TEXT Flashcards
Environmental Impact Assessment originated in the ______ ______ _______ _____.
US National Environmental Policy Act(NEPA) 1969-1970
EIA defines
The process of identifying, predicting, evaluating, and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made.
“look before you leap”
The EIA is an integral component of sound decision making, serving both an information gathering and an analytical component, used to inform decision makers concerning the impacts and management of proposed developments.
Biophysical environment
air, water, land, plants, animals
Human Environment
Culture, health, community sustainability, employment, financial matters
Environmental Site Assessments
purpose is to determine the nature and extent of contaminant levels at a specific site and to identify clean-up and remediation plans.
Environmental Change vs. Environmental Effect(or Environmental Impact)
Change: is a temporal measure, and not all change is project-induced
- a process set in motion by particular project actions, other actions, or natural processes
- ex: road construction, dam construction contribute to environmental change
effect: is the difference between change conditions
- the difference in the condition of an environmental parameter under project-induced change versus what the condition might be in the absence of project induced change
-An impact are estimates or judgements of the value that society places on certain environmental effects or concerns about the difference between the quality of the environment with and without the proposed action
rationalist model of planning and decision making that emerged in the 1960’s: comprehensive approach 6 steps
- Defining the problem
- Setting goals and objectives
- indenifying options
- assessing the options
- implementing the preferred solution
- monitoring and evaluating
“represents a framework within which EIA is often used as a tool for planning and decision-making”
Spectrum of EIA philosophies: 5
- Analytical Science= EIA serves to inform decisions and enhance scientific understanding. Science in EIA is applied, experimental, and naturalistic
- Environmental Design= EIA serves to inform and influence design decisions. Science in EIA is applied environmental science for design and engineering.
- Information Provision= EIA serves to inform decisions. Science in EIA is largely based on the natural sciences, with limited role for social sciences.
- Participation= EIA is about participatory decision-making. There is an extensive role for both the natural and social sciences.
- Environmental governance= EIA is about deliberative democracy. Science in EIA is largely based on the social sciences, with limited role for the natural sciences.
APples Eaten In Paris Excellent
1,2,3= Applied Science
4,5= Civic Science
Output Objectives of an EIA
are the immediate, short term objectives of the EIA process
- can often be audited, measured, and attributed directly to the EIA process
- are realized during the EIA process itself
.Ensuring the environmental factors are explicitly addressed in decision making process concerning proposed developments
.improving the design of the proposed development
.anticipating, avoiding, minimizing, and offsetting the adverse effects relevant to development proposals on the human and biophysical environment
.ensuring proponent accountability and compliance with the relevant laws and regulations respecting development
.providing a means for public participation in the development process
.ensuring that information about potential impacts of the project is made available to the public and decision-makers
Outcome Objective of an EIA
are the longer term objectives that are the products of consistent and rigorous, long-term EIA application.
-difficult to measure, often subtle and difficult to associate directly with the EIA process itself.
.protecting the productivity and capacity of human and natural systems and ecological functions
.facilitating individual,organizational, and social learning
.increasing environmental awareness
.promoting sustainability
Environmental Impact Statement
describes the proposed development, the affected environment, likely impacts, and proposed actions to manage or monitor those impacts
today: ______ to ______ EIS’s are prepared annually in the US
30,000-50,000
Cost-Benefit Analysis(CBA)
is an approach to project assessment that expresses impacts in monetary terms.
-obvious drawbacks include inability to allocate meaningful dollar values to environmental and human intangibles and the limited scope of fiscal impacts traditionally addressed by CBA. EIA was used initially as an add-on to CBA.
EIA evolutionary transitions(3)
- Initial Development(pre 1970): “Develop now,minimize associated costs, if forced to clean up later”
- Broadening scope and techniques(1970’s-1980’s): Greater attention turned toward managing adverse project impacts and risks associated with particular actions, as apposed to creating large environmental inventories
-project ‘scoping’ was first introduced in an attempt to identify the important issues and data requirements for project assessment
-public review of projects emerged
-Advanced beyond just the biophysical world and started to recognize broader social and regional impacts - Project ‘scoping’ was introduced. Scoping limited EAs to a select set
of impacts and variables making them more manageable and useful
for decision making. (We will look more closely at this in Module 5) - Public review of project proposals was implemented.
- The importance of social impacts emerged
- Institutional Support and Integration(1980’s-2000): Formation of the International Association for Impact Assessments(IAIA)
- EIA became more inclusive in what defined ‘environment’ with economic and social aspects
- multiple spatial and temporal scales
IAIA was formed in ____.
1980
At the Canadian Federal level the primary focus of an EIA is…
on the adverse effects of a project or activity on the biophysical environment.
“Environment” according to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act means: physical components of the earth
These three provinces include a broader understanding in their definitions of the environment in regard to EIA’s
NF & L
ON
SK
Strategic Environmental Assessment(SEA)
The concept of an environmental assessment that assesses policies, plans, and programs of a more strategic nature then those applicable to individual projects.
.helps in the understanding of the development context of a PPP, to identify problems and potentials, to address key trends, and to assess viable environmental and sustainable options.
-also addresses non-project impacts and cumulative environmental effects
SEA was formally established in Canada in ____
1990
Voisey’s Bay Mine-Mill Project in ____ was?
1997
The first major resource development project in Canada for which the impact statement guidelines for the project proponent explicitly identified the sustainability criterion., noting that the EIA should go beyond seeking to minimize damage to requiring that an undertaking maximize long-term, durable net gains to the community and the region.
Canada: EIA system
.Canada was the first to follow the US in NEPA beginnings formally implementing an EIA system in 1973
.Not until 1995 that EIA became a part of law
.each province has their own EIA system
Developing Nations and Development Agencies: EIA Systems
EIA is either performed in accordance with the countries EIA provisions or in order to comply with aid agencies requirements.
Operating Principles of EIA that define how the EIA process should unfold(6)
EIA should be applied:
..as early as possible in the planning and decision-making stages
..to all proposals that may generate significant adverse effects or about which there is significant public concern
..to all biophysical and human factors potentially affected by development, including health, gender, culture, and cumulative effects
…consistently with existing policies,plans, and programs and the principles of sustainable development
..in a manner that allows involvement of affected and interested parties in the decision-making process
..in accordance with local,regional,national, or international standards and regulatory requirements
Basic EIA Process 9 Steps
- Project Description- Includes alternatives
- Screening- determines whether project is subject to an EIA and who is reposible
- Scoping and Baseline assessment- analysis and delineation of key issues and the spatial and temporal boundaries
- Impact Assessment-Predictiona and evaluation of the potential environmental effects of the project, including cumulative effects
- Impact Management-development of environmental management or protection plans
- Significance determination- determination of the significance of the potential adverse environmental effects, taking into consideration the effectiveness of proposed impact management actions
- Submission and review of EIS- Technical and Public Review
- Recommendations and Decision
- Implementation and Follow up
P.S SONIA IS ILLEGALLY SUCKING SIMONS REAR INTESTINE
EIA’s can be quite ineffective and damaging if not used properly:6
- if it is not applied to projects with the potential to cause significant environmental affects or to projects with minor effects that may be cumulatively significant over time
- if proponents undertake an EIA late in the process
- if significant issues of concern are not included in the assessment
- if predictions of impacts are not accurate or not verifiable
- if decision-makers fail to use EIA results in making development decisions
- if the implementation of projects subject to EIA fails to follow through effectively with the sound environmental management plans developed through the EIA process
efficiency versus efficacy
doing things right
vs
doing the right things
Good governance is important to good EIA(4)
- Need trust between government and other stakeholders
- Disregarding Complexity: Need flexibility in standards of practice
- Remove bias for economic efficiency
- Less talk more action
Morgan PDF on Blackboard
.191 of the 193 member nations of the United Nations either have national legislation or have signed some form of international legal instrument that refers to the use of EIA
.Unfortunately, and notwithstanding
the above comments, not all countries have
introduced planning or development control legislation to require the routine use of EIA for proposed projects that might have significant environmental impacts. This gap was partly addressed by the World Bank group, which developed Safeguard Policies, including environmental and social assessment procedures, to guide funding decisions with respect to major projects in developing countries
.Equator Principles, which provide guidelines on the
use of EIA in relation to major project funding decisions
by the institutions
.
___ of 193 member nations of the UN have nation legislation about EIA
191
Equator Principle
Equator Principles, which provide guidelines on the
use of EIA in relation to major project funding decisions
by the institutions.
Social Impact Assessment(SIA)
SIA, for example, developed strongly in the late 1970s and 1980s because EIA, especially in the USA, was considered to have a strong biophysical emphasis, often neglecting social impacts (Taylor et al. 2004).
Health Impact Assessment(HIA)
HIA has emerged as a vigorous form of impact assessment, responding to a sense among many public health professionals that EIA did not adequately address project impacts on community and individual health (National Academy of Sciences 2011).
Strategic Environmental Assessment(SEA)
SEA has been vigorously promoted as a way to extend
impact assessment to higher level decision-making at
policy, programme and plan levels, a reaction to the
project orientation of most EIA applications
Cumulative Effects Assessment(CEA)
. Very underdeveloped an underutilized in most countries: include the lack of clear understanding of what constitutes ‘cumulative’ effects, the lack of agreed approaches and methods for carrying out CEA, and the fact that most jurisdictions place the responsibility of addressing cumulative effects on project proponents
8 Reasons why Public Participation can hurt and fail a project
(1) Poor public knowledge of planning, legal and waste
licensing issues.
(2) Poor provision of information.
(3) Poor access to legal advice.
(4) Mistrust of the waste disposal industry.
(5) ‘Not in my back yard’ (NIMBY) syndrome.
(6) Failure to influence the decision-making process.
(7) Poor execution of participation methods.
(8) Regulatory constraints.
Fuggle PDF
1. Technical and scientific competence and political processes are equally important in impact assessment. If one aspect is stressed at the expense of the other, the entire enterprise is weakened. Environmental and social impact assessment is certainly intended to empower the marginalized and to promote inclusive planning and governance, but it is also required to be technically and scientifically accurate and robust and to be pragmatic with respect to costs. Impact assessments should contribute to debate and a search for optimum solutions based on holistic and integrated decisions mutually acceptable to all affected parties 2. In the modern world we all suffer from information overload. Impact assessments should not make this worse! Encyclopedic impact assessment reports should be taboo. Shorter focused studies and reports that deal with the issues that will affect the decision should be the aim. Sometimes predominantly social analyses will be needed, sometimes predominantly economic or technical analyses will be needed. Studying and reporting on issues that will have no bearing on the decision to be made serves only to inflate costs and to increase skepticism as to the value of impact assessments. Genuine scoping that involves all role players early in the decision-making cycle is essential. 3. Follow-up is an integral part of the impact assessment process, but it is the element that is most often being ignored. Impact assessment without follow-up creates the illusion of environmental responsibility, when in fact no one is defending the public interest or the environment. When this happens disillusionment with the IA process sets in. Adequate provision of personnel and budget for monitoring and follow-up of the terms and conditions set in EIAs or in Records of Decision is in urgent need of attention throughout the world. 4. If governments, at all levels, continue to regard impact assessments as a largely bureaucratic and administrative exercise that they can apply, rework or ignore as they deem fit, impact assessments will not contribute to sustainability or gain in credibility. All levels of government need to be reminded that they have a moral duty, as well as international obligations under numerous conventions, to safeguard the well being of their citizens and the environment. 5. Impact assessments are not “magic bullets” to solve all social and political problems. The benefits of impact assessment should not be over-stated and their limitations must be recognized. Linking the EIA process closely to urban and land-use planning so that the two disciplines interweave and complement each other is also highly desirable. Situations in which environmental impact assessment and landuse planning are uncoordinated or in which they compete with each other are counter-productive and must be avoided.
Techniques
are often predictive tools to provide data that are then collated, arranged, interpreted, and presented according to the organizational principles of the methods used
Gaussian dispersion model
provides information on some parameter such as the anticipated dispersion of air pollutants from a specific industrial development;those data are then organized and serve as input to a particular assessment method, such as a impact matrix, by which the practitioner evaluates, interprets, and presents the data to aid in decision-making.
“Good-practice”
is about knowing which tool is best for the moment
Two reasons for tools in EIA
- Organize information for the purpose of impact identification, interpretation, and communication
- predict environmental impacts
Checklists(sometimes called screening checklists or initial environmental evaluations)
.simplest tool
.are comprehensive lists of environmental effects or indicators of environmental impacts designed to stimulate thinking about the possible consequences of a proposed action.
.commonly used to development proponents in complying with EIA process
.might be used to help determine whether an EIA is needed
.
