Environmental assessment | Effective role, Types, Applications

Environmental assessment

Environmental assessment

An Environmental Assessment (EA) is an environmental analysis that is prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act so that a federal action can significantly affect the environment and thus requires a more detailed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Certified release of Environmental Assessment results in either Finding No Significant Impact or EIS.

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), which oversees the administration of NEPA issued regulations for the implementation of NEPA in 1979. Ecclestone reports that NEPA regulations barely mention the creation of EAs. This is because EA is basically a simple document that was used in relatively rare cases where an agency was not sure whether the potential significance of the action would be sufficient to create EIS. But today, since EISs are so long and complicated to prepare, federal agencies are making great efforts not to prepare EISs using EAs, and even the use of EAs may be inappropriate. The ratio of EAS being issued to EIS is about 100 to 1.

The EA becomes a draft public document when its notice is published, usually in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected by the proposal. Environmental assessments require a 15-day review period, when the document is made available for public comment, and a similar time for objections to inappropriate procedures. Comments on the draft EA are usually made in writing or by email, which is submitted to the Lead Action Agency as published in the Notice of Availability. A public hearing is not required for an EA oral comment. After the mandatory public comment period, the Lead Action Agency responds to any comments and certifies the EIS to prepare a public environmental review record of its FONSI or Notice of Intent (NOI). The preparation of an EIS then creates a similar but more lengthy, involved, and costly process.

Effective role of Environmental Assessment

Environmental assessment can play an effective role in the following areas:

i. Include identifying potential sites for new camps, including contingency planning;

ii. Identification and selection of camp/settlement locations and their design;

iii. If a significant expansion is considered for an existing camp/settlement, or if there are planned changes in their management system;

iv. If new arrangements or facilities are made for the accommodation of displaced refugees from other camps/settlements;

v. Agreeing and re-integrating plans before and after repatriation, and

vi. Rehabilitation of ex-champ / settlement sites is being considered.

Types of Environmental Assessment

Environmental assessment can be divided into four types such as strategic environmental assessment, regional EA, sectoral EA, and project-level EA. These are properly discussed below:

Strategic environmental assessment

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) refers to the systematic analysis of the environmental impact of development policies, plans, programs, and other proposed strategic actions. SEA represents an active approach to integration at the highest level of environmental consideration decision-making and beyond the project level while the main options are still open.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a tool for integrating environmental considerations into policies, plans, and programs at an early stage of decision-making. SEA seeks to ensure that broader environmental considerations are integrated into this higher, strategic-level decision-making process, which is preceded by the identification and design of individual projects, ideally based on a participatory process. The SEA is enforced by some multilateral and bilateral organizations and a number of governments. At the country programming level, it is sometimes called CEA.

Regional environmental assessment

In terms of regional planning, the EA integrates environmental concerns into a geographic area development plan, usually at the sub-country level. One such approach is referred to as the Economic-Cum-Environmental (ECE) Development Plan. This approach facilitates adequate integration of economic development with the management of renewable natural resources within the carrying capacity range to achieve sustainable development. It meets the requirements of macro-level environmental integration, which project-based EAs are unable to effectively address. The regional EA addresses the environmental impact of the regional development plan and, thus, the context of the project-level EA of subsequent projects, within the region. In addition, if the environmental impact is considered at a regional level, it can be calculated for the growing environmental impact of all projects within the region.

Sectoral environmental assessment

Instead of a project-level EA, an EA should be in the context of regional and sectoral-level planning. Once the integrated sectoral environmental concerns of the sectoral-level development plans are addressed, the scope for project-level EAs will be very small. The Sectoral EA will help address specific environmental issues in the planning and implementation of sectoral development projects.

When some alternatives and significant environmental impacts cannot be adequately assessed at the project level, it may be possible to evaluate them at the program, planning, or policy level using a form of SEA similar to the nature of the project. Thus, SEA will include screening, scoping, forecasting, counseling, public participation, impact mitigation, and monitoring.

There is no need to run a SEA if the project options are adequately evaluated in the project-level EA and if all the significant effects are adequately examined. However, by definition, it rarely happens. In many countries where there is already a project-level EA system, the most logical program might be to associate these EAs with high-level SEAs that are largely limited to issues such as the growing impact that cannot be adequately assessed at the project stage.

