Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Public consultation and participation aim to ensure the quality, comprehensiveness and
effectiveness of the EIA, and that the public's views are adequately taken into
consideration in the decision-making process.
EIS presentation is a vital step in the process. If done badly, much good work in the
EIA may be negated.
Review involves a systematic appraisal of the quality of the EIS, as a contribution to the
decision-making process.
Decision-making on the project involves a consideration by the relevant authority of the
EIS (including consultation responses) together with other material considerations.
Post-decision monitoring involves the recording of outcomes associated with
development impacts, after a decision to proceed. It can contribute to effective project
management.
Auditing follows from monitoring. It can involve comparing actual outcomes with
predicted outcomes, and can be used to assess the quality of predictions and the
effectiveness of mitigation. It provides a vital step in the EIA learning process.
1.2.3 Environmental impact statements: the documentation
The EIS documents the information and estimates of impacts derived from the various
steps in the process. Prevention is better than cure; an EIS revealing many significant
unavoidable adverse impacts would provide valuable information that could contribute to
the abandonment or substantial modification of a proposed development action. Where
adverse impacts can be successfully reduced through mitigation measures, there may be a
different decision. Table 1.1 provides an example of the content of an EIS for a project.
The non-technical summary is an important element in the documentation; EIA can be
complex, and the summary can help to improve communication with the various parties
involved. Reflecting the potential complexity of the process, a methods statement, at the
beginning, provides an opportunity to clarify some basic information (e.g. who the
developer is, who has produced the EIS, who has been consulted and how, what methods
have been used, what difficulties have been encountered and what the limitations of the
EIA are). A summary statement of key issues, upfront, can also help to improve
communications. A more enlightened EIS would also include a monitormg programme,
either here or at the end of the document. The background to the proposed development
covers the early steps in the EIA process, including clear descriptions of a project, and
baseline conditions (including relevant planning policies and plans). Within each of the
topic areas of an EIS there would normally be a discussion of existing conditions,
predicted impacts, scope for mitigation and residual impacts.
Environmental impact assessment and EIS practices vary from study to study, from
country to country, and best practice is constantly evolving. An early UN study of EIA
practice in several countries advocated changes in the process and documentation
(UNECE 1991). These included giving a greater emphasis to the socio-economic
dimension, to public participation, and to “after the decision” activity, such as
monitoring. A recent review of the operation of the amended EC Directive (CEC 2003)
raised similar, and other emerging, issues a decade later (see Chapter 2). Sadler (1996)
provided a wider agenda for change based on a major international study of the
effectiveness of EIA (see Chapter 11).
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