EIA History, Process and Applications

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Lecture 2

• EIA History, Process and Applications

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Review

• Environmental planning
• Evaluation of the potential environmental impacts
  of a proposed action and provides recommendations
  to avoid or minimize potential adverse impacts
• Main tool Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA)
• EIA
• Systematic process for identifying and evaluating
  the potential effects of proposed actions on the
  physical, biological, cultural and socioeconomic
  components of the environment

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EIA vs Environmental Document

• EIA is a process
• Outcome of EIA process is a report or
  environmental document
• Examples of Environment Documents
• Federal - EISs and EAs
• California EIRs and NDs
• Europe SEAs and SIAs
• Business world environmental aspect reports

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Pre-1970 Decision Making Process

• Feasibility Study
• Technical
• Financial

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NEPA (1969)

• Magna Carta for the environment (CEQ, 1993)
• The NEPA is at its core, a mandate for informed,
  democratic decision making and its greatest
  contribution to environmental protection is
  incalculable. (CEQ, 1997)
• NEPA is our countrys basic charter for
  environmental responsibility. (Bass, Herson, et.
  al., 2001)

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NEPA Action-forcing Mechanism Sec. 102 (2)(C)

• .
• all agencies of the Federal Government shall
• .
• (C) include in every recommendation or report on
  proposals for legislation and other major Federal
  actions significantly affecting the quality of
  the human environment, a detailed statement by
  the responsible official on the environmental
  effects of the proposed action.

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Post-1970 Decision Making Process

• Feasibility Study
• Technical
• Financial

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Post-NEPA Events

• Calvert Cliffs (1971)
• First court decision that examined underlying
  intent of NEPA
• Affirmed universal requirement that NEPA applies
  to all federal agencies and actions
• CEQ binding NEPA regulations (1978)
• Introduced Environmental Assessment (EA)

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NEPA Changed Decision-Making

• Established a process by which federal agencies
  must study the environmental effects of their
  actions
• Created an interdisciplinary and integrated
  framework in which
• Science of environmental impact assessment (EIA)
  is conducted
• Environmental management is implemented by
  integration with technical and economic
  feasibility
• Involves public in federal decision-making
  process through environmental disclosure

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NEPA Limitations

• No mandate to protect the environment, only to
  study the environmental effects of actions
• No requirement to avoid or mitigate adverse
  environmental effects only consider them
• Basic premise of NEPA
• Disclosure and consideration better decisions

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Agency EIS Preparation History
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Little NEPAs
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Key Points about NEPA

• Is NEPA a substantive law?
• Environmental disclosure and problem-solving law
  (i.e., procedural)
• What is its most important change?
• Established interdisciplinary and integrated
  framework for decision-making
• What makes NEPA effective?
• Action-forcing mechanism
• Sec. 102 (2) (C)
• Requirement for EIS
• Are adverse environmental effects prohibited?
• Disclose and consider effects only

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What is NEPA?

• NEPA is not
• National Environmental Protection Act
• No specific substantive directives
• NEPA is
• National Environmental Policy Act
• Primarily a procedural requirement

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Objectives of EIA Process

• Modify and improve design
• Ensure efficient resource use
• Enhance social aspects
• Identify key impacts and measures for mitigating
  them
• Inform decision-making and condition-setting
• Avoid serious and irreversible damage to the
  environment
• Protect human health and safety

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Environmental Planning Issues
The EIA process addresses the following
environmental effects

• biophysical and resource use
• social and cultural
• health and safety
• economic and fiscal
• landscape and visual
• indigenous peoples rights and traditional areas

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Key operating principles of good EIA practice

• EIA should
• be applied to all proposals with significant
  impacts
• begin early in the project cycle
• address relevant environmental, social and health
  impacts
• identify and take account of public views
• result in a statement of impacts and mitigation
  measures
• facilitate informed decision making and condition
  setting

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Generalized EIA Process
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Content of EIA ReportNEPA Sec. 102 (2)(C)

• the environmental impact of the proposed action,
• any adverse environmental effects which cannot be
  avoided should the proposal be implemented,
• alternatives to the proposed action,
• the relationship between local short-term uses of
  mans environment and the maintenance and
  enhancement of long-term productivity,
• any irreversible commitments of resources which
  would be involved in the proposed action should
  it be implemented.

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Applications of EIA

• U.S. NEPA Process
• State NEPAs Little NEPAs
• 16 states plus DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, and CA-NV
  Tahoe regional planning area
• California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
• International
• European Union (EU Directive 85/337)
• World Bank
• Multinational lending institutions
• Business
• ISO 14000