ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT EA PRINCIPLES

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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (EA) PRINCIPLES
PRACTICES

• ... plan, predict, follow-up

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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (EA)

• EA implies determination of environmental
  consequences or impact of proposed projects or
  activities
• Impact or effects means change any change,
  positive or negative
• EA is, therefore, a study of probable changes in
  various biophysical and socio-economic
  characteristics of the environment which may
  result from a proposed or impending action

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RATIONALE FOR EA

• Development can have beneficial and adverse
  effects on the environment
• Beneficial effects often affect few individuals
  and environmental components
• Adverse effects often affect many individuals and
  environmental components
• Development needs to be managed and controlled to
  promote beneficial effects and prevent adverse
  effects
• Environmental assessment is a means to manage and
  control adverse effects of development

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BASICS OF EA

• Assess environmental effects of a proposal at
  earliest stage in planning
• Inform public about the proposal and obtain input
  to decision making process
• Propose measures to mitigate adverse
  environmental effects
• Identify follow-up requirements to address
  uncertainty
• Evaluate significance of residual environmental
  effects
• Take environmental consequence into consideration
  when approving project
• Conduct follow-up to determine if assessment is
  effective and mitigation is implemented

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EA STEPS

• Basic EA steps
• Develop a complete understanding and clear
  definition of the proposed action
• Gain a complete understanding the affected
  environment
• Envision implementation of the proposed action in
  that setting and determine possible effects on
  the environmental characteristics
• Propose measures to mitigate adverse effects and
  evaluate significance of residual effects
• Prepare a report on the assessment in a manner
  that the information may be used in decision
  making

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PURPOSE OF EA

• Basic EA objectives are to
• 1. Consider environmental effects at the
  project planning and decision making stage
• 2. Anticipate and avoid, minimize or offset
  adverse biophysical and other effects of
  proposals
• 3. Support protection of productive capacity
  of natural systems and processes
• 4. Provide opportunities for public to be
  informed and participate in the decision making
  process
• 5. Promote development that is sustainable and
  optimize resource management opportunities

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BENEFITS OF EA

• Provide for environmental protection
• Preserve or enhance quality of life
• Foster sustainable development
• Compliance with legislation
• Public awareness / acceptance / appreciation
• Multidisciplinary integration
• Reduced surprises / anticipate issues
• On-budget / on-time projects - lower costs?
• Improved professional credibility
• Reduced legal liability (due diligence)
• Others

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HISTORICAL EVENTS

• 1950s assessments of major projects for health
  and safety - separate documents for major
  projects
• 1960s public concern recognized as part of
  assessment process for projects with significant
  effects
• 1970s Environmental Assessment and Review
  Process (EARP) Policy Berger Inquiry - Mackenzie
  Valley Pipeline
• 1980s Rafferty-Alameda and Oldman court
  decisions EARP interpreted as a legal
  requirement and applied to federal jurisdiction
  Brundtland Commission - emphasis on prior
  environmental assessment of proposed projects
  sustainable development
• 1990s Canadian EA legislation - new age in EA,
  global, sophistication, sustainable development,
  strategic environmental assessment, cumulative
  effects assessment, transboundary issues

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EA PRE-1970s

• Project review based on technical engineering and
  economic analysis
• Limited consideration given to environmental
  consequences
• Assessments carried out to ensure that health and
  safety is adequately protected
• No commitment for public consultation
• Separate documents submitted
  to each regulatory agency

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EA EARLY to MID-1970s

• Environmental assessment introduced
• Basic principles, guidelines, procedures
  including public participation
• Requirements instituted
• Standard methods for impact analysis developed
• Several countries adopt NEPA-based approach
• Canada adopts a policy-based approach
• Major public inquiries help
  shape process development

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EA LATER 1970s to EARLY 1980s

• More formalized guidelines
• Use of environmental assessment in developing
  countries
• SIA and risk analysis used in environmental
  assessment process
• Greater emphasis on ecological modeling,
  prediction and evaluation
• Program level EISs prepared in US
• Environmental inquiries in several countries
  encompass policy review aspects

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EA LATE 1980s

• Canada pursues reform of EA policy approach
• European Countries directive on EA establishes
  basic principles and procedural requirements
• Increasing efforts address cumulative effects
• Development of follow-up mechanisms
• Ecosystem and landscape level approaches applied
• World Bank and other international agencies
  establish environmental assessment requirements
• Environmental assessment increasing in developing
  countries

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EA 1990s to PRESENT

• Canada adopts EA legislation
• Requirements to define transboundary effects
  under international convention
• Environmental assessment identified as
  implementing mechanism for UN conventions
• SEA systems established by increasing number of
  countries
• Mediation incorporated into environmental
  assessment requirements
• Sustainability principles and global issues
  receive increased attention
• EA a tool to achieve the goal of sustainable
  development

