Introduction and Principles

Question 1

When was EIA introduced to EU?

Answer 1

1988 EU Directive

Implemented in UK planning regulations

Question 2

What is the UNECE (1991) definition of an EIA?

Answer 2

‘an assessment of the impact of planned activity on the environment’

Question 3

What is the IAIA (2009) definition of an EIA?

Answer 3

‘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’

Question 4

What is project screening?

Answer 4

Is an EIA needed?

Specific location dependent legislation will determine this

Question 5

What is scoping?

Answer 5

An early stage, which seeks to identify, from all of a projects possible impacts and alternatives, which are the most crucial/significant.

Question 6

What should the description of the project/development include?

Answer 6

Purpose and rationale, various characteristics (inc stages of development), location, processes

Question 7

What is the environmental baseline?

Answer 7

A description of the environment in its current and predicted state to take account changes to the environment as a results of human changes

Question 8

After an identification of main and predicted impacts, what should follow in the Environmental Impact Statement?

Answer 8

Evaluation and assessment of significance to allow a focus on the main adverse or beneficial impacts

Question 9

What should happen at all times throughout and EIA?

Answer 9

Public participation

Question 10

What do the review and decision-making stages involve?

Answer 10

Review: systemic appraisal of the quality of the EIS, as a contribution to the decision making process
Decision-making: involves consideration by the relevant authority of the EIS together with other material considerations

Question 11

What is the difference between post-decision monitoring and auditing?

Answer 11

Post decision monitoring is the recording of outcomes associated with development impacts, after a decision to proceed, can contribute to effective project management.
Auditing: follows from monitoring, compare actual outcomes with predicted and assess the quality of predictions/effectiveness of mitigation. A vital step.

Question 12

What is an EIS? What is an ideology behind it?

Answer 12

Environmental Impact Statement. Prevention is better than cure, a thorough EIS can highlight significant adverse enviro impacts and lead to abandonment or significant alterations to projects

Question 13

What is the benefit of the non-technical summary?

Answer 13

Improves communication with the various parties involved

Question 14

Give 3 purposes of an EIA and a summary of each.

Answer 14

1) An aid to decision making
wider in scope than a CBA, and helps clarify trade offs which may occur, can be a basis for negotiation
2) An framework for developers to consider location and design through
more enviro sensitive development, improved relations between stakeholders, link to green consumerism, corporate social responsibility
3) A vehicle for stakeholder consultation and participation
Increases information for those affected by development.

Question 15

What is an environmental impact of a project or development?

Answer 15

The resultant changes in environmental parameters, in space and time, compared with what would have happened had the project not been undertaken.

Question 16

Name 4 types of impacts.

Answer 16

Biophysical/socio-economic
reversible/irreversible
long-term/short-term
direct/indirect or secondary impacts
quantifiable/qualitative
actual/perceived

Question 17

What you should compare all impacts to?

Answer 17

A do nothing situation

Question 18

Give 2 examples of what might initiate a project.

Answer 18

Market demand e.g. shopping centre, wind farm
Necessity e.g. flood protection works
Prestige role e.g. Grands Trauvaux in Paris

Question 19

What dimensions make up the ‘environment’?

Answer 19

Biophysical (air, water, land), socio-cultural (well-being, services etc.), scales (local, regional, naitonal, global), time (baseline data to show change)

Question 20

Are EIA’s a science? Why?

Answer 20

They contain unexamined, unexplained value judgements and are always political. Work is selectivley used (Beattie 1995)

Question 21

Why does an EIA need to be adaptive?

Answer 21

The world is rapidly changing e.g. climate change, recessions, an adaptive EIA copes with uncertainty (Holling 1978)
EIA accounts for strong and weak sustainability, developers may view it as administrative exercise, whereas from the ‘deep green’ perspective it lack enough certainty about environmental impacts

Question 22

What are SIAs and HIAs? How are they different?

Answer 22

Social Impact Assessment
Health Impact Assessment
In some countries these are separate from EIA (Vanclay 2013?)
See also EqIA Equality Impact Assessment

Question 23

What is an SEA?

Answer 23

Strategic Environmental Assessment: expands on scale of EIA to strategic policy level. Focus is mainly biophysical

Question 24

What was the UKs early approach to EIA?

Answer 24

1947 Town and Country Planning Act
Informal
Large projects dealt with by secretary of state

Question 25

What was the USAs early approach to EIA?

Answer 25

NEPA National Environmental Policy Act 1969
To develop a procedure so the unquantified environmental amenities and values are given appropriate consideration alongside traditional economic and technical considerations

Question 26

Summarise the NYC Westway case study.

Answer 26

6 lane highway proposed in NYC including landfill on the banks of the Hudson River, road, parks and real estate development $1.3 billion committed by federal gov, approval on all levels
1980 Initial approval delayed by CO concerns in highway tunnels, but were overturned despite objections from NGOs and NEPA
1984 significant (key legal term) adverse impacts were found on striped bass, judge ruled authorities had failed to comply with Clean Water Act and NEPA
Project not taken forward, power of EIA in US demonstrated