EIA Lecture

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ASSESSMENT
Basic Steps in EIA
ENE802
Dr. Muhammad Fahim Khokhar

The EIA Process
Identification of Need
Proposal Description
Screening
EIA Required Initial Environmental No EIA

Examination
Scoping Public Involvement
Assessing
Impact identification Impact analysis/
prediction, Impact significance
Mitigation Public involvement typically occurs

Redesign at these points.
Planning for impact management
Reporting
Within
90 Days Reviewing
Resubmit Document quality Public Involvement
Stakeholders input
Proposal acceptability
Redesign Within 45 Days

Decision-making
+ information from this process
contributes to effective future EIA
Not-Approved Approved
Monitoring + EIA audit and evaluation

Impact management
The EIA Process
1.Need Identification
• Need & economic feasibility
• a systematic process to identify,
predict and evaluate the
environmental effects of
proposed actions and projects
2.Proposal Development
The EIA Process
3. SCREENING
 This section introduces the different procedures and

methods for identifying whether or not an EIA/IEE is
required for a proposal.
 It examines their relative strengths and weaknesses, and
allows participants to gain initial familiarity with the
concept of impact ”significance” and its importance in
triggering the right level of EIA review.
 Project lists with/without thresholds
 Exclusion lists
 Schedule-1,2,3, Sec-12 EP Act 1997
Thresholds versus case-by-case approach to
screening:
Advantages Disadvantages
Thresholds
Simple to use Place arbitrary, inflexible rules on a
variable environment (unless
tiered)
Quick to use; more certainty Less room for common sense or
good judgement
Consistent between locations May be or become inconsistent

with relevant neighbours
Consistent between decisions Difficult to set and, once set,

within locations difficult to change
Consistent between project types Lead to a proliferation of projects

lying just below the thresholds
Thresholds versus case-by-case approach to
screening:
Advantages Disadvantages
Case by Case
Allows common sense and Likely to be complex and
good judgment ambiguous
Flexible—can incorporate Likely to be slow and costly
variety in project and
environment
Can evolve (and improve) Open to abuse by decision-makers
easily because of political or financial
interests
Open to poor judgment of decision-
makers Likely to be swayed by
precedent and therefore lose
flexibility
An Initial Environmental
Examination (IEE)
 Proposal description and identification of
potential environmental impacts
 Resolution of community concerns, if any.
 Defining mitigating measures against
potential adverse impacts and enhancing
potential benefits
 Outlining environmental monitoring and
management plans
4. Scoping-
What is it?
 Defining
- boundaries of the EIA study area and extent of
investigations
- significant effects and factors to be considered
 Highlighting
- the necessary information for decision- making
- significant public and private concerns
 Identifying and presenting

- the environmental concerns and alternatives to
facilitate decision making
SCOPING
 Scoping should begin with the identification of
individuals, communities, local authorities and statutory
consultees likely to be affected by the project:
 Other issues could include:
 particularly valued environmental attributes;
 those impacts considered of particular concern to the
affected parties;
 the methodology that should be used to predict and
evaluate different impacts;
 the scale at which those impacts should be
considered;1
 broad alternatives that might be considered.
 Reference should be made to relevant national,
regional and local development plans, subject plans
and government policies and guidelines,
Objectives of scoping
 Establish consultation procedures with

potentially affected people
 Identify the possible environmental and
socio-economic impacts
 Incorporate local values into project design
 Evaluate existing & potential concerns
 Define the boundaries of the EIA study
 Determine analysis and consultation
procedures
 Establish the terms of reference
 Consider reasonable and practical
alternatives.
5. Assessing
 Identification and detailed analysis of

potential impacts and alternatives including
the alternative of ‘No activity’.
 Defining short-term / long term benefits
and/or implications of the project
 Determining significance of impacts or
acceptability.
Aims and Objectives of Assessment
General aim of assessment is to ensure that all
potentially significant environmental impacts
(adverse or favorable) are identified and taken
into account in the EIA process. Specific aims
may include:
• to ensure compliance with regulations;
• to provide a comprehensive coverage of a
full range of impacts, including social,
economic, physical and biological
• to distinguish between positive and
negative, large and small, long-term and
short-term, reversible and irreversible
impacts;
• to identify secondary, indirect and
cumulative impacts as well as direct
impacts;
Aims and Objectives of Assessment
• to distinguish between significant and