Programme-Text Checklists
.similar to a questionnaire checklist and typically contains a series of questions to be answered
.best suited for relatively routine undertakings
.are typically not comprehensive of all potential impacts and as a result all impacts are considered
.are often impractical to use if comprehensive
.often too general and not tailored to specific project environments
.do not evaluate effects either quantitatively or qualitatively
.are subjective and qualitative, meaning that different assessors may reach different conclusions
.do not consider underlying environmental systems or cause-and-effect relationships and hence provide no conceptual understanding of impacts
Matrices
are essentially two-dimensional checklists that consist of project activities on one axis and potentially affected environmental components on the other
.most commonly used tools for impact identification and communication and are particularly useful for identifying first-order relationships between specific activities and impacts, aswell as for providing a visual aid for impact summaries
disadvantages: can often be large and difficult to complete, and the volume of information can make them difficult to understand
two most basic types: magnitude and interaction matrices
magnitude matrices
.provide a summary of impacts according to their magnitude, importance, or time-frame
.Best known and most comprehensive: Leopold Matrix
.weighted magnitude matrices: assign some measure of importance to each of the affected environmental components
-very subjective
Interaction Matrices
.use multiplicative properties of simple matrices to generate a quantitative impact score of the proposed project on interacting environmental components
2 types: component and weighted impact(ex: peterson matrix) interaction matrices
.Peterson matrix consits of three individual component matrices: one depicting impacts of project actions or casual factors on environmental components, a matrix depicting the impacts of the resultant environmental change on the human environment, and a vector of weights or relative importance of those human components
Network or System Diagrams
are based on the notion that links and pathways of interaction exist between individual components of the environment such that when on component is affected, the result will be an effect on other components that interact with it
Spatial Analysis
refers to the study of phenomena based on their properties.
EX: GIS
Tools for Impact prediction
.Analogue Approaches-present at the beginning of almost every project, examination of other projects
Judgement:nature and quality of expert judgement
-delphi technique
Systems Modelling: models are simplifications of real-world environmental systems
-Mechanistic, Deterministic, and Stochastic Models
-Mechanistic: describe casuse-effect relationships in the project environmetn using flow diagrams or equations.
Deterministic Models depend on fixed relationship between environmental components and provide a signle solution for the state variables.
EIA theory and objectives
the primary purpose of an EIA is to facilitate the consideration of environment in planning and decision-making and, ultimately to make it possible to arrive at decisions and subsequent actions that are more environmentally sustainable.
EIA origins in N.A
1960’s-recognition of the conection of growing industries that are inherently connected to environment
-brought about need for legislation
First 10 years of NEPA ____ EIS’s were carried out, currently about _____-______ EIS’s are prepared annually in the states
1000
40,000-50,000
IAIA
International Association for Impact Assessment
- created in 1980
- a way for global participants to interact and learn
Sustainability Initiatives in EIA
In priciple an EIA should serve as an integrated planning tool for decision-making characterized by intergrating cumulative and global environmental effects, empowering the public, recognizing uncertainties, favouring a precautionary and adaptive approach, and makiing a positive contribution to sustainability.
-Unfortunately, the role of the EIA is generally used to minimize adverse effects as opposed to ensuring overall, sustainability
• EA has emerged as an ‘integrated planning tool’
• There is increased emphasis on assessing ‘cumulative environmental
effects’ (we will look more closely at this in Module 11)
• There are explicit attempts to integrate ‘traditional ecological
knowledge’ into the assessment process
• There is the emerging interest in conducting environmental
assessment for policies, plans and programs (SEA)
• There is emphasis on making a ‘positive contribution to sustainability’
EFFECTIVENESS of an EIA is determined by
the extent to which it identifies, assesses, and finds ways to mitigate or eliminate the potential negative impacts of development and, importantly, how well EIA helps to improve environmental management and ultimately the state of the environment
Dimensions of the environment (7)
Local project environment; regional environmental system; national environment, multi- national environment
• Past environmental conditions; current state of the environment; future trends
Environmental Change
is the difference in the condition of a
particular environmental or socio-economic parameter (usually measurable) over a specified period of time
Environmental Impact
• Environmental impact is an effect that has a societal value placed
on it.
Environmental Effect
Environmental effect is the change difference – the difference in
the condition of an environmental parameter under projectinduced
change vs what that condition might be in the absence of
project-induced change
ESA:
Environmental Site Assessment
Phase I ESA: report prepared for a property identifying contamination
liabilities or likelihood of contamination (e.g. hydrocarbons, heavy metals)
Phase II ESA: site sample collection and analysis (e.g. soils, materials) to quantity contamination levels
Phase III ESA: report prepared to detail clean-up or site remediation and monitoring
Calvert Cliffs ex:
First NEPA case: U.S. Atomic Energy Commission 1972
• Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Station, Chesapeake Bay
• Project denied permit because no independent environmental review and hearing had taken place
Broadening Scope and Technique in the 19__-19__ meant:
3 important innvations
Broadening scope and techniques: Greater attention turned toward managing adverse project impacts and risks associated with particular actions, as apposed to creating large environmental inventories
-project ‘scoping’ was first introduced in an attempt to identify the important issues and data requirements for project assessment
-public review of projects emerged
-Advanced beyond just the biophysical world and started to recognize broader social and regional impacts
1. Project ‘scoping’ was introduced. Scoping limited EAs to a select set
of impacts and variables making them more manageable and useful
for decision making. (We will look more closely at this in Module 5)
2. Public review of project proposals was implemented.
3. The importance of social impacts emerged
Instituational Support and Integration
There was rapid growth in EA from the early 1980s to the turn of
the 21st century. Some very important improvements emerged. • International support through such organizations as the World
Commission on Environment and Development and the World Bank
became important. • EA finally commenced prior to project development. • There also emerged a recognized need for monitoring actual
environmental change after the project is developed, and to hold
proponents accountable to their commitments to impact
management!
EIA Benefits(5)
• Managing the impacts of development
• Improving project planning and design (i.e., good environmental
planning starts very early in the development process)
• Cost savings to proponents through the early identification of
potential issues (e.g., another example of why environmental
planning is so important)
• Early compliance with environmental standards
• Increased public understanding and acceptance through participation and demonstrated environmental and socioeconomic responsibility.
Suggestions for overcoming skepticism of EIA process(5)
FUGGLE PDF
1.). Technical and scientific competence and political processes are equally important in impact assessment 2.) In the modern world we all suffer from information overload. Impact assessments should not make this worse! 3.). Follow-up is an integral part of the impact assessment process, but it is the element that is most often being ignored. 4.)If governments, at all levels, continue to regard impact assessments as a largely bureaucratic and administrative exercise that they can apply, rework or ignore as they deem fit, impact assessments will not contribute to sustainability or gain in credibility. 5.)Impact assessments are not “magic bullets” to solve all social and political problems.
6 Challenges to EIA
• Different stakeholders have many different expectations of what EA is and what it is
supposed to deliver.
• There is a struggle to develop frameworks to assess and effectively manage the effects
of multiple projects within a single region.
• Many environmental effects occur beyond the scope and scale of the individual
project, at the regional scale.
• Cultural, language, and local knowledge systems often do not mesh well with the
current western science approach to EA.
• There is limited monitoring and follow-up once projects are implemented.
• Institutional support for EA is not consistent, limited in many regions, and often heavily
influenced by politics.
_______ Environmental Assessment Act (1975) was the first provincial
EIA system enacted in Canada
Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act (1975) was the first provincial
EIA system enacted in Canada
Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 brought big changes (7)
- There are now only three responsible authorities (RA) for EIA: the Canadian
Environmental Assessment Agency (the majority of the assessments), the
National Energy Board, and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The
previous Act had many federal departments and agencies which could be
designated as an RA. - Elimination of small projects: Three levels of assessment existed under the
previous Act (Screening EIA, Comprehensive Study EIA, and Review Panel
EIA). About 90% of the projects had been assessed using a federal screening
EIA, but these are now excluded. The new Act focuses on designated
projects – which are those deemed likely to cause significant adverse
environmental effects on matters of direct federal responsibility. The new
Act is much more restrictive in determining which projects may require assessment. - Delegation, substitution and equivalency: To reduce duplication of
assessments under different jurisdictions, the new ACT has the ability to
delegate another jurisdiction to carry out the EIA process and the ability to
substitute a provincial or Aboriginal EIA process for federal assessment and
to a provision for equivalency. - Established time limits: The new Act has time limits placed on the EIA
process for both standard assessments and panel reviews. For example, a
standard assessment now must adhere to a 365 day time limit and a panel
review to a two-year time limit. These limits apply to the regulatory process
(i.e., the involvement of the government) and does not include the time
required by the proponent to complete the required studies and reporting. - Changes to the definition of “environmental effect”: To many, this is a very
significant change. An environmental effect under the former Act included
any change that the project could cause in the environment, as well as the
social and economic effects of such change. Under the new Act, and
environmental effect includes a change to a component of the environment
that is under federal jurisdiction, such as fish or migratory birds; change that
may be caused on federal lands or outside the province where the project is
be carried out; and effects on Aboriginal peoples of a change to the environment. 6. Focus on “Interested Parties”: Under the new Act, participation in public
hearings is restricted to interested parties, which comprise members of the
public that are directly affected by the proposed project as well as those
with relevant information or expertise that can support the panel in its assessment. - Enforcement: provisions under the new Act mean that the decision
statement issued about the project by the Minister, including any conditions
about impact mitigation or other commitments made by the proponent, are now enforceable.
EIA: Methods definition
Methods – are tools concerned with impact characterization
concerned with the various aspects of assessment such as the identification
and description of impacts
primarily serve to organize, classify, and communicate information and
support decision making
EIA: Techniques definition
Techniques – are tools concerned with impact prediction
concerned with data collection and generation, which are then collated,
arranged, analyzed, presented and sometimes interpreted according to the
methods being used
e.g. a pollution dispersion model (technique) may generate data about
potential project emissions, which are then used in an assessment matrix
(method) to classify potential effects and make project decisions
Checklists
- Checklists
• comprehensive lists of effects or indicators of environmental impacts
• typically used to ‘screen’ project actions, ensure compliance, etc
• systematically promote thinking about the range of potential issues and
impacts
• Box 3.1 in the text (next slide) provides an example of a “programmed-text checklist”. While this type of checklist is useful for relatively routine projects
(e.g., bridge modification, municipal land development), they do have their
disadvantages.
Disadvantages: • Often not comprehensive so miss some impacts • If comprehensive become difficult to use • Often too general • Don’t evaluate quantitatively or qualitatively Advantages: • Efficient, easy to use, and promotes thinking – good for screening.
Matrices
- Matrices
• Are two-dimensional checklists
• typically consist of affected environmental components on one
axis, and project actions on the other axis
Magnitude matrices: synthesize project impacts and
based on their magnitude, importance, and other impact
characteristics
Interaction matrices: based on the multiplicative
properties of matrices to calculate impacts based on
impact interactions
Trends and Associations
- Trends and Associations
• Understanding trends and associations is an important part of EIS
baseline assessment. It is important to identify sequential causeeffect
linkages.
• Impact network or system diagrams are based upon the idea that
links and pathways of interaction exist between individual
components of the environmnet such that when one component
is affected there will result an effect on other components that
interact with it (Cooper 2012).
Spatial Analysis
- Spatial Analysis
• This refers to the study of phenomena based on their
topological, geometric or geographic properties
• In EIA the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is the
practice most commonly used. • GIS is not only used to visually illustrate the study area, but
provides tools to evaluate biophysical and socio-economic
opportunities and constraints and make relevant comparisons
between route alternatives, for example. • It can be particularly useful in the early environmental planning
stages of a proposed project.
spatially-explicit approach to impact
identification/ assessment typically operationalized in a
Geographic Information System project activities or zones of disturbance are ‘overlain’ with areas of habitat sensitivity or zones of human settlement or land use visually informative and allows
spatial representation of impacts
particularly useful when assessing
land-use projects to identify
potentially conflicting land-use
patterns or to identify optimal
locations
4 Common methods for impact identification, interpretation and
communication
Useful as systematic aids to the EIA process
- most commonly used for synthesis of info
1. Checklists 2. Matrices 3. Trends & Associations 4. Spatial Analysis
4 Tools for Impact prediction
- Analogue approaches
- Judgement
- Systems Modelling
- Scenario Analysis
Analogue approaches
• examination of similar projects
• always a ‘starting point’ – learn from experiences
• learning about project design, impacts, and management measures from one
project to transfer to the project under consideration Limitation: • biophysical, and especially socioeconomic environments are not always
directly comparable
Advantage: • efficient and inexpensive method
• can draw upon experience and lessons from similar projects
jUDGEMENT
- Judgment • The successful application of many EIA methods
often relies heavily on the nature and quality of
expert judgment. • Methods used vary from very unstructured and
ad hoc (e.g., roundtable discussions) to highly
structured and organized techniques such as the
Delphi technique.
Expert Judgement:most commonly used method (and technique) in EA practice
used either ‘stand alone’ or in combination with other methods (e.g.
expert-based impact matrices)
. Delphi Technique
Delphi Technique
An iterative survey-type questionnaire where individuals are asked
to express a view, provide an assessment score, rank a set of
options, etc.
• the group’s ‘average’ response is then calculated and fed back
to the individual participants, providing them with an opportunity
to revise their response based on the group’s response
• the Delphi can be used to find consensus on an issue, or to find
areas of dissent
• typically, only two survey rounds following the initial survey round
are used as consent has been shown to change little beyond two
iterations
Systems Modelling
- Systems Modelling
• Models are simplified representations of a system, including
causal mechanisms. They are based on explicit assumptions
about the behaviour of the system and they are very datademanding.
