Ad hoc method of EIA

Introduction
 Meaning - For one particular occasion or use.

 Ad hoc method provides broad, qualitative information.

 Conclusions are stated in simple terms.

 No attempt is made to outline the actual impacts on specific

parameters that will be affected.

 Provides little, formal guidance for an impact assessment.

 A good example of an ad hoc method is a team of experts

assembled for a short time to conduct an EIA.
 Each expert's conclusions are based on a unique combination of
experience, training and intuition.

 While varying considerably with the team of experts, they usually

identify a broad area of impact rather defining specific parameters
which should be investigated or attempt a quantitative
assessment.

 These conclusions are assembled into a report.

 These methods are useful when time constraints and lack of

information require that the EIA must rely exclusively on expert
opinion.

 Ad-hoc measures seek short-term solutions to the immediate

crisis situations.
 Procedure
 Broad qualitative information about factors useful in the
comparative evaluation of alternative development actions is
presented.

 The information is stated in simple terms that are readily

understood by the lay person.

 No information about the cause-effect relationship between

project actions and environmental components is provided.

 The actual impacts on specific environmental components likely

to be affected by the project or those that may require further
investigation are not identified.
Evaluation of ad hoc method
Drawbacks
 Ad hoc methods are not really methods as they do not structure
the problem so it is more amenable to systematic analysis.

 The problem with the exercise of expert judgement in an ad hoc

manner is that it is characterized by a process of assessment that
can never be replicated, thus making it difficult to review and
critique the conclusions in the EIA.

 EIA usually requires the collection and analysis of considerable

information about the economic, social, and biophysical
environment.
 Methods are needed to organize this information for analysis and
presentation — ad hoc methods fail to do this in any meaningful
way.

 It provides minimal guidance for impact analysis while

suggesting broad areas of possible impacts.
Checklists are standard lists of the types of impacts
associated with a particular type of project.

Checklists methods are primarily use for organizing

information or ensuring that no potential impact is
overlooked

Checklists consist of a list of environmental parameters

to be investigated for potential impacts.
Earth: mineral resources; construction material; soils; land form; force fields
and background radiation; unique physical features;

Water: surface (rivers, lakes and reservoirs, estuaries); coastal seas and
ocean, underground; quality; temperature; recharge; snow, ice, and
permafrost;

Atmosphere: quality (gases, particles); climate (micro, macro); temperature;

Flora: trees; shrubs; grass; crops; microflora; aquatic plants; endangered

species; barriers; corridors;

Fauna: birds; land animals including reptiles; fish and shellfish; benthic
organisms; insects; microfauna; endangered species; barriers; corridors;

Land use: wilderness and open space; wetlands; forestry; grazing;

agriculture; residential; commercial; industrial; mining and quarrying;

Recreation: hunting; fishing; boating; swimming; camping and hiking;

picnicking; resorts.
 Major reasons for using checklists

1. They are useful in summarizing information to make it

accessible to specialists from other fields, or to decision
makers who may have a limited amount of technical
knowledge.

2. Scaling checklists provide a preliminary level of

analysis; and

3. Weighting is a mechanism for incorporating information

about ecosystem functions.
There are four types of checklists

1. Simple Checklist:
A list of environmental parameters with no guidelines on
how they are to be

2. Descriptive Checklist:
Includes an identification of environmental parameters
and guidelines on how to measure data on particular
parameters.

3. Scaling Checklist:
Similar to a descriptive checklist, but with additional
information on subjective scaling of the parameters.

