Environmental Impact Assessment: Theory and Practice

Environmental Impact Assessment

Theory and Practice

First Edition

Anji Reddy Mareddy

Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, India

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Dedication

Preface

About the author

1: Conceptual facets of EIA

Abstract

1.1 Definition of EIA

1.2 Types of EIA

1.3 Grouping of environmental impacts

1.4 EIA principles and process

1.5 Environmental impact statement (EIS)

1.6 Environmental Due Diligence (EDD) process

1.7 Objectives of EIA

1.8 Environmental impacts analysis

1.9 Environmental sustainability

1.10 Climate change and EIA

2: EIA study planning and management

Abstract

2.1 Key issues

2.2 Conceptual approach

2.3 Proposal development

2.4 EIA team

2.5 Team leader selection and duties

2.6 General study management

2.7 Fiscal control

2.8 EIA project management

3: Baseline data and environmental setting

Abstract

3.1 Creation of EIA data base

3.2 EIA data products

3.3 Environmental setting

3.4 Environmental baseline monitoring

3.5 Initial environmental evaluation

3.6 Baseline data generation

3.7 Land use studies

3.8 Drainage network

3.9 Hydro geomorphological studies

3.10 Hydro geological studies

4: Impact identification methods

Abstract

4.1 Impact identification (II) methodologies

4.2 Uses of impact identification (II) methods

4.3 Interaction-matrix methods

4.4 Checklist methodologies

4.5 Network methods

4.6 Overlays and geographic information systems

4.7 Significance of identified impacts

5: Impacts on air environment

Abstract

5.1 Air pollution

5.2 Approach for air environment impacts

5.3 Prediction of air impacts

5.4 Impact assessment (IA)

5.5 Impact mitigation measures

6: Impacts on water environment

Abstract

6.1 Point and non point source pollution

6.2 Impact concerns

6.3 Surface-water quantity and quality

6.4 Groundwater quantity and quality

6.5 Impacts study approach

6.6 Wastewater management

6.7 Common effluent treatment plant—Case study

7: Impacts on soils and land environment

Abstract

7.1 Soil system

7.2 Classification of soils

7.3 Types of soils in India

7.4 Causes of land degradation

7.5 Environmental soil erosion

7.6 Environmental impacts on soils and land

7.7 Conceptual approach

7.8 Soil reclamation and remediation

8: Impacts on the noise environment

Abstract

8.1 Basics of noise pollution

8.2 Standards and guidelines

8.3 Conceptual study

8.4 Traffic noise model

9: Impacts on the biological environment

Abstract

9.1 Biological environment

9.2 Wetland ecosystem

9.3 Wetlands inventory and assessment

9.4 Biological impact assessment (BIA) system

9.5 Conceptual study approach

9.6 Conservation of flora and fauna

10: Impacts on the socioeconomic environment

Abstract

10.1 Valued socioeconomic components

10.2 Considerations of SEIA

10.3 Socioeconomic factors

10.4 Model for SEIA

10.5 The six steps of SEIA

10.6 Traffic and transportation impacts

10.7 Health impacts assessment (HIA)

10.8 Aesthetics and livability

11: Mitigation and impact management

Abstract

11.1 EIA process and mitigation

11.2 Elements of mitigation

11.3 Approaches to mitigation

11.4 Typical mitigation measures

11.5 Environmental management plan

11.6 EMP: case study

12: Technology in EIA

Abstract

12.1 Water use and consumption

12.2 Wastewater treatment methods

Physical

Chemical

Biological

13: EIA practice in India

Abstract

13.1 Intensity of impact

13.2 Dimensions of environment

13.3 Categorization of projects

13.4 Constitution of committees

13.5 Requirements of prior EC

13.6 Application for prior EC

13.7 Project cycle and management

13.8 Prior environmental clearance (EC) process

13.9 Project screening process

13.10 Project scoping process

13.11 Appraisal of an application

14: Public involvement in EIA

Abstract

14.1 Principles of public involvement

14.2 Stakeholders involved

14.3 Methods of public involvement

14.4 Public participation in the EIA process

14.5 Incorporation of result in decision making

14.6 Public hearing process: Indian scenario

References

Index

Copyright

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Dedication

Dedicated to my parents,

Late Smt. Anasuyyamma Mareddy

Late Smt. Rami Reddy Mareddy

Preface

Anji Reddy Mareddy

It is with utmost happiness and satisfaction, that I am presenting the book titled Environmental Impact Assessment: Theory and Practice to the students of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the country, who would like to become EIA professionals.

