Environmen

tal
Engineering
Environmen
tal Impact A
ssessment
 Book & Author
0 Book: Environmental Engineering Handbook,
Chapter 2
0 Author: Larry W. Canter
 INTRODUCTION
0 The EIA process is typically applied to proposed projects.
0 Key information needed in applying the EIA process to a proposed project includes items
such as:
1. A description of the type of project and how it functions or operates in a technical context.
2. The proposed location for the project and why it was chosen.
3. The time period required for project construction.
4. The potential environmental requirements or outputs (stresses) from the project during its
operational phase, including land requirements, air pollution emissions, water use and water
pollutant emissions, and waste generation and disposal needs.
5. The identified current need for the proposed project in the location where it is proposed
(this need could be related to housing, flood control, industrial development, economic
development, and many other requirements); project need must be addressed as part of the
environmental documentation.
6. Any alternatives which have been considered, with generic alternatives for projects
including site location, project size, project design features and pollution control measures,
and project timing relative to construction and operational issues; project need in relation to
the proposed project size should be clearly delineated; the range of alternatives may be
limited due to the individual preferences of project sponsors, primary focus on traditional
engineering solutions, and time pressures for decision making.
 Evaluating The Intensity Of Impacts
0 The following should be considered in evaluating intensity:
1. Impacts that may be both beneficial and adverse (A significant effect may exist even if the
federal agency believes that on balance the effect will be beneficial).
2. The degree to which the proposed action affects public health or safety.
3. Unique characteristics of the geographic area, such as proximity to historic or cultural resources,
park lands, prime farmlands, wetlands, wild and scenic rivers, or ecologically critical areas.
4. The degree to which the effects on the quality of the human environment are likely to be
controversial.
5. The degree to which the possible effects on the human environment are uncertain or involve
unique or unknown risks.
6. The degree to which the action may establish a precedent for future actions with significant
effects or represents a decision in principle about a future consideration.
7. Whether the action is related to other actions with individually insignificant but cumulatively
significant impacts (Significance exists if a cumulatively significant impact on the environment is
anticipated. Significance cannot be avoided by terming an action temporary or by breaking it down
into component parts).
8. The degree to which the action may adversely affect districts, sites, highways, structures, or
objects listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places or may cause loss
or destruction of significant scientific, cultural, or historical resources.
9. The degree to which the action may adversely affect an endangered or threatened species or its
habitat that has been determined to be critical under the Endangered Species Act.
10. Whether the action threatens a violation of federal, state, or local law or requirements imposed
for the protection of the environment.
 Public Paticipation & Scoping
0 Public participation can be achieved in the EIA process in three ways:
1. Via an early scoping process to determine the scope of issues to be addressed
and to identify the significant issues related to a proposed action.
2. Via a public participation program during the EIA study.
3. Via the review process for draft Environmental Impact statements (EISs).
0 Figure shows the public participation in environmental impact assessment.
Scoping refers to a process and not to an event or meeting.
0 Some suggestions for planning and implementing the scoping process include:
1. Start scoping after sufficient information is available on the proposed action.
2. Prepare an information packet.
3. Design a unique scoping process for each project, plan, program, and policy.
4. Issue a public notice.
5. Carefully plan and conduct all public meetings.
6. Develop a plan for using received comments.
7. Allocate EIS work assignments and establish a completion schedule.
Public Paticipation & Scoping
 Categorising The Impacts
0 Impacts resulting from proposed actions can be considered in one
or more of the following categories:
• Beneficial or detrimental
• Naturally reversible or irreversible
• Reparable via management practices or irreparable
• Short term or long term
• Temporary or continuous
• Construction or operational phase
• Local, regional, national, or global
• Accidental or planned (recognized beforehand)
• Direct or primary, or indirect or secondary
• Cumulative or single
 Preparation Of Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)
0 A sequenced approach is achieved by applying the following questions in
