Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
• EIA in India was first started in 1977-78 with evaluation of river valley projects
• later extended to mining, Industries, thermal power, port and harbors, atomic power,
rail and road highways, bridges airport and communications, etc
• In January 1994,the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MEF) issued a Notification
on EIA of Development Projects
• This Notification listed 30 projects that required environmental
clearance from the Central Government
• It also included - for the first time – Public hearing as a pre-requisite for clearing
large projects
• Under EP Act – EIA notification was issued in 1994 (cost of project was criteria
for screening)
• In 2006 – again new EIA notification was issued, substituted old one
EIA 2006: THE CHANGES IN COMPARISON TO EIA 1994
Clearance Authority
Central Govt., MOEF Central Govt., MOEF for Category A projects. State Level
SEIAA for Category B
Screening
Site clearance
Separate site clearance process Scoping stage incorporates site clearance process
before EIA
EIA studies
Completed before public To submit draft EIA report and prepare final EIA report
hearing based on public consultation
Public consultation
Public hearing (PH) after the Proceedings to be video graphed, hearing proceedings to
EIA study, views of public are be made public. MEF can decide to waive PH if
noted and not made public situation is not conducive
Local persons, environnemental Only local persons. Others can only submit written
groups, etc. comments.
MOEF – Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India; SEIAA – State level environment Impact assessment authority
SPCB – State Pollution control Board; EAC – Expert Appraisal Committee(Central); SEAC – State Expert Appraisal Committee
PROJECTS WHICH REQUIRE EC
• Category B projects: At state level the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority
(SEIAA)
• The SEIAA shall base its decision on the recommendations of a State or Union territory
level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) as to be constituted in the notification
• In the absence of a duly constituted SEIAA or SEAC, a Category ‘B’ project shall be
treated as a Category ‘A’ project
State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA)
• Expert Committees
• Expert Appraisal Committees (EACs) at the Central Government
• State Expert Appraisal Committees (SEAC) at the State or the Union territory
• The authorised members of the EAC and SEAC, concerned, may inspect any site(s)
• The EAC and SEAC shall be reconstituted after every three years
STAGES IN ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE PROCESS
The environmental clearance process for new projects will comprise of a maximum
of four stages:
A. Screening
B. Scoping
C. Public Consultation
D. Appraisal
Stage –I:Screening
• the main development in the screening process is the categorization into A and B
• Category B projects will be under the authority of SPCBs which will further
• the stage where the TOR is decided can be considered crucial in the whole process
• In the EIA 2006 the authorities have to decide the TORs based on the
• The proponent is required to submit a TOR, based on which and a discretionary site visit
the authorities will decide the final TOR and give the permission to carry out EIA studies
• The Terms of Reference (TOR) shall be conveyed to the applicant by the Expert
Appraisal Committee or State Level Expert Appraisal Committee as concerned
within sixty days of the receipt of Form 1
• If the Terms of Reference are not finalized and conveyed to the applicant within
sixty days of the receipt of Form 1, the Terms of Reference suggested by the
applicant shall be deemed as the final Terms of Reference approved for the EIA
studies
Authorities to prepare TOR:
• State level Expert Appraisal Committee in the case of Category ‘B1’ projects or
activities, including applications for expansion and/or modernization and/or
change in product mix of existing projects or activities
• persons who are not local are not allowed to participate in the hearing,
• Appraisal means the detailed scrutiny by the Expert Appraisal Committee or State
Level Expert Appraisal Committee of the application and other documents like the
Final EIA report, outcome of the public consultations including public hearing
proceedings
• The regulatory authority shall consider the recommendations of the EAC or SEAC
concerned and convey its decision to the applicant within forty five days of the receipt of
the recommendations
• In other words appraisal and EC granting takes 105 days from the receipt of the final
Mining project Project area and 10 kms (mine lease area more
than 50 ha) &5kms mine lease area of 5-50ha
Projects exempted from public hearing
• Postponement shall be notified to the public through the same newspaper and
also prominently displayed at all the identified offices by the concerned
SPCB
What are the documents MoEF shall display on website?