The Environmental Protection (EP) act in India is considered to be the best legislation to protect and improve the quality of environment and hence quality of human life. This act requires environmental impact considerations to be included in project planning and decision making process in any developmental activities along with engineering and economic parameters. Consideration of environmental impacts due to developmental projects necessitates preparing the environmental impact assessment reports based on the actions, which significantly affect the quality of human environment. EIA is now firmly on the agenda as a result of the introduction of legislation at both national and international levels, and is very much in tune with widespread and growing concern about environmental issues and the impact of development on the environment.

EIA is an interdisciplinary scientific tool to study environmental impacts, and to be successful in this field, a professional requires a good understanding of the multitude of cross-disciplinary concepts. A holistic view on EIA is necessary to form an understanding of the challenges a professional would face, when solving environmental problems, be it at micro level or at macro level. This is of particular importance to environmental engineers, scientists, consultants, and stakeholders, who have to formulate and implement practical solutions to mitigate the adverse impacts with the ultimate goal of achieving sustainable development. The author has made an attempt to prepare this book as a comprehensive text to students and as a reference book for practitioners. This is an output of 25 years of author's teaching experience to post graduate students of environmental management, environment geomatics and his research in environmental related projects. Several examples are included in this book as the author is involved in appraising the developmental projects as Chairman of State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), Andhra Pradesh under the umbrella of Ministry of Environmental and Forests (MoEF), Government of India. His experience in the practical aspects, natural resource conservation, assessment and evaluation of EIA reports on various projects, plans and legislative actions, and pollution control as member of several expert committees related to environmental issues also helped in shaping this book.

This book can be used as a textbook for graduate and postgraduate students of civil and environmental engineering, chemical engineering, environmental management, and environmental science. The book can also be used by individual environmental professionals trained in other related disciplines such as geology, geography, planning, ecology, etc. Information is included in this book that is relevant for both classroom presentations and illustrations of the practice of EIA.

This book is organized into 14 chapters covering most aspects of EIA. The design of all these chapters is compatible and in accordance with the generic structure of EIA. Chapter 1 highlights the concepts and some important definitions of EIA where as the planning and management of EIA study along with the composition of EIA team is given in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 describes the affected environment and various methods of extraction of baseline data products. The impact identification methodologies and their comparative analysis are presented in Chapter 4. The impacts on valued environmental components like air, water, soils, land, noise, biological environment, and socio economic environment are discussed in a systematic manner in Chapters 5–10. More emphasis is given on the conceptual approach for identification of impacts on all environmental components, impact prediction, impact assessment, and mitigation measures in these chapters. The environmental management plan and mitigation strategies are highlighted in Chapter 11 with a case study for better understanding on how an EMP can be prepared for the proposed development projects.

Chapter 12 is considered as very important and is named as Technology in EIA, is presented with detailed methodologies for air pollution control, waste treatment schemes, phytoremediation, bioremediation, hazardous waste, green belt development, rain water harvesting, and remote sensing and GIS methods for preventing the pollution in the process of developing a particular site and to avoid anticipated adverse impacts. The EIA procedure in India as notified by Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, is discussed in Chapter 13, which can be very much useful for an environmental consultant and a true EIA practitioner. An important issue in EIA is public participation, the involvement of local people; various methods of involving them in the decision making process is focused in Chapter 14 under the title Public Involvement in EIA.

The author would like to express his gratitude to the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India and Andhra Pradesh Government for its support in appointing the author as the Chairman of Environment Committee through which the preparation of this book has become more easy with a number of case studies. The author wishes to express his gratitude to a number of individuals who have participated directly or indirectly in the assemblage of information related to this book. The author has benefitted by teaching courses on EIA through various universities in India and abroad and acknowledges for their collaboration. The author is very much thankful to Dr. V. Bakthavatsalam, Chairman, SEIAA; Sri Krishna Gopal, Member, SEIAA; and Sri Sanjay Kumar, IAS, Member Secretary, Andhra Pradesh SEIAA and PCB for their positive cooperation and technical help in preparation of this book. I am thankful to the officers of APPCB who provided the relevant information for this book.

I am grateful to the faculty and reviewers who have suggested changes for this book. I am also indebted to those authors whose books are source of information. I am very thankful to the members of SEAC for their technical help. I cannot forget the technical help extended by Mr. Sastry and Miss. Preethi of AP PCB, time to time, for the preparation of this book for which I am very much thankful. Special thanks to environmental consultants who have provided the necessary material in writing this book. I am also thankful to all of my research scholars and students for their help in preparing this book.