the order shown (the answers to any question can be used to determine if
an EIS should be prepared):
1. Does the proposed project, plan, program, or policy cause impacts that
exceed the definition of significant impacts as contained in pertinent laws,
regulations, or executive orders?
2. Is a quantitative threshold criterion exceeded in terms of project, plan, or
program type, size, or cost?
3. Is the project, plan, or program located in a protected habitat or land-use
zone, or within an exclusionary zone relative to land usage? Is the
environmental resource to be affected a significant resource?
4. Is the proposed project, plan, program, or policy in compliance with
environmental laws, regulations, policies, and executive orders?
5. What is the anticipated percentage change in environmental factors from
the proposed project, plan, or program, and will the changes be within the
normal variability of the factors? What is the sensitivity of the environment
to the anticipated changes; or is the environment susceptible or resilient to
changes? Will the carrying capacity of the resource be exceeded?
 Preparation Of Environmental Impact
Statements (EIS)
6. Are there sensitive human, living, or inanimate receptors to the
environmental stresses from the proposed project, plan, program, or
policy?
7. Can the anticipated negative impacts be mitigated in a cost-effective
manner?
8. What is the professional judgment of experts in the substantive areas,
such as water quality, ecology, planning, landscape architecture, and
archaeology?
9. Are there public concerns due to the impact risks of the proposed
project, plan, program, or policy?
10. Are there cumulative impacts which should be considered, or impacts
related to future phases of the proposed action and associated cumulative
impacts?
 How To Reduce Negative Impacts?
0 One thing that can be done in conjunction with identified significant negative
impacts is to consider appropriate mitigation measures to reduce negative
impacts within reasonable environmental and economic constraints. Mitigation
includes:
1. Avoiding the impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of an
action.
2. Minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its
implementation.
3. Rectifying the impact by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected
environment.
4. Reducing or eliminating the impact over time by preservation and
maintenance operations during the life of the action.
5. Compensating for the impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or
environments.
0 These measures should be used in sequence or ease of application, beginning
with avoiding the impact.
0 Negative impacts fall into three categories: insignificant, significant but
mitigable, or significant but not mitigable.
EIA
METHODS
 EIA METHODS
0 Based on the information in Table 2.2.1, the following observations
can be made:
1. Each type of method has potential usefulness in more than one EIA
study activity.
2. Each EIA activity has three or more method types which are
potentially useful.
3. In a given EIA study, several types of methods will probably be used
even though the study may not completely document all of the methods
used. Several reviews of actual method adoption in the EIA process have
suggested lack of widespread usage; however, this usage probably
reflects a focus on a few of the types of methods (such as matrices or
checklists), and not the more inclusive list of methods contained in
Table.
4. Each of the types of methods have advantages and limitations;
examples of these for checklists, decision-focused checklists, matrices,
and networks are described in subsequent sections.
 EIA METHODS
5. While numerous types of methods have been developed, and additional methods
are being developed and tested, no universal method can be applied to all project
types in all environmental settings. An all-purpose method is unlikely to be
developed due to lack of technical information as well as the need for exercising
subjective judgment about predicted impacts in the environmental setting where
the potential project may occur. Accordingly, the most appropriate perspective is to
consider methods as tools which can be used to aid the impact assessment process.
In that sense, every method should be project- and location-specific, with the basic
concepts derived from existing methods. These methods can be called ad hoc
methods.
6. Methods do not provide complete answers to all questions related to the impacts
of a potential project or set of alternatives. Methods are not “cookbooks” in which
a successful study is achieved by meeting the requirements of them. Methods must
be selected based on appropriate evaluation and professional judgment, and they
must be used with the continuous application of judgment relative to data input as
well as analysis and interpretation of results.
7. Methods which are simpler in terms of data and personnel resources
requirements, and in technical complexity, are probably more useful in the EIA
process.
 CHECKLIST FOR ADDRESSING AND SUMMARIZING ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS

