Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Audit- Unit III

Environmental Impact Assessment Assessment and Environmental Audit

Unit -III

Syllabus

• Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Audit.

‘Environmental Impact Assessment’

Introduction

• ‘Environmental Impact Assessment’ (EIA) can be defined as the systematic identification and evaluation of the potential impacts (effects) of proposed projects, plans, program or legislative action of the physical, chemical, biological, cultural, and socio-economic components of the total environment.

NEPA Process (National Environmental

Policy Act)

Introduction• The primary purpose of the EIA process, also called

NEPA Process (National Environmental Policy Act) is to encourage the consideration of the environment in planning and decision making so as to ultimately arrive at actions which are environment friendly.

• EIA is a planning tool which helps planners in predicting future impacts of different development activities.

• EIA provides information about adverse environment effects, predicts, the overall risks arising from any activity, helps in identifying areas where risks can possibly be reduced.

Need of EIA

Need of EIA

• Environment is composed of Biotic & Abiotic components. There is a dynamic equilibrium between these components. When a project is undertaken it tends to disturb these components. To maintain the quality of environment it is essential that the perspective impacts of the project on natural environment are studied on time and remedial measures be taken so as to promote sustainable and holistic development of the project. This is done through EIA.

Need of EIA

• For Example, a forest ecosystem is a complete ecosystem which provides food, shelter to a wide variety of species. It provides firewood, resins, timber, medicinal herbs, etc.. to us. Therefore forests are our lifeline. Whenever a project is undertaken which demands clearing of the forest like construction of road or a dam, then EIA helps us to access the impact of that activity on this life line. It also suggests alternate project sites and alternate process technologies.

Need of EIA

Ideal EIA System

An Ideal EIA system Would be• Apply to all project that are expected to

have a significant environmental effects and address all impacts that are expected to occur due to that project.

• Compare alternatives to a proposed project, management techniques and mitigation measures.

• Result in a clear EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) which conveys the importance of the likely and their specific characteristics to non experts in the field.

Ideal EIA System

Ideal EIA System

• Include broad public participation and stringent administrative review procedures.

• Be timed so as to provide information for decision making.

• Be enforceable.• Include monitoring and feedback procedures.• Therefore, the purpose of EIA is to help design

projects which enhance the quality of the environment by examining alternative and remedial measures throughout the entire course of planning and designing of the development projects

Goals of Environment Impact Assessment

The major aims of EIA are:• Resources Conservation• Waste minimization• Recovery of by-product.• Efficient use of equipment• Sustainable Development

Methodology of Environment Impact Assessment

• Human activities of urbanization and industrialization have many undesirable environmental side effects. Environmental Impact Assessment is a procedure which ensures that developmental activities cause minimal environmental side effects without reducing the productivity of natural systems and without destroying the ecological balance.

• EIA helps to identify the major areas of environmental damage due to developmental activities in a systematic and comprehensive manner and also suggests remedial measures to minimize these negative impacts.

Methodology of Environment Impact Assessment

• The EIA methodology consists of four phases, namely:

• Organizing the Job• Performing the assessment• Writing the Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS)• Review of the EIS.

Organizing the Job

• In this step an inter disciplinary (ID) team is constituted to conduct analysis of the various impacts of the proposed programme on the environment. An ID team can be defined as a team which has been organised to address a common problem. It consists of a group of two or three persons trained in different fields with the knowledge of concepts, methods, data and terms related to that subject.

Inter Disciplinary TeamIn Conducting EIA analysis

Organizing the Job

• Thus the team includes geologists, agronomists, chemists, agriculturists, ecologists, hydrologists, meteorologists, engineers, scientists, biologists, anthropologists, etc..

• The time schedule for the conduct of analysis is fixed. The experts should have a knowledge of the rules, regulations, and limitations on the part of the government. Finally a format is prepared containing all the particular about the projects, its sponsors, participants of the ID team, time schedule, cost, specific responsibilities. Etc. This format is distributed to all the members of ID Team

Performance of the Assessment

This Phase of EIA consists of the following steps.

