
recreational potential, aesthetic values, and clean living in urban areas).
•Improved human health.
•Maintenance of biodiversity.
• Decreased resource use.
•Fewer conflicts over natural resource use.
• Increased community skills, knowledge and pride.
Limitations of EIA
•Environmental considerations may be set aside in favor of what are felt to be
more important considerations.
•Predicted adverse effects on the environment might lead to strict conditions
being imposed to avoid these effects or remedy any adverse effects, or perhaps
lead to the complete abandonment of a proposal.
•EIA cannot be regarded as a means of introducing an environmental “veto”
power into administrative decision-making processes.
•Decisions that are unsatisfactory from an environmental point of view can still
be made, but with full knowledge of the environmental consequences.
•The final decision about a proposal depends upon the likely severity of the
adverse effects, balanced against other expected benefits.
•Outcome of the EIA process provides advice to the decision-makers and it does
not provide a final decision.
COST
•Difficult to determine the cost of EIA.
•Major projects typically require a large number of investigations and reports.
•The world bank notes that the cost of preparing an EIA rarely exceeds one per
cent of the project costs and this percentage can be reduced further if local
personnel are used to do most of the work.
•The total cost of an EIA might range from a few thousand dollars for a very small
project, to over a million dollars for a large and complex project, which has a
significant environmental impact and requires extensive data collection and
analysis.
 TIMEFRAME
Although many proponents complain that EIA causes excessive delays in
projects, many of these are caused by poor administration of the process
rather than by the process itself. These occur when:
• The EIA is commenced too late in the project cycle;
• The terms of reference are poorly drafted;.
• The EIA is not managed to a schedule;
• The technical and consultative components of EIA are inadequate; and
• The EIA report is incomplete or deficient as a basis for decision making.
•Most projects merely require screening and might take only an hour
or two of work.
•Where further EIA work is necessary, the time taken can range from
a few days or weeks, for a small irrigation or a minor infrastructure
project, to two years or more for a large dam or a major
infrastructure project.
•The costs and time involved in eia should decrease as experience is
gained with the process and there is a better understanding of the
impacts associated with different types of projects and the use of
appropriate methods. Over a longer timeframe, the availability of
baseline data should also increase.
Steps in EIA process
Screening is done to see whether a project requires
environmental clearance as per the statutory notifications.
Screening Criteria are based upon:

• Scales of investment;
• Type of development; and,
• Location of development.
A common approach (e. g. the World Bank uses a similar version of this
approach) is to classify projects into different types of impact category, such as:
• Category 1 - projects not expected to result in any significant adverse impacts
and which do not require additional environmental study.
• Category 2 - projects which are likely to cause a limited number of significant
adverse impacts unless appropriate mitigation action is taken. These impacts
and the means of mitigating them are reasonably well understood and it is
expected that such projects will require only limited environmental study and
the preparation of an appropriate mitigation plan.
• Category 3 - projects likely to cause a range of significant adverse impacts, the
extent and magnitude of which cannot be determined without a detailed study
EIA Procedure
Divided into two complementary tasks or sub-reports
(i) The Initial Environmental Examination (lEE)
(ii) the Full-Scale Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
•Certain proposals require an extended screening process which in
effect becomes a preliminary EIA approximate to a Category 2 study.
•Also called initial environmental evaluation (IEE), this process is used
when the requirement for EIA cannot be reasonably determined by
the application of the screening procedures described previously.
Initial Environmental Examination (lEE)
•Reviewing the environmental integrity of projects.
• Can be used for project screening to determine which
projects require a full-scale EIA.
• Can be carried out within a limited budget.
•Full-scale EIA is not required, then, any environmental
management parameters. such as, environmental
protection measures or a monitoring programme can be
adapted to complete the EIA for such a project.
•Full-scale EIA is required, lEE can be of great help as a mechanism to
determine and identify key issues that merit full analysis in EIA and to
designate the issues that deserve only a cursory discussion.
•lEE is a means of providing the most efficient and feasible preparation
of adequate environmental management plans with or without the
requirement of a full scale EIA. Therefore, for most Industrial
Development Projects, lEE is desirable simply from the economic point
of view.
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.

