EA (Environmental Impact Assessment)

EA ( Environmental Impact Assessment )

= EA =

Environmental Impact Assessment

 is the assessment of the environmental consequences (positive and negative) of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action.

 An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is mandatory for most projects likely to influence our environment. Environmental assessments may be governed by rules of administrative procedure regarding public participation and documentation of decision making, and may be subject to judicial review.

 The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision makers consider the environmental impacts when deciding whether or not to proceed with a project. 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". EIAs are unique in that they do not require adherence to a predetermined environmental outcome, but rather they require decision makers to account for environmental values in their decisions and to justify those decisions in light of detailed environmental studies and public comments on the potential environmental impacts.

General and industry specific assessment methods are available including:

1. Industrial products - Product environmental life cycle analysis (LCA) is used for identifying and measuring the impact of industrial products on the environment. These EIAs consider activities related to extraction of raw materials, ancillary materials, equipment; production, use, disposal and ancillary equipment.
2. Genetically modified plants - Specific methods available to perform EIAs of genetically modified organisms include GMP-RAM and INNOVA
3. Fuzzy logic - is a form of many-valued logic in which the truth values of variables may be any real number between 0 and 1. It is employed to handle the concept of partial truth, where the truth value may range between completely true and completely false.By contrast, in Boolean logic, the truth values of variables may only be the integer values 0 or 1. Furthermore, when linguistic variables are used, these degrees may be managed by specific (membership) functions. EIA methods need measurement data to estimate values of impact indicators. However, many of the environment impacts cannot be quantified, e.g. landscape quality, lifestyle quality and social acceptance. Instead information from similar EIAs, expert judgment and community sentiment are employed. Approximate reasoning methods known as fuzzy logic can be used.[9] A fuzzy arithmetic approach has also been proposed [10] and implemented using a software tool (TDEIA)

The Environmental Assessment is a concise public document prepared by the federal action agency that serves to:

1. Briefly provide sufficient evidence and analysis for determining whether to prepare an EIS or a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)
2. Demonstrate compliance with the act when no EIS is required
3. Facilitate the preparation of an EIS when a FONSI cannot be demonstrated

The Environmental Assessment includes a brief discussion of the purpose and need of the proposal and of its alternatives as required by NEPA 102(2)(E), and of the human environmental impacts resulting from and occurring to the proposed actions and alternatives considered practicable, plus a listing of studies conducted and agencies and stakeholders consulted to reach these conclusions. The action agency must approve an EA before it is made available to the public. The EA is made public through notices of availability by local, state, or regional clearing houses, often triggered by the purchase of a public notice advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the proposed activity area.

What are the stages of Environmental Impact Assessment?

There are 5 broad stages to the process:

Screening

Determining whether a proposed project falls within the remit of the Regulations, whether it is likely to have a significant effect on the environment and therefore requires an assessment.

Scoping

Determining the extent of issues to be considered in the assessment and reported in the Environmental Statement. The applicant can ask the local planning authority for its opinion on what information needs to be included (which is called a ‘scoping opinion’).

Preparing an Environmental Statement

Where it is decided that an assessment is required, the applicant must prepare and submit an Environmental Statement. The Environmental Statement must include at least the information reasonably required to assess the likely significant environmental effects of the development listed in regulation 18(3) and comply with regulation 18(4).

To help the applicant, public authorities must make available any relevant environmental information in their possession.

To ensure the completeness and quality of the Environmental Statement, the developer must ensure that it is prepared by competent experts. The Environmental Statement must be accompanied by a statement from the developer outlining the relevant expertise or qualifications of such experts.

Making a planning application and consultation

The Environmental Statement (and the application for development to which it relates) must be publicised electronically and by public notice. The statutory ‘consultation bodies’ and the public must be given an opportunity to give their views about the proposed development and the Environmental Statement.

Screening

Determining whether a proposed project falls within the remit of the Regulations, whether it is likely to have a significant effect on the environment and therefore requires an assessment.

Scoping

Determining the extent of issues to be considered in the assessment and reported in the Environmental Statement. The applicant can ask the local planning authority for its opinion on what information needs to be included (which is called a ‘scoping opinion’).

Preparing an Environmental Statement

Where it is decided that an assessment is required, the applicant must prepare and submit an Environmental Statement. The Environmental Statement must include at least the information reasonably required to assess the likely significant environmental effects of the development listed in regulation 18(3) and comply with regulation 18(4).

To help the applicant, public authorities must make available any relevant environmental information in their possession.

To ensure the completeness and quality of the Environmental Statement, the developer must ensure that it is prepared by competent experts. The Environmental Statement must be accompanied by a statement from the developer outlining the relevant expertise or qualifications of such experts.

Making a planning application and consultation

The Environmental Statement (and the application for development to which it relates) must be publicised electronically and by public notice. The statutory ‘consultation bodies’ and the public must be given an opportunity to give their views about the proposed development and the Environmental Statement.