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The effects of actions that are not accounted for in the normal market
transactions need to be considered explicitly in the decision-making
processes on projects. These effects are to be identified, assessed, and
evaluated against the economic advantages arising out of a given action.
In this context, the environmental impact assessments / appraisals are
considered to be the first step in this process because they given an
opportunity to man to consider the effects of his actions on the environment.
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MEANING AND SCOPE OF ENVIRONMENT
The surrounding zone (the specific zone to be affected by the project), all natural
resources (physical and biological), and the human resources (people, economic
development and quality of life values).
This definition is comparatively more specific, focused, and clear cut than
the earlier one which was too general and unfocussed. This is more suited
to operationalize, quantify, and measure the environmental impacts of a
given action. The contentious issue in this definition is the surrounding
zone or the project vicinity. However, a distinction has to be made
between the “legal boundary” which is the area legal y occupied by a project,
and the “environmental boundary” which stretches much beyond the legal
boundary. In fact, this is he area around the project that likely to be affected
environmental y by the project operations. The extent of environmental boundary
for a project depends, among other things, on the diffusion factors like wind
speed and directions, elevations, etc. It varies from project to project and location
to location for the same project.
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MEANING AND SCOPE OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ASSESSMENT (EIA) AND STATEMENT (EIS)
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The EIS is a document prepared by an expert agency on the
environmental impact of a proposed action / project that significantly affects
the quality of environment. The EIS is used mainly as a tool for decision –
making. At times, the EIA and EIS are used interchangeably as synonyms. But
both are difference between the two is that the EIA is carried out by the expert
agency while the EIS as a tool is given to the decision – markers in different
formats. As a matter of fact, the EIS is the outcome of EIA. It is better to
consider the environmental consequences during the project planning and
design stage itself so as to avoid higher costs of future remedial actions by
prudent planning and early preventive measures.
Objectives of EIS
(b) To describe, measure, and assess the environmental effect that the
proposed project wil have on the ER / Vs (again, in as quantified a
manner as possible), including positive effects which enhance ER / Vs as wel
as the negative effects which impair them. Direct or indirect and short term or
long term effects are to be considered. This would also include the
description of the specific ways by which the project plan or design
wil minimize the adverse effects and maximize positive effects.
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Guidelines on the Scope and Contents of EIS / EIA
The following are the accepted points to be covered in an EIS study / report:
(b) The relationship of the proposed action to the land-use plans, policies and
controls in the affected area or the project – vicinity. It is necessary to gain a
complete understanding of the affected environment. What is the nature of
biophysical and socioeconomic characteristics that may be changed by the
action?
(c) The probable impacts of the proposed project on environment are a very
important aspect to be considered in details. It is necessary to project the
proposed action into the future and to determine the possible impacts on the
environmental attributes. The changes are to be quantified wherever
possible.
(d) Alternatives to the proposed action, including those not within the existing
authority / agency.
(e) Any probable adverse environmental effect that cannot be avoided and
stating how each avoidable impact wil be mitigated.
(f) The relationship between local short term uses of man’s environment and the
maintenance of and enhancement of long term productivity.
As seen by its purpose, scope and contents, the EIA is a very complex exercise
due to the fact that many and varied types of projects are proposed for an equal
y numerous and varied kinds of environmental settings. Each combination
of projects and the complex environmental settings results in a unique
cause-condition effect relationship with regard to their impacts. Therefore,
each combination must be studied individual y in order to accomplish a
comprehensive analysis.
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TYPES AND DIMENSIONS OF A PROJECT
Broadly, there are two types of projects. The firn of new wants and needs
in society. They ultimately promote consumerism in the society and thereby
increase the number of manufacturing projects. Thus, both are interrelated.
(a) the intended objectives / purpose – they are also cal ed stated goals /
benefits; and
(b) the unintended consequence. They are also cal ed externalities or social
costs which are unplanned, unwanted, and unanticipated. Environmental
management or planning is the study of the unintended consequence of
a project. Its purpose is to identity, examine, asses, and evaluate the likely
and probable impacts of a proposed project on environment and,
thereby, to work out the remedial action plans to minimize the incidence of
adverse impact. It is not anti-development nor is it against the
Aprojects. Its goal is development without damage or least damage.
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ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES / VALUE
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Environmental Attributes (EA).