State Pollution
45 days Stage 3: Public consultation (2 components) Control Board
Update EIA report (Investor)
Expert
60 days Stage 4: Appraisal
Committee
15 days
Regulatory
30 days Final Decision
Authority
Transferability of Environmental Clearance
• A prior EC can be transferred during its validity to another legal person entitled to undertake
the project or activity on application by the transferor
OR
• By the transferee with a written “no objection” by the transferor, to, and by the regulatory
authority concerned, on the same terms and conditions under which the prior environmental
clearance was initially granted
• No reference to the Expert Appraisal Committee or State Level Expert Appraisal Committee
concerned is necessary in such cases
STRUCTURE OF AN EIA DOCUMENT
• The EIA document contains the following points
1. Introduction
2. Project description
3. Description of the environment
4. Anticipated Environmental Impacts & Mitigation measures
5. Analysis of alternatives (Technology & site)
6. Environmental monitoring programme
7. Addition Studies
8. Project Benefit
9. Environmental Cost Benefit Analysis
10.Environmental Management Plan (EMP)
11.Summary and conclusion
12.Disclosure of consultants engaged
Introduction
• Purpose of the report
• Identification of project & project proponent
• Brief description of nature, size, location of the project and its importance to the
country, region
• Scope of the study – details of regulatory scoping carried out (As per Terms of
Reference)
Project Description
• Type of project
• Need for the project
• Location (maps showing general location, specific location, project boundary &
project site layout)
• Proposed schedule for approval and implementation
• Technology and process description
• drawings showing project layout, components of project etc
• Proposed schedule for approval and implementation
• Description of mitigation measures incorporated into the project to meet
I. Environmental standards,
II. Environmental Operating conditions, or
III. Other EIA requirements (as required by the scope)
Description of the Environment
• Study area, period, components & methodology
The names of the Consultants engaged with their brief resume and
nature of Consultancy rendered
Environmental Audit (EA)
• An environmental audit (EA) is a systematic, independent internal review to check
whether the results of environmental work tally with the targets
• It studies whether the methods or means used to achieve the goals or ends are
effective
• EA involves studying documents and reports, interviewing key people in the
organization, etc., to assess the level of deviations between targets and results
• Environmental audits are being used as a tool and an aid to test the effectiveness
of environmental efforts at local level
Reasons for Conducting EA
• To verify compliance
• To review implementation of policies
• To identify liabilities
• To review management systems
• To identify needs, strengths and weaknesses
• To assess environmental performance
• To promote environmental awareness
OBJECTIVES OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT
To evaluate the efficiency and efficacy of resource utilization (i.e., people, machines
• Resource management
• The resources include air, water, energy and other raw materials
• The audit will provide data to the management on the efficient use of the
resources per unit production, and, thereby, help reduce resource consumption and
waste minimization
POLLUTION CONTROL SYSTEMS AND PROCEDURES
The audit helps ensure that the systems and procedures governing the
environmental activities/operations of pollution control equipment's are
rightly followed
EMERGENCY PLANS AND RESPONSE/SAFETY SYSTEM
• An audit helps compare the existing status with the stipulation and
standards prescribed by various agencies and ensure compliance
TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITS
Two main types of environmental audit are:
• Objective-based
• Client-driven
OBJECTIVE BASED ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITS
1. Liabilities audit
2. Management audit
3. Activities audit
CLIENT-DRIVEN TYPE AUDITS
The different types of audits are based on the client, who has
commissioned or ordered the audit procedure:
1. Regulatory external audit
2. Independent external audit
3. Internal environmental audit
4. Third party audits
EA steps
• Audit preparation
• A systematic scrutiny or review of a facility
• Reporting
• Follow up
ELEMENTS OF AUDIT PROCESS
What to audit?
An audit can cover anything from environmentally-related decisions to
the function and maintenance of an individual piece of environmental
protection equipment
Who should audit?
• Regulatory agencies
• Other actors in society who have an interest in how the environmental issues are
dealt with in companies
• Firm itself
Why an audit?
Thinking of Industries
Industries see environmental audits as means of reducing their own
environmental risk taking
Thinking of Environmental Groups
environmental groups and organisations emphasise that it is the risks to
the environment that are to be minimised through environmental audit