• (a) Site Visit: The members of the interdisciplinary team visit the site to determine the possible environmental impacts of the proposed project and record of the description of the environment as it exists prior to the implementation of the proposed project.

• (b) Identification and Evaluation: The adverse and beneficial effects of the proposed projects on the environment are evaluated.

• (c) Discussion of Alternatives: Various possible alternatives are discussed i.e.

Performance of the Assessment

(d) Preparation of Checklist: A checklist is prepared to ensure complete coverage of all the possible consequences of the proposed project, so that it can be determined as to what administrative actions should be taken.

(e) Measurement of Environment Impact, due to the project: For Identifying the impact of the project on the environment, a checklist of the environmental attributes reflects the impact on the environment resulting from a particular action.

Criteria for Selecting EIA Methodology

• A large number of models and methodologies are being practiced in EIA studies. Generally the specialists on EIA make their own methodologies for individual projects.

Preparation of EIS

Preparation of EIS

• EIS is the conclusion of EIA. It is a written statement which serves as a device to ensure that the policies and goals defined by NEPA (National Environment policy Act) are infused into the ongoing programmed. It must contain the following items.

• Description of the site of the project or environment where the proposed project is to take place.

• Description of the proposed project, purpose of action, its goals and objectives, area, extent, equipments, manpower and material requirement.

• The environmental impact of the proposed project.

• The unavoidable adverse effects resulting from the activity.

Preparation of EIS

• Alternatives of the activity.• Relationship of the proposed activities to the existing

land use plans.• Relationship between local short term uses and long

term productivity of the resources involved.• Identifying the measures that can be taken in order to

minimize the adverse effects.• Incorporating the modifications in the proposed

projects.• Finally the EIS, written in a clear and comprehensive

manner is presented to the public, competent authorities and independent experts. It is reviewed carefully before any decision is taken in favor or against the proposed project.

Review of EIS• After the completion of EIS report, the law

requires that the public must be informed and consulted on the proposed project. The proposed project is made available to the public through Press. Anyone likely to be affected by the project is entitled to have access to the executive summary of the EIA.

Review of EIS

Review of EISThe affected person may include.• Bonafide Local Residents• Local Associations• Environment Groups active in the area.• Any other person located at the project site/ sites of

displacement.• They are to be given an opportunity to make

oral/ written suggestions• At least one month period is given for public

inspection and submission of comments on the EIS• After the final review of beneficial and adverse

environmental impacts and cost benefit analysis etc.., a decision is ultimately taken to either approve or reject the proposed project.

Limitations of EIAEIA suffers from following limitations• EIA should be undertaken at the policy and

planning level rather than at the project level.• Range of Possible alternatives in the project

EIA is often small.• There is no criteria to decide what type of

project are to undergo EIA. A lot of unnecessary expense and delay in project clearance could be avoided as there are many projects that do not require an in-depth EIA.

• Lack of comprehensive environment information base, limitation of time, manpower and financial resources make EIA very complicated and time consuming.

Limitations of EIA

• More research and development of improved methodologies is required to overcome limitations relating to the uncertainties in data.

• EIA, reports are too academic, bureaucratic and lengthy containing too many tables of collected data without any data analysis, interpretation and environmental implications.

• In actual practice EIA ends immediately after project clearance, no follow up action is taken.

• It does not incorporate the strategies of preventing environmental intervention. The issue of resource conservation, waste minimization, by product recovery and improvement in efficiency of equipment, need to be pursued as the explicit goal in EIA.

Role of EIA in Sustainable Development

• Sustainable development is essential for the overall socio-economic development. Sustainable development must meet the need of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs and aspirations.


• It is possible to have development without destroying the environment. This requires a gradual shift from uncontrolled exploitation to efficient management of natural resources. To ensure sustainable development the depletion of renewable resources should not take place at a rate faster than their rate of generation.

• Only those technological developments with minimum environmental hazards should be adopted in order to sustain the environment for future generations.



• Sustainable development is closely linked to the carrying Capacity of an ecosystem as the latter determines the limits to economic development. Carrying capacity of a specific ecosystem is the maximum rate of resource consumption that can be sustained definitely in that specific area and overexploitation of natural resources above this maximum will lead to depletion and ecological degradation.