Project-level environmental assessment

In many countries of the world where there is EA, developmental projects such as the construction of highways and expressways, ports and harbors, hydropower projects, manufacturing industries, mining projects, etc. are subject to environmental testing and clearance. The EA study then recommends appropriate mitigation management or monitoring and management planning in the project. Examples of such changes include:

a. Change the alignment of a highway;

b. Establishing oil spill emergency activities for a port;

c. Decrease the height of a dam;

d. Arrange for the rehabilitation of the victims;

e. Recommendations for energy conversion for power generation projects;

f. Advice on using a cleaner manufacturing technology that can make more profit or income in the long run;

g. Reduction of chemical storage of a petrochemical plant due to safety;

h. Conserving soil and creating a compensating green belt of a certain width and height in the vicinity of mining activity.

At the project level, based on some of these recommendations, project developers make further changes to the project size, design, technology, and operation if deemed necessary. 

Environmental policy of the European Union

Extensive materials exist in EU environmental policy. Among them, the European Union has established a mix of mandatory and prudent approaches to environmental impact assessment. The Environmental Impact Assessment Guidelines (85/337 / EEC) were first introduced in 1985, amended in 1997, revised again in 2003 following the EU signing of the Aarhus Convention in 1998, and again in 2009.

The 1985 Preliminary Guidelines and its three amendments are coded in the Guidelines 2011/92 / EU of 13 December 2011.

In 2001, the issue was enlarged to include planning and program evaluation by the so-called Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Guidelines (2001/42 / EC), as amended by the Guidelines 2014/52 / EU of 16 April 2014. Under EU guidelines, a loyal EIA must provide specific information in seven key areas-

i. Description of the project

a. Description of actual project and site description

b. Break the project down into its key components, i.e. construction, operations, decommissioning

c. For each component list all of the sources of environmental disturbance

d. For each component, all the inputs and outputs must be listed, e.g., air pollution, noise, and hydrology.

ii. Alternatives that have been considered

a. Examine alternatives that have been considered

b. For example: in a biomass power station, will the fuel be sourced locally or nationally?

iii. Description of the environment

a. List all aspects of the environment that may be affected by the development

b. Example: populations, fauna, flora, air, soil, water, humans, landscape, cultural heritage

c. This section is best carried out with the help of local experts, e.g. the RSPB in the UK.

iv. Description of the significant effects on the environment

a. The word significant is crucial here as the definition can vary

b. Significant must be defined

c. The most frequent method used here is the use of the Leopold matrix

d. A matrix is a tool used in the systematic examination of potential interactions

e. For example: in a wind farm development a significant impact may be collisions with birds

v. Mitigation

a. This is where EIA is most useful

b. Once section 4 is complete, it is obvious where impacts are greatest

c. Using this information in ways to avoid negative impacts should be developed

d. Best working with the developer with this section as they know the project best

e. Using the wind farm example again, construction might take place outside of the bird nesting seasons, or removal of hard standing on a potentially contaminated land site might take place outside of the rainy season.

vi. Non-technical summary (EIS)

a. The EIA is in the public domain and is used in the decision-making process

b. It is important that the information is available to the public

c. This section is a summary that does not include jargon or complicated diagrams

d. It should be understood by a known person

vii. Lack of know-how/technical difficulties

a. This section is to advise any areas of weakness in knowledge

b. It can be used to focus on future research areas

c. Some developers see the EIA as a starting block for poor environmental management.

Applications of Environmental Assessment

Once a team is hired, a simple strategy should be discussed on how to proceed. The following indicators may be useful with this and subsequent EA applications:

i. Appointed/nominated a team leader for the term;

ii. Establish clear terms for the EA, and identify specific responsibilities for each team member;

iii. A brief description of the team members at the outset;

iv. Create a temporary list of people/organizations to visit: share this task with team members if appropriate;

v. Schedule, summarize, and plan ahead to meet with all team members;

vi. In research, meetings, and interviews, focus on qualitative details rather than gathering large amounts of information;

vii. Focus meetings on putting a pre-determined question, but give people time to express their concerns;

viii. Organize to visit the site; Employed in local counseling;

ix. Regularly cross-check the information collected to verify results or spot inconsistencies;

x. Record all information: Do not just react or observe in memory;

xi. Prepare a final report and present the results and recommendations; and

xii. Form a task force to follow the recommendations.

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