EIA

ENVIRONMENTAL    IMPACT    ASSESSMENT

 

DEFINITION:

•  Tools to identify environmental, social   and   economic impacts of a project prior to decision making .                      
• EIA  takes place  before establishment of project.
• In India  EIA, started in 1978-79 by river  valley projects
• EIA has now been made mandatory under the Environment Protection ACT , 1986  for categories of development activities that involves investment of RS.50 cores and more .

     

Concept of EIA:

                            A systematic process of identifying    future consequences of current action

•     Transparency
•     Certainty
•     Participation
•     Practicability
•     Flexibility 
•     Cost effectiveness
•      Creditability
•     Accountability               

STAGES INVOLVED IN EIA :

•      Screening
•      Scoping
•      Assignment & Evaluation
•      Report EIA
•      Review EIS
•      Decision making
•      Monitoring,  enforcement ,compliance
•      Environmental auditing

       

 PROCEDURE:   

PROJECT FALLS UNDER  EIA :

•  Significantly alter the landscape
•  Upstream activity like  assured mineral and  forest products supply.
• Downstream industrial  process development.
• Involve manufacturing , handling and use of hazardous material.

        

                 

 WHAT TO ADDRESS

• Meteorology and quality
• Hydrology and water quality
• Sites and its surrounding
• Occupational safety and health
• Details of the treatment and disposal of effluents  and the method of alternatives uses
• Transport of raw material and details of material  handling
• Control equipment and measures
•  Proposed to be adopted

BENEFITS  OF EIA :

•   Environmental benefits
•   Economic benefits
•   Reduced cost and time of project implementation and design
•   Avoided treatment
•   Clean up cost
•   Impact of laws and regulation

 

 Precautionary principal:

                                         If an action or policy  has a suspected  risk of  causing harm to the public, or environment , in the  absence of   scientific  consensus, the burden of proof falls  on those  taking the action part of RIO Declaration.

 

Polluters pay principle: 

                                          To make the party responsible for producing pollution responsible for paying the damage done to the natural environment support from and European community.