Of major importance to the author is the positive attitude and helpfulness of Mr. Nikhil Shah and Mr. Naresh of BS Publications in preparation of this textbook. Truly, special thanks for my wife Jaya, children Chandu and Rajeev for the cooperation and encouragement in writing this book.

About the author

Anji Reddy Mareddy is a professor of Environmental Science and Technology, at Centre for Environment, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad (JNTUH) India. Dr. Reddy received his PhD in Remote Sensing (Civil Engineering) from JNTUH in 1995; M.Tech. in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur in 1989; and MSc in Geology and BSc from Andhra University, in 1986 and 1984, respectively. He has more than 24 years of teaching and research experience. Dr. Reddy's research interests include environmental impact assessment methods and strategies, execution of operational EIA projects, environmental management, pollution source evaluation and environmental protection methods, remote sensing, GIS, and GPS. He has guided 28 PhD students, more than 160 M.Tech. students and executed more than 25 sponsored research projects. Dr. Reddy has published and presented more than 180 research papers. He has also delivered a number of lectures in these areas of research in national and international institutions.

He has authored several textbooks, including Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System, Geoinformatics for Environmental Management, and Digital Image Processing and Environmental Science and Technology. Dr. Reddy has also edited the seven proceeding volumes of International Conference on Environmental Management. This book is his fifth textbook which is an outcome of 6 years of his experience as Chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Environmental Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) constituted by Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India with the recommendation of Government of Andhra Pradesh. He is also the author of a number of research reports, book chapters, course materials related to environmental studies. He has also written environmental statements and EIA reports on projects such as mineral extraction, power plants, cement industry, roads, wastewater treatment plants, industrial estates, parks, special economic zones, flood control banks, etc.

He is a technical member and auditor of World Bank funded projects, Coordinator of environmental geomatics, TIFAC-CORE (Centre of Relevance and Excellence), Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi. He is a National expert committee member for revival of village ponds project, a member of Earth and environmental science expert committee for the empowerment of women, expert member of the project Kolleru lake restoration management plan of DST, expert working group member of hyper spectral signature database creation project, and village knowledge management system of NRDMS, DST.

Awards received by him include Rotary Vocational Excellence Award 2009, AP SCIENTIST AWARD 2010 in recognition of outstanding services rendered in the areas of environmental sciences and technology, EIA, and environmental management systems. Best Teacher Award-2012 from Govt. of Andhra Pradesh and AP fellow of A.P. Academy of Sciences.

For his outstanding contribution in environmental problem solving, pollution control, health and safety, GIS and Remote sensing applications for water quality, environmental planning and assessment, EIA, socio-economic development through scientific means, he stood not only as a distinguished professor in JNTU but also at the national and international level.

1

Conceptual facets of EIA

Abstract

The definition of environmental impact assessment and various types of EIAs are given in the first chapter, namely, conceptual facts of EIA. In this chapter, the EIA principles and its process are discussed along with grouping of environmental impacts. Very important concepts, namely, environmental due diligence and significant environmental impact analysis, and the guiding principles of environmental sustainability are presented in this chapter. The climate change and the linkage with EIA are presented in this chapter.

Keywords

Environmental indicators; Life cycle assessment; EIA types

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a study of the probable environmental impacts of a development project or any activity or any legislative action. Environment (Protection) Act requires such studies prior to proceeding with any project located anywhere across the globe as per the environmental laws of respective country. The purpose of EIA is to identify potential environmental impacts of projects, programs, and legislative actions and to propose means to avoid or reduce the significant impacts. EIA was developed formally in the 1970s and has been incorporated in the procedures of governments worldwide in the process of decision-making. As a result, it is important that people, who have associated with the design and planning of projects, should be aware of EIA and how it operates in their local area for decision-making process.

Environmental impact assessment is a systematic process used to help make the decisions that takes into account the environmental impact assessment of human activities on the environment. The process helps to include the environmental factors into the project proposal. The EIA involves an assessment of the potential impacts of the project on the ecosystem. In EIA, existing data related to the environment are collected based on which the predictions are made about the emissions and pollution levels, from the proposed projects and activity of development. These predicted values are superimposed on the existing values using different models to predict the level of pollution after the project commences. Thus, the future values help to make the decision whether the proposed project would be environmentally sustainable in the region or not. Since other sustainable factors are also considered in EIA, it gives a complete picture of a region after the implementation of the project.