4. Scaling Weighting Checklist:

Similar to a scaling checklist, with additional
information for the subjective evaluation of each parameter with
respect to all the other parameters.
Simple checklist developed for the Huasai-Thale Noi Road Project

X=potential for type of impact ST=Short Term LT=Long Term

R=Reversible IR=Irreversible L=Local
W=Wide SI=Significant N=Normal * is Negligible
Evaluation of Simple Checklists
Evaluation of Simple Checklists contd..
Evaluation of weighting scaling checklists
Evaluation of weighting scaling checklists contd..
Types of scales commonly used in EIA methods

Data will be measured on nominal scales. Evaluative information is

normally measured on ordinal, interval , or ratio scales.
Advantages And Disadvantages of checklist method

Checklist Advantages Disadvantages

-simple • simple to • Do not distinguish

understand and between direct and
-ranking and use indirect impacts
weighting

• Do not link action

• Good Simple to and impact
understand and
use for site
selection and • The process of
priority setting incorporating
values can be
controversial
COST BENEFIT RATIO
 COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS (CBA)

 ALL DECISIONS BASED ON A COMMON FACTOR : MONEY

 TOTAL ENVTL COST – DAMAGE COST + CONTROL COST

 CBA : TRADE OFF BETWEEN TWO

DAMAGE
COST

TOTAL COST

COST
OPTIMAL CONTROL

CONTROL COST

LOW POLLUTION HEAVY POLLUTION

DAMAGE COST SAVED (D)

BENEFIT COST RATIO : -------------------------------------
CONTROL COST EXPENDED ( C )
CONTROL COST : EQUIPMENT COST, RELOCATION, SHUT
DOWN, MONITORING COSTS, R AND D

DAMAGE COST :  HEALTH LOSS, MATERIAL

DAMAGE, PROPERTY VALUE
REDUCED

 TANGIBLE/INTANGIBLE

QUANTIFICATION ? : (I) MARKET BASED

APPROACH
(ii) LOSS OF EARNINGS
APPROACH
WLD – WORK LOSS DAYS
RAD – RESTRICTED
ACTIVITY DAYS
 ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS OF INDIA’S
ECONOMIC DRIVE

[Ref : UNDP Human Development Report, 1998]

 Environmental Degradation Costs : 4.5% of GDP

$ 10 billion (Rs. 500 x 109)

 Urban air pollution : $ 1.3 billion

 Water degradation : $ 5.7 billion

 Soil Erosion : $ 2.4 billion

[83-63 hectares annually affected]

 Deforestation : $ 0.2 billion

[ 0.6% annually)
Benefits and Drawback of EIA
 EIA : FRIEND OR FOE?
EIA

BENEFITS PROBLEMS

* INTANGIBLE * SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT * EXCESSIVE DEMAND OF RESOURCES

* RESOURCE CONSERVATION * COSTLY DELAYS
* ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION * SUBJECTIVITY AND AMBIGUITY
* ENVIRONMENTALAWARENESS * ONLY CLEARANCE TOOL
* POLITICAL TOOL

* TANGIBLE * IDENTIFIES POTENTIAL COST SAVINGS * PROMOTES UNHEALTHY ISSUES

“POLLUTION NEW RESOURCE” * TOO MANY ROLE PLAYERS
* ENVTL. DATABASE
* GIVES TIMELY WARNING OF FINANCIAL/
REGULATORY/LITIGATION RISKS
* PROMOTES PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
* PROMOTES RESEARCH ON TECHNICAL ISSUES
* ENVIRONMENTAL ENHANCEMENT
Public Hearing in EIA
 Importance of Public Hearing in
EIA Process
 Involving public is one of the basic principles
of a successful EIA process.

 Public hearing provides an opportunity to

the directly affected people to express their
concerns and brings transparency in the
environmental clearance system.
 Public involvement is a part of almost all EIA
processes around the world. Public
involvement is via two ways.
 First is public consultation in which concerns
of the local people regarding the adverse
impacts of a project are defined and taken
into account in the EIA study.
 Second is public participation, which is more
interactive and intensive kind of public
involvement.
 The difference between public consultation
and public participation is that while former
is a passive process of asking the public
about their concerns in writing, later is more
intensive and involved active participation of
public.
 In other words, public consultation is
generally done in “listening mode” while
public participation goes a step ahead and
takes into account the dialogue, scrutiny,
consideration, response etc.
 Process of Public Hearing
 In our country, public involvement was
introduced in 1997 in the form of public
hearing.