Defining scope of a EIA

I. Important issues and concern,

2. Areas of less concern for the present acts, and
3. Regulations requirement.
Purpose of Scoping is to identify
• The important issues to be considered in an EIA;
• The appropriate time and space boundaries of the
EIA study;
• The information necessary for decision-making; and
• The significant effects and factors to be studied in
detail.
Objectives of scoping:
•Inform the public about the proposal;
•Identify the main stakeholders and their concerns and values;
•Define the reasonable and practical alternatives to the proposal;
•Focus the important issues and significant impacts to be addressed by an EIA;
•Define the boundaries for an EIA in time, space and subject matter;
•Set requirements for the collection of baseline and other information; and
•Establish the terms of reference for an EIA study.
 Terms of reference
•Scoping is completed when the detailed studies required in the EIA have been specified and
involves preparing Terms of Reference (ToR) or an equivalent document.
•Preparation of the ToR is the responsibility of the proponent, or in some cases the responsible
authority.
•This document sets out what the EIA is to cover, the type of information to be submitted and
the depth of analysis that is required.
•It provides guidance to the proponent on how the study should be conducted and managed.
•As far as possible, a ToR should be a consensus document, reflecting an agreement among the
main stakeholders, including the public, on the matters to be assessed. If this is not possible,
the next best outcome will be a ToR that is based on a systematic and transparent scoping
process.
•The ToR should not be considered a “fixed” or rigid document.
ToR includes
•The proposal and its practicable and reasonable alternatives (including the
“No action” option);
• The significant issues and impacts to be investigated;
• The type of information to be collected and/or studies to be carried out
(E.G. Baseline study); and
• The requirements and timelines for completion and submission of the report.
 BASELINE DATA COLLECTION

•Baseline data describes the existing environmental status of the

identified study area.
•The site-specific primary data should be monitored for the
identified parameters and supplemented by secondary data if
available.

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Baseline data

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IMPACT PREDICTION
•Impact prediction is a way of ‘mapping’ the environmental consequences of the significant
aspects of the project and its alternatives.
•Environmental impact can never be predicted with absolute certainty and this is all the more
reason to consider all possible factors and take all possible precautions for reducing the degree
of uncertainty.

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Assessment of Alternatives, Delineation of
Mitigation Measures and Environmental
Impact Assessment Report
•For every project, possible alternatives should be identified and
environmental attributes compared.
•Alternatives should cover both project location and process technologies.
•Alternatives should consider ‘no project’ option also.
• Alternatives should then be ranked for selection of the best environmental
option for optimum economic benefits to the community at large.

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•Once alternatives have been reviewed, a mitigation plan should be drawn up for
the selected option and is supplemented with an Environmental Management
Plan (EMP) to guide the proponent towards environmental improvements.
•The EMP is a crucial input to monitoring the clearance conditions and therefore
details of monitoring should be included in the EMP.

•An EIA report should provide clear information to the decision-maker on the
different environmental scenarios without the project, with the project and
with project alternatives.
•Uncertainties should be clearly reflected in the EIA report.

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 Public Hearing

Law requires that the public must be informed and consulted on a proposed
development after the completion of EIA report. Any one likely to be affected by the
proposed project is entitled to have access to the Executive Summary of the EIA. The
affected persons may include:
•bonafide local residents;
•local associations;
•environmental groups: active in the area
•any other person located at the project site / sites of displacement
People are to be given an opportunity to make oral/written suggestions to the State
Pollution Control Board .

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Decision making
•Decision making process involves consultation between the project proponent
(assisted by a consultant) and the impact assessment authority (assisted by an
expert group, if necessary).
•The decision on environmental clearance is arrived at through a number of steps
including evaluation of EIA and EMP.
MONITORING THE CLEARANCE CONDITIONS