1.1 Definition of EIA

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) can be defined as the systematic identification and evaluation of the potential impacts (effects) of proposed projects, plans, programs, or legislative actions relative to the physical, chemical, biological, cultural, and socioeconomic components of the total environment. The primary purpose of the EIA process is to encourage the consideration of the environmental issues in planning and decision-making and to ultimately arrive at actions that are more environmentally compatible (Canter, 1986). There are many definitions of EIA. United Nations define EIA as an assessment of impacts of a planned activity on the environment. According to International Association of Impact Assessment (IAIA), EIA is the systematic process to identify the future consequences of a current or proposed action. Department of Environment, the United Kingdom, defined EIA as a technique and a process by which information about environmental effects of a project is collected, both by the developer and from other sources, and taken into account by the planning authority in forming the judgment on whether the development should proceed. US Environmental Protection Agency termed EIA as a systematic, reproducible, and interdisciplinary evaluation of potential effects of proposed action and its practical alternatives on the physical, biological, cultural, and socioeconomic attributes of a particular geographic area. Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India, defined EIA as a 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. These studies integrate the environmental concerns of development activities into the decision-making process.

1.1.1 Environmental concerns

All of these definitions share the basic concepts of EIA process, EIA as a part of project planning and EIA as a proactive way of addressing environmental concerns. EIA has been developed as a result of the failure of the traditional project appraisal techniques to account for the environmental impacts. Many development projects in the past were designed and constructed in isolation from any consideration of their impacts on the environment, resulting in higher costs, failure of projects, significant environmental change, and negative social effects despite differences in individual EIA systems throughout the world. The EIA process shares certain aims like provision of information on critical analysis of the total environment, so that decisions can be made based on as nearly complete and balanced information as possible. It also provides present intangible/unquantifiable effects to assess and adequately addressed by cost/benefit analysis and other technical reports, to provide information to the public on a proposal to formalize the consideration of alternatives to a proposal being considered, so that the least environmentally harmful means of achieving the given objective can be chosen, and to improve the design of new developments and safeguard the environment through the application of mitigation and avoidance measures.

The introduction of EIA has encountered resistance on the part of many planners and engineers, who have seen it as an unneeded change to traditional practices, in spite of its intended role in improving the project planning process. EIA has been severely criticized in some parts of the developing world as being inappropriate for application there. Some of these criticisms include the following: EIA is too complex, EIA is too expensive, EIA delays projects, EIA will be misused to stop development, EIA is just an add-on and occurs too late to do any good, we are too poor to afford EIA, and EIA does not produce useful results.

The potential scope of a comprehensive EIA system is considerable and could include the appraisal of policies, plans, program, and specific projects. EIA, as it has developed in many countries, involves a number of procedures and stages like identification of projects requiring EIA, identification of the key issues to be addressed in an EIA, impact assessment and evaluation, impact mitigation and monitoring, review of the completed environmental impact statement, and public participation in issuing the environmental clearance.

The result of an EIA is assembled in a document known as environmental impact statement (EIS) that looks at all the positive and negative effects of a particular project on the environment. This report is just one component of the information required to aid decision-makers in making their ultimate decision about a project. EIA can be considered as a mechanism that maximizes the efficient use of natural and human resources. It can also reduce costs and time taken to reach a decision and assist in the primary and secondary consequences, which might require the introduction of expensive pollution control equipment.

There is a need to emphasize and promote the new paradigm of preventive management to protect the environment in the process of development of the nation. Various tools of preventive management be classified into three groups (Table 1.1), namely, management-based tools, process-based tools, and product-based tools.

Table 1.1

Tools of preventive management

Source: MOEF, Government of India.

1.1.2 Environmental indicators

Indicators can be classified into two types. The first one is environmental performance indicators, and the second is environmental condition indicators.

The environmental performance indicators can be further divided into two categories, namely, operational performance indicators and management performance indicators. The operational performance indicators are related to the process and other operational activities of the organization and would typically address the issue of raw material consumption, energy consumption, water consumption in the organization, quantities of wastewater generated and other solid wastes generated, and emission from the organization. Management performance indicator, on the other hand, is related to management efforts to influence the environmental performance of organization operations.

The environmental condition indicators provide information about the environment. These indicators provide information about the local, regional, national, and global condition of the environment. This information helps an organization to understand the environmental impacts of its activities and thus helps in taking decisions to improve the environmental performance. Indicators are basically used to evaluate environmental performance against the set standards and thus indicate the direction in which to proceed. Selection of type of indicators for a firm or project depends upon its relevance, clarity, and realistic cost of collection and its development. This is very well explained by an example of a power project proposed to establish in Khammam district, state of Andhra Pradesh.

