4M1 4E

EN VI RONM ENT AL
IMPACT
ASS ESSM ENT

Peter Guthrie
Re comm ended text
books
Wood, C. (2002). Environmental Impact
Assessment: a Comparative Review (2nd
Edition). Harlow: Prentice Hall
Therivel, R. and Partidário, M.R. (1996). The
Practice of Strategic Environmental
Assessment. London: Earthscan
Glasson, J. Therivel, R. and Chadwick, A.
(1999). Introduction to Environmental Impact
Assessment (2nd Edition). London: Spon
Press
What is EIA ?
“an important procedure for ensuring
that the likely effects of new
development on the environment are
fully understood and taken into account
before the development is allowed to go
ahead”
(DETR and National Assembly for Wales, 1999)
What is i t really?
Environmental Impact Assessment is a process,
set down as a repeatable series of steps to
be taken, to allow the environmental
consequences of a proposed development to
be assessed.
The environmental consequences have to be
those INCREMENTAL effects which are due
to the proposed development, and not those
which are due to the passage of time or other
developments not included in the proposal.
Or ig in s and hist ory
of EIA
1960s witnessed the emergence of
environmentalism (e.g. publication of
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in 1962)
First formal system of EIA established
in the US following the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969
Or ig in s and hist ory
of EIA
NEPA sought to ensure that environmental
concerns were considered in the decision-
making of Federal Government agencies
Section 102(2)(c) required agencies to
prepare a detailed statement on the
environmental impact of “proposals for
legislation and other major Federal actions
significantly affecting the quality of the human
environment”
Or ig in s and hist ory
of EIA
The statement – referred to as an
Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) - should include details on
any adverse environmental effects
which cannot be avoided should the
proposal be implemented
alternatives to the proposed action
Or ig in s and hist ory
of EIA
Since 1969 a host of other countries have
adopted EIA legislation
In 1977 the European Commission began
drafting a directive on EIA and finally
published a proposal in 1980
Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of
the effects of certain public and private
projects on the environment – the ‘EIA
Directive’ was adopted in July 1985 and
Member States had until 3 July 1988 to
implement its requirements
Th e EI A Dire ctive
The EIA Directive requires projects
likely to have significant effects on the
environment by virtue of their nature,
size or location to undergo an
environmental assessment before the
competent authority in question grants
consent
Th e EI A Dire ctive
The EIA Directive was amended in
1997 (Directive 97/11/EC). Following
signature of the ‘Aarhus Convention’
on 25 June 1998, Directive 2003/35/EC
was adopted which amends amongst
others the EIA Directive and brings it
into line with the public participation
requirements of the Aarhus Convention
Th e EI A Dire ctive
See the European Commission’s web
pages on environmental assessment at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/eia
Th e EI A Dire ctive
The EIA Directive defines a project as
the execution of construction works or
of other installations or schemes,
other interventions in the natural
surroundings and landscape including
those involving the extraction of
mineral resources
Th e EI A Dire ctive
The EIA should identify, describe and
assess the direct and indirect effects of a
project on the following factors:
 human beings, fauna and flora
 soil, water, air, climate and the landscape

 material assets and cultural heritage

 the interaction between the above factors

EIA should therefore have a strong social

dimension
 Screening (does the project Impact assessment
require EIA?) (interpreting the impacts)

Scoping (what issues and Mitigation (what can be done

impacts should the EIA address?) to alleviate negative impacts?)

Baseline studies (establish EIS preparation/review

the environmental baseline) (document the EIA findings)

Alternatives (consider the Public consultation

different approaches) (consult general public and NGOs)

Impact prediction (forecast Monitoring (monitor impacts

the environmental impacts) of project)
Sc reening
Is an EIA needed?
Many projects may have no significant
environmental effects
A screening mechanism seeks to
identify those projects with potentially
significant adverse environmental
effects
Sc reening
Two principal approaches to screening:
 theuse of thresholds
 case-by-case examination against criteria

Under the EIA Directive:

 EIA is mandatory for projects listed in
Annex I of the Directive
 EIA is required subject to Member States’
thresholds and criteria for projects listed
in Annex II of the Directive
Sc oping
The scope of an EIA is the issues and
impacts it addresses
Scoping is the process of deciding
which of a project’s possible
alternatives and impacts should be
addressed in the EIA
An EIA should focus only on the
significant issues and impacts
Sc oping
Scoping is carried out in discussions between
the developer, the competent authority,
relevant agencies and, ideally, the public
Effective scoping enables limited resources to
be allocated to best effect (i.e. through
investigation of only the most significant
impacts)
Scoping is not mandatory under the EIA
Directive
Ba se lin e st udies
Following the scoping phase, it is essential to
assemble all the relevant information on the
current status of the environment
The baseline study should anticipate the
future state of the environment assuming the
project is not undertaken - the ‘no action
alternative’
This provides the ‘baseline’ against which
future impacts can be assessed
Ba se lin e st udies
Baseline studies should be undertaken
for each alternative site so that the
relative severity of the impacts for each
alternative can be assessed
New field work may necessary (e.g.
ecological survey) if relevant data is not
already available
Alt ern ative s
EIA is ideally undertaken for a project and its
alternatives (e.g. different locations, scales,
designs)
Alternatives are the ‘raw material’ of EIA
The US Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ) has described the discussion of
alternatives as the ‘heart’ of the EIS
Many EISs fail to consider alternatives
Imp act assessme nt
Impact assessment involves evaluating the
significance of the impacts identified
Significance can be determined through
professional judgement, reference to
regulations etc.
Potential for bias in determining what is
significant
The conclusions of the impact assessment
can ultimately be used by decision-makers
when determining the fate of the project
application
Mit igation
Negative impacts on the environment
identified during the EIA can be alleviated
through mitigation measures
The mitigation hierarchy: Avoid - Reduce -
Remedy - Compensate - Enhance
Impacts remaining after mitigation are known
as residual impacts
The legislation obstructs the proper
process of design development
EI S p reparatio n /
revie w
The Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) is a formal document which
includes information on the
development and information relating to
screening, scoping, baseline studies,
alternatives etc.
Common requirement to include a non-
technical summary
EI S p reparatio n /
revie w
Once complete, the EIS is submitted to
the competent authority (along with the
planning application)
The EIS is often reviewed (either
formally or informally)
The review enables the competent
authority to decide whether the EIA is
adequate, accurate and unbiased
Pu blic consu lt ation
The EIA Directive provides for public
consultation on the application for
development and the EIS
Po st -p roje ct
monitorin g
Monitoring should determine:
 the accuracy of the original predictions
 the degree of deviation from the
predictions
 the possible reasons for any deviations

