Case studies of EIA in practice - Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment - page 260

subsequent public inquiry. It would begin to reduce the difficulties which
arise over the definition of projects and programmes. (Sheate 1995)
The case also highlights a wider problem within the EIA Directive concerning its
ambiguous definition of the term “project”. As we have seen, this is a particular issue for
projects in the electricity supply industry, but it also applies to other infrastructure
projects, especially road schemes. It has resulted in a number of complaints to the EC
about whether a larger project can be split into a number of smaller schemes for the
purposes of consenting and (therefore) EIA. The problem is that EIA in the UK—as in
most EU Member States—has been implemented as part of existing consent procedures,
and if these are divided for a project, then so is the requirement for EIA. This so-called
“salami-slicing” of projects runs counter to the purposes of the Directive, which states
“effects on the environment [should be taken] into account at the earliest possible stage in
all the technical, planning and decision-making processes” (Preamble to Directive
85/337/EEC). As the case study illustrates, this purpose cannot be achieved if EIA is
applied only to individual project components rather than to the project as a whole.
The issues raised by this case study remain relevant to current EIA practice. The issue
of ambiguous project definition was not resolved in the revised EU EIA Directive that
came into force in 1999, and consent procedures for electricity generation and
transmission projects in the UK remain divided. The extent to which the implementation
of the EU SEA Directive may help to resolve the problem of “salami-slicing” of projects
is also currently unclear.
9.3 M6-M56 motorway link road—the treatment of alternatives and
indirect effects
9.3.1 Introduction
This case study of the EIA for a proposed motorway scheme in North West England
raises important issues in relation to the treatment of alternatives in EIA, and the
assessment of indirect and consequential effects. EIA for road schemes in the UK has
been subject to significant advances since the implementation of the original EIA
Directive in the late 1980s, and this example relates to relatively early UK practice. The
environmental statement for the scheme was submitted towards the end of 1992, just
prior to the emergence of revised guidance on road scheme EIA (itself since superseded)
(DoT 1993). The case also pre-dates the stronger line on the consideration of alternatives
in the revised EIA Directive. Nevertheless, the case study raises a number of issues with
continuing relevance to EIA practice, both for road schemes and for other infrastructure
projects, particularly those of a linear nature.
9.3.2 The proposed development
The proposed scheme, known as the A556(M), involved the construction of a new
motorway link between the existing M6 and M56 motorways, in the Cheshire countryside
south of Manchester, in North West England (Figure 9.2). The existing link was provided