Land Form Will the project result in:

0 Unstable slopes or embankments?
0 Extensive disruption to or displacement of the soil?
0 Impact to land classified as prime or unique farmland?
0 Changes in ground contours, shorelines, stream channels,
or river banks?
0 Destruction, covering, or modification of unique physical
features?
0 Increased wind or water erosion of soils?
0 Foreclosure on future uses of site on a long-term basis?
Air/Climatology Will the project result in:
0 Air pollutant emissions which will exceed federal or state
standards or cause deterioration of ambient air quality
(e.g., radon gas)?
0 Objectionable odors?
0 Alteration of air movements, humidity, or temperature?
0 Emissions of hazardous air pollutants regulated under the
Clean Air Act?
 CHECKLIST FOR ADDRESSING AND SUMMARIZING ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS

Water Will the project result in:

0 Discharge to a public water system?
0 Changes in currents or water movements in marine or
fresh water?
0 Changes in absorption rates, drainage patterns, or the
rate and amount of surface water runoff?
0 Alterations to the course or flow of flood waters?
0 Impoundment, control, or modifications of any body of
water equal to or greater than ten acres in surface area?
0 Discharges into surface waters or alteration of surface
water quality including, but not limited to, temperature
or turbidity?
0 Alteration of the direction or rate of flow of ground waters?
0 Alterations in groundwater quality?
0 Contamination of public water supplies?
0 Violation of State Stream Quality Standards, if applicable?
0 Location in a riverine or coastal floodplain?
0 Exposure of people or property to water-related hazards
such as flooding?
 CHECKLIST FOR ADDRESSING AND SUMMARIZING ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS

Water Will the project result in:

0 Location in a state’s coastal zone and subject to consistency
with the State Coastal Zone Management Plan?
0 Impact on or construction in a wetland or inland floodplain?
Solid Waste Will the project:
0 Generate significant solid waste or litter?
Noise Will the project:
0 Increase existing noise levels?
0 Expose people to excessive noise?
Plant Life Will the project:
0 Change the diversity or productivity of species or number
of any species of plants (including trees, shrubs, grass,
crops, microflora, and aquatic plants)?
0 Reduce the numbers or affect the habitat of any state or
federally designated unique, rare, or endangered species of plants?
0 Introduce new species of plant into the area or create a
barrier to the normal replenishment of existing species?
0 Reduce acreage or create damage to any agricultural crop?
 CHECKLIST FOR ADDRESSING AND SUMMARIZING ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS

Animal Life Will the project:

0 Reduce the habitat or numbers of any state or federally
designated unique, rare, or endangered species of
animals?
0 Introduce new species of animals into an area or create
a barrier to the migration or movement of animals or fish?
0 Cause attraction, entrapment, or impingement of animal life?
0 Harm existing fish and wildlife habitats?
0 Cause emigration resulting in human–wildlife interaction
problems?
Land Use Will the project:
0 Substantially alter the present or planned use of an area?
0 Impact a component of the National Park system, the
National Wildlife Refuge system, the National Wild
and Scenic River system, the National Wilderness
system, or National Forest land?
 CHECKLIST FOR ADDRESSING AND SUMMARIZING ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS

Natural Resources Will the project:

0 Increase the use rate of any natural resource?
0 Substantially deplete any nonreusable natural resource?
0 Be located in an area designated as or being considered
for wilderness, wild and scenic river, national park, or ecological preserve?
Energy Will the project?
0 Use substantial amounts of fuel or energy?
0 Substantially increase the demand on existing sources of energy?
Transportation and Traffic Circulation Will the project result in:
0 Movement of additional vehicles?
0 Effects on existing parking facilities or demands for new
parking?
0 Substantial impact on existing transportation system(s)?
0 Alterations to present patterns of circulation or movement
of people or goods?
0 Increased traffic hazards to motor vehicles, bicyclists, or pedestrians?
0 Construction of new roads?
 CHECKLIST FOR ADDRESSING AND SUMMARIZING ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS

0 Public Service Will the project have an effect on,

or result in, a need for new or altered governmental
services in any of the following areas:
0 Fire protection?
0 Schools?
0 Other governmental services?
Utilities Will the project result in a need for new
systems or alterations to the following utilities:
0 Power and natural gas?
0 Communications systems?
0 Water?
0 Sewer or septic tanks?
0 Storm sewers?
Population Will the project:
0 Alter the location or distribution of human population
in the area?
 CHECKLIST FOR ADDRESSING AND SUMMARIZING ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS

