Analogs Checklists Decision-focused checklists Environmental cost benefit analysis Expert opinion Expert system Indices or indicators Laboratory testing Landscape evaluation Literature reviews Mass balances Matrices Baseline monitoring Field monitoring Networks Overlay mapping Photographs/photomontages Qualitative models Quantitative models Risk assessment Scenario building Trend extrapolation H= high use; M= moderate use; L= low use; O=limited use; NA=not applicable Nae cea Na ees aloha eee ee ecFigure 7.1; Main impact of air pollutants related to spatial scale POLLUTANT Impact PM HIM SO, NO, NMVOC CO CH, CO, N,0 LOCAL air quality ee REGIONAL acidification —— photochemical Ee GLOBAL greenhouse effect aImpact Nature and Type Nature or Type _| Definition An impact that is considered to represent an Positive improvement on the baseline or introduces a positive change. ‘An impact that is considered to represent an adverse Negative change from the baseline, or introduces a new undesirable factor. Direct impact Indirect impact Cumulative impact Impacts that result from a direct interaction between a planned project activity and the receiving environment/ receptors (e.g. between occupation of a site and the pre-existing habitats or between an effluent discharge and receiving water quality) Impacts that result from other activities that are encouraged to happen as a consequence of the Project (e.g. in-migration for employment placing a demand on resources). Impacts that act together with other impacts (including those from concurrent or planned future third party activities) to affect the same resources and/or receptors as the Project.Significance Definitions Significance definitions Negligible significance ‘An impact of negligible significance (or an insignificant impact) is where a resource or receptor (including people) will not be affected in any way by a particular activity, or the predicted effect is deemed to be ‘negligible’ or ‘imperceptible’ or is indistinguishable from natural background variations. Minor significance ‘An impact of minor significance is one where an effect will be ‘experienced, but the impact magnitude is sufficiently small (with and without mitigation) and well within accepted standards, and/or the receptor is of low sensitivity/value. Moderate significance ‘An impact of moderate significance is one within accepted limits and standards. The emphasis for moderate impacts is on. demonstrating, that the impact has been reduced to a level that is as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP). This does not necessarily mean that ‘moderate’ impacts have to be reduced to ‘minor’ impacts, but that moderate impacts are being managed effectively and efficient Major significance ‘An impact of major significance is one where an accepted limit or standard may be exceeded, or large magnitude impacts occur to highly valued/sensitive resource/receptors. A goal of the EIA process is to get to a position where the Project does not have any major residual impacts, certainly not ones that would endure into the long term or extend over a large area. However, for some aspects there may be maior residual Impacts alter all practicable mitigation options have been exhausted (ie. ALARP has been applied). An example might be the visual impact of a development. It is then the function of regulators and stakeholders to weigh such negative factors against the positive factors such as employment, in coming to a Mecinfun.on he PrbiedeSignificance Criteria Tnipact Magnitude Extent ‘On-site — impacts that are limited to the boundaries of the development site. Loeal — impacts that affect an area in a radius of 20km around the development site. Regional ~ impacts that affect regionally important environmental resources or are experienced at a regional scale as determined by administrative boundaries, habitat type/ecosystem. National ~ impacts that affect nationally important environmental resources or affect an area that is nationally important/ or have macro-economic consequences. Duration ‘Temporary — impacts are predicted to be of short duration and intermittent/oceasional. Short-term ~ impacts that are predicted to last only for the duration of the construction period. Long-term ~ impacts that will continue for the life of the Project, but ceases when the project stops operating. Permanent ~ impacts that cause a permanent change in the affected receptor or resource (¢.g. removal or destruction of ecological habitat) that endures substantially beyond the project lifetime. Intensity BIOPHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT: Infensily can be considered in terms of the sensitivity of the biodiversity receptor (i.e. habitats, species or communities). Negligible — the impact on the environment is not detectable. Low ~ the impact affects the en: onment in such a