Participation, presentation and review - Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment - page 165

6
Participation, presentation and review
6.1 Introduction
One of the key aims of the EIA process is to provide information about a proposal's
likely environmental impacts to the developer, public and decision-makers, so that a
better decision may be made. Consultation with the public and statutory consultees in the
EIA process can help to ensure the quality, comprehensiveness and effectiveness of the
EIA, as well as ensuring that the various groups' views are adequately taken into
consideration in the decision-making process. Consultation and participation can be
useful at most stages of the EIA process:
• in determining the scope of an EIA;
• in providing specialist knowledge about the site;
• in evaluating the relative significance of the likely impacts;
• in proposing mitigation measures;
• in ensuring that the EIS is objective, truthful and complete;
• in monitoring any conditions of the development agreement.
As such, how the information is presented, how the various interested parties use that
information, and how the final decision incorporates the results of the EIA and the views
of the various parties, are essential components in the EIA process.
Traditionally, the British system of decision-making has been characterized by
administrative discretion and secrecy, with limited public input (McCormick 1991).
However, there have been recent moves towards greater public participation in decision-
making, and especially towards greater public access to information. In the
environmental arena, the EPA of 1990 requires the Environment Agency and local
authorities to establish public registers of information on potentially polluting processes;
Quality of Life Counts (DETR 1999) and its annual updates compile environmental data
in a publicly available form; the public participation requirements of EC Directives
85/337 and 2001/42 (on SEA) allow greater public access to information previously not
compiled, or considered confidential; and EC Directive 90/313, which requires Member
States to make provisions for freedom of access to information on the environment, has
been implemented in the UK through the Environmental Information Regulations 1992.
However, despite the positive trends towards greater consultation and participation in
the EIA process and the improved communication of EIA findings, both are still
underdeveloped in the UK. Few developers make a real effort to gain a sense of the