Further assessments

Environmental Impact Assessment

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process that focuses on the

environmental impact of a proposed activity. The EIA considers changes in
the natural or built environment, such as landscapes and ecosystems, which
may have impacts on air, land, soil, water, fish, species, flora, and whole
ecosystems or catchments. The assessment also needs to consider the
duration of the impacts, whether they are short-term, long-term or cumulative,
and when they occur - during construction, operations, or post-
operations/construction.

A hydraulic fracture set in reservoir.

Furthermore, the EIA may include climate change impact assessments, and
noise and dust assessments, especially when construction and development
activities could cause additional impacts. For instance, fracking for gas has
significant environmental impacts such as erosion, sedimentation, risk of
aquatic contamination, chemical spills, habitat fragmentation, and reduction of
surface waters due to lowering groundwater levels, among others. If you
would like to better understand what an EIS looks like, the following link is the
final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Effects of Oil and Gas
Activities in the Arctic Ocean [1].

Noise assessments

Sound level monitoring is part of the prevention of environmental impacts at

industrial developments.

Noise assessments are also critical in the EIA process. Noise is defined as a
vibration of any frequency that may cause environmental nuisance or harm,
affect human health and well-being, or impact species, such as marine
mammals. Blasting, drilling, crushing, grinding, milling, and wood chopping
are typical sources of noise, and noise assessments may be necessary for
proposed activities like mines, ports, drilling sites, proposed roads, or airports.
Assessments to evaluate the impact of dust and noise resulting from such
developments can also be conducted as part of a social impact assessment
within the HIA. This highlights the inter-connectedness of the assessment
processes.
Economic impact assessment

Development of interstate highways in the United States brought decay to

many of its towns along Route 66.

Economic Impact Assessment is another aspect that assesses the economic

impacts of the project both positively and negatively. An economic
assessment looks at predictions of spending on goods, services, and taxes
during the project, the distribution of income, the direct and indirect
employment it provides, and impacts on house prices, property value, rental
values, and wages. Economic impacts are evaluated in the short and long
term and whether or not they are cumulative. In some cases, economic
assessments will include an evaluation of the impacts on the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) for large projects.

Visual amenity assessments

An open cut gold mining operation in remote Australia showing pit and spoil
piles.
Visual amenity assessments consider the impact of the proposed activity on
the visual amenity of the area. For example, a mine will remove trees and
create deep impacts on the landscape, and an offshore wind farm may affect
the view of many who have bought houses in the area. In these cases, an
assessment will be made of the visual impacts, and vantage points of the
project, sensitive visual receptors, and visual values will be evaluated using
photographic (including aerial) and mapping techniques. These assessments
can be used as part of an economic (estimating impacts on value), social,
cultural, or economic assessment.

References

1. Fisheries, N. (2022). Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Effects

of Oil and Gas Activities in the Arctic Ocean | NOAA Fisheries. [online] NOAA.
Available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-
protection/environmental-impact-statement-eis-effects-oil-and-gas-activities.