To illustrate operational performance indicators, let us consider two indicators, namely, water consumption and air emission control systems in a thermal power project based on coal and coal washery rejects located in Adavimallela village of Khammam district, Andhra Pradesh state, India. The production capacity is 36 MW in an aerial extent of 36 acres. The total water requirement for the production of 36 MW is 750 m³/day toward cooling tower, boiler make up, air conditioning, etc. The breakup of the requirement of water for various purposes is given in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2

Breakup of water requirement for thermal power project based on coal and coal washery rejects

The water balance diagram is shown in Fig. 1.1. The wastewater generated from this power plant is shown in Table 1.3. The effluent treatment plant is shown in Fig. 1.2. The characteristics of treated effluents are shown in Table 1.4. These indicators like requirement of water, treatment of wastewater, and characteristics of treated water as per the standards reflect the performance of the plant.

Fig. 1.1 Water balance diagram. Note : All values are in m ³ /day.

Fig. 1.2 Effluent treatment plant.

Table 1.3

Wastewater generation

Table 1.4

Treated effluent characteristics

The second performance indicator considered is air emissions from the plant. Table 1.5 shows the direction and distance of monitoring stations from the project site. The baseline ambient air quality data are also shown in Table 1.5. Fig. 1.3 shows the proposed air emission control system so as to have no adverse impact on air environment due to this project. To show the better operational performance, the air emission control measures proposed are the following:

Fig. 1.3 Air emission control systems proposed.

Table 1.5

AAQ monitoring stations

Monitoring period—from Mar. 2011 to May 2011.

1. Minimum flue gas velocity of 22 m/s will be maintained for effective dispersion of emissions.

2. All the conveyors will be covered to prevent the fugitive dust emission into the atmosphere.

3. Adequate dust suppression system will be provided at the material unloading areas.

Predominant wind direction blowing from S

Baseline ambient air quality data

4. Water spraying will be done frequently at coal stock yard to control the fugitive dust.

5. Dust extraction system with bag filters will be provided at material transfer points and junction towers.

6. Extensive greenbelt will be taken up all around the plant area to further reduce the emissions.

7. All the internal roads will be asphalted to reduce the fugitive dust emission due to the vehicular movement.

Interlocking system will be provided to ESP, which will work in such a way that, whenever ESP fails, the boiler will trip down and there will be no power generation until the ESP is rectified.

1.2 Types of EIA

EIA can be classified based on the purpose and the theme of development. EIA can be climate impact assessment, demographic impact assessment, development impact assessment, ecological impact assessment, economic and fiscal impact assessment, health impact assessment, risk assessment, social impact assessment, strategic impact assessment, and technology assessment. In addition to this list, EIA is also categorized based on systematic analysis of environmental parameters, geographic region, carrying-capacity limitations, sectoral planning, and line of activity. They are strategic EIA, regional EIA, sectoral EIA, project-level EIA, and life cycle assessment (LCA).

1.2.1 Strategic EIA (SEIA)

Strategic EIA refers to systematic analysis of the environmental effects of development policies, plans, programs, and other proposed strategic actions. This process extends the aims and principles of EIA upstream in the decision-making process, beyond the project level and when major alternatives are still open. Strategic EIA represents a proactive approach to integrate environmental considerations into the higher level of decision-making, for example, the EIA related to Hyderabad metro railway project.

1.2.2 Regional EIA

EIA in the context of regional planning integrates environmental concerns into the development planning for a geographic region, normally at the subcountry level. Such an approach is referred to as the economic-cum-environmental (EcE) development planning. This approach facilitates adequate integration of economic development with management of renewable natural resources within the carrying-capacity limitation to achieve sustainable development. It fulfills the need for macrolevel environmental integration, which the project-oriented EIA is unable to address effectively. Regional EIA addresses the environmental impacts of regional development plans and thus the context for project-level EIA of the subsequent projects, within the region. In addition, if environmental effects are considered at regional level, then cumulative environmental effects of all the projects within the region can be accounted.

1.2.3 Sectoral ElA

Instead of project-level EIA, an EIA should take place in the context of regional and sectoral level planning. Once sectoral level development plans have the integrated sectoral environmental concerns addressed, the scope of project-level EIA will be quite narrow. Sectoral EIA will help to address specific environmental problems that may be encountered in planning and implementing sectoral development projects. Based on the nature and product, almost all the projects are categorized into eight sectors (Chapter 14). For instance, sand mining can be considered as a sectional EIA as it involves extraction of sand from the mine.

