1.7 Overview of The Stages of The EIA Process: Screening
Uploaded by
proudtinashek1.7 Overview of The Stages of The EIA Process: Screening
Uploaded by
proudtinashek1.
7 Overview of the stages of the EIA process
This section very briefly presents an overview of the stages of EIA to help place them in the
context of the whole process. More detail about each stage is provided later.
Screening
The EIA process begins from the very start of a project. Once a developer has identified a
need and assessed all the possible alternatives of project design and sites to select a preferred
alternative, two important questions must be asked: 'What will be the effects of this
development on the environment? Are those effects significant?' If the answer to the second
question is 'yes', an EIA may be required. Answering this question is a process known as
screening and can be an essential first step into a formal EIA.
The EIA process is, it must be stressed, iterative. This is demonstrated at this early stage of
screening where the requirement for a formal EIA and its associated cost implications can
lead the developer to reassess the project design with a view to reducing the significant
impacts to a level where an EIA is not legally required (Nielsen et al 2005).
Scoping
Where it is decided that a formal EIA is required, the next stage is to define the issues that
need to be addressed, that is, those impacts that have a significant effect on the environment.
This is known as scoping and is essential for focusing the available resources on the relevant
issues.
Baseline study
Following on from scoping, it is essential to collect all relevant information on the current
status of the environment. This study is referred to as a baseline study as it provides a
baseline against which change due to a development can be measured.
Impact prediction
Once the baseline study information is available, the important task of impact prediction can
begin. Impact prediction involves forecasting the likely changes in the environment that will
occur as a result of the development.
Impact assessment
The next phase involves the assessment of the identified impacts - impact assessment. This
requires interpretation of the importance or significance of the impacts to provide a
conclusion, which can ultimately be used by decision-makers in determining the fate of the
project application.
Mitigation
Frequently, the assessment of impacts will reveal damaging effects upon the environment.
These may be alleviated by mitigation measures. Mitigation involves taking measures to
reduce or remove environmental impacts and it can be seen that the iterative nature of the EIA
process is well demonstrated here. For example, successful design of mitigation measures
could possibly result in the removal of all significant impacts; hence a new screening exercise
would reveal that there might have been no need to carry out a formal EIA had the mitigation
measures been included from the start.
Producing the environmental impact statement
The outcome of an EIA is usually a formal document, known as an environmental impact
statement (EIS), which sets out factual information relating to the development, and all the
information gathered relating to screening, scoping, baseline study, impact prediction and
assessment, mitigation, and monitoring measures. It is quite common that a requirement of an
EIS is that it also produces a non-technical summary. This is a summary of the information
contained within the EIS, presented in a concise non-technical format, for those who do not
wish to read the detailed documents. This is very important, as EISs are public documents
intended to inform the public of the nature and likely consequences of a development in time
to comment and/or participate in the final project design.
EIS review
Once the EIA is complete, the EIS is submitted to the competent authority. This is the body
with the authority to permit or refuse development applications. The competent authorities are
often in a position of having very little time to make a decision and have a detailed and
lengthy EIS to read through which may contain errors, omissions, and developer bias. It is
essential, therefore, that they review the document. Review can take a number of forms: it
may be purely an ad hoc process whereby the document is read and commented on by
decision-makers; it can be more formalised and expert opinion is sought; or it can be through
the use of formal review methods designed specifically for the purpose. Basically, the review
process should enable the decision-maker to decide whether the EIS is adequate (eg whether it
is legally compliant), whether the information is correct, and whether it is unbiased. If it is,
they are then in a position to use the EIS as information to be considered in determining
whether the project should receive consent. This issue of review is discussed in more detail
elsewhere in this module.
The competent authority is now in possession of the information they require about the
possible effects of the development on the environment. They will use this information, in
combination with all of the other details and representations they have received, to help them
come to a decision.
Follow up
Follow up relates to the post-approval phase of EIA and encompasses monitoring of impacts,
the continued environmental management of a project, and impact auditing. Without any form
of follow up EIA would operate as a linear rather than an iterative process, and an important
step towards achieving environmental protection will also have been omitted.
Follow up presents an opportunity both to control environmental effects and to learn from the
process and cause-effect relationships. Ideally, data generated by monitoring and other aspects
of follow up should be compared with the original predictions and mitigation measures in the
EIS to determine
1. the accuracy of the original predictions
2. the degree of the deviation from the predictions
3. the possible reasons for any deviation
4. whether mitigation measures have achieved their objective of reducing or eliminating
impacts
Information generated by this process can contribute to the improvement of future EIA
practice, for example, by enabling more accurate predictions to be made.