• Mechanistic models: describe cause-effect relationships using
flow diagrams or mathematical equations (e.g. Gaussian
dispersion model for predicting rates and extents of pollution
fallout from an emission stack; economic base multipliers)
• Deterministic models: depend on a fixed relationship between
components and provide a single solution for the state variables
(e.g. gravity model of spatial interaction); uncertainty and
variability are not explicitly modelled
Scenario Analysis
- Scenario Analysis
• Scenarios are a hypothetical sequence of events about change in
a set of conditions over a defined period of time, depicting what
could be if particular trends and rates of change unfold • Scenarios are not predictions per se, but rather contingency
statements about what ‘could’ happen under specified
circumstances. • Refer to Box 3.8 of the text.
Three points to keep in mind regarding the use of expert judgement
No clear relationship between expert use and quality
consensus is not what is needed but, diverse groups of experts should debate the issue coming to conclusions and differing options
emphasis placed on the consitency of expert judgements
Louis Riel Trail Highway Twinning Project
ex of scenario-multi criteria analysis
- structured approach to decision analysis, was used to evaluate alternative impact mitigation options based on the input of a panel of government and non-government experts in wetland conservation
- 5 scenarios were examines
backcasting
working in reverse in order to ensure implementation of future positive movement
When selecting tools special attention should be payed to : 9
objectives time availability resource availability Data availability Robustness Nature of project Selectivity comparability transparency
SCREENING
Screening is a means to determine whether a proposed
undertaking requires an EA and serves to establish the level of
assessment to be undertaken.
4 types of triggers for EIA
In order for an EIA to be required, something must ‘trigger’ the
process.
• Triggers can be ‘discretionary’, whereby each action or decision is judged
based on specified criteria or standards. Such criteria or standards may be
identified in legislation or regulations. This is referred to as case-by-case
screening.
• Triggers are sometimes ‘prescriptive’, whereby actions or decisions that
require an EA are listed in various regulations or legislation. This is referred to as list-based screening.
• Threshold-based screening is a third approach that involves the use of
thresholds (e.g., project size, level of emissions generated) to determine if an
EIA is triggered.
.Hybrid Screening approach
• List-based and threshold-based approaches are efficient and
widely used methods. However, list-based approaches, in
particular, should be used cautiously. For example, this approach
may not consider, among others: • Context • Out-of-date thresholds
• Regional differences
• A hydrid approach is a threshold-based screening system with
allowances for case-by-case consideration.
case by case screening
Case-by-case Screening (discretionary screening)
• Screening the need for EA based on the potential for significant
adverse impacts
• Each proposed activity evaluated for its potential to trigger
certain regulations or guidelines, or to cause certain concerns.
For example: • Will it affect a rare, endangered, or threatened species?
• Will it affect wetland habitat?
• Will the effect last for more than one generation?
• There is no list of projects for which an EA is required
• Each case is considered based on its own merit
List Based Screening
Often includes:
• legal definitions of proposals or undertakings to which EA does or
does not apply. For example:
• an exclusion list for which EAs are not required
• an inclusion list of all projects for which an EA is required
• Inclusion and exclusion lists were typically used in Canada under
the former Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
Threshold Based Screening
This approach is typically used in conjunction with list-based
screening and involves placing proposed projectys into categories
and setting thresholds for each type (e.g., project size, population
effected, level of emissions generated, etc.).
-can be misleading as a project may barely be under the threshold yet cause just as much damage as one just over the threshold
Hybrid Screening Approach
3 Threshold Types
• List-based and threshold-based approaches are efficient and
widely used methods. However, list-based approaches, in
particular, should be used cautiously. For example, this approach
may not consider, among others:
• Context
• Out-of-date thresholds
• Regional differences
• A hydrid approach is a threshold-based screening system with allowances for case-by-case consideration.
3 Threshold Types:
Inclusive(EIA Always Required),
Exclusive(EIA not Required unless in sensitive areas), Indicative(Case-By-Case)
What would you identify as the main advantages and limitations to the ‘list-based’ approach to determining the need for EA?
Advantages:
+ Straight-forward, clear requirements + Widely used, easy to understand + Easily enforceable (not debatable in the legal sense) + Efficiency in screening + Consistency in application
Disadvantages:
- Can circumvent thresholds by proposing development slightly below the threshold; the effects are no different! - Does not provide for context specific considerations (e.g. compounding impacts, sensitivity of local environment)
- Project lists quickly become outdated
- Outdated (or incorrect) thresholds
Advantages and limitations to the ‘case-by-case’ approach
Advantages:
+ Dynamic + Can be tailored to specific environments, contexts, and sensitivities + Can integrate impacts of past actions or developments, and consider proposal
in light of future developments and cumulative impacts
Disadvantages:
- Each application is ‘start from scratch’ - Can be time consuming
- Danger of inconsistencies
- Can be difficult to defend (legally)
Designated Project Under CEAA
• A designated project means physical activities that are:
• Carried out in Canada or on federal lands,
• designated by the Regulations Designating Physical Activities, or
designated in an order by the Minister of the Environment, AND
• Linked to the same federal authority as specified in those regulations
or that order.
Under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 there are
three Resposible Authorities(RAs):
• The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is responsible for the majority of activities designated under the Act except:
• The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is the RA for activities
regulated under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.
• The National Energy Board is the RA for activities under the
National Energy Board Act and the Canada Oil and Gas
Operations Act.
If a project is designated under the Canadian Nucleur Safety Commision or National Energy Board it must have an EIA done
T OR F
T
Environmental Effects as defined by CEAA 2012 in comparison to the old act
Now: only environmental effects, expanded if involving Aboriginals
-also if Federal government is proponent itself
Past: Included environment, social, and economic effects
Two Main Assessment Options for CEAA
There are two main assessment options once an “EIA is required
decision” is made under the Canadian system:
1. EIA by responsible authority
2. EIA by a review panel: A review panel is a group of experts
appointed by the Minister of the Environment. This method is used
only if the environmental effects are uncertain or potentially
significant, or if the Minister determines that public concern warrants it. • Under both types the Agency and the Minister can apply
substitution or equivalency, whereby another jurisdiction (e.g., a
provincial EA process) can be delegated responsibility for the EIA.
5 Things to consider when Screening
• Will some component of the project reach a specified threshold?
For example, will it exceed some air emissions standard?
• Is the project site “environmentally sensitive” or is it adjacent to
one that is?
• Does the project involve known dangers or risks?
• Will it contribute to cumulative effects? (for example, will it be
another potentially polluting or noisy project in an environment
that already have others?)
• Are there other circumstances that might be of concern? E.g.,
requires a large labour force in an area that isn’t capable of
supporting a huge influx of people)
Precautionary Principle In Screening
• The screening stage is pivotal in EA as it ensures that activities that are ‘likely’
to cause significant environmental effects are assessed. However, the
suggested approach is to err on the side of caution, and adopt a precautionary
approach to screening:
• precautionary principle: when scientific information is incomplete, but
there is threat of adverse impact, lack of full certainty should not be used
as a reason to preclude actions to prevent harm
• A major challenge in screening based on precaution, however, is that avoiding
harm in the absence of evidence does not always sit well with the ethos of EA,
which advocates that decisions should be made only on the basis of sound information!
Screening determines and can select 4 options
No EIA
Yes EIA
Limited EIA and Mitigation
Further Study is needed
Inclusion list
Exclusion List
any project that has mandatory or discretionary requirements of an EIA
any project that would generally require an EIA but are excluded/excused for varoius reasons
This type of system was used under the last Environmental Assessment Act
The World Bank uses _________-_____ ________, yet uses flexibility in designation in order to avoid those just under requirements
Threshold–based screening
Inclusive Threshold
Inclusive(EIA Always Required),
Exclusive Threshold
Exclusive(EIA not Required unless in sensitive areas),
Indicative Threshold
Indicative(Case-By-Case)
_____ _____ ______ Act is the Federal Act resposible for anything to do with water crossings, oceans, lakes, rivers, creeks, etc.
Navigable Waters Protection Act
“Screening EIA”
systematically documents potential environmental effects of a proposed prject, identifies mitigation, and determines the need to modify the project plan or recommends further assessment to eliminate or minimize those effeccts
- done under the old act
- 99% of EIA’s under old act were “screening EIA”
- eliminated because some idiots believed it was a waste of time
Petroleum and Gas In Saskatchewans Grassland Example
screening out small prjects
- Individual P&G rarely require a EIA because of the size of the project
- 30,000 P&G wells operating in the prarie ecozone
- when added up many small projects can have a lerge impact
Scoping: Explain and name both types
• Scoping:
• is determining the important issues and parameters that should be
addressed in an EA;
• is about focusing the EA on relevant issues and concerns; and
• helps identify the components of the biophysical and human
environment potentially affected by the project and for which there is
scientific and public concern.
• Closed scoping: the content and scope of the EIA are
predetermined by law. Modifications are made between the
proponent and the regulatory agency or responsible authority.
• Open scoping: the content and scope of the EIA are determined
by a transparent process based on consultation with various
interests and publics.
Scoping Process Helps to:(6)
• establish the spatial, temporal and other boundaries;
• ensure input from potential stakeholders early in the process;
• identify relevant public, scientific issues, concerns, and components;
• reduce the volume of unnecessarily comprehensive data and
information;
• avoid a standard inventory format that may miss key elements or
issues; and
• ensure that the EIA is designated to maximize information quality for
decision-making purposes.
Oil in Eden: The battle to protect Canada’s Pacific Coast ex: Northern Gateway Project
Enbridge wants to bring supertankers into inner port
- would expand the tar sands
- many stakeholder and rightsholders groups against it
- channels would be strongly affected by loud acoustics of supertankers
- oil spill would be inevitable
Example of Scoping
Main Steps in Scoping
• Scope the project alternatives (alternative to;
alternative means);
• Identify valued environmental components (VECs);
• Delineate the assessment spatial and temporal
boundaries;
• Establish the environmental baseline and trends
(past; present; future; stressors);
• Identify potential impacts and issues of concern.
2 types of Alternatives
“Alternatives to” the project
• different ways of meeting the need and purpose of the described project
• alternatives to a proposed project are typically limited in practice to the
‘no project’ alternative
• The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, unlike its predecessor, does not require the assessment of “alternatives to” the
project. However, this can be considered by the Minister on a case-by- case basis.
“Alternative means” for the project can be effectively addressed at the scoping
stage.
• different options for carrying out a project
• typically include feasible alternative ways a project can be implemented, such as technical or engineering design or alternative locations
-Location or design
• Refer to Box 5.2 of the text for an “alternative means”
example for the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline project.
VEC’s
Valued Environmental Components (VECs) are those
aspects of the environment, physical and human,
considered to be important from scientific or public
perspectives and thus warrant detailed consideration in
the impact assessment.
• Rather than wasting time and resources on
comprehensive baseline studies it is more effective to
focus environmental baseline studies on the VECs most likely to be affected.
- VECs are most often chosen based upon a proponents need to address eposure to liability(ex: fisheries act and species at risk act)
- There are generally a greater variet of VECS when public consultation is used in the Scoping portion
Scoping and VEC’s
Scoping and VECs
• Understanding the baseline data for both the biophysical and
human environments is important!!
• Important to realize the EA is NOT about collecting baseline data
for the purpose of a descriptive “environmental study”
• Scoping is needed to establish clear boundaries for spatial and
temporal assessment based upon the important components of
the environmental baseline.
Two important questions should be asked prior to moving forward
and collecting detailed baseline environmental data:
- Is the VEC likely to be affected, directly or indirectly, by project activities?
If no, then there is no need to compile a comprehensive baseline about that VEC. This is not to say that the VEC should be discarded, as it may still be of significant public concern and warrant some consideration in the impact assessment process.
2.Is it possible to predict impacts on the VEC, on indicators of that VEC, or to relate either quantitatively or qualitatively project induced change to VEC conditions?
If no, the VEC should be given relatively low priority unless it is a VEC of significant public value
VEC indicators(2 types)
Indicators provide a sign or signal regarding change in VEC conditions and, more importantly, can provide an early warning of a potential adverse effect. Two broad types are:
• Condition-based indicators: focus on a specific indicator (e.g.,species abundance) and provides direct, measurable information about the condition or state of the VEC.
• Stress-based indicators: also referred to as disturbance-based indicators; focus on measurable stress that affects the VEC (e.g.,increased stream crossing density).