1.2.4 Project level EIA

Project-level EIA refers to the developmental activity in isolation and the impacts it exerts on the receiving environment. Thus, it may not effectively integrate the cumulative effects of the development in a region. This EIA mainly depends on the line of activity proposed in the project. In this book, the discussion and the text mainly focus the methods, procedures, and the processes of project-level EIA.

1.2.5 Life cycle assessment (LCA)

A broader approach to deal with environmental impacts in manufacturing is called life cycle analysis. This approach recognizes that environmental concerns enter into every step of the process with respect to the manufacturing of the products and thus examines environmental impacts of the product at all stages of the product life cycle. This includes the product design, development, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, usage, and disposal. LCA is concerned with reducing environmental impacts at all these stages and looking at the total picture rather than just one stage of the production process. Through utilizing this concept, firms minimize the life cycle environmental costs of their total product system. LCA gives sufficient scope to think about the alternatives, which are lower at cost.

From the above discussion, it is clear that EIA shall be integrated at all the levels, i.e., strategic, regional, sectoral, and project level. Whereas the strategic EIA is a structural change, the regional EIA refers to substantial information processing and drawing complex inferences. The project-level EIA is relatively simple and reaches to meaningful conclusions. As we progress and the resource planning concepts emerge in our decision-making process, the integration of overall regional issues will become part of the impact assessment studies.

1.3 Grouping of environmental impacts

Environmental impacts resulting from proposed actions can be grouped into the following categories:

• Beneficial or detrimental

• Naturally reversible or irreversible

• Repairable via management practices or irreparable

• Short term or long term

• Temporary or continuous

• Occurring during construction phase or operational phase

• Local, regional, national, or global

• Accidental or planned (recognized before hand)

• Direct (primary) or indirect (secondary)

• Cumulative or single

Based on the characteristics of impacts, the impacts could fall within three broad classifications, namely, direct, indirect, and cumulative. The assessment of direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts should not be considered in isolation or considered as separate stages in the EIA. Ideally, the assessment of such impacts should form an integral part of all stages of the EIA (Fig. 1.4).

Fig. 1.4 Types of impacts.

1.3.1 Direct impacts

Direct impacts occur through direct interaction of an activity with an environmental, social, and/or economic component. For example, a discharge of any industry or an effluent from the effluent treatment plant (ETP) from the industrial estates into a river may lead to a decline in water quality in terms of high biological oxygen demand (BOD) or dissolved oxygen (DO) or rise of water toxins.

1.3.2 Indirect impacts

Indirect impacts on the environment are those that are not a direct result of the project and often produced away from or as a result of a complex impact pathway. The indirect impacts are also known as secondary or even third-level impacts. For example, ambient air SO2 rise due to stack emissions may deposit on land as SO4 and cause acidic soils. Another example of indirect impact is the decline in water quality due to rise in temperature of water bodies receiving cooling water discharge from the nearby industry. This may, in turn, lead to a secondary indirect impact on aquatic flora in that water body and may further cause reduction in fish population. Reduction in fishing harvests, affecting the income of fishermen, is a third-level impact. Such impacts are characterized as socioeconomic (third-level) impacts. The indirect impacts may also include growth-inducing impacts and other effects related to induced changes to the pattern of land use or additional road network, population density, or growth rate (e.g., around a power project). In the process, air, water, and other natural systems including the ecosystem may also be affected.

1.3.3 Cumulative impacts

Cumulative impact consists of an impact that is created as a result of the combination of the project evaluated in the EIA together with other projects causing related impacts. These impacts occur when the incremental impact of the project is combined with the cumulative effects of other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future projects. For instance, expansion of the production capacity in any cement plant and establishment of captive power plant on the same premises requires an EIA report/statement on cumulative impacts of existing and the expansion projects.

1.3.4 Induced impacts

The cumulative impacts can be due to induced actions of projects and activities that may occur. The action under assessment is implemented such as growth-inducing impacts and other effects related to induced changes to the pattern of future land use or additional road network, population density, or growth rate. Induced actions may not be officially announced or be part of any official plan. Increase in workforce and nearby communities contributes to this effect. They usually have no direct relationship with the action under assessment and represent the growth-inducing potential of an action. New roads leading from those constructed for a project, increased recreational activities, and construction of new service facilities are examples of induced actions.

