Environmental Impact

Assessment
What is Environmental Impact
Assessment ?

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is defined as the
process of evaluating the direct and indirect environmental and
social implications of a proposed development 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."
According to center for the science and environment,
environment impact assessment or EIA can be defined
as the study to predict the effect of proposed activity /
project on the environment. A decision making tool .EIA
compares various alternatives for a project and seeks to
identify the one which represents the best combination of
economic and environmental cost and benefits.
Steps in the EIA Process

1.Screening
Screening is used to decide the nature and
extent of the EIA to be carried out. The
process of screening usually involves the
review of the project proposal against a
checklist of projects to determine whether an
EIA is a mandatory requirement.
Often there is some uncertainty and an
environmental assessment specialist may be
required to help advise.
2. Scoping
Identification of key issues and
development for the EIA once a project is
categorized.
3.Impact analysis
The process of impact identification is
based upon an appreciation of how the
proposed project might interact with its
receiving environment.
4.Mitigation
This step in EIA recommends the
action to reduce and avoid the potential
adverse environmental consequences of
developmental activities.
5.Reporting
The purpose of the exercise is to improve the
project design prior to its submission for consent
and then to report the findings to the decision
makers and the affected public in a manner that
they can understand.
An EIS is not a long academic thesis on the effects
of a proposal, but is to be focused upon the key
issues that the decision maker should appreciate.
The EIS should report the following;
Environmental objectives and policy context
Existing environmental situation
A description of the project
An assessment of the effects of the project
An environmental action plan or management plan
A summary of the effects and recommendations

7.Review of EIA
It examines the adequacy and effectiveness
of the EIA report and provides the information
necessary for decision making.
8.Decision making
it decides whether the project is, rejected
,approved or needs father changes.
9.Post monitoring
This stage comes into play once the
project is commissioned. It checks to ensure
that the impacts of the project do not exceed
the legal standards and implementation of
the mitigation measures re in manner as
described in the EIA report.
Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS)
An environmental impact statement (EIS), under
United States environmental law, is a document required
by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for
certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the
human environment".

An EIS is a tool for decision
making. It describes the positive and negative
environmental effects of a proposed action, and it
usually also lists one or more alternative actions that
may be chosen
An EIS is a full disclosure document that
details the process through which a
(transportation) project was developed,
includes consideration of a range of
reasonable alternatives, analyzes the
potential impacts resulting from the
alternatives, and demonstrates
compliance with other applicable
environmental laws and executive orders
An EIS is not a long academic thesis on
the effects of a proposal, but is to be
focused upon the key issues that the
decision maker should appreciate.

Content
The EIS should report the following;
Environmental objectives and policy context
Existing environmental situation
A description of the project
An assessment of the effects of the project
An environmental action plan or management plan
A summary of the effects and recommendations

Layout

An EIS typically has four sections:
An Introduction including a statement of the
Purpose and Need of the Proposed Action.
A description of the Affected Environment.
A Range of Alternatives to the proposed
action. Alternatives are considered the
"heart" of the EIS.
An analysis of the environmental impacts of
each of the possible alternatives.

The EIS process in completed in the
following ordered steps:
Notice of Intent (NOI),
Draft EIS
Final EIS
Record of decision (ROD).
Impact Assessment Methodologies
Impact assessment (IA) is a structured a
process for considering the implications, for
people and their environment, of proposed
actions while there is still an opportunity to
modify (or even, if appropriate, abandon) the
proposals. It is applied at all levels of
decision-making, from policies to specific
projects.

The process involves the identification and
characterization of the most likely impacts
of proposed actions (impact
prediction/forecasting), and an
assessment of the social significance of
those impacts (impact evaluation).



IA(impact assessment ) aims to:

Provide information for decision-making that analyses
the biophysical, social, economic and institutional
consequences of proposed actions;
Promote transparency and participation of the public in
decision-making;
Identify procedures and methods for the follow-up
(monitoring and mitigation of adverse consequences)
in policy, planning and project cycles; and
Contribute to environmentally sound and sustainable
development.


Stresses on environment
Definition
Pressure on the environment caused by
human activities (such as generation of
pollution) or by natural events (such as
occurrence of a drought
Positive stress can be generated in an
environment which boosts productivity and
focuses your team on the end goal. But
negative stress can demoralize staff,
reduce efficiency and de-focus your team.
In this type of environment, you need to
turn negative stress into positive stress,