Lesson 3 – EIA’s Process
Welcome to this e-learning course on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. In this course, we will explore the key stages involved in the EIA process, which is applied to development proposals of different sizes, scales, and sectors.
First, let’s understand that there are thousands of different types of EIA processes in the world due to the many decision-making contexts that may accommodate different assessment scopes, procedures, technologies, information sources, and participation techniques. Despite this diversity, all EIA processes reflect some key stages.
The typical EIA process consists of a structured series of steps, which involve some iteration whereby some steps are revisited in the light of findings of subsequent steps. Not all the steps are needed for every application, and the extent to which they are implemented can vary.
The first stage is screening, which determines whether or not a proposal should be subject to EIA, and if so, at what level of detail. The second stage is scoping, which seeks to identify at an early stage, all of the project’s possible impacts and from all the alternatives that could be addressed, those that are the crucial, significant issues.
The consideration of alternatives seeks to establish the preferred or most environmentally sound option for achieving the objectives of a proposal. This includes looking for alternative project locations, scales, processes, layouts, operating conditions, and the ‘no action’ option.
The description of the environmental baseline contains setting both the present and future state of the environment up, in the absence of the project, taking into account changes resulting from natural events and from other human activities.
The identification and prediction of impacts aim to ensure that all potentially significant environmental impacts (adverse and beneficial) and that the magnitude of identified change in the environment with a project by comparison with the situation without that project are identified.
Mitigation and impact management involve introducing the measures that are necessary to avoid, minimize, or offset any predicted adverse impacts and, where appropriate, to incorporate these into an environmental management plan.
The evaluation of significance focuses on the assessment of the relative significance of predicted impacts and impacts that remain even after applying mitigation measures.
The EIA report is a vital step in the process. It is a comprehensive, structured document that contains the outputs of the assessment as information regarding the project, the baseline scenario, the likely significant effect of the project, the proposed alternatives, features, and measures to mitigate adverse significant effects as well as a non-technical summary and any additional information.
Public consultation and participation shall provide the quality, comprehensiveness, and effectiveness of the EIA, and assure that the public is given the opportunity to comment on the project and its environmental effects and the public’s views are adequately taken into consideration throughout the decision-making process.
Review of the EIA report involves a systematic appraisal of the quality of the EIA report, as a contribution to the decision-making process.
Decision-making on the project, to approve or reject it, involves consideration by the relevant authority of the EIA report (including the consultation responses) together with other material considerations. The public is informed about the decision.
Follow-up monitoring involves the recording of the significant adverse effects on the environment identified as well as auditing the effectiveness of the measures taken to mitigate them. This approach contributes to effective project management.
To help you understand the EIA process better, we will use flowcharts and diagrams that highlight crucial decision-making stages. The EIA procedure begins with a development proposal that has potentially significant adverse environmental impacts. The early stages of screening and scoping will determine whether an EIA is needed, and, if so, what should be the assessment scope and information requirements.
After the scope is defined, usually through Terms of Reference (ToR), the actual impact assessment and reporting take place. This broad assessment stage includes the characterization of baseline conditions.