VEC Proxies
VEC indicators can be proxys or measurable parameters that provide an indication, quantitatively or qualitatively, of a VEC condition/ change. For example:
• parameters of air quality, employment rates as an indicator of community health
• roads/km2 as a proxy for development
• impervious surfaces/km2 for water quality
• They allow decision makers to gauge environmental change
• They provide information about the functioning of a specific system, for a specific purpose
VEC Objectives: Based on Standards which change can be compared and assesed against
3 types of threshold
VEC objectives represent the specific parameters, guidelines, or standards that must be met. Establishing objectives is usually based on benchmarks or
thresholds. It is important to have a standard or point of reference against which change may be compared or assessed. Thresholds are established limits of change and may include:
• absolute thresholds: carrying capacity, limit of tolerance
• acceptable limits of change: what is acceptable from a broader societal
perspective
• desired VEC conditions or objectives: desired outcomes or conditions
• Salmo et al (2004) suggest a tiered approach (See Figure 5.3 in your text):
• a cautionary threshold,
• a target threshold, and
• a critical threshold
Spatial Bounding
• context specific and depend on the nature of the
project activities, the distribution of the affected VECs,
sensitivity of the receiving environment, political
boundaries, and the extent of trans-boundary effects.
• Generally speaking, however, spatial boundaries for
assessment ideally are:
• large enough to capture potential relationships
between the project and other existing projects
• reflect natural boundaries and natural systems
• are large enough to capture the spatial extent of the
actual environmental effects
• capture multiple scales, from the local to the
regional
• are sensitive to the distribution of the affected VECs
Activity Information VS. Receptor Information
Activity Information and Receptor Information.
• Activity information characterizes the types of effects a project might generate.
• Receptor information refers to the processes resulting from such effects.
Temporal Bounding
The temporal scale includes the past, present and future.
• previous and current activities in the project region affecting VEC conditions
• potentially foreseeable activities
• how far into the past and how far into the future will depend on the quality and quantity of data available, and the certainty associated with project environmental conditions
• in Arctic environments, for example, longer-term data are frequently needed to understand the potential effects of development due to often large fluctuations in seasonal and year to year conditions
Jurisdictional Bounding(Trans-Boundary Effects)
- While EIA, in principle, should be based on ecological units (what are some examples?), in practice, administrative boundaries play a very important role.
- Many project-related impacts cross administrative boundaries and affect environments in adjacent jurisdictions. These are trans-boundary effects. (What are some examples?)
- Consideration needs to be given to these other jurisdictions; the extent to which they are affected by the project; who has decision-making authority; and what jurisdiction(s) is responsible for managing project impacts.
A good baseline assessment addresses four components
• A profile of current and past natural, social, and economic
environmental trends and conditions in the study area
• Identification and descriptions of natural, social, economic variables
and issues of concern and interrelationships
• Identification of key stressors and driving forces of change in the
project region, and associated with the project itself
• Establishment of key questions and indicators to carry forward to impact prediction, mitigation and monitoring phases of assessment
Where do you obtain Baseline Information?
Baseline information is available from a variety of sources including:
• previously completed environmental assessments
• regional land use plans
• on-going monitoring programs
• academic research
• existing data banks
However, field studies to collect new data specific to the project context are
often necessary. This may include, for example:
• scientific field sampling and pre-development baseline monitoring
• interviews with indigenous and other local people and organizations
The knowledge of local land users and indigenous people is often particularly
important to understanding longer-term trends and fluctuations in baseline conditions.
Scoping: Good Practice
• Scoping ensures that all of the necessary factors are considered in the assessment and at the same time sufficiently narrows the scope of the
assessment to focus only on centrally important elements.
• Scoping is an ongoing activity and should continue in the post-project and implementation and monitoring phases.
• Good practice scoping is a process by which the environment is continuously scanned to detect signs of adverse environmental changes or variables of importance that may not have been considered during initial project planning.
Northern Saskatchewan Project
Black Lake, Fond du Lac River and area example
Example of scoping through baseline info retrievael on caribou nnumbers from helicopter
scoping
about determining the important issues and parameters that should be addressed in an environmental assessment, establishing the spatial and temporal boundaries of the assessment, and focusing the assessment on relevent issues and concerns
closed scoping vs. open scoping
closed: the content and scope of the EIA are predetermined by law
- any modifications occur behind closed doors between proponent and competent authority or regulatory agency
Open: the content and scope of the EIA are determined by a transparent process based on consultations with various interests and publics
Pasquia-Porcupine Forest Management 20-year Forest Management Plan and Assessment ex:
an example of ‘alternatives to’ providing 5 options for moving forward
Mackenzie Gas Pipeline project ex:
.Natural Gas reserves developed and piped down south
.Example of “alternative means” as the pipeline had many different alternatives routes that could be discussed in reference to VEC’s
In addition, the EIS can identify certain VEC’s that are also _______ for environmental effects that might lead to effects or impacts on other VEC’s. Ex: Water is a biophysical effects ______(same) that could potentially affect other VECs: freshwater fish habitat, waterfowl, and seabirds
pathways
Some important ‘human environment’ considerations (6)
Economics Housing Demographics Local Services Health Socio-Cultural
Some important ‘biophysical environment’ considerations (5)
Air Water Soil Coastal Zone Terrestrial
Elk Valley Example:
VEC selection:
.Known for its coal mining, 5 large coalmines
.Looking to curb cumuative effects on VECS
.example of collaborative, transparent approach to scoping
-guided by agreed upon principles and developed values
Tiered Thresholds(3)
Cautionary:
monitoring efforts should be increased to more closely monitor VEC or indicator conditions and the effectiveness of best management practices verified to prevent any further adverse change
Target:
typically politically or socially defined-a margin of safety and a mandatory trigger for management action
Critical:
defines maximum acceptable change, socially, or ecologically, beyond which impacts may be long term
functional scales
ex: point source, local, regional, national
composite boundary
is the combination of all spatial boundaries associated with a project
Manitoba Hydro Bipole III project
current conditions were adopted as the new ‘normal’ and were attempting to use it as a baseline
-baseline needs to incudle the past
Scenario Analysis and Project Planning
Sometimes a scenario analysis is better
– rather than predicting an outcome with precision and accuracy, a scenario approach presents a range of possible outcomes
• Project planning can then help to achieve the most
desirable outcomes and impact management measures
can be used to ensure the worst-case scenarios do not occur (what are some examples??)
5 Characteristics of a Good impact predictions
.Need to consider predictions for both the
biophysical and human environment
• The underlying assumptions need to be explicit
• A time frame for impact occurrence is needed
• The probability of the impact occurrence needs
to be explicit
• Must openly acknowledge the uncertainty
associated with the prediction
Chellenges:
Proponents may “openly-hide” unknowns
Impact Prediction
3 responsabilities
An impact prediction is a statement specifying, without direct measurement, the past, present, or future condition of a particular environmental system, given
particular system characteristics (Duinker and Baskerville 1986)
-it identifies potential changes in environmental conditions and supports decision making about development approvals and impact management
determining the initial or reference state (baseline), and baseline trends;
predicting the future state in absence of project development (future
baseline);
predicting the future state with project development
Projects often trigger four broad areas of change that affect the biophysical
. Biological change
• Chemical change
• Physical change
• Ecosystem change
Projects often trigger 5 Broad areas of change that affect the human environment
. Demographic change • Cultural change • Economic change • Health and social change • Institutional change
Define Environmental Effects and compare to Environmental Impacts
Environmental effects are changes in the conditions of a parameter (biophysical or socioeconomic) caused by a project as measured against conditions in absence
of the project
effects are ‘measurable’
effects are often described in terms of a particular ‘process’, triggered by a project ‘action’
Environmental impact is often used interchangeably with environmental effect; however, some use ‘impact’ as the value judgment associated with an environmental effect. In this case, it is more important to manage effects
–managing impacts may simply be damage control
Order of Environmental Effects: Step one
• Not all effects are tied ‘directly’ to the project
action or to a specific project causal factor
• Direct Effects: those which occur in direct
response to a project-related change.
• Indirect Effects: those which occur indirectly as
a result of the effects of project induced change.
Types of Environmental Effects(4)
1.Incremental effects
marginal changes, directly attributable to a specific action
‘rate of change’ (e.g. annual additions of a contaminant)
incremental loss (e.g. annual loss of forest habitat over time)
- Additive effects (Refer to Figure 6.2)
• combination of separate or related actions on an
environmental component or components
• e.g. chemical ‘A’ = 10 % mortality in fish over 30-
day exposure period; chemical ‘B’ = 10% mortality;
if chemical ‘A’ and chemical ‘B’ were released
together, the additive mortality = 20% - Synergistic effects (Refer to Figure 6.3)
interaction between environmental effects
total impact is greater than the sum of the individual effects
e.g. carbon tetrachloride and ethanol are both toxic, but together their
combined toxicity is greater than the sum of individual effects - Antagonistic effects
one adverse effect partially counteracts another adverse impact
sum of the effects for each individual impact is less than the sum of effects
for both
e.g. chemical ‘X’ produces 25% mortality in fish
chemical ‘Y’ produces 25% mortality in fish
∑ effect = 35% mortality
Mackenzie Region Example:
adding of exploratory wells over 100 years began as 1 and has spread to 1,000 wells
Temporal Characteristics for Impacts (5)
. Duration
length of time an impact occurs (e.g. short term less likely to be considered
significant)
-short term, medium term, long term, Far Future
Continuity
continuous impacts likely to be considered more significant
e.g. energy fields from transmission lines vs. periodic power interruptions
Immediacy
immediate (impact follows environmental change – e.g. airport noise)
delayed (impact occurs some time after change – e.g. health effects)
Frequency
one-off versus reoccurring impacts
Regularity
regular impacts are more ‘predictable’ (and often less significant)
Low level military flight training in Labrador, Canada (NATO allies) example
• interior flight training area covering about 130,000 km²
• 6,000 – 7,000 flights annually
• as low as 100 feet above ground
• only 1 community in the region (population 500)
• several smaller aboriginal settlements
Impact on hearing deemed insignificant (EA 1994)
Concern – ‘regularity’ of impact (irregular)
• ‘startle effect’ = noise onset of > 15 dbA/sec
• military jet noise onset > 150 dbA/sec
Effects on caribou (Georges River Herd)
Effects on schools (Learning interruptions)
Magnitude & Direction of impacts
Magnitude
size or degree of an environmental change or impact magnitude is NOT DIRECTLY associated with the significance of an impact
e.g. 5% reduction in plant cover per unit area in ‘core biodiversity area’ is ≠ 5% reduction in non core area, but, magnitude (% wise) is equivalent
-No Affect, Low, Moderate, High
Direction
refers to increase or decrease in environmental parameter relative to baseline condition
often expressed in terms of the ‘impact’ direction
-Adverse, Neutral, Positive
-can be multidirectional
Spatial Extent of Impacts
Geography of the effect (local, regional, national)
Sometimes spatial extent is characterized according to
on-site impacts and off-site impacts.
Reversability of Environmental effectsthrough restoration (3 types)
. some environments can be restored to the ‘approximate’ baseline condition
e.g. sanitary landfills
some environments can be restored to the ‘actual’ baseline condition
e.g. restoring normal traffic flows following bridge replacement
some environments can be restored to a ‘predicted’ baseline condition
e.g. ecological restoration programs
Accuracy vs. Precision
- Accuracy: extent of system-wide bias in impact predictions
- Precision: level of exactness associated with impact prediction
accuracy depends on the level of precision desired
an impact prediction can be consistently accurate when it is imprecise
as the desired level of precision increases, the probability of accuracy decreases
the fact that an impact prediction is accurate, does not make it useful if it is imprecise
if more precise impacts are desired, accuracy may be
forfeit
Accuracy example:
“There will be a ‘slight increase’ in methyl mercury concentrations in
the reservoir”
“There will be only a minor effect on human health due to fish
consumption from the reservoir
these predictions are very imprecise, but you are almost guaranteed to be
right.
but how useful are these predictions for mitigation and management?
Precision Example:
“There will be a 0.28 ppm increase in methyl mercury concentrations above the baseline level for the first 6 months following reservoir flooding”
the above prediction is very precise, but there’s little chance of being
right.
2 Dimensions that that are needed for good precision and predictive accuracy
There are two dimensions to precision and predictive accuracy:
i) logical validity of the impact prediction
ii) relative severity of being wrong (i.e. actual outcomes vs. predicted impact)
ex:“There will be no more than a 0.28ppm increase in methyl mercury concentrations above the baseline level for the first 6 months following reservoir flooding”
The value of impact predictions requires that they be stated in such a way that they can be followed up and verified. Two methods are used, depending on the
nature and availability of baseline data.
a) Hypotheses-based approach: based on rigorous and falsifiable null-impact hypotheses. The assumptions used for the impact prediction must be clearly stated and a range of probability and confidence intervals identified. The lower the confidence level, the greater the likelihood that effects monitoring will become important as the project proceeds.
b) Threshold-based approach: The complexity of biophysical and socioeconomic environments can produce uncertainties that can contribute to
inaccurate impact prediction. A threshold-based approach may be suitable in this case. This approach may rely on previous experience with similar projects, similar impacts in different environments, or regulatory standards.
