Environmental Impact Assessment

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Environmental Impact Assessment

• Myriam Raiche
• November 8, 2007

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What is an EIA?

• Simplified EIA considers an action and its
  possible consequences
• A process and planning tool used for data
  gathering and decision making (public and
  private)
• Identifies, predicts, and assesses the likely
  consequences of proposed development activities
  on the surrounding environment
• Idealistically, process should be comprehensive
  and objective

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Canadian Environmental Assessment Research
Council Definition

• Process which attempts to identify and predict
  the impacts of legislative proposals, policies,
  programs, projects and operational procedures on
  the biophysical environment, on human health and
  well-being. It also interprets and communicates
  information about those impacts and investigates
  and proposes means for their management. (Dearden
  and Mitchell, 2005, 171)

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Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

• Purpose of EIA
• Minimize or avoid adverse environmental effects
  before they occur
• Incorporate environmental factors into decision
  making

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Examples for Use of EIA

• Physical projects
• Hydroelectric dam, wind farm, waste facility
• Programs
• Renewable energy development scheme, recycling
  program
• Policies
• Energy policy, waste management policy

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Types of EIA

• Progression of EIA, from 1970s, into various
  environmental focuses
• Cumulative impact assessment
• Social and economic assessment
• Strategic impact assessment

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Jurisdictions Regulations

• Public
• Federal level CEAA administered by the Canadian
  Environmental Assessment Agency
• Provincial/Territorial level Provincial acts
  such as BCs EAA administered by the BC
  Environmental Assessment Office
• Inter-jurisdictional agreements between federal
  and provincial/territorial authorities Canada-BC
  EA Cooperation Agreement

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Jurisdictions Regulations

• Local level Regional and municipal regulations
  administered by local government and planning
  departments
• Private
• Consultants, resource managers, planners,
  engineers, etc sub-contracted or hired directly
  by developer and subject to same regulations

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EIA Approval

• 4 assessment types described in the CEAA
• Screening class screening
• Comprehensive study
• Mediation
• Review panel

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Summary of Steps in EIA Process

• Proposal
• identify basic concept of project
• Screening
• Is an EIA legally required?
• legalities (permits, legislation), scale (size,
  cost), nature of project (public/private, type)
• Scoping
• identify issues and impacts to be addressed

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Summary of Steps in EIA Process

• Assessment
• data collection, impact prediction, evaluation
• Preparation, Submission, Review of EIA report
• Decision/Recommendation
• approval or rejection based on EIA report
  recommendations
• Monitoring Compliance
• Parameters for maintaining and enforcing
  recommend

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Benefits

• Protection and/or improvement of human and
  environmental health
• Maintenance of biodiversity
• Sustainable use of natural resources
• Minimized risks of environmental disasters
• Opportunity for public participation
• Fewer conflicts between users

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Challenges

• Early involvement of EIA process in project
  planning and development
• Threshold of environmental impact finding the
  acceptable level of environmental impact
• Lack of black and white in decision-making need
  to balance subjective judgments and cultural
  values with scientific studies

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Challenges

• Every project is unique standard format is not
  always available but allows for creativity and
  project-specific measures
• Data collection lack of data and imperfect data
  (leads to guesswork and unknowns)

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References

• Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency website
  at http//www.ceaa.gc.ca/index_e.htm
• Dearden, Philip and Mitchell, Bruce. (2005).
  Environmental Change and Challenge. A Canadian
  Perspective. 2nd ed. Canada Oxford University
  Press.
• Environmental Assessment Office website at
  http//www.eao.gov.bc.ca
• Environmental Impact Assessment. Urban
  Environmental Management. Global Development
  Research Center website at http//www.gdrc.org/uem
  /eia/impactassess.html
• Hanna, Kevin S. (Ed). (2005). Environmental
  Impact Assessment. Practice and Participation.
  Canada Oxford University Press.

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Questions?

• Do you think EIAs have been successful in their
  mandate or are economic issues still at the
  forefront? What about in the future
• Are they empty statements?