They are: (a) air (b) water (c) land (d) ecology (e) sound (f) Human aspects (g)
economics and (h) resources. Each one can further be subdivided into different
related elements.
In the context of environmental appraisal of projects, one can fol ow either of the
classifications, viz., Environmental Resources / Values (ER / Vs) or the
Environmental Attributes (EA). As a matter of fact, they can be evaluated
and assessed individual y with respect to the impacts they receive or the
changes they undergo due to the proposed project. Since there wil be a variety
of types of impacts of varying degrees from a project, the decomposition of
environment unit into various quantifiable elements wil enable the analyst
to give focus and direction to his impact assessment analysis.
(a) Nature, size and type of the project: such as manufacturing, services,
agriculture, mining, logging, power, harbour, chemicals, sugar etc.
(b) Technology.
(c) Location / eco-region: such as urban or rural areas, coastal, river valley, forest
/ hil areas or any of the eco-systems as described earlier.
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APPROACH TO ENVIRONMENTAL FEASIBILITY
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Legal Requirements
th
27 Jan 1994 Notification of MoEF, GoI under the Environmental (Protection) Act
1986 – making environmental clearance mandatory for expansion/ modernisation
of any activity or setting up new projects listed under Schedule 1(29 industries)
th
14 Sept. 2006 Notification in supersession of earlier notification of 1994.
Site clearance in case of a few industries like mining etc. needed before project
preparation
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Amendments to 1994 Notification
4th Aug. 2003 – Location sensitivity: projects located in critically polluted areas;
within 15 kms. Of ecologically sensitive areas like sanctuaries,bio-reserves etc.
need clearance from MoEF.
7th July 2004 – environmental clearance made mandatory for construction and
industrial estates.
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EIA – CONCEPTS/ STAGES
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INTRODUCTION OF SCOPING PROCESS
Public consultation
Necessary for Category A, B1 except for 6 activities
SPCB to conduct public hearings for which procedure outlined
To ascertain view of local people
To gather written responses of interested parties like experts, NGOs
etc.
MoEF to display summary of EIA on website; full draft in public
reference place
Video-graphy of proceedings by SPCB
Appraisal
Of EIA to be done by Expert Committee at state or Central levels
Within 60 days, with recommendation to regulatory authority
Decision making
Regulatory authority to give decision within 45 days i.e 105 days of receipt
of final EIA/ application
Failing which, - default clearance
Post-clearance monitoring
Bi-annual compliance reports to regulating authority
Latest report to be displayed on website of regulating authority
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AIMS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL APPRAISAL (EA)
Legal Requirements and National Guidance
The aim of Environmental Appraisal is to demonstrate the environmental effects
of overall strategic land use decisions and to ensure potential environmental
effects have been considered consistently during the preparation of the Structure
Plan. It provides a strategic view of environmental impacts and it sets the
context for and complements the more detailed work on environmental
assessment of projects. Environmental Appraisal is being increasingly applied to
all kinds of policy documents as a mechanism to incorporate sustainable
development ideas into strategic thinking. The aims of the process, in terms of
the Structure plan, can be summarised as:
1. to evaluate the environmental effects of overall strategic landuse decisions
2. to evaluate and demonstrate how the Structure Plan has had regard to
environmental concerns
3. to understand the implications for the environment of each of the policies
4. to enable the implications for different aspects of the environment to be
taken into account
Structure Plans play a major role in the future form and direction of
development in their area. To perform this task they must be able to
balance economic, social and environmental needs. While the economic
and social intentions of policies are often more clear,
environmental impacts are often complex and far less obvious.
Environmental Appraisal (EA) aims to make the effects of policies on the
environment as explicit as their effects on social and economic concerns.
Environmental Appraisal should not be confused with Environmental
Assessment. It does not provide an assessment of the specific effects that
will arise from a particular scheme. Whereas Environmental Assessment
attempts to assess the site specific effects of individual schemes,
Environmental Appraisal identifies the implications of the overall strategy
and the policies of the Plan.
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Town and Country Planning (Development Plan) Regulations 1991
expressly require local authorities to take account of environmental
considerations when preparing their development plans. PPG12 requires
local planning authorities to conduct an Environmental Appraisal of plans,
policies and proposals as they are being drawn up.