3 Fundamental problems with impact predictions
There is a fundamental problem with impact prediction in current EA practice:
vague, imprecise and ‘untestable’ statements about potential outcomes, including little indication of when impacts are likely to occur
non-existent, insufficient, inadequate or inaccessible monitoring data, both pre and post-project baseline and during project implementation to test impacts
obsolete impact predictions resulting from changes in environmental conditions between the time that the prediction was made and the monitoring activity, or changes in project design or scheduling, each of which affect the relevance of the prediction
Maximum Allowable Effects Levels (MAEL)
When comparative examples or regulatory standards are not available, an alternative approach is to base impact predictions on a desirable level or maximum level of change. Maximum Allowable Effects Levels (MAEL) are an approach to impact prediction in which the impact is stated in the form of a hypothesis such as “project impact i will not exceed a particular threshold or desired effects level for a particular impact indicator j.”
Predictions using Scenarios
Scenarios are a hypothetical sequence of events about change in a set of conditions over a defined period of time, depicting what could be if particular
trends and rates of change unfold
Scenarios are not predictions per se, but rather contingency statements
about what ‘could’ happen under specified circumstances
Barent’s Region: Global Environmental Outlook example of
scenario presentation
4 different diagrams depicting distrubance patterns around potential development
Four principle measures are used to address uncertainty in impact prediction:
a) Probability analysis
quantifying the probability that an impact or
range of impacts is likely to occur and under what conditions, as well as the confidence in the prediction.
b) Sensitivity analysis
examines the sensitivity of the prediction to
minor variations in input data, environmental parameters, and assumptions. A Monte Carlo analysis, a mathematical technique, is a sophisticated method of evaluating sensitivity.
c) Confirmatory analysis
Used to test for uncertainty regarding the
predictive technique itself. The objective is to determine the extent to which different techniques provide similar predicted outcomes.
d) Uncertainty disclosure
requires that practitioners disclose their assumptions and uncertainties about impact predictions and mitigation. Unfortunately, often poor practice is used, which systematically diminishes uncertainty disclosure, resulting in overconfidence
in impact prediction.
At a minimum, making good impact predictions requires that: (4)
assumptions underlying predictions are clearly stated
the time frame to the anticipated impacts are identified
issues of probability and confidence in predictions must be
explicit
there is an understanding that the prediction may be wrong
Impact prediction requires 5 elements
- Sound understanding of the nature of the proposed undertaking
- knowledge of the outcomes of simalar projects
- knowledge of past, present, or approved projects whose impacts may interact with the proposed undertakings
- predictions of the projects impacts on other environmental and socio-economic components that may interact with those directly affected by the project
- Information about environmental and socio economic receptors and how they have in the past and might in the furure respond to change
Predicting Plume rise is an example of
Dispersion model based on environmental factors affects impact range
keynesian multiplier
can be used to predict of indirect economic impacts during peak and trough periods of project construction or operation-best and worst case scenarios
Generic Classification System for environmental effects (8) steps
- Order of effect or impact
- Direct or indirect - Nature of effect or impact
- Incremental, Additive, Synergistic, Antagnostic - Temporal Characteristics
- Duration, Continuity, Immediacy, Frequency, Regularity - Magnitude
- Size, Degree, Concentration - Direction of change in the affected environmental parameter
- Incresing, decreasing, positive, negative - Spatial Extent
- on site, off site, regional - Reversability of change of the affected environmental parameter
- reversible, irreversible - Probability of occurence
- likelihood, risk
OH NINA, TUNA MAKES DENZIE SMELL REALLY POOPY
Voisey Bay used a _________-based approach in its verifiable impact prediction
hypothesis
-preffered approach
Lower churchill Hydroelectric Project example :
of more EIA proccesses including health impacts in project assessment
-determinnts of health
When comparative examples or regulatory standards are not available, an alternative approach is to base impact predictions on a desirable level or maximum level of change. Maximum Allowable Effects Levels (MAEL)
4 Approaches to Environmental effect management
. Avoidance
• Mitigation (damage control)
• Remediation (fixing or restoring after the fact)
. Compensation (a last resort – making up for the
damage done)
4 Management tools outsie EA proccess
- Environmental Protection Plans
- Environmental Management Systems
- Adaptive Environmental Management
- Impact Benefit Agreements
Define Impact Management
Impact management: plans or strategies designed to avoid or alleviate potentially adverse effects and to enhance potentially positive ones
Management: Avoidance (2)
Avoidance Avoidance is the best approach to managing potentially adverse projects
impacts is to avoid them, or to prevent them from occurring at the outset. Can include avoidance by location or avoidance by timing.
Avoidance by location: where possible, locate projects and project activities in areas free of ecologically sensitive environments or species, human settlements, traditional hunting or cultural areas, and important water sources
Examples:
routing pipelines to avoid ecologically sensitive areas
designing ice roads design to avoid currents, reefs, and sensitive coastal areas
Avoidance by timing: not all projects have ‘location options’, but activities associated with a project can be ‘timed’ so as to avoid conflicts with other resource or land uses or natural processes
‘Beaufort Sea Strategic Regional Plan of Action’ example
Avoidance by location
- in order for this to avoidance to work it needs to be implemented early in the process
- looks past individual projects to display location in relation to other projects
- this example :to facilitate a broader, more regional approach to planning for oil and gas
Voisey’s Bay Nickel Mina example :(Management)
Avoidance by timing:
-The proponent recommended impact avoidance by timing - terminating winter shipping
in early spring to facilitate ice use for seal hunting and other activities will allow time for
the ice corridor to reconsolidate (refreeze) before the onset of melting in May
Mitigation
Unfortunately, not all potentially adverse impacts are recognized in advance
mitigation means ‘to make less severe’ – a damage control approach
the application of project design, construction, operation, scheduling and management principles and practices to minimize (not necessarily prevent) potentially adverse environmental effects
Example: Leaving buffer zones around streams and lakes in forest harvest areas does not ‘avoid’ or ‘prevent’ sedimentation due to runoff, but it does severe to make stream and lake sedimentation less severe than it would be in absence of the buffer zone
Remediation
Regardless of mitigation efforts, environmental components may be temporarily damaged
restoring environmental quality, rehabilitating certain environmental features, or restoring environmental components to certain degrees
Example: Tailings ponds after mine closure can be ‘reclaimed’ to return habitat conditions to a “usable state” for wildlife Restoring environmental conditions does not necessarily mean restoring the project environment to the initial ‘pre-project’ baseline condition.
this may not be feasible (economically, ecologically) neither may it be desirable (environmental systems evolve over timeregardless of project disturbance)
Giant Mine Example
example of remediation plan because of the huge ammount of leftover arsenic
Compensation
Some effects cannot be avoided, mitigated, or rectified. In other cases, residual effects remain following impact management. In these cases, effects must be
compensated.
compensation involves ‘making up’ for environmental effects, and should be a ‘last resort’ Example: Measures to restore or recreate environmental habitats elsewhere that cannot be restored in the project environment. Financial payments to affected communities to compensate for environmental, social, economic, or cultural disturbance
Compensation is OFTEN used for situations that destroyed fish spawning habitat.
Compensation is perhaps the most common approach to managing project effects on ______ habitat
wetland
Gibson PDF
Begins with the aknoledgement that the EIA process should include finding and recognizing the positive effects projects may have
The Mackenzie Panel’s report (Mackenzie Panel,
2009) represents the most detailed effort so far by an
environmental assessment hearing body in Canada
to adopt and apply a contribution to sustainability
test, identifying a suite of key issue areas covering
the general requirements for progress towards sustainability, and building these explicitly into an analytical framework for evaluating a range of project
alternatives, including the null option
Mr Justice Thomas Berger of the British Columbia Supreme Court to carry out a formal public inquiry into the social-economic and cultural as well as biophysical aspects of the proposed project and to recommend appropriate terms and conditions for approval.
Berger’s mid-1970s inquiry stands as a benchmark
example of broadly defined environmental assessment,
devoted to full and open engagement of
the potentially affected people as well as specialized
experts
His final report,
centred on a recommendation to delay project
approval for ten years to allow for negotiation of
land claims agreements with the Aboriginal groups,
was and is still widely credited or blamed for stopping
the project.
Cumulative impacts on the biophysical environment;
Cumulative impacts on the human environment;
Equity impacts (fair distribution of benefits and
risks);
Legacy and bridging impacts; and
Cumulative impacts management and preparedness
(capacities for managing the risks and opportunities).
Listed as rquirements for proponent:
Contribution to sustainability;
Use and respect for traditional knowledge;
Recognition of land claim agreements and treaties;
Recognition of diversity; and
The precautionary approach.
Both positive and adverse effects
were covered.
Panel tried to implement but blocked by feds
Recognition that a comprehensive approach to
complex and interrelated socio-economic and biophysical
effects is needed for a realistic understanding
of the short and long-term implications
of proposals and alternative options.
Comparative evaluation of options with explicit
emphasis on cumulative effects and implications
for building desirable and resilient futures.
Adoption of an explicit set of evaluation and decision
criteria, based on the generic requirements
for progress towards sustainability but specified in
light of the significant characteristics, concerns
and opportunities of the case and context.
Explicit attention to interactive effects and tradeoffs.
A focus on the one-time opportunity character of
non-renewable resource exploitation undertakings
and the associated need to use these as a bridge to
more lasting options.
Commitment to an open and credible public
process.
Attention to broader strategic issues (e.g. concerning
conservation planning, capacity building, legacy
and transition funding, use of natural gas as a
transition fuel, and requirements for effective
national greenhouse gas emission reduction).
Thomas Berger?
Mr Justice Thomas Berger of the British Columbia Supreme Court to carry out a formal public inquiry into the social-economic and cultural as well as biophysical aspects of the proposed project and to recommend appropriate terms and conditions for approval.
Berger’s mid-1970s inquiry stands as a benchmark
example of broadly defined environmental assessment,
devoted to full and open engagement of
the potentially affected people as well as specialized
experts
His final report,
centred on a recommendation to delay project
approval for ten years to allow for negotiation of
land claims agreements with the Aboriginal groups,
was and is still widely credited or blamed for stopping
the project.
SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Environmental Protection Plan
If a project is approved, impact management measures are often articulated in the form of an overall ‘environmental protection plan’ (EPP). An EPP spells
out the details of impact management actions and the manner in which they are to be implemented.
-often mandatory
EPPs are management tools, developed by the project proponent, that outline procedures and practices designed to:
protect the environment throughout the life of the project
provide direction on mitigation implementation
meet regulatory and other requirements
provide clear lines of communication for environmental concerns
Environmental Management System
- formally recognized industry-based management system whereby a company controls its activities that could cause environmental impacts
- Environmental management systems emerged in response to industry’s realization of the need for an integrated and proactive approach to managing industry environmental issues and are a reflection of:
- increasing privatization of environmental management
- rise of corporate social and environmental responsibility
- Voluntary industry initiative
- Often certified projects actually are worse then uncertified by ISO
- does NOT evaluate
International Organization for Standardization
ISO
A global federation of over 100 countries, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
formed in 1947 to promote the development of international standards, primarily in product manufacturing
specifies requirements for an environmental management system
does not itself state specific environmental performance criteria
It is not a ‘performance’ based measure – it does not measure a company’s actual environmental performance with regard to effects management or reduction of emissions.
Adaptive Management Strategies
A management system designed to address impact issues should be flexible enough to respond to unanticipated impacts as well as the differences between the actual and predicted nature, level, or severity of the impacts. An adaptive management strategy can help respond to the inherent unknowns and uncertainties in impact prediction.
Important to the sound environmental management practices is the adoption of Adaptive
Environmental Management (AEM) strategies.
These strategies are:
structured, not haphazard
well planned
treats management prescriptions as experiments to test hypotheses, monitor the outcomes, and adapt management actions as new knowledge and understanding are gained
Impact Benefit Agreements (IBA)
IBAs are privatized and legally binding agreement between a proponent and a
community
means of minimizing negative projects effects and ensuring that
communities and groups are able to take advantage of project benefits
IBAs often emerge from the EIA process, but they are typically separate and private agreements
Early IBAs addressed a limited set of issues, particularly employment, training and business opportunities
Current IBAs address a range of socio-economic benefits (e.g. cash payments and sharing of mining profits) and environmental issues (community-based
environmental monitoring and restoration)
Impact manegment define
the focus of impact management is on plans or strategies designed to avoid or alleviate anticipated impacts generally percieved as undesireable and to generate or enhance effects seen as beneficial
voisey bay’s nickel mine project unique because:
first time a canadian EIA adopted an explicit sustainability mandate requiring the project proponent to enhance potentially positive impacts by commiting to community enfrastructure investment and worker training programs beyond the life of the project
Measures that support Impact Management (4)
Environmental Management Systems
Environmental Protection Plans
Adaptive Management Strategies
Impact Benefit Agreements
Galore Creek Project and Atabascan Basin Uranium Mining Operations
Demonstrated how agreements can be made both before and after the EIA is performed, preferebly before
- hinges on community involvement, trust
- If done before, the communities have much more opportunity to be consulted on all issue
define significance
• Is an informed judgement
• Depends, in part, on the characteristics of anticipated
environmental impacts and the nature of the receiving
environmental components
• Is both biophysical and socio-economic in context
• Involves some level of change, including cumulative
change, which is perceived to be acceptable to the
interested parties
EIA practitioner considerations for decision on significance:
Involves making some informed judgment about the
importance of a project’s environmental effects in
consideration of the spatial and temporal nature of
those effects
• Includes the effect’s reversibility and concentration; the sensitivity of the receiving environment (both
socioeconomic and biophysical); and the public
perceptions about the nature of the potential
environmental effects or public values of the affected
environmental components
When is ‘significance’ important
• It can evolve over the life of the EIA process. It isn’t
simply something done after the environmental effects
are predicted and mitigation measures identified
• Significance determination occurs throughout the EA
process – from the early stages of screening or
determining if an EA is required, through to the followup, post project development to determine if
mitigation measures are working and if there are
important residual effects
Significance shouldnt be applied to positive effects
T OR F
F- should be applied
8 uses for “significance”
• Whether an EIA is required
• The scope of the assessment
• Which impacts to focus on for further analysis
• Whether management measures are necessary
• Whether proposed project actions or activities are
acceptable
• What conditions should be attached to project approval
• Whether and what to monitor
. What agencies or parties are responsible for managing
what impacts.
