Introduction To Environmental Impact Assessment

John Glasson, Riki Therivel

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• eBook ISBN:
  9780429894619
• Subtopic: Urban Planning & Landscaping
• Index: Politics & International Relations

A comprehensive, clearly structured and readable overview of the subject, Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment has established itself as the leading introduction to EIA worldwide. This fifth edition is a major update reflecting many significant changes in EIA procedures, process, practice and prospects over the last decade. In particular, it includes:

• a much more international dimension, drawing on EIA activities worldwide;
• an up-to-date coverage of the revised EU EIA Directive and its implementation;
• the associated update of contemporary UK procedures and practice;
• best practice on evolving methods in the EIA process;
• a rich array of UK and many international case studies;
• a new coverage of emerging EIA impact topics, including equality/deprivation; culture; resettlement; climate change; ecosystem services; and risk, resilience and cumulative impacts;
• an appraisal of some next steps in the EIA process, including a more effective and proportionate EIA; the impact of technological change; the changing interpretation of the project; project implementation, monitoring and adaptive management; and moves towards a more integrated impact assessment. Together, these topics act as a kind of action list for future EIA;
• the development of SEA legislation and practice in the UK, EU and worldwide; and
• a set of appendices containing key legislation and an EIS review framework.

It is also makes full use of colour illustrations and chapter questions for discussion. Written by two authors with extensive research, training and consultancy experience of EIA, this book brings together the most up-to-date information from many sources.

Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment 5th Edition provides a complete, and critical, introductory text that also supports further studies. Students in undergraduate and postgraduate planning programmes will find it essential as a course text, as will students of environmental management/policy, environmental sciences/studies, geography and built environment. Key stakeholders involved in assessment activities – planners, developers, community groups, pressure groups and decision-makers in government and business – will also welcome this latest edition as a very effective means of getting to grips with the many facets of this important and evolving subject that affects a widening range of development projects.

Part 1

Principles and procedures

1 Introduction and principles

1.1 Introduction

Over the last five decades there has been a remarkable growth of interest in environmental issues – in sustainability and the better management of development in harmony with the environment. Associated with this growth of interest has been the introduction of new legislation and guidance, emanating from national and international sources, such as the European Commission and the World Bank/International Finance Corporation, that seek to influence the relationship between development and the environment. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an important example. EIA legislation was introduced in the USA over 50 years ago. A European Community (EC) directive in 1985 accelerated its application in EU Member States and it has spread worldwide. Since its introduction in the UK in 1988, it has been a major growth area for planning practice; the originally anticipated 20 environmental impact statements (EIS) per year in the UK have escalated to several hundreds. The scope of EIA continues to widen and grow. This chapter introduces EIA as a process, the purposes of this process, the institutional context, types of development, environment and impacts, changing perspectives and current issues in EIA.

1.2 The nature of environmental impact assessment

1.2.1 Definitions

Definitions of EIA abound. They range from the broad definition of Munn (1979), which refers to the need ‘to identify and predict the impact on the environment and on man’s health and well-being of legislative proposals, policies, programmes, projects and operational procedures, and to interpret and communicate information about the impacts’, to the altogether more succinct and pithy UNECE (1991) definition: ‘an assessment of the impact of a planned activity on the environment’. The EU EIA Directive requires an assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects, which are likely to have significant effects on the environment, by virtue, inter alia, of their nature, size or location, before development consent is granted; it is procedurally based (see Appendix 1). The EIA definition adopted by the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA 2009) is ‘the process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social and other relevant effects of proposed development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made’. This process emphasis is now explored further.

1.2.2 Environmental impact assessment: a process

In essence, EIA is a process, a systematic process that examines the environmental consequences of development actions, in advance. The emphasis, compared with many other mechanisms for environmental protection, is on prevention. Of course, planners have traditionally assessed the impacts of developments on the environment, but invariably not in the systematic, holistic and multidisciplinary way required by EIA. The process involves a number of steps, as outlined in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1

Important steps in the EIA process

Note: EIA should be a cyclical process with considerable interaction between the various steps. For example, public participation can be useful at most stages of the process; prediction of major negative impacts can lead to project redesign; monitoring systems should relate to parameters established in the initial project and baseline descriptions

The steps are briefly described below, pending a much fuller discussion in Chapters 4–7. Although the steps are outlined in a linear fashion, EIA should be a cyclical activity, with appropriate feedback and interaction between the various steps. It should also be noted that practice can and does vary considerably from the process illustrated in Figure 1.1. EIA is context-based, and as will be shown in later chapters, especially in Chapters 2 and 10, there are some international variations in the process. For example, only since 2014 has the EU required post-decision monitoring. The order of the steps in the process may also vary.

•Project screening narrows the application of EIA to those projects that may have significant environmental impacts. Screening may be partly determined by the EIA regulations operating in a country at the time of assessment.

•Scoping seeks to identify at an early stage, from all of a project’s possible impacts and from all the alternatives that could be addressed, those that are the crucial, significant issues.

•The consideration of alternatives seeks to ensure that the proponent has considered other feasible approaches, including alternative project locations, scales, processes, layouts, operating conditions, and the ‘no action’ option.

•The description of the project/development action includes a clarification of the purpose and rationale of the project, and an understanding of its various characteristics – including stages of development, location, and processes.

•The description of the environmental baseline includes the establishment of both the present and future state of the environment, in the absence of the project, taking into account changes resulting from natural events and from other human activities.

•The identification of the main impacts brings together the previous steps with the aim of ensuring that all potentially significant environmental impacts (adverse and beneficial) are identified and taken into account in the process.

•The prediction of impacts aims to identify the magnitude and other dimensions of identified change in the environment with a project/action, by comparison with the situation without that project/action.

•The evaluation and assessment of significance assesses the relative significance of the predicted impacts to allow a focus on the main adverse and beneficial impacts.

•Mitigation involves the introduction of measures to avoid, reduce, remedy or compensate for any significant adverse impacts. In addition, enhancement involves the development of beneficial impacts where possible.

•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 throughout 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 (Environmental Impact Statement) documents the information and estimates of impacts derived from the various steps in the process. In some domains the EIS is referred to as the ES (Environmental Statement) or the EIAR (Environmental Impact Assessment Report). These terms are used interchangeably in this book.

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.

Table 1.1 An EIS for a project – example of contents

Non-technical summary

Part 1: Introduction, methods and key issues •Introduction •Methodology •Summary of key issues

Part 2: Background to the proposed development •Preliminary studies: need, planning, alternatives and site selection •Site description, baseline conditions •Description of proposed development •Development programme, including site preparation, construction, operation, decommissioning and restoration (as appropriate)

Part 3: Environmental impact assessment – topic areas •Land use •Geology, topogr...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Information
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface to the first edition
• Preface to the fifth edition
• Acknowledgements
• Part 1 Principles and procedures
• Part 2 Process
• Part 3 Practice
• Index