 However, even today, the role of public is

very limited in India
 The process begins when SPCB issues
notice in at least two newspapers circulated
in the region. One of these newspapers
must be in local language. This notice
mentions the date, time and place of public
hearing.
 The public can hand over the written
suggestions, views, comments and
objections to SPCB within 30 days of
releasing such notice.
 The public is entitled to have access to the
executive summary containing salient
features of project both in local language
and English.

 They also have access to the EIA report

which can be obtained from office of district
collector or zilla parishad or SPCB office or
other departments dealing with
 The SPCB forms a public hearing panel that
has representative from SPCB, district
collector or his / her nominee,
representatives of state government dealing
with the project, maximum 3 representatives
of the local Panchayat / municipality and
maximum 3 senior citizens nominated by
district collector
 Once public hearing is over, the project
developer will get a NOC from SPCB and
submit application to the MoEF secretary to
get environmental clearance
 Projects exempted from public
hearing
 Small scale industrial undertakings located
in Notified or designed industrial areas/
industrial estates.
 Areas marked for industries under the
jurisdiction of industrial development
authorities.
 Widening and strengthening of highways
 Mining projects (major minerals) with lease
areas upto 25 hectares
 Units located in export processing zones
and special economic zones and

 Modernization of existing irrigation projects.

 MoEF is the nodal agency for environmental

clearance.
 Advantages of Public
Participation in EIA
 Provide data and information that is
essential for the assessment of impacts on
the physical and social environment

 Reduce conflicts through the early

identification of contentious issues

 Help to identify local citizens and groups

with special expertise
 Identify local and regional issues
 Provide historical perspective to current
environmental conditions
 Help to generate field data
 Provide criteria for evaluating the
significance of identified impacts
 Suggest forms and help organizing
mechanisms for public participation
 Help to define the scope of work and
schedule for the overall assessment process

 Provide a link between the assessment

team members and key organizations
 Identify and evaluate potential mitigation
measures
 Increase public confidence in the EIA
process.
 Disadvantages of Public
Participation in EIA
 Public participation can be time-consuming
and sometimes expensive.

 To do it effectively, organizations have to

build capacity and train staff.

 If done poorly, public participation processes

can result in, for example, loss of faith in the
agency.
 A negative experience of the process may
lead participants to have negative
perceptions of the outcome, and they may
be less likely to participate in future
processes.
Five “W”s of EIA
 THE FIVE W’S OF EIA
1) WHICH PROJECTS REQUIRE EIA?
“COST – EFFECTIVE”
2) WHEN TO DO EIA?
“BEFORE CRITICAL DECISIONS”
3) WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN EIA?
“DOCUMENTATION”
4) WHY TO DO EIA?
“END USE”
5) WHO SHOULD DO EIA?
“NO BIAS”
 EIS CONTENTS
1. SUMMARY
2. NEED FOR THE PROPOSED FACILITY
3. THE SITE AND SURROUNDINGS
3.1 LOCATION AND LAYOUT
3.2 LAND USE PATTERNS
3.3 WATER USE
3.4 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE
3.5 SOILS PROFILE
3.6 HYDROLOGY AND WATER QUALITY
3.7 METEOROLOGY AND AIR QUALITY
3.8 ECOLOGY
3.9 NOISE LEVEL
4. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ON
* PHYSICAL RESOURCES
* ECOLOGICAL RESOURCES
* QUALITY OF LIFE VALUES
* HUMAN USE VALUES
5. EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS OF IMPACTS
6. UNAVOIDABLE PROBABLE ADVERSE IMPACTS
7. MITIGATION MEASURES
8. ALTERNATIVES
9. MONITORING PLAN AND EMP
10. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
11. NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY