Environmental

Impact Assessment

By
Pratyay Ganguly
Lecturer, CIEM, Kolkata
MEANING

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an

assessment of the possible impact — positive or
negative — that a proposed project may have on the
environment; considering Natural, Social and Economic
aspects.

The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that

decision makers consider the ensuing environmental
impacts to decide whether to proceed with the project.
DEFINITION

EIA can be considered as a mechanism which maximises

the efficient use of natural and human resources. It can
also reduce costs and time taken to reach a decision by
ensuring that subjectivity and duplication of effort are
minimised, as well as identifying and attempting to
evaluate the primary and secondary consequences
which might require the introduction of expensive
pollution control equipment or compensation and other
costs at a later date.
SCOPE

EIA as it has developed in many countries involves a

number of procedures and stages :
•Identification of projects requiring EIA, sometimes
known as screening;
•Identification of the key issues to be addressed in
an EIA, called scoping;
•Impact assessment and evaluation;
•Impact mitigation and monitoring;
•Review of the completed EIS and;
•Public participation.
EIA – THREE CORE VALUES

•Integrity - the EIA process will conform to agreed

standards

•Utility - the EIA process will provide balanced,

credible information for decision-making

•Sustainability - the EIA process will result in

environmental safeguards
OBJECTIVES OF EIA IMPLEMENTATION

• Confirm that the conditions of project approval are

implemented satisfactorily;

• Verify that impacts are within predicted or permitted

limits;

• Take action to manage unanticipated impacts or

other unforeseen changes;

• Ensure that environmental benefits are maximised

through good practice; and

• Learn from experience in order to improve EIA

COMPONENTS AND TOOLS OF EIA

• Surveillance and supervision to oversee adherence to

and implementation of the terms and conditions of
project approval;

• Effects or impact monitoring to measure the

environmental changes that can be attributed to
project construction and/or operation and check the
effectiveness of mitigation measures;

• Compliance monitoring to ensure that applicable

regulatory standards and requirements are being met,
e.g. for waste discharge and pollutant emissions;
COMPONENTS AND TOOLS OF EIA

• Environmental auditing to verify the implementation

of terms and conditions, the accuracy of the EIA
predictions, the effectiveness of mitigation measures,
and the compliance with regulatory requirements and
standards;

• Ex-post evaluation to review the effectiveness and

performance of the EIA process as applied to a
specific project; and
EVOLUTION OF EIA

Early 1970s – initial development

1970s to 1980s – increasing scope

Mid to Late 1980s – process - strengthening and policy

integration

Mid 1990s – towards sustainability - SEA, Biodiversity

Benefits of EIA include

♦ Environmentally sound and sustainable design

♦ Better compliance with standards

♦ Savings in capital and operating costs

♦ Reduced time and costs for approvals

♦ Increased project acceptance

♦ Better protection of the environment and human

health
EIA IN INDIA

The Ministry of Environment and Forests of India have

been in a great effort in Environmental Impact
Assessment in India.

The main laws :

• Water Act(1974),

• The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972),

• The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act

(1981)