• Carrying capacity based planning ensures sustainable development, Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) could form a major instrument in decision making and for measurement of sustainability in the context of regional carrying capacity, provided the conceptual framework is extended to cumulative assessment of developmental policies, plans and projects on a regional basis.


Guidelines for Project Proponents

• The MOEF has prepared environmental guidelines, to help the project proponents to work out an EIA, Guidelines have been prepared to bring out specific information required for environmental clearance.

• These guidelines basically consists of aspect regarding planning and implementation of development projects. The majority of projects in India which requires EIA, are large developmental projects like nuclear power, river valley, thermal power plants, etc.. Where government play an important role.


• The critical Issues focused in these guidelines are:

• Can the local environment cope with the additional waste and pollution that the project will produce?

• Will the project location conflict with the nearby land use or preclude later developments in surrounding areas?

• Can the project operate safely without serious risk of accidents or long term health hazards?


• How will the project affect economic activities that are based on natural resources?

• Is there sufficient infrastructure to support the project?

• How mush the resources will the project consume and are adequate supplies of these resources available?

• What kind of human resources will it require or replace and what will be its social impacts in the short/long run?

• What damages will it inadvertently cause to the national/ regional assets such as natural resources, tourists areas or historic or cultural sites etc.?

Environmental Audits

Environmental Audits• Environmental Audits are intended to

quantify environmental performance and environmental position of an industry/ organization. In this way they perform a function similar to financial audits.

• An environmental audit report ideally contains a statement of environmental performance and environmental position, and may also aim to define what needs to be done to sustain or improve on indicators. Of such performance and position. It can as one of the tool for achieving the goal of sustainable development.

Environmental Audits

• Environmental auditing is mandatory only in cases stipulated by law.

• The aim of the audit is to facilitate management control of environmental practices and to enable the company to assess compliance with it’s policies including meeting regulatory requirements.

Definition of Environmental Audit

• According to United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Environmental Audit (EA) is a systematic documented, periodic and objective review by a regulated entity of facility operations and practices related to meeting environmental requirements .


• The concept of environmental auditing in industrial units in India was formally introduced in March 1992 with an over all objective of minimizing consumption of resources and promoting use of clean technologies in industrial production to minimize generation of wastes. India was the first country in the world to make environmental audits compulsory.


• The government of India, by its gazette notification [No. GSR 329 (E) ] of March 13, 1992 made it mandatory for all the industries to provide annual environmental audit reports of their operations, beginning with 1992-93. This required industries to provide details of water, raw material and energy resources used, and the products and waste generated by them. These audit reports has to be submitted to the concerned state pollution control boards on or before 30th September every year.

Environmental Audits should provide answer to the following Questions

• What are we doing ? In particular, are we in compliance with government regulations, guidelines, codes of practices, permit conditions?

• Can we do it better? In particular, are there non-regulated areas where operations can be improved to minimize the impact on the environment?

• Can we do it more cheaply? What more should we do ?

Components of Environmental Audit

Assessment• An assessment provides expert judgment/

opinion on hazards, associated risks and management and control measures. It also identifies knowable hazards and estimates the significance of risks. The process assesses current practices and capabilities and provide the basis for recommendations to improve the organization’s management system and environmental performance.

Assessment

Components of Environmental Audit

Verification• Verification determines and documents

performance by evaluating the application of, and adherence to, policies and procedures. It certifies the validity of data and reports and evaluates the effectiveness of management systems. It also ensures that regulations and policies are being adhered to and assists in identifying gaps in organizational policies and standards.

Verification

Environmental Audit

Basic Steps in the Typical Audit Process

• Pre-audit activities: These comprise scheduling; team selection; logistical arrangement; gathering background information and developing the audit plan.

• Selection of the Team for the Environmental Audit:

• Although environmental audit is similar to other form of audit, the selection of the audit team requires careful consideration. The following attributes are expected of environmental auditors:

• Adequate knowledge in all aspects of EIA

Basic Steps in the Typical Audit Process

• Comprehensive Knowledge of Environmental and climate change issues.