Accident Risk Does the project:

0 Involve the risk of explosion or release of potentially
hazardous substances including oil, pesticides,
chemicals, radiation, or other toxic substances in the
event of an accident or “upset” condition?
Human Health Will the project:
0 Create any health hazard or potential health hazard?
0 Expose people to potential health hazards?
Economic Will the project:
0 Have any adverse effect on local or regional economic conditions,
e.g., tourism, local income levels, land values, or employment?
Community Reaction Is the project:
0 Potentially controversial?
0 In conflict with locally adopted environmental plans and
goals?
 CHECKLIST FOR ADDRESSING AND SUMMARIZING ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS

Aesthetics Will the project:

0 Change any scenic vista or view open to the public?
0 Create an aesthetically offensive site open to the public
view (e.g., out of place with character or design of
surrounding area)?
0 Significantly change the visual scale or character of the
vicinity?
Archaeological, Cultural, and Historical Will the project:
0 Alter archaeological, cultural, or historical sites, structures,
objects, or buildings, either in or eligible for inclusion
in the National Register
Hazardous Waste Will the project:
0 Involve the generation, transport, storage or disposal of
any regulated hazardous waste (e.g., asbestos, if
demolition or building alterations is involved)?
 TECHNIQUES FOR IMPACT PREDICTION
0 A key technical element in the EIA process is the prediction of
impacts (effects) for both the without-project and with-project
conditions.
0 Numerous technical approaches can be used. These approaches
include:
1. Adoption of forecasts made by other agencies or groups.
2. Use of scenarios based on differing assumptions regarding resources
and plans.
3. Use of expert group judgment via the conduction of formalized
Delphi studies or the use of the nominal group process.
4. Extrapolation approaches based upon the use of trend analysis and
simple models of environmental components.
5. Analogy and comparative analyses which involve the use of look-
alike resources and projects and the application of information from
such look-alike conditions to the planning effort.
 TECHNIQUES FOR IMPACT PREDICTION
0 METHODS USED IN 0 K-theory
PREDICTIVE TECHNIQUES 0 long-range transport
FOR DIFFERENT EFFECTS 0 long-term prediction
(ENVIRONMENTAL 0 empirical models
RESOURCES LIMITED 1982) HIGHER-ORDER EFFECTS
Atmospheric Effects 0 Mathematical models
SOURCES 0 simple dilution models for
0 Emission factor techniques soils and water
0 Empirical techniques 0 pathway models for
EFFECTS ON AIR QUALITY 0 human exposure
0 Experimental methods 0 empirical models
0 wind tunnels 0 dose effect
0 water channels 0 survey techniques
0 Mathematical models 0 inventory technique
0 roll-back models
0 dispersion models
0 simple box
0 Gaussian plume
 TECHNIQUES FOR IMPACT PREDICTION
Aquatic Effects 0 lakes
SOURCES 0 river-reservoir systems
0 Simple steady-state run-off models 0 simple mixing models
0 Complex dynamic run-off models 0 dissolved oxygen models
0 Accidental spills 0 steady-state estuary models
HYDRAULIC EFFECTS 0 complex coastal waters
0 Experimental models 0 dispersion models
0 hydraulic models HIGHER-ORDER EFFECTS
0 Mathematical models 0 Experimental models
0 dynamic models 0 bioassay
EFFECTS ON WATER QUALITY 0 Mathematical models
0 Experimental methods 0 population, productivity, and
0 hydraulic models nutrient cycling models
0 in situ tracer experiments 0 partition models
0 Mathematical models for rivers 0 empirical models
0 estuaries 0 Survey techniques
0 coastal waters 0 inventory techniques
 TECHNIQUES FOR IMPACT PREDICTION
Subsurface Effects 0 steady-state dispersion
SOURCES 0 complex models
0 Simple leachate flow models 0 Evaluation techniques
(Darcy’s Law) EFFECTS ON SOILS
0 Simple leachate quality models 0 Mathematical models
(Darcy’s Law) 0 mixing models
0 empirical 0 simple steady-state model
HYDRAULIC EFFECTS 0 complex models
0 Experimental models 0 empirical models
0 field tests Effects on Plants and Animals
0 Mathematical models 0 Mathematical models
0 steady-state dispersion models 0 population, productivity, and
0 complex models nutrient cycling models
EFFECTS ON 0 Survey techniques
GROUNDWATER QUALITY 0 evaluation techniques
0 Experimental methods 0 inventory techniques
0 in situ tracer experiments