There are two interpretations of how we should approach significance determination:
i) significance of predicted project effects
ii) significance of predicted effects assuming mitigation measures will be implemented and will be effective
residual effects
- effects that remain after management and mitigation measures
Three basic outcomes of significance determination in regard to effects
Three basic outcomes of significance determination
• The environmental effect is significant and cannot be
mitigated
• The environmental effect is significant but can be mitigated
• The environmental effect is insignificant • In practice proponents often identify potential
environmental effects as insignificant IF they can be
managed by implementing certain mitigation measures
Impact significance = _______ X _________
Impact characteristic for both effect and VEC ( duration, extent, etc.) X Impact Importance (value of receptor)
Significance is generally labelled one of four options
. Major
• Moderate
• Minor
• Negligible
Significance level based on 8 factors
- Direction: Adverse?
- Magnitude: Moderate to High?
- Probability: probability of occurence(None, low, moderate, high) and scientific certainty- high probability= significant
- Important to define why one level is significant and another isn;t - Time, Duration, and Frequency:
- Spatial Extent: important for cumulative effects
6.Mitigable effects:
• If an effect can be effectively mitigated it is
often considered less significant
• However – important to make certain that the
mitigation measures are actually implemented!!
• Need to ensure that the mitigation measures
proposed are effective
• Important for a follow-up program to monitor
both the implementation and effectiveness of
the mitigation measures.
- Standards and Regulations:
- Cumulative Effects:
DENZIE MADE PENIS TEA SO MIKELLE STARTED CUMMING
Impact Importance:
3 values
• Context is important in determining significance
• Need to consider society, the affected region,
the affected interests, and the locality
Consider values:
• Ecological value
• Societal value
• Desired threshold
Ecological value in determining Importance
• Potential effects on rare or threatened plants,
animals, and their habitat, or on particularly
vulnerable species or components of the natural
environment that are essential to ecological
functioning, are often deemed to be significant
impacts. (e.g., See Figure 8.2 and Table 8.7)
• However, the determination of this importance
does need to be supported by good baseline data
Societal value in determining importance
• Project effects on the biophysical environment often
affect factors of importance to society and human life,
as well as those biophysical components that are
valued for aesthetic or sentimental reasons
• Human health and safety
• Recreational value
• Demands on public resources
• Demands for infrastructure and services
• Demographic effects
• Potential loss of green space, etc.
Desired thresholds in determining importance
5 threshold types
• thresholds for adverse impacts can be stated as
maximum allowable effects levels (MAELs)
• where predicted effects exceed desired thresholds or
MAELs, the effect is considered significant even though it may not exceed regulatory thresholds
5 types:
legal thresholds: established by law or by regulatory limits
functional thresholds: established for resource use so as to avoid disturbances that may disrupt ecological
functioning
normative thresholds: established by communities based on social norms
controversial thresholds: effects that may have a high profile due to potential conflicts
individual thresholds: based on the priorities of individuals, groups, ororganizations
4 Basic Approaches and 1 newer aproach to significance determination
- Technical Model
- Collaborative Approach
- Reasoned Argumentation
- Composite Approach
Sustainability Approach
Technical Model
There are four basic approaches to significance determination in EA. Perhaps the most familiar approach is the ‘technical model’
a) Technical model
adopts standard scaling, rating, ranking and quantification methods
VECs are sometimes weighted as a measure of ‘relative significance’ or
importance
e.g., significance is a function of impact characteristics and VEC importance
Collaborative Approach
Starts from the premise that subjective, value-based judgments about what is important should result from interactions among interested and affected parties
there are no predefined thresholds or criteria for judgment
judgments of what is important, what is acceptable, and what are the limits
of allowable change emerge only through consultation with the publics
key role of EA practitioner is ensuring the involvement of the most directly affected communities or stakeholders and that all stakeholder concerns are assessed in significance determination
Using a collaborative approach may include:
• Open houses
• Stakeholder meetings and community forums, etc.
• Do need to recognize that public concerns about
environmental effects are not always the same
as actual environmental effects resulting from
project actions.
Reasoned Argumentation
c) Reasoned argumentation
Views significance determination as based on reasoned judgments, supported
by evidence
involves sifting through information, data, perspectives, and expressed
values using structured methods (e.g., decision support aids, matrices, network diagrams) to focus on those matters of most importance to decision making and to build ‘reasoned’ arguments that support significance determination
importance of complete and clear documentation of the evaluation process and reasons for decision
Composite Approach
d) Composite Approach
Impact significance determination relies upon, at a minimum:
• the use of a variety of technical methods and analytical techniques
• a range of public consultation methods, including those that facilitate stakeholder interaction, to support collaborative significance determination.
• the use of existing regional, community or land use plans or local social surveys to identify values and aspirations against which to compare the
proposed development
• literature analysis and case study reviews of previous, similar proposals and outcomes in comparable environments and situations
• exploring the uncertainties and acceptable risks associated with the significance determination.
EIA Process’ 8 steps
- screening
- scoping
- baseline analysis
- impact analysis
- cumulative effects
- decision-making
- mitigation
- monitoring and auditing
SONIAS SEXY BUTT IS CUTE. DENZIE MIGHT MASTERBATE
Kemess North Mine Project example
first time in Canada that a joint review panel recommended outright rejection of a mining project based on potential for significant adverse impacts
3 Goals of Monitoring
. To improve project performance with respect to
environmental outcomes
• To verify predicted effects
• To provide feedback for learning and adaptive
management
3 major parties involved in monitoring
• The proponent – who typically performs most of
the monitoring activities
• The regulator or government agency responsible
for administering the EIA and ensuring
monitoring compliance
• The community potentially affected by the
development activity.
Following up in EA with monitoring ensures
Follow-up transforms EA from a static process to
an adaptive process of mitigation evaluation,
state of the environment monitoring, and
ongoing review and revision of mitigation and
impact management measures
There is little benefit to EA unless we follow-up to verify actual impacts (outcomes) and the effectiveness of our mitigation measures
impacts are based on a static EIS
we rarely have good pre-project baseline data
many predictions are no longer relevant when the project is constructed
the environment is a moving target
cause-effect, and even correlations between project actions and
environmental responses are difficult to determine
What is “follow up”
3 follow up components
an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of activities, such as routine monitoring or quality assurance inspections, undertaken during
the post-decision stages of the EA process
monitoring: continuous or periodic measurement
auditing: conformance to expectations/standards
evaluation: judgment and feedback
Monitoring?
• An activity designed to identify the nature and cause of
change
• Data collection to provide information on the
characteristics and functioning of environmental and
social indicators
• Usually consists of repetitive observation,
measurement and recording over a specific period and
for a defined purpose
• What is important is not only to determine change, but
whether the changes are the consequence of the
project
Water Monitoring Alberta Oilsands
Alberta government constantly monitoring sites for contaminants in river
-industry component of monitoring is a mandatory condition
Auditing definition
6 types
• The objective examination or comparison of
observations with predetermined criteria
- Draft EIS Audit: review of project EIS according to its terms of reference
- Project Impact Audit: Determination of whether the actual environmental impacts of the project were those that were predicted
- Decision-point audit: examination of the role and affectiveness of the EIS based on whether the project is allowed to proceed and under what conditions
- Performance Audit: determination of whether the reccomendations included in the EIS were actually implemented
- Predictive technique audit: comparison between actual and predicted effects of projects
EX- Post Evaluation
. The collection, structuring, analysis and
appraisal of information concerning project
impact
• The making of value judgments, decisions and
adjustments on remedial actions
• Communication of the results
There are three broad reasons for post-decision
follow-up and monitoring:
- Compliance
- Progress
- Understanding
Compliance Monitoring
• to determine a project’s compliance with standards, regulations, mitigation commitments, and agreements; means to ensure that what a proponent committed to is actually done Types of compliance monitoring include: inspection monitoring regulatory permit monitoring monitoring of agreements
Progress Monitoring
• to verify anticipated project outcomes and to identify unanticipated outcomes; a watchdog function to measure project performance and to ensure that proponents and those responsible appropriately respond to environmental effects
Types of progress monitoring include:
ambient environmental quality monitoring
monitoring for management-Possibly Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency
cumulative effects monitoring
project evaluation monitoring
Understanding Monitoring
• to better understand the complexities of project actions and environmental responses; a learning function to improve effects management and future
impact assessment practices
Types of monitoring for understanding include:
experimental monitoring
-science driven over impact driven
monitoring for knowledge
-after impacts for future projects
Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency (IEMA)
.Established in 1996, IEMA is a public watchdog for environmental monitoring of the Ekati Diamond Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories
.IEMA was created to ensure that the Ekati Diamond mine meets the conditions as set
forth for its environmental approval
Effective Follow Up and Monitoring Need these 9
- Objectives & Priorities Identified
- Targeted Approach to Data Collection
- Hypothesis-based or Threshold-based approaches
- Combined stressor and effects-based monitoring
- Establish Control sites for Monitoring
- Continuity in Data Collection
- Ensure Adaptability, Flexibility and Timelines
- Socio-economic Inclusive Monitoring
- Participatory Monitoring
OLD TOM HAD CHOCOLATE EGGS, CHOCOLATE EQUALS SUPER PARTICIPATION
Objectives & Priorities Identified
• if objectives and priorities are not established, it is not
possible to know whether the program is effective or
meeting its intended purposes
• objectives and priorities for follow-up and monitoring vary from one project to the next
• See Box 9.3 for an example
Targeted Approach to Data Collection
- not everything can be monitored and not all cause-effect relationships can be understood
- monitoring should focus on those indicators that are useful for understanding or correlating change with regard to project actions
Early warning indicators:
measurable parameters that indicate stress or change in VEC conditions before the VEC is adversely affected
- directly or indirectly related to the VEC of concern
- physically possible to monitor
- amenable to quantitative or qualitative analysis
Hypothesis-based or Threshold-based approaches
- the best impact monitoring programs are those based on testable hypotheses, where testing can determine whether changes in a specific indicator exceed stated threshold levels Thresholds for hypotheses based approaches can be determined based on:
- specified project goals or objectives
- scientific or ecological thresholds
- Range of natural variability
- levels of ‘acceptable change’ (Maximum Allowable Effects Levels)
- consultation with regulatory agencies
Combined stressor and effects-based monitoring
EIA focuses on predicting the project’s stress on specified VECs, including the nature and magnitude of changes in VEC conditions as a result of project
focusing monitoring programs solely on a VEC’s response from a single project stress may mask broader environmental changes caused by the
projected, even if no measurable change is detected in the VEC itself
good follow-up is built on both project stressor-based monitoring and
broader regional effect-based monitoring (i.e. state-of-the-environment)
Stressor Based Approach for Monitoring
• For simple projects and simple environments a stressor-based approach and the monitoring of the stressors may be appropriate means of assessing the actual effects of the development on the environment.
• The nature and magnitude of change of a VEC or VEC indicator is predicted based upon the conditions imposed on the local environment by the project. Therefore monitoring the stressors may be an effective way of assessing the actual effects (e.g., # of
stream crossings, or ha of habitat loss)
• May be able to monitor using remote-sensing and other methods
• However – there may be challenges to this approach:
- Could mask more system based issues
- relies on the idea that indicator and response have tight relationship without understanding other variables
Effects Based Approach
• Focuses on the performance of biological
indicators
• Premise: measuring change in the biological
indictors is the most direct and relevant means
of assessing change. For example: exceedance of
stress-based benchmarks (e.g., stream crossing
density, habitat loss) are considered not
important if there is no biological effects on the
receiving environment.