• Adequate knowledge of environmental auditing acquired through training followed by practical experience.

• An independent and unbiased approach, with aptitude for research.

• Being an emerging and expanding field of audit, inclination to develop and apply new techniques and methodologies to assess the environmental related performance of the entity, by drawing experience from elsewhere.

• Good human relations and communication skills.

Audit Process• The key activities include understanding

management system; assessing the strengths and weakness; gathering audit evidences, evaluating audit finding and reporting audit finding to management.

Post Audit Activities:• Post audit activities are to ensure the audit results

are clearly communicated to the appropriate level of management and to evaluate effectiveness of audit and provide suggestions for improving future audit; share lessons learned during the audit. It also includes preparation of a draft report; issue a final report to legal counsel and develop a develop action plans and follow up.

Types of Environmental Audits

• Compliance Audits• Environmental Management Audit• Liability Definition or due Diligence Audits.• Supplier Audits.• Programme Audits• Single Issue Audits.• Risk Definition or Hazard Identification• Where international audits need to be carried

out by a central team, there can be good reasons for covering more than one area while onsite to minimize costs.

Types of Environmental Audits

Supplier Audits.

Compliance Audits Environmental Management Audit

Liability Definition or due Diligence Audits

The Benefits of Auditing

• While environmental audits are designed to identify environmental problems, there may be widely differing reasons for undertaking them: Compliance with legislation, pressure from suppliers and customers, requirements from insurers or for capital projects, or to demonstrate environmental activities to the public. The benefits of environmental audit include:

• Ensuring compliance, not only with laws, regulations and standards, but also with laws, regulation and standards, but also with company policies.


• Enabling environmental problems and risks to be anticipated and responses planned.

• To demonstrate that an organization is aware of its impact upon the environment through providing feedback.

• Increases management and employee awareness of environmental issues.

• More efficient resources use and finance savings.

• Promotes “Good Practices”• Providing better private and Public Image and

“Security” to Top Management.


ISO 14000 and Environmental Management System

• The International environmental Standards are intended to provide organizations with the elements of an effective environmental management system, which can be integrated of an effective environment management system, which can be integrated with other management requirements to assist organizations to achieve environmental and financial goals.


• The Current International Standards on Environmental Management System cover the following major areas:

• Environment Management System• Environmental Auditing• Environmental Labeling• Environmental Performance

Evaluation• Life Cycle Assessment and terms of

definition


• ISO 14000 builds a single global management System that allows effective management of environmental responsibilities, liabilities, costs, document commitment to government, and promotes concern for the society.


• ISO 14000 is a way of empowering businesses to take control of environmental responsibility and encouraging government departments to approach the challenges with far greater flexibility.


• ISO 14000 does not only relate entirely to massive global companies. The standard states that” It has been written to applicable to all types and sizes of organization and to accommodate diverse geographical, cultural and social condition.”

• ISO 14001 Certification is an initiative to bring about uniformity in environmental compliance standard to reduce impediment to trade among countries.

To Whom does the Standard Apply?

• The Standards apply to all type and sizes of organizations and the design to encompass diverse, Cultural and Social Conditions. For ISO 14001, except for committing to continual improvement and compliance with applicable legislation and regulations, the standard does not establish absolute requirement for environmental performance.

To Whom does the Standard Apply?

• ISO 14000 is a group of standards encompassing the following areas:

• Environmental Management Systems (14001, 14002, 14004)

• Environmental Auditing (14010, 14011, 14012)• Evaluation of Environmental Performance

(14031)• Environmental Labeling (14020, 14021, 14022,

14023, 14025)• Life Cycle Assessment

Any Questions

• Write a Short Note on Environmental Audit.

• Write short notes on EIA

References

Water Supply Engineering : By Prof S.K. GargKhanna Publishers

Internet Websites

Thanks…

Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Audit- Unit III

Education

eia environment

eia process

eia methodology

eia analysis

purpose of eia

ideal eia system

environmental auditunit

major aims of eia