Starting up; early stages - Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment - page 102

The location and physical presence of a project should also be clarified at an early
stage. This should include its general location on a base map in relation to other activities
and to administrative areas. A more detailed site layout of the proposed development,
again on a large-scale base map, should illustrate the land area and the main disposition
of the elements of the project (e.g. storage areas, main processing plant, waste-collection
areas, transport connections to the site). Where the site layout may change substantially
between different stages in the life cycle, it is valuable to have a sequence of anticipated
layouts. Any associated projects and activities (e.g. transport connections to the site;
pipes and transmission lines from the site) should also be identified and described, as
should elements of a project that, although integral, may be detached from the main site
(e.g. the construction of a barrage in one area may involve opening up a major quarry
development in another area). A description of the physical presence of a project is
invariably improved by a three-dimensional visual image, which may include a photo-
montage of what the site layout may look like at, for example, full operation. A clear
presentation of location and physical presence is important for an assessment of change
in land uses, any physical disruption to other infrastructures, severance of activities (e.g.
agricultural holdings, villages) and visual intrusion and landscape changes.
Understanding a project also involves an understanding of the processes integral to it.
The nature of processes varies between industrial, service and infrastructure projects, but
many can be described as a flow of inputs through a process and their transformation into
outputs. The nature, origins and destinations of the inputs and outputs, and the timescale
over which they are expected should be identified. This systematic identification should
be undertaken for both physical and socio-economic characteristics, although the
interaction should be clearly recognized, with many of the socio-economic characteristics
following from the physical.
Physical characteristics may include:
• the land take and physical transformation of a site (e.g. clearing, grading), which may
vary between different stages of a project's life cycle;
• the total operation of the process involved (usually illustrated with a process-flow
diagram);
• the types and quantities of resources used (e.g. water abstraction, minerals, energy);
• transport requirements (of inputs and outputs);
• the generation of wastes, including estimates of types, quantity and strength of aqueous
wastes, gaseous and particulate emissions, solid wastes, noise and vibration, heat and
light, radiation, etc.;
• the potential for accidents, hazards and emergencies;
• processes for the containment, treatment and disposal of wastes and for the containment
and handling of accidents; monitoring and surveillance systems.
Socioeconomic characteristics may include:
• the labour requirements of a project—including size, duration, sources, particular skills
categories and training;
• the provision or otherwise of housing, transport, health and other services for the
workforce;
• the direct services required from local businesses or other commercial organizations;