However, the cumulative impacts due to induced development or third-level or even secondary indirect impacts are difficult to be quantified. Because of higher levels of uncertainties, these impacts cannot be normally assessed over a long-time horizon. An EIA practitioner usually can only guess as to what such induced impacts may be and the possible extent of their implications on the environmental factors.

1.4 EIA principles and process

A properly conducted EIA should follow some guiding principles to promote community participation, involvement of decision-makers, and also help in laying the base for environmentally sound projects and its development in the area where such projects can be built. By integrating the environmental impacts of the development activities and their mitigation early in the project planning cycle, the benefits of EIA could be realized in all stages of the project, from exploration and planning, through construction, operation and decommissioning, and beyond site closure. To meet all the benefits, the EIA principles and the process are presented in this section.

1.4.1 EIA principles

There are eight guiding principles that govern the entire process of EIA, and they are participation, transparency, certainty, accountability, credibility, cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and practicability (Fig. 1.5). Participation is an appropriate and timely access to the process for all interested parties. All assessment decisions and their basis should be open and accessible so as to maintain the transparency about the developmental projects. The process and timing of the assessment should be agreed in advance and may be followed by all participants, so as to sustain for future, which can be termed as certainty. The decision-makers are responsible to all parties for their action and decisions under the assessment process. This makes the accountability of the stakeholders and the proponents of the proposed project. Assessment is undertaken with professionalism and objectivity in order to uphold the credibility in the society.

Fig. 1.5 EIA concept and eight guiding principles.

Cost-effectiveness should be followed in the assessment process and its outcome that will ensure environmental protection at least cost to the society. The assessment process should be flexible and able to adapt to deal efficiently with any proposal and decision-making situation. Lastly, the information and output provided by the assessment process are readily usable in decision-making planning.

EIA is considered as a project management tool for collecting and analyzing information on the environmental effects of a project. As such, it is used to identify potential environmental impacts, examine the significance of environmental implications, assess whether impacts can be mitigated, recommend preventive and corrective mitigating measures, inform decision-makers and concerned parties about the environmental implications, and advise whether development should go ahead.

1.4.2 EIA process

In EIA systems, there are sequence of activities implemented in project in a logical sequence and are termed as EIA process. They are given in Fig. 1.6. The EIA process given in Fig. 1.6 is general in nature. Conceptually, this process is the same for almost all countries. But the steps may vary country to country based on the climate, terrain conditions, nature of the life of activity, and financial status of the respective country. The step by step procedure in EIA process depicted in Fig. 1.6 is explained below:

Fig. 1.6 EIA process.

• Project screening: Not all development projects require EIA. Project screening will help to identify the ones that actually do. This section describes the various screening criteria.

• Scoping: The process of scoping helps determine the coverage or scope of the EIA. The methods of scoping are elaborated in this section.

• Baseline data collection: A brief explanation on the concept of baseline data collection, its purposes, source of collection of baseline data, and derivation of primary data are given in this part of EIA process.

• Identification of environmental impacts: Described here are the various types of environmental impacts of development projects both beneficial and adverse.

• Impact prediction comparison of alternatives and determination of significance: This section covers the considerations for impact prediction, uncertainties in impact prediction, and comparison of alternatives for impact prediction.

• Mitigation measures: Described briefly under this section are the concept and objectives, types, and interesting points of mitigation measures.

• Public consultation and participation: Public participation is a necessary component of the EIA. Who are the public?, How to involve them?, and What are the benefits/disbenefits? The answers can be found under this section. This mainly constitutes the report on the socioeconomic environment.

• Environmental monitoring: As one of the most important aspects of EIA, environmental monitoring is defined here along with explanations on monitoring principles, types, and institutional aspects.

• Environmental auditing: You will find under this section the various types of environmental auditing and when it should be carried out during the EIA.

1.4.3 EIA benefits and flaws

EIA generates huge benefits in the selection of project location, process, design, development actions, and decision-making. However, in the current practice of EIA, there are a number of flaws, short comings, and deficiencies. Table 1.6 summarizes the benefits and flaws of the EIA.

Table 1.6

EIA benefits and flaws

One significant factor that could help to improve the EIA process is good education and training. Currently, very few educational and training courses exist in developing countries that properly consider various EIA methodologies available in depth. Information on the legal and regulatory frameworks and institutional arrangements are also necessary. Education and training process are important since the fundamental factors behind all EIA predictions are still the best professional judgment and/or experiences with similar projects implemented elsewhere. Both short-term and long-term courses are necessary. These courses, however, must be multidisciplinary, and the focus should be on the practical and operational aspects of EIA based on theoretical implications.