Challenges:
Indicators must be responsive and act as early warning signal
-hard to isolate for one project
-have to demonstrate different levels of human induced stress
-Historical data is generally not easy to find for specific areas that would act as baseline for indicators
Establish Control sites for Monitoring
- control sites help differentiate between project-induced change and change due to other, external factors
- when control sites are not possible, gradient to background’ monitoring can provide an ‘artificial’ control site
Gradient to background:
• assumes that there is a well-defined, localized source of pollution; selected effects can be monitored at increasing distances from the point source
• point source, pollution effects should decrease and eventually reach background or ambient conditions
• the point on this gradient at which background levels are attained can be considered the ‘control site’
Continuity in Data Collection
. monitoring data must be comparable over both space and time, throughout the life of the monitoring program
Rabbit Lake Uranium Mine Example
- discovered in 1968, northern Saskatchewan, Canada
- the proponent had been collecting baseline data and monitoring the biophysical environment since production commenced in the mid 1970s
- radionuclides and trace elements were a primary concern
- monitoring and testing procedures had changed several times in the 1980s, and data collected between 1989 and 1990 were discarded due to problems with quality and comparability
- after more than a decade of monitoring, comparable data concerning the effects of radionuclides on fish, a valuable resource base to nearby northern residents, were available
Ensure Adaptability, Flexibility and Timelines
• It is important that as a project or environmental
conditions change, data quality is consistent and
comparable over time.
• Project changes, unanticipated effects, emerging project concerns, and indicator choices may warrant changes in the monitoring activities.
• Timely monitoring and reporting is required so that those making the changes can respond promptly.
Socio-economic Inclusive Monitoring
4 Challenges
- in practice, socio-economic effects receive considerably less attention in monitoring and follow-up programs than do biophysical ones
- when socio-economic factors are considered in follow-up and monitoring, they tend to be treated with less rigour than biophysical components
But, if sustainability is the objective of EA, the biophysical and socioeconomic components must be given equal consideration in post-decision monitoring.
Challenges:
From a proponent’s perspective, it is perhaps understandable why less attention has been paid to socio-economic impacts. The pathways that link project
actions to socio-economic impacts are highly complex and often beyond the direct control of project proponents.
1.Geographic scope: many socio-economic effects are not experienced at the project site (e.g. effects in home communities for ‘fly-in, fly-out’ workforces’)
2.Indirect and induced effects: projects often generate employment but the resulting effects of increased employment or disposal income (e.g. how an
individual chooses to manage newfound income) is difficult to monitor and the potential adverse effects of such is beyond the direct control of the proponent
3.Cause-effect: project effects are difficult to separate from other drivers of socioeconomic
change
4.Interpretation: there are few established thresholds, indicators, or criteria for determining whether an observed socio-economic change is ‘significant
Participatory Monitoring
- Although it has been long recognized that there are many benefits of involving local communities in the EA process, in practice, meaning community involvement in monitoring has not frequently occurred.
- Efforts have been made in the Saskatchewan uranium mining industry to address the need for community participation in the follow-up and monitoring process.
Challenges to monitoring in Arctic environments
Good follow-up and monitoring are essential to successful EIA and effects mitigation, but monitoring itself can require considerable time and financial investment.
This is particularly the case in Arctic environments where the greater year-to-year variability in biological resources, in comparison to non-Arctic resources, and the high degree of uncertainty in measurement and in the prediction of project effects on the Arctic environment, requires a longer period of time to establish baseline conditions for good monitoring programs.
Many project assessments do not establish this longer-term baseline condition. As such, in regions where no previous baseline monitoring or assessment programs have existed, baselines for impact assessment and monitoring are limited – often to a single field season.
The costs of monitoring in the Arctic is also significant simply due to the remoteness of many areas, and the extreme environmental conditions. Further, monitoring programs should take into account not only direct project effects but also that the Arctic is particularly vulnerable to disturbance and is a natural sink for the long range transport of pollutants.
_______ is the element that transforms EIA from a static to a dynamic process- the link between EIA and effective life-cycle assessment
Follow up
Follow up Requirements (2)
- verifying the accuracy of the environmental assessment of a designated project
- is there much value in verifying the accuracy of impact predictions when environmental conditions are consantly changing? - determining the effectiveness of any mitigation measures
- greater value then first
Canadiian Environmental Assessment Act Vs. Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency’s operational Policy Statement
-in regard to follow up
The first uses the ministers decision statement to enforce measures= small scope
VS.
second has larger scop to follow up and mitigation
ex-post evaluation
refers to the collection, structuring, analysis, and appraisal of info concerning project impacts and making decisions on remedial actions and communication of the results of this process.
Ekati VS. Voisey Bay’s Follow Up criteria
Ekati- much more focused on project specific issues and following mandatory regulations
Voisey Bay- You can see the sustaiability factor, moving past just project specific impacts
Regional Aquatic Montioring Program(RAMP)
- industry funded environmental monitoring program initiated in 1997
- example of effects-based monitoring
- established to achieve better understanding of the potential effects of oil sans development on aquatic systems so that long-term trends and issues related to oil sand and other developments in the Athabasca River basin would be identified and addressed
Generally Socio-economic follow up is the resposability of _________.
parties other then the proponent
ex: community, gov
Saskatchewan Uranium Mining Industry
example of community based monitoring
-using the regular coarse of hunting and trapping to test
-good example of mixing traditional and western knowledge
-gives communities way more opportunity to be involved
. known as “comfort monitoring” that eases the worry of communities
Community Based monitoring is a good example of “______ monitoring”
comfort
Public Participation defined
Public Involvement defined
Public participation refers to the involvement of individuals and groups that are positively or negatively affected by a proposed intervention subject to a decision-making process or are interested in it
…a process of engagement, where people are
enlisted into the decision process to contribute to
it…provide for exchange of information,
predictions, opinions, interests, and values…[and]
those initiating the process are open to the
potential need for change and are prepared to
work with different interests to develop plans or
amend or even drop existing proposals. (Petts 1999)
Why Involve the Public? (5)
- Help define the issues more effectively
identifies uncertainty, meta-problems (complexity), multi-dimensional problems
identify a broader range of options and solutions that otherwise considered - Enables access to a wider range of information for baseline development and impact assessment
knowledge gaps in environmental and socioeconomic baseline
‘public’ may have valuable information/knowledge
community, industry, government, ENGOs, etc.
local knowledge can facilitate understanding of past events or trends - Identify socially acceptable solutions
what is environmentally and economically feasible is not necessarily socially feasible Consultation
- more sharing of experiences and information
- ensure that many experiences are considered to make the management process seem more fair and efficient
Negotiation
- two or more groups meet voluntarily in order to explore jointly an issue causing conflict
- goal is to reach an acceptable agreement by consensus - Facilitate implementation
minimize delays due to ‘surprise’ issues and interest facilitate challenge to illegal or unacceptable decision before implementation
help avoid costly mitigation
furnishes access to a broader range of financial and political resources - Empower the public
public collection of baseline data and interpretation
real involvement in decision making (e.g. identifying mitigation options)
community monitoring programs and tracking early warning indicators
define stakeholder or interest group
Active vs. Inactive
any group of people, organized or unorganized, who share a common
interest or stake in a particular issue or system (Grimble and Wellaed,
1997)
- any agency with pertinent management responsibilities
- all interests significantly affected by a decision
- all parties who might intervene in the decision-making process
It is important not to ‘over represent’ the active publics (involved) and to ensure adequate representation of the inactive publics (affected by project)
particular attention should thus be given to those who reside in the area
where the project will be developed and who may be directly affected by the
project.
Define
Players:
Context-setters:
Victims:
By-standers:
Players: shape outcomes and are affected by them
Context-setters: highly influential, but low stake in project or outcome
Victims: low power and influence but high stake in project outcome
By-standers: low power, influence, and stake
What are the provisions for public involvement? (5)
The provisions for public involvement in EA vary considerably. But, generally speaking, the following minimum provisions can be identified:
1. Adequate notice
public must be informed as soon as an application for development is submitted
2. Access to information
registry or repository system must be available where the public can access information on the project, plans, and regulations
3. Participant assistance (intervener funding)
participant funding should be available to provide resources for interest groups in large EAs (RA’s have funding programs)
4. Public comment
must be opportunity to comment on proposal and respond project actions or decisions
5. Public hearings
must be opportunity to commission public hearings should they be necessary
Arnsteins Ladder of Public Participation (8)
NON PARTICIPATION
1. Manipulation- Rubberstamo
2. Therapy- Power holders educate citizens
DEGREES OF TOKENISM
3. Informing- citizen rights and options identified
4. Consultation- citezens heard but not heeded
DEGREES OF CITIZEN POWER
5. Placation- advice recieved but not used
6. Partnership- Trade offs negotiated
7. Delegated power- citizens given management power
8. Citizen Control
Most levels of participation revolve between ______ step and _______ step on arnsteins lladder
informing(3) and consultation(4)
2 requirements for proponents in Aborignal consultation
Two obligations are important to this process
– the Duty to Consult,
- the integration of Traditional Ecological knowledge(TEK) into the EIA process.
VIKTOR DIAMOND MINE PDF
This reading introduces you to a variety of topics
relevant to this course and module. For example,
note the discussions on TEK, meaningful
consultation, and restrictive scoping, amongst
others.
. scope broadening icluding more issues
.not just collecting TEK but including groups in implemenetation
.CEAA PROPONENT DRIVEN, needs more participation options
. consultation was done
. scoping was broad
. Aboriginal engagement was fair,
influential, empowering and led to social learning,
and included the collection and use of TEK and
complementary negotiation of impact benefit
agreements
Duty to consult
• This is a formal, legal obligation for government
to consult with Aboriginal peoples and are
separate from and in addition to any requirements for public participation.
-Refer to Box 10.4 of your text. The Haida Case Ruling was an important decision regarding the concept of Duty to Consult.
TEK
TEK is often used interchangeably with ‘local knowledge’ or ‘indigenous knowledge’:
a cumulative knowledge, practice, and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment’ (Berkes 1999)
associated with societies with historical continuity in resource use in a particular region
knowledge of the land, animals, and the local environment; knowledge of management systems, values, social institutions; a particular world view.
Basic Principles of PP (7)
Basic Principles apply to all stages of PP in IA processes from strategic to operational levels
• Adapted to the context – Understanding and appreciating the social institutions, values, and culture of the communities in the project area; and respecting the historical, cultural, environmental, political and social backgrounds of the communities which are affected by a proposal.
• Informative and proactive – Recognizing that the public has a right to be informed early and in a meaningful way in proposals which may affect their lives or livelihoods. Increased interest
and motivation to participate occur by diffusing simple and understandable information to the affected and interested public.
• Adaptive and communicative – Recognizing that the public is heterogeneous according to their demographics, knowledge, power, values and interests. The rules of effective communication among people, in the respect of all individuals and parties, should be followed.
• Inclusive and equitable – Ensuring that all interests, including those non-represented or underrepresented are respected regarding the distribution of impacts, compensation and benefi ts. The participation or defence of the interests of less represented groups including indigenous peoples, women, children, elderly
and poor people should be encouraged. Equity between present and future generations in a perspective of sustainability should be promoted.
• Educative – Contributing to a mutual respect and understanding of all IA stakeholders with respect to their values, interests, rights and obligations.
• Cooperative – Promoting cooperation, convergence and consensus-building rather than confrontation. Engaging confl icting perspectives and values as well as trying to reach a general acceptance of the proposal toward a decision that promotes and supports sustainable development should be pursued.
• Imputable – Improving the proposal under study, taking into account the results of the PP process; including reporting and feedback to stakeholders about the results of the PP process, especially how their inputs have contributed to decision-making.
Operational Principles of PP (7)
Operating Principles describe how the Basic Principles should be applied to the main steps and activities of the IA processes
• Initiated early and sustained – The public should be involved early (before major decisions are made) and regularly in the IA process. This builds trust among participants, gives more time for PP, improves community analysis, improves screening and scoping of the IA, increases opportunities to modify the proposal in regards to the comments and opinions gathered during the PP process, reduces the risk of rumors, and improves the public image of the proponent. It can also give the regulator more confi dence in the approval decision they must make.
• Well planned and focused on negotiable issues – All IA stakeholders should know the aims, rules, organization, procedure and expected outcomes of the PP process undertaken. This will improve the credibility of the process for all involved. Because consensus is not always feasible, PP should emphasise understanding and respect for the values and interests of participants, and focus on negotiable issues relevant to decisionmaking.
• Supportive to participants – The public should be supported in their will to participate through an adequate diffusion of information on the proposal and on the PP process, and a just and equitable access to funding or fi nancial assistance. Capacity-building,
facilitation and assistance should also be provided
particularly for groups who don’t have the capacity to partici-pate, and in regions where there is no culture of PP, or where local culture may inhibit PP.
• Tiered and optimized – A PP program should occur at the most appropriate level of decision-making (e.g., at the policy, plan, program or project level) for a proposal. The public should be invited to participate regularly, with emphasis on appropriate time for involvement. Because PP is resource consuming (human,
financial, time) for all the IA stakeholders, PP optimization in time and space will ensure more willing participation.
• Open and transparent – People who are affected by a proposal and are interested in participating, whatever their ethnic origin, gender and income, should have access to all relevant information.This information should be accessible to laypersons required
for the evaluation of a proposal (e.g., terms of reference,report and summary). Laypersons should be able to participate in relevant workshops, meetings and hearings related to the IA process. Information and facilitation for such participation
should be provided.
• Context-oriented – Because many communities have their own formal and informal rules for public access to resources,confl ict resolution and governance, PP should be adapted to the social organization of the impacted communities, including the cultural, social, economic and political dimensions. This shows
respect for the affected community and may improve public confidence of the process and its outcomes.