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EA TERMINOLOGY

• Environmental effect (individual change)
• Environmental impact (overall change or result)
• Environmental Assessment (EA)
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
• Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
• Social Impact Assessment (SIA)
• Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
• Cumulative Effects
  Assessment (CEA)

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ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECT vs. IMPACT

• Environmental effect - any change that a project
  may cause in the environment
• Environmental impact - sum of the effects or
  changes that a project may cause in the
  environment (overall result)
• Impact Sum of the effects

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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (EA)

• systematic process of identifying, predicting,
  evaluating and proposing mitigation for adverse
  biophysical, socio-economic and other relevant
  effects of development proposals or projects
  prior to major decisions and commitments being
  taken
• general process term with broad application
• simply stated as the identification of future
  consequences of a current or proposed action

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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA)

• environmental assessment process applied to a
  specific development proposal or project
• project-specific environmental assessment

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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS)

• Environmental assessment report prepared in
  accordance with institutional requirements at the
  conclusion of an EIA for a development proposal,
  usually for larger projects.
• Typically, an EIS is prepared prior to public
  hearings or as part of reviews of environmentally
  significant projects
• Canada - prepared for panel review projects
  following guidelines established by the panel
• Manitoba - prepared for developments with
  potentially significant effects following
  guidelines established by the Director, Minister
  or CEC

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SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

• process of estimating the social, economic and
  other relevant consequences that are likely to
  follow from specific policy and development
  proposals, particularly in the context of
  established environmental assessment requirements
• can be conducted as part of an EIA
  assessment or separately

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STRATEGIC EA (SEA)

• process of prior examination and appraisal of
  policies, plans and programs and other higher
  level or pre-project initiatives
• follows general environmental assessment
  procedures at a conceptual level
• Canadian policy to assess federal policies, plans
  and programs, including budget proposals

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CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ASSESSMENT (CEA)

• incremental effects of a project on the
  environment when the effects are combined with
  those from other past, present and future
  projects
• predicts effects of projects are likely to occur
  in the reasonably foreseeable future
• scope usually has greater spatial and temporal
  boundaries
• regional land-use
  planning scale

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ENVIRONMENT?

• Basic (ecosystem)
• Air, land, water, biota
• Natural systems
• Interrelationships
• Sustainability
• Social
• Economic
• Cultural
• Built environment
• Infrastructure more

EA, by definition, is multidisciplinary
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EA DISCIPLINES?

• Science
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics, etc.
• Arts
• Geography
• Social sciences
• Political science, etc.
• Engineering
• Architecture
• Planning
• Management etc.

EA, by definition, crosses all disciplines
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ECOLOGICAL APPLICATION

• What level works best?
• Cellular
• Individual
• Species
• Population
• Ecosystem
• EA approach
• Identify Valued Ecosystem Components (VECs)
• Identify environmental indicators
• Identify measurable parameters

Effect may be at all levels but EA is usually
applied at the ecosystem level
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ECOSYSTEM BASIS

• Ecosystem ...
• level of ecological study that includes all
  organisms in a given area as well as biotic and
  abiotic factors they interact with
• community of living and non-living elements
  connected through energy flow and nutrient
  cycling
• retains identity in geographic perspective even
  through dynamic shifts may occur in
  climatological and geological variables

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EA ELEMENTS

• Scope (project / assessment)
• Project description
• Environment description
• Environmental effects
• Public concern
• Mitigation
• Significance
• Reporting
• Follow-up

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KINDS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS

• Major LT1
• Panel Review (CEAA)
• Public Hearing (MEA)
• Complex 5
• Comprehensive Study (CEAA)
• Environmental Impact Statement (MEA)
• Simple 95 (many excluded)
• Screening

Most are simple screenings
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PROJECT LIFE-CYCLE

• Planning (assess environmental effects)
• Design (mitigate adverse effect)
• Construction (conduct follow-up)
• Commissioning (audit)
• Operation (monitor)
• Renovation
• Abandonment
• Transfer
• Decommissioning

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INTEGRATION OF EA INTO PROJECT PLANNING

• Sequential (no)
• separate stages
• not effective or efficient
• Parallel (no)
• separate process
• not efficient - not coordinated
• Integrated (yes)
• coordinated approach
• effective and efficient

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Next Class

• Visit the Canadian Environmental Assessment
  Agency website
• Read about Canadas environmental assessment
  process
• Review the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act
  and regulations
• Review guides and policy statements
• Read about proposed amendments to the Act
• Go to the public registry page and search for
  projects in Manitoba
• Come to class prepared to discuss environmental
  assessment in Canada