waythat natural Functions and processes are not affected Medium ~ where the affected environment is altered but natural functions and processes continue, albeit in a modified way. High — where natural functions or processes are altered, to the extent that they will temporarily or permanently Where appropriate, national and/or international standards are to be used as a measure of the impact. Specialist studies should attempt to quantify the magnitude of impacts and outline the rationale used. SOCIO-ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT: Intensify can be considered in terms of the ability of people/communities affected by the Project to adapt to changes brought about by the Project. Negligible ~ there is no perceptible change to people's livelihood. Low - people/communities are able to adapt with relative ease and maintain pre-impact livelihoods. Medium - people/communities are able to adapt with some difficulty and maintain pre-impact livelihoods but only with a degree of support. High - affected people/communities will not be able to adapt to changes or continue to maintain-pre impact livelihoods. Likelihood - the likelihood that an impact will occur ‘Unlikely ‘The impact is unlikely to occur. Likely The impact is likely to occur under most conditions. Definite ‘The impact will occur.Criteria for magnitude Magnitude Description High ‘An impact that is widespread, long lasting and results in substantial and possibly irreversible change to the environmental value. Avoidance through appropriate design responses or the implementation of site-specific environmental management controls are required to address the impact. Moderate | An impact that extends beyond the area of disturbance to the surrounding area but is contained within the region where the project is being developed. The impacts are short term and result in changes that can be ameliorated with specific environmental management controls. Low ‘A localised impact that is temporary or short term and either unlikely to be detectable or could be effectively mitigated through standard environmental management controls.Model significance assessment matrix Sensitivity of Environmental Value Magnitude of Impact High ‘Moderate Low High Moderate Low + Major Significance of Impact. Arises when an impact will potentially cause irreversible or widespread harm to an environmental value that is irreplaceable because of its uniqueness or rarity. Avoidance through appropriate design responses is the only effective mitigation. + High Significance of Impact. Occurs when the proposed activities are likely to exacerbate threatening processes affecting the intrinsic characteristics and structural elements of the environmental value. While replacement of unavoidable losses is possible, avoidance through appropriate design responses Is preferred to preserve its intactness or conservation status. + Moderate Significance of Impact. Although reasonably resilient to change, the environmental value would be further degraded due to the scale of the impact or its susceptibility to further change. The abundance of the environmental value ensures it is adequately represented in the region, and that replacement, if required, is achievable. + Low Significance of Impact. Occurs where an environmental value is of local importance and temporary and transient changes will not adversely affect its viability provided standard environmental management controls are implemented. + Negligible Significance of Impact. Impact on the environmental value will not result in any noticeable change in its intrinsic value and hence the proposed activities will have negligible effect on its viability. This typically occurs where the activities occur in industrial or highly disturbed areas.Method for Determining Event Magnitude Event magnitude is determined based on the following parameters, which are equally weighted and are each assigned a rating of “1°, "2", or "3". * Extent / Scale: Events range from those affecting an area: 1— Up to 500m from the source or an area less than 50 hectares; to 2 - Greater than 500m and up to 1km from the source or an area between 50- 100 hectares; to 3 Greater than 1km from the source or an area greater than 100 hectares. + Frequency: Events range from those occurring: 1- Once; to 2+ Up to50 times; to 3 More than 50 times or continuously. * Duration: Events range from those occurring for: 1—Up to.one week; to 2~ More than one week and up to one month; to 3 « Periods longer than one month to permanent. + Intensity: Concentration of an emission or discharge with respect to standards of acceptability that include applicable legislation and international guidance, its toxicity or potential for bioaccumulation, and its likely persistence in the environment Degree/permanence of disturbance or physical impact (e.g. disturbance to