1.5 Environmental impact statement (EIS)

An EIS is a detailed written statement that serves as an action-forcing device to ensure that policies and goals defined are infused into the ongoing programs and actions of the central government. It must provide full and fair discussion of significant environmental impacts and must inform decision-makers and public of the reasonable alternatives that would avoid or minimize adverse impacts that more enhance the quality of the human environment. An EIS is more than a disclosure document, and it must be used by officials in conjunction with other relevant material to plan actions and make decisions.

There are three primary parts related to the environmental impact assessment process. The first part specifies that all agencies of the government must utilize a systematic, interdisciplinary EIA approach to ensure integrated use of the natural, social, and environmental issues in planning and decision-making that may have an impact on the human environment. The second part requires agencies to identify and develop methods and procedures that will ensure that presently unquantified environmental amenities and values can be given appropriate consideration in decision-making along with economic and technical considerations. This has provided impetus for the development of environmental assessment methods. The third part indicates the necessity for preparing environmental impact statements (EISs) and identifies basic items to be included. It also indicates that agencies should include in every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other major actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. A detailed environmental impact assessment statement covers five major areas. Any adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented, the alternatives to the proposed action, the relationship between local short-term uses of the human environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity, and any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources that would be involved in proposed action should be implemented.

These particular requirements have been called the action-forcing mechanism and stipulate that agencies must prepare a draft statement, which is then subject to review and critique by other central agencies and state, local, and private groups (Andrews, 1972). This requires that all agencies review their present statutory authority, administrative regulations, and current policies and procedures for the purpose of determining whether there are any deficiencies or inconsistencies.

To aid the implementation of the EIS requirement, the EP Act has provided the provision, to create the environmental impact assessment authorities (EIAA), within the executive office of the government. This authority has taken the role of providing overall coordination to the EIA process in India. The formation of this EIAA, its duties, provisions, rules and regulations of evaluating the EIA, procedures to follow, and other issues related to EP Act are explained in Chapter 14. The environmental information so as to evaluate the project to prohibit full compliance with the purposes and provisions of EP Act/EIA notification are listed below:

1. The occurrence of impacts that may be both beneficial and adverse. A significant effect may exist even if the government believes that, in balance, the effect will be beneficial.

2. The degree to which the proposed action affects public health and safety.

3. Unique characteristics of the geographic area, such as proximity to historic or cultural resources, parklands, prime farmlands, wetlands, wild and scenic rivers, or ecologically critical areas and environmentally sensitive areas.

4. The degree to which the effects on the quality of the human environment are likely to be highly controversial.

5. The degree to which the possible effects on the human environment are highly uncertain involves unique and unknown risks.

6. The degree to which the action may establish a precedent for future actions with significant effects or represent a decision in principle about a future consideration.

7. Whether the action is related to other actions with individually insignificant but cumulatively significant impacts. Significance exists if it is reasonable to anticipate cumulatively significant impact in the environment. Thus, significance cannot be avoided by breaking it down in to small component parts.

8. The degree to which the action may adversely affect districts, sites, highways, structures, and historic places and may cause loss or destruction of significant scientific, cultural, or historical resources.

9. The degree to which the action may adversely affect an endangered and threatened species and its habitat that has been determined to be critical.

10. Whether the action risks a violation of Union, state, or local law or requirements imposed for the protection of the environment.

Based on the above pertinent institutional information, all EI statements are generally classified into three types, namely, (i) draft EIS, (ii) final EIS, and (iii) supplemental EIS.

1.5.1 Draft EIS

The draft EIS is the document prepared by the lead agency proposing an action. It is circulated for review and comment to the line departments, state and local bodies, and public and private interest groups like nongovernmental offices. Specific requirements with regard to timing of the review are identified by the concerned provisions, and the proponent of the proposed action must make every effort to disclose and discuss at appropriate intervals in the draft statement of all major points of view on the environmental impacts of the alternatives, including the reliability of proposed action.

1.5.2 Final EIS

The final EIS is the draft EIS modified to include a discussion of problems and objections raised by the reviewers. The final statement must be on file with the environmental protection agency for at least a 30-day period prior to initiation of construction on the project. The format for an EIS is given in EIA notification of 2006 for Indian conditions. The reader may refer the website of Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.

1.5.3 