0 Mathematical models
 TECHNIQUES
Effects on Landscape
FOR IMPACT PREDICTION
0 Stationary sources
0 Experimental methods SOURCES
0 still 2-D models 0 Emission models
0 moving 2-D models ACOUSTIC EFFECTS
0 3-D models 0 Experimental methods
0 Mathematical models 0 physical models
0 empirical models 0 Mathematical models
0 Survey techniques 0 steady-state ambient sound
0 evaluation methods and noise models
0 visibility techniques HIGHER-ORDER EFFECTS
0 inventory techniques 0 Mathematical models
Acoustic Effects 0 empirical annoyance models
ACTIVITY 0 Survey techniques
0 Mobile sources 0 inventory techniques
0 roads ACCIDENTAL EFFECTS
0 railways 0 Hazard and operability studies
0 airports 0 Event and fault tree analysis
0 Consequence modelling
 TECHNIQUES FOR IMPACT PREDICTION
SYSTEMATIC GROUPING OF
PREDICTION TECHNIQUES
(ENVIRONMENTAL
RESOURCES LIMITED 1982)
Experimental Methods
0 Physical models
0 illustrative models
0 working models
0 Field experiments
0 Laboratory experiments
Mathematical Models
0 Empirical models
0 site-specific empirical models
0 generalized empirical models
0 Internally descriptive models
0 emission factor models
0 roll-back models
0 simple mixing models
0 steady-state dispersion models
0 complex mathematical models
Survey Techniques
0 Inventory techniques
0 Evaluation techniques
0 Visibility techniques
DECISION-FOCUSED CHECKLISTS
TRADEOFF ANALYSIS FOR DECISION
0 The following approaches can be used to complete the tradeoff matrix in
Table:
1. Qualitative approach: Descriptive, synthesized, and integrated information
on each alternative relative to each decision factor is presented in the
matrix.
2. Quantitative approach: Quantitative, synthesized, and integrated
information on each alternative relative to each decision factor is displayed
in the matrix.
3. Ranking, rating, or scaling
approach:
The qualitative or quantitative
information on each alternative
is summarized via the
assignment of a rank, rating, or
scale value relative to each
decision factor (the rank or
rating or scale value is
presented in the matrix).
DECISION-FOCUSED CHECKLISTS
4. Weighting approach: The importance weight of each decision factor
relative to each other decision factor is considered, with the resultant
discussion of the information on each alternative. (qualitative;
quantitative; or ranking, rating, or scaling) being presented in view
of the relative importance of the decision factors.
5. Weighting-ranking, -rating, or -scaling approach: The importance
weight for each decision factor is multiplied by the ranking, rating,
or scaling of each alternative, then the resulting products for each
alternative are summed to develop an overall composite index or
score for each alternative; the index may take the form of:
DECISION-FOCUSED CHECKLISTS
DECISION-FOCUSED CHECKLISTS
 PREPARATION OF WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION
0 The broad topics included in an EA prepared to meet the requirements are:
• Need for the proposal
• Description of alternatives
• Environmental impacts of proposed action and alternatives
• List of agencies and persons consulted
0 Basic principles of technical writing must be applied in written
documentation. These principles can be used in both planning the document
and preparing written materials. Five such principles are:
1. Always have in mind a specific reader, and assume that this reader is
intelligent, but uninformed.
2. Before you start to write, decide the purpose of your report; make sure that
every paragraph, sentence, and word makes a clear contribution to that
purpose, and makes it at the right time.
3. Use language that is simple, concrete, and familiar.
4. At the beginning and end of every section, check your writing according to
this principle: First, tell your readers what you are going to tell them, then tell
them, and then tell them what you have told them.
5. Make your report visually attractive.