•Monitoring should be done during both construction and operation phases of a

project.
• This is not only to ensure that the commitments made are complied with but
also to observe whether the predictions made in the EIA reports were correct or
not.
•Where the impacts exceed the predicted levels, corrective action should be
taken.
•Monitoring will enable the regulatory agency to review the validity of
predictions and the conditions of implementation of the Environmental
Management Plan (EMP).
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.
Case study 1
Strategic environment assessment(SEA)
Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) refers to systematic
analysis of the environmental effects of development
policies, plans, programmes and other proposed strategic
actions.
extends the aims and principles of EIA upstream in the
decision-making process, beyond the project level and when
major alternatives are still open.
Types of EIA
Site selection studies: These studies involve an evaluation of the alternative sites
with respect to environmental and project attributes such as proximity to raw
materials, infrastructure facilities, markets, etc. These studies aim at ranking site
alternatives for objective decision-making.
Rapid or comprehensive studies: Rapid studies refer to the assessment based on
a one-season monitoring (i.e., 3-month period), whereas comprehensive studies
relate to the assessment based on a three-seasons monitoring (i.e., 9- month
period) of baseline data.
Rapid EIA facilitates decision-making in situations where a fair amount of
knowledge exists about the proposed site or the impacts of the proposed
development. It also helps in identifying significant issues for comprehensive EIA.
Essentially, rapid and comprehensive studies differ with respect to timeframes
required for baseline data collection.
Regional studies: These relate to the development in/of a region based on
seasonal data collection and address themselves to the analysis of assimilative
capacity of air, water and land components of the environment.

Carrying capacity studies: The scope of a carrying capacity study is extended to

the analysis of supportive capacity in the region with respect to resource
availability/ utilisation, supply/demand, infrastructure/congestion and
assimilative capacity/residuals.
Impact assessment
Impact
An impact or effect can be described as the change in an environmental parameter, which
results from a particular activity or intervention.
The change is the difference between the environmental parameter with the project compared
to that without the project (as represented pictorially in the figure above).
It is predicted or measured over a specified period and within a defined area.
definition
An impact has both spatial and temporal components and can be described as the change in an
environmental parameter, over a specified period and within a defined area, resulting from a
particular activity compared with the situation which would have occurred had the activity not
been initiated
Direct impacts
Direct impacts occur through direct interaction of an activity with an environmental,
social, or economic component.
Eg: a discharge of Thermal Power Plant or effluent from the Effluent Treatment Plant
(ETP) into a river may lead to a decline in water quality in terms of high biochemical
oxygen demand (BOD) or dissolved oxygen (DO) or rise of water toxins. Another
example of direct impact of a TPP is the emissions of SOx in flue gases shall enhance
the ambient air pollution concentration of SO2

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• Direct impacts are caused by the road itself- that is to say, by road building
processes such as land consumption, removal of vegetation, and severance of
farmland. For example, the removal, of gravel material from a borrow pit, for use
in surfacing the road, is an obvious direct impact of road construction. In this
case, the land area in which the pit site is located has been directly affected by
activities associated with the road project.

• Direct impacts are generally easier to inventory, assess and control than indirect
impacts, since the cause effect relationship are usually obvious.
Indirect Impacts
Indirect impacts on the environment are those which are not a direct result of the
project, those that may occur remote as they are in distance or time from the actual
proposed project. The indirect impacts are also known as secondary or even tertiary
level impacts.
Eg: For example, ambient air SO2 rise due to stack emissions may deposit on land as SO4
and cause acidic soils.
Another example of indirect impact is the decline in water quality due to rise in
temperature of water bodies receiving cooling water discharge from the nearby
industry. This may lead to a secondary indirect impact on aquatic flora in that

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water body and may further cause reduction in fish population
Reduction in fishing harvests, affecting the incomes of fishermen is a third level
impact. Such impacts are characterized as socio-economic (third level)
impacts.

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Indirect impacts are usually linked closely with the project, and may have more profound
consequences on the environment than direct impacts.
Indirect impacts are more difficult to measure, but can ultimately be more important. Over time
they can affect largest geographical areas of the environment than anticipated.
Cumulative impact
Cumulative impact consists of an impact that is created as a result of the combination of
the project evaluated in the EIA together with other projects in the same vicinity
causing related impacts.

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Induced impacts
The cumulative impacts can be due to induced actions of projects and activities that
may occur if the action under assessment is implemented.
Eg: Excess growth may be induced in the zone of influence around the thermal power
plant, and in the process causing additional effects on air, water and other natural
ecosystems.

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