insignificant impacts;
• to allow a comparison of alternative
development proposals;
• to consider impacts within the
constraints of an area’s carrying capacity;
• to incorporate qualitative as well as
quantitative information;
• to be easy and economical to use;
• to be unbiased and to give consistent
results;
• to be of use in summarizing and
presenting impacts in the EIS.
Impact Dimensions
 nature- Social, chemical, physical,

biological etc
 magnitude- How much significant

 extent – short term, long term
 timing & likelihood – about when
and why?
 reversibility
6. Alternatives & Mitigation
 Finding better ways of doing things

 Minimizing or eliminating adverse
impacts
 Enhancing project benefits
 Protecting public and individual rights
to compensation
Alternatives & Mitigation
 the “no action” option,

 alternative locations,
 alternative scales of the project,
 alternative processes or equipment,
 alternative site layouts,
 alternative operating conditions and
 alternative ways of dealing with
environmental impacts
16
2/20/2019
Effective Mitigation
requires a clear understanding of:
 what is the problem?

 when the problem will occur and can it
be addressed before it is significant?
 where the problem should be addressed
 how the problem should be addressed
 who stands to gain or lose
Mitigation Options
 alternative ways of meeting
the need
 changes in planning and design
 improving monitoring and
management
 monetary compensation
 replacing, relocating,
rehabilitating
Making Mitigation & Monitoring effective
For mitigation and monitoring to be effective, it must be:
Targeted.
Realistic. Funded.
Mitigation
M&M must be Funding for M&M
measures &
achievable within must be adequate
indicators must
time, resources & over the life of the
correspond to
capabilities. activity
impacts.
Considered early. Considered early.

Preventive mitigation is If M&M budgets are not
usually cheapest and most programmed at the design
effective. Prevention must be stage, they are almost always
built in at the design stage. inadequate!
19
Mitigation and Monitoring Plans
 Mitigation and monitoring

requirements are set out in
Environmental Mitigation and
Monitoring Plans (EMMPs)
 Also called Environmental Management Plans, or
Mitigation and Monitoring Plans
 Effective mitigation and monitoring requires

IMPLEMENTING the Mitigation and Monitoring Plans
20
7. Public involvement
 keeping all stakeholders posted

 Knowing and including public views,
concerns and values in the project design
 maximizing project benefits
 enhancing public confidence
 adding transparency and accountability in
decision- making
 reducing conflict
21
8.Effective Reporting
 assists in environmentally
friendly project planning
 facilitates decision
making
 helps the public to
understand
2/20/2019 22
9. Reviewing
• The step in the EIA

process that determines
whether the EIA report
is an adequate
assessment of the
environmental effects
• is of sufficient
relevance and quality
for decision- Making.
2/20/2019 23
10. Decisions
 Unconditional approval
 Conditional approval
 Approval subject to satisfactory results
of ongoing investigation
 Further investigation prior to re-
consideration
 Request for a supplementary, a
new, EIA report
2/20/2019 24
 rejection
11. MONITORING
 Collection of analysis data on

critical variables
 Repetitive observations,
measurements and recording of
date on sensitive environmental
variables and operational
parameters over a defined period
of time
25
2/20/2019

EIA Lecture

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

EIA Lecture

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

EIA Lecture

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Basic Steps in EIA

Dr. Muhammad Fahim Khokhar

EIA Required Initial Environmental No EIA

Scoping Public Involvement

Mitigation Public involvement typically occurs

Redesign Within 45 Days

Monitoring + EIA audit and evaluation

 This section introduces the different procedures and

Consistent between locations May be or become inconsistent

Consistent between decisions Difficult to set and, once set,

Consistent between project types Lead to a proliferation of projects

 Identifying and presenting

 Establish consultation procedures with

 Identification and detailed analysis of

• to distinguish between significant and

 nature- Social, chemical, physical,

 magnitude- How much significant

 Finding better ways of doing things

 the “no action” option,

 what is the problem?

For mitigation and monitoring to be effective, it must be:

Considered early. Considered early.

 Mitigation and monitoring

 Effective mitigation and monitoring requires

 keeping all stakeholders posted

• The step in the EIA

 Collection of analysis data on

You might also like