species, loss of habitat or damage to cultural heritage). Ranges from: 11+ A low intensity event: to 2 A moderate intensity event: to 3+ Ahigh intensity event.Overall event magnitude is scored from low (1) to high (12) by adding the individual parameter scores: Resulting individual ratings are summed to give the overall event magnitude ranking. Table presents the score ranges for magnitude rankings of "Low’, "Medium” and "High’. Event Magnitude Rankings eens Reet ae ene)‘Method for Determining Receptor Sensitivity Receptor sensitivity is determined based on the following parameters, which are equally ‘weighted and are each assigned a rating of 1", "2", oF "3": + BiologicaliEcological Receptors: ~ Presence: Ranges trom: 3 + Routine, regular or reliably predictable presence of any species which is, in reverse order, a unique, threatened or protected species; to 2 - Regionally rare or largely confined to the - Project area or sensitive to industry emissions idisturbances; to 1 ~ A species which is none of the above and is therefore assessed at the ‘community level only ~ Resilience (to the identified stressor): Ranges from: 1 Species or community unatfected or marginally atfect 2 - Species undergoing moderate but sustainable change which stabilises under ‘constant presence of impact source, with ecological functionality maintained; 10 3 - Substantal oss of ecological functionality (e.g. loss of species in key groups, ‘substantially lower abundance and diversity), + Human Receptor: ~ Presence: Ranges trom: 3. - People being permanently present (e.g. residential property) in the ‘geographical area of anticipated impact; 0 2 - People being present some ofthe time (e.g. commercial property); to = People being uncommon in the geographical area of anticipated impact. ~ Resilience (to the identified stressor): Ranges trom: 1 People being least vulnerable to change or disturbance (Le. ambient conditions (air quality, noise) are well below applicable legislation and international guidance), to 2 People being vulnerable to change or disturbance (ie. ambient conditions (air Quality, noise) are below adopted standards); to 3 - Most vulnerable groups (ie. ambient cor ‘above adopted standards). ns (air quality, noise) are at orPhysical Receptor/Feature: Presence (to the identified stressor): Ranges from: 3 - Presence of feature any species which has, in reverse order, national or international value (e.g. state protected monument); to 2 Feature with local or regional value and is sensitive to disturbance; to 1 - Feature which is none of the above. Resilience (to the identified stressor): Ranges from: 4 —Feature/receptor is unaffected or marginally affected i.e. resilient to change: 2 Undergoes moderate but sustainable change which stabilises under constant presence of impact source, with physical integrity maintained; and 3 — Highly vulnerable i.e. potential for substantial damage or loss of physical integrity, Soil, Ground Water and Surface Water Presence: Ranges from: 3 - Receptor is highly valued e.g. used extensively for agriculture, used as a public water supply; to 2 - Receptor has moderate value €.g. moderateloccasional use for agriculture purposes; to 4 — Receptor has limited or no value. Resilience (to the identified stressor): Ranges from: 1 — No of low levels of existing contamination (well below accepted standards) and receptor is unaffected or marginally affected i.e. resilient to change; to 2 — Moderate levels of mobile contamination present which are vulnerable to physical disturbance; to 3 — High levels of mobile contamination present which are highly sensitive to physical disturbance,Overall receptor sensitivity is then scored on a spectrum from low (1) to high (6) by adding the individual parameter scores: tow I 1 1 I | 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 Table _ presents the score ranges for sensitivity rankings of "Low’, "Medium” and "High”. Receptor Sensitivity Rankings Ros Sete cau)Method for Determining Environmental Impact Significance Impact significance, as a function of event magnitude and receptor sensitivity is subsequently ranked as “Negligible”, “Minor’, “Moderate” or “Major” as presented in Table Impacts can be “positive” or “negative” Impact Significance Reece rand Medium Cie = Any impact classified as “Major” is considered to be significant and where the impact is negative, requires additional mitigation. Impacts of negligible, minor or moderate significance are considered as being mitigated as far as practicable and necessary, and therefore, do not require further mitigation. ag 3 Ff 4 & i = B FA i Cee TySignificance Rating Matrix SIGNIFICANCE LIKELIHOOD Likely Definite Negligible Negligible |Negligible | Minor Negligible —|Minor Minor Moderate —_| Moderate MAGNITUDE MajorSignificance Colon Scale Negative ratings Positive ratings Negligible |