• Credible and rigorous – PP should adhere to established ethics, professional behavior and moral obligations. Facilitation of PP by a neutral facilitator in its formal or traditional sense improves impartiality of the process as well as justice and equity in the right to information. It also increases the confi dence of the public to express their opinions and also to reduce tensions, the risk of confl icts among participants, and opportunities for corruption. In a formal context, the adoption of a code of ethics is encouraged.
5 questions to ask when reviewing an EIS
A. Did the proponent actually do what was required of them based on the project terms of reference?
B. Is the baseline description adequate?
C. How are the impacts identified?
D. How are the impacts evaluated and mitigation prescribed?
E. What are the commitments post-implementation?
Public Involvement: Initial Project design
Early identification of efffected interests and values
-identification of values relevent to site selection for conflict minimization
Public Involvement: Screening
public review of decisions concerning EIA requirements
.Early notification of affected interests of potential dvelopment
Public Involvement: Scoping
Further identification of active and inactive publics
learning about public interests and values
elicitation of local knowledge for baseline assessment
identification of potentially significant impacts
identification of other areas of public concern and suggestions for management
identification of alternativrs
establishment of credibility and trust between proponent and publics
Public Involvement: Impact prediction and evaluation
elicitation of values and knowledge to assist impact predictions
identification of criteria for evaluation of project impacs
development of publics technical understanding of project impacts
Public Involvement: Reporting and Review
informing public of project details, baseline conditions, likely impacts, and proposed management measures
obtaining public feedback on key concerns, outstanding issues, and suggestions for improoved management
identification of errors or emmisions in EIS
providing public an opportunity to challenge EIS assumptions and predictions
Public Involvement: Decision making
resolution of potential conflicts
final integration of responces from eis review in project approvals or conditions
Public Involvement: Follow up
Maintenance of trust and credibility
identification of management effectiveness
elicitation of local knowledge in data collection and ongoing monitoring or environmental change
Public Involvement can be used in each of these 7 steps
- Initial Project design
- screening
- scoping
- impact prediction and evaluation
- reporting and review
- decision-making
- follow up
Haida Case Ruling
case concluded with the courts deciding that the crown and proponent had the legally enforcable duty to consult with Haida first nation
- rules are now that the government is resposible for consulting with aboriginals if any connection can be found
Mackenzie valley example
TEK
-developer has one belief
-aboriginals have another
- made for greater consultation and interaction
-environmental assessment was enhanced by TEK
.completley refusing western science in some instances, is that wise?
-is there a good enough balance between TEK and western science to satisfy all stakeholders?
cumulative effects defined
Cumulative effects are simply the total effects of
development, which may be an additive,
interactive, or synergistic natural that
accumulate over space and time and affect the
sustainability of a VEC.
• From a sustainability perspective, these are the
effects that matter the most – the cumulative
effects of everything!
The effect of all of these activities on a single VEC,
such as water quality, is a cumulative environmental effect. The problem is that not all of these point and nonpoint sources are subject to EA, and no single EA would consider all sources of stress in the watershed
Cumalitve effects occur when (2)
environmental effects take place so frequently in time or so densely in space that they cannot be assimilated; or
• effects emerging from one activity combine with the activities of another in an additive or synergistic manner.
Cumulative effects are influenced by (3)
- multiple actions representing impact-causing activities
- multiple linkages and pathways of change
- additive, antagonistic and synergistic relationships
4 types of cumulative effects
1• Linear additive effects. Incremental additions to, or deletions from, a fixed storage where each increment or deletion has the same individual effect.
2• Amplifying or exponential effects. Incremental additions to, or deletions from, an apparently limitless storage or resource base where each increment
or deletion has a larger effect than the one preceding.
3• Discontinuous effects. Incremental additions that have no apparent effect until a certain threshold is reached, at which time components change rapidly with very different types of behaviour and responses.
4• Structural surprises. Changes that occur as a result of multiple developments or activities in a defined region. They are often the least understood and most difficult to assess.
Pathways (4)
Pathways are the means or the routes by which cumulative effects occur over space and time
- Slowly Dissapitive
- Magnification
- Multiple Impaccts
- Synergistic relations
Slowly Dissapative Pathway
Additive
1. Persistent effects of a single project on a particular environmental component, such as
repeated changes in water temperature in a hydroelectric reservoir.
Magnification Pathway
Interactive
A single activity causing effects that accumulate synergistically, such as creation of a
hydroelectric reservoir causing change water temperature; standing water has lower
dissolved oxygen content; vegetation flooding caused an increase in MeHg
concentrations; effects of MeHg on fish increases in high water temperatures and low
dissolved oxygen levels.
Multiple Impacts Pathway
Additive
3. The environmental effects of multiple actions accumulate in an additive manner, such
as multiple water withdrawals from a single river.
Synergistic Relations
Interactive
4. Multiple effects interact in a synergistic manner, such that each project may alter
water temperatures, change dissolved oxygen content and introduce heavy metals
thereby contaminating aquatic life, but the impacts due to the interaction of these
effects across multiple projects is greater that the sum of the individual project effects.
2 Models of Cumulative Effects Assessment
Good CEA
• While effects-based and stressor-based approaches are each useful, they offer different types of
understanding. Effects-based is from the perspective of
change in the receiving environment. Stressor-based is
from the perspective of change in human disturbance
or stress to the environment. Good CEA requires both
effects and stressor-based approaches.
• Good CEA must focus on both understanding the
accumulated environmental state and human stressors
– past, present and future.
1.Stressor Based CEA
• A prospective design What might or could happen`
• single project and assessment of cumulative stress
• combination of stress with other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable activities in the project area
2.Effects Based CEA
• A retrospective design What has happened`
• how effects of activities in a region combine to cause cumulative effects
• not focused on any particular project
Stressor Based CEA
is the most common approach to CEA and is prospective in design (what might or could happen)
involves a description of the baseline and predictive modeling to determine how project-related stressors may interact to cause cumulative change
the assumption is that all stressor-VEC interactions and cause-effect linkages are known within the spatial and temporal bounds of the project
the nibbling effects, or combinations of effects from activities outside the project’s control, that may or may not have been subject to assessment, are rarely considered directly in stressor-based CEA
Typical proponent: Single project proponent or developer
Trigger: Project proposal subject to EIA regulation or law
Scope: Inward focused on project activities and stressors
Temporal bounds: Project life cycle
Spatial bounds: Site specific, defined by the reach of project activities
Sources and pathways of effects: Individual, predicted direct project actions
Typical CEA questions: What are the key stressors and the additive effects of project activities?
Effects Based CEA
typically occurs outside the project-based EIA process
(more retrospective – what has happened)
concerns assessing actual environmental responses and VEC conditions,regardless of the course of the stress
emphasis is on trying to understand the total effects of all stressors in a region, project and non-project, on a particular VEC or set of VECs
cannot operate effectively under the current project-based EA model
Typical proponent: Government agency; science or management organization
Trigger: Noticed decline in environmental conditions;
preparation for a major development strategy; land
use planning
Scope: Outward focused on VECs and VEC indicators
Temporal bounds: Past, present, future possibilities
Spatial bounds: Region, ecosystem, or watershed
Sources and pathways of effects: Multiple project and non-project stressors
Typical CEA questions: What are the current VEC conditions? Are cumulative stressors in the region threatening VEC sustainability?
Scoping and CEA
- Scoping and CEA:
Good CEA adopts ecosystem health and
functioning as a core determinant of VEC
selection. Effective CEA must be spatially and
temporally bound based on the distribution of the
VEC’s affected by both the project(s) in question
and the effects of other projects and disturbances
– past, present and future.
Spatial Boundaries for CEA
• Spatial boundaries for CEA need to encompass the
potential environmental effects on VECs of the project
being assessed in combination with other physical
activities that have been or will be carried out. (CEAA
Operational Policy Statement 2012)
• Selecting the size of the boundary can lead to problems
– either too large or too small
– which can be to the proponent’s advantage or disadvantage.
• Refer to Figure 11.4 for an example of “ambitious
bounding” and “restrictive bounding”.
Importance of Scale
• Spatial Scale: actual geographic extent; usually based
on natural or administrative boundaries (or both).
• Analysis Scale: used to examine VECs and impacts
across space; can be influenced by available data
(current, historic) and the extent of air photo coverage.
• Phenomenon Scale: the spatial units within which the
various processes operate or function; perhaps the
most important type of scale in CEA.
Temporal Boundaries for CEA
• Temporal bounding needs to consider future
activities and the degree to which the environmental effects of these activities will overlap those predicted from the proposed project.
• Temporal bounding also needs to ask how far into the past should cumulative environmental change resulting from other activities be considered in the assessment.
Retrospective analysis and CEA
Retrospective Analysis
• Retrospective analysis involves assessing past VEC conditions and analyzing trends and changes in conditions over time and against thresholds. You were first introduced to this concept in Module 5 and our discussion of baseline assessment.
• Good CEA requires an understanding of how VEC conditions have changed over time and whether that change is significant in terms of the sustainability of the VEC. An attempt should be made to identify relationships between indicators of change in VEC conditions and measures of human or natural disturbance so as to determine trends and associations that can be used to predict and monitor VEC conditions or responses to futurecumulative change.
Prospective Analysis and CEA
Prospective Analysis
• Prospective analysis is about predicting and evaluating how VECs or their indicators might respond to additional stress in the future (i.e., stress caused by the project and by other projects and actions in the regional environment).
• The focus of analysis is on the VEC conditions and understanding potential VEC response to cumulative disturbance.
• The problem is that predicting future conditions is often uncertain and data are often incomplete.
Management and CEA
Management
• While not always feasible, the best way to manage cumulative effects is to avoid them.
• The management phase of CEA involves the identification of potentially significant cumulative effects, identifying project management measures, and
developing follow-up and monitoring programs for cumulative effects.
• It is particularly important to determine whether the incremental or cumulative effects caused by the project are significant. This requires an evaluation of the total effects of each VEC of concern, including the effects of the project plus the effects caused by other sources.
• The management objective is to minimize or eliminate the cumulative contribution of the project to an adverse effect on VEC conditions.
CEA Framework (4)
Scoping
Retrospective Analysis
Prospective Analysis
Management
Bipole III Transmission Line Project
largely ignored cumulative effects on VECs of past actions and changing VEC conditions over time
- lack of baseline information
- lacked prospective view that was inclusive of project lifetime
- the fact that there was little to no cumulative effects listed in arguable the most important part of the EIS was inconcievable
Was STILL APPROVED (step backward, “good enough”)
- recognized limites of CEA as currently practiced and established need for higher standards
- established need for regional view of cumulative effects
CEA CHALLENGES (6)
- Current EIA promotes an isolated project centered ideal for CEA
- concerned only with minimizing project stress over looking to move forward with sustainable ideal
- Often reluctance to set thresholds or to limit development when our understanding of natural variability and adaptability within a system is poor
- Looking far enough into the future has extremely large variables that are difficult to predict
- need more scenario development - our assumptions about cumulative effects are not always correct
- need to think about limits of environmental systems in terms of types, ammounts and rates of development that can be accomodated. - CEAs beyond projects short time length are needed
Oil and Gas well in southern saskatchewan
so many of them have cumulatively had an effect
- only 5 out of the thousands have had an EIA
What is the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
SEA integrates environment into higher-order policy, plan and program (PPP) development and decision making processes
– It is the environmental assessment of strategic initiatives.
• A strategic approach to assessment provides an opportunity to consider a range of PPP options at an early stage. This is important because at these earlier stages there is usually greater flexibility with respect to future actions and the decisions that will be taken.
3 Types of SEA
- Policy SEA:
this is the most significant type of SEA as it involves large-scale government policies, which can have more far reaching effects than PPP. A Canadian example includes the SEA funded by the Biosphere Canada Action Program to assess policy
options for greenhouse gas mitigation in prairie agriculture.
2• Sector SEA:
applies to sector-based initiatives, plans and programs. Emphasis is place on the initiatives of, and alternatives
to, particular sector development plans or programs that may lead to environmental change. Sector SEAs are usually defined by the boundaries of a specific resource sector (e.g., forest harvesting, or oil and gas lease sites)
3• Regional SEA:
focuses on regional plans or programs (e.g., land
use plans), which may include multiple sectors. The CCME (2009) defines regional SEA as: a process designed to systematically assess the potential environmental effects, including cumulative effects, of alternative strategic initiatives, policies, plans, or
programs for a particular region.
- Regional SEA is intended to:
- Improve the management of cumulative environmental effects;
- Increase the effectiveness of project-level EIA; and
- Identify preferred directions, strategies and priorities for the future use, management and development of a region.
3 Broad Components of an SEA
There are three broad components:
• Pre-assessment or context-setting phase: focused on developing a reference framework, scoping the baseline and key issues of concern, and identifying trends and stressors of concern;
• Impact assessment phase: often technical in nature and used to identify strategic options and assess their potential effects, opportunities and risk; and
• Post-assessment phase: focused on developing planning and management measures and moving the SEA output forward to PPP implementation and following up on the results.