Methodology
An Environmental Appraisal for the Review was undertaken in two main parts:
first for the overall strategy and secondly for each of the policies. The
environmental implications of the strategy and policies were identified by
assessment against a number of environmental criteria.Environmental criteria are
designed to cover all aspects of “the environment” and each policy or strategy
was judged against each criteria to determine if it had a positive or negative
impact on that criteria. In some cases, the policy may have both negative and
positive effects on a criterion and, as the balance of these effects will be
unknown, the effect may be uncertain.
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STRESSES ON ENVIRONMENT
Environmental lists have identified four types of different stresses or
pressures that are being continuously inflicted on environment. They are:
i. Eutrophic Stress:
Refers to the release of various kinds of wastes into the river and
other water bodies and their consequent drying
iv. Chemical and Industrial Stress: This results mainly from the
developments in “science and technology” and their applied fields like
industry, warfare and agriculture. This comprises mainly the pol utants
and effluents of al types, radiation etc.
Strategies to meet these threats to natural environment through
pol ution, destruction and over-use can be:
(a) preventive or
(b) regulatory.
It is in this context that the environmental appraisal of projects is
gaining significance with a hope of achieving sustainable development
in harmony with environment.
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METHODOLOGY FOR CONDUCTING AN EIS STUDY
(i) The diffused nature of impact both over time and space; and the lags in
impacts after the cause worked.
(iii) Since the impacts are imperceptible, people are not aware of the
impacts.
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(a) Make a rapid or quick scanning or appraisal of the basic
environmental resources viz., land, water and air, at the macro level, say at
the district level in which the project is to be located. This scanning is
meant to evaluate the extent of fragility and exploitation of the endowed
resource-base, including the human resources. Then, relate the project
to the regional environment in broad terms.
(b) Demarcate the project vicinity or the surrounding zone of the project.
Maps can also be used.
(e) Carry out the item-by-item review of effects of the proposed project on the
already identified individual ER / Vs embedded in the project vicinity.
(g) Prepare the remedial plans for mitigating the adverse effects. They can
be: (i) Corrective; (i ) Compensatory; or (i i) Enhancing.
By following the above practical steps sequential y in that order, one can make
an environmental appraisal of any type of project. Through EIS / EIA, the
environmental protection planning is made compatible with the
developmental perspectives.
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Some Major Issue in the Preparation of EIS / EIA
The following are the major issues reported to be encountered commonly while
conducting and preparing the EIS / EIA. Some of the issues cannot be resolved.
In the absence of better alternatives, the analyst has to accept the issues as they
are.
1) Determining the Environmental Impact: This is the central theme in any EIS /
EIA. It is a very complex process. At the outset, a distinction has to be
made between the environmental impact and the changes in
environmental attributes. Our interest is on the “impacts” and not on the
‘changes’, which normal y take place even without the project. The
determination of environmental impacts involves: (a) identification of
impacts on environmental attributes or the ER / Vs, (b) measurement of
impacts on attributes, and (c) aggregation of impacts on attributes to
reflect the total impact on environment.
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4) Characteristics of the Base: Conditions Prior to the Activity: The nature of the
impact is determined by the conditions of the environment existing before the
project. The assessment of the characteristics of the base is a critical factor.
5) Role of Attributes: Though the impacts are considered to be the effects on the
definite discrete attributes of the environment, the actual impacts are not
correspondingly wel categorized. Nature does not necessary respect
man’s discrete categories. Rather, the actual impact may be the effect of
varying severity on a variety of interrelated attributes. The issue is one of
identifying and assessing the cause condition effect in order to work out
the remedial measures.
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investments that stimulate or induce secondary effects in the form of
associated investments and changed patterns of social and economic
activity. Such induced growth brings significant changes in the natural
conditions. Similarly, there can also be significant secondary impacts in
the biophysical environment.
10) Reporting Findings: The result should be displayed in such a way that it
makes easy and clear to comprehend the total impacts of an activity from a
brief review. It is suggested to display the impacts on a summary sheet in a
matrix form.
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Choice of a Methodology
3) Resources: How much time, skil s, money, and data are available? More in-
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depth and quantitative analysis requires more of everything.
4) Familiarity: Is the analyst familiar with both the types of project proposed and
the physical site?
5) Issue Significance: How big is the issue? The bigger the issue, the
greater the need to be explicit, to quantify, and to identify key issues.
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Environmental Appraisal of Projects
Feasibility Approach
Whether the proposed project will meet the minimum environmental standards
(legal) of the country?
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GLOBAL WARMING
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