 the extent to which mitigation measures

have achieved their objectives
 What is in an ES?
Non Technical Summary
Description of the proposals
Assessment of Baseline conditions
Assessment of no development
conditions
Assessment of conditions with
development
Mitigation proposals
 What is in an ES?
All conditions assessed for

Construction phase
Operation phase
 Construction Phase
Temporary
Higher levels of impact usually deemed
acceptable
Difficult to predict
VERY difficult to enforce conditions
Usually well influenced by effective
consultation
 Operation Phase
Long Term
Much less room for compromise on standards
Relatively simpler to predict
Less difficult to enforce conditions, as the
conditions are on the project owner
Usually less influenced by effective
consultation at scheme level, more at detailed
level
 Operation Phase
Can be several phases
Project itself may be developed in stages
Sometimes need to look at
 Commissioning
 Opening
 Operation after period
 Operation once landscaping mature
 Operation at design capacity
 Operation at ultimate capacity
 Consents Process
ES generally accompanies an application for
permission to proceed
May be at Local, Regional, or National level
Local and regional levels usually can refer
upwards
Application will be at outline or detailed stage;
increasingly difficult to get approval on outline
applications
 Secretary of State

Inspectors / Reporters (Scotland)

Councillors (District, County or
Borough)

Chief or Senior Planning Officers

 But…

At local level, Councillors (elected

members), may be capricious and driven
by political considerations
 Consents Process
Planning Authority will impose conditions on
acceptance eg for UK
 S106 Conditions of T&CP Act
 S38 Agreement Highways Act
 Parts of other Acts eg Ports and Harbours Act
(Harbour Revision Orders)
 Contributions to development outside site
boundary
 Contributions to local government initiatives
 Limits to levels of activity (difficult to enforce)
 Consents Process
Refusal leads to appeal process
If significant objections, Planning Authority
may refer the application to higher level of
government (in England and Wales, the
Secretary of State)

In UK, 98% of all planning applications are

granted, eventually albeit in amended form
Acoustics and Vibration
Roads: well established methodology
Airports: widely accepted contours for
LA EQ 16 hour and 8 hour
Railways: façade measurements and
predictions
Night time noise often critical
Vibration threshold (usually threshold of
perception)
More than half of Europe's citizens live in noisy
surroundings
One third of Europeans have disturbed sleep due to
noise
Prolonged exposure to noise can cause
hypertension and heart disease
Noise above 80db may cause aggressive behaviour
A link between noise and mental health is
suggested by the demand for sleeping pills and
tranquillizers
An adult's ear can tolerate an occasional noise level
of up to 140db
A child's ear should never be exposed to noise
above 120db
Source bbc.co.uk
 Air Quality
Looking for
 Oxides of nitrogen (NO )
x
 Oxides of sulphur (SO )
x
 Ozone O
3
 Particulates PM and now
10
PM2.5
 Dioxins and Furans for
Incinerators
 Particulates (dust)
 Odour
 Air Quality
No legal standards
Most projects have very limited impact
Dioxins and Furans have become
significant concerns since the extremely
low levels could be measured
Roads schemes always show
improvement in air quality over next
twenty years
Forestry and Agriculture
Classification of land (Grade 1, 2, 3)
Severance and viability
Orphaning of land parcels
Isolating buildings from fields etc
Opportunities for landscaping on
isolated pieces of land
 Water Quality
Aquifer protection zones
River designations
Ecology impacts
Hazard assessment from spills etc
Landscape and Visual
Amenity
Visual assessment
Site categorisation (AONB,
Conservation area)
Inter visibility plots
Landscape description
Landscape value
Opportunities for landscaping
Twyford Down
 Heritage and
Archaeology
Site categorisation (SAM,
Grade I, II*,
II) (World Heritage Site,
Conservation Area)
Locally important buildings
without designation
English Heritage
National Trust
County Archaeologist
 Ecology

Assessment of ecological value

Site categorisation (SSSI,SNCI,
SAC,SPA)
Inventory of flora and fauna
Rare species
Protected species (incl Red List)
Impact of severance, disruption etc
English Nature, RSPB, Wildlife
Trusts etc
 Geology and Soils
Assessment of geological value
Pedology characterisation
Site protection (SSSI)
 Traffic Impact
Assessment
Traffic flows generally on roads
Cars, taxis, trucks, buses, cycles
Pedestrian journeys
Public/private transport split
Congestion/traffic management
Proposed mitigation measures
 Sustainability
Assessment
Currently part of EIA
Should be the over-arching process
No current guidelines
Construction Impacts
Traffic movements
Dust
Mud
Social impacts itinerant workers
Business generation
Spoil heaps
Contamination of rivers & streams
Construction Impacts
Light pollution
Noise
Vibration of piling plant
Materials stockpiles
Construction sites
How does EIA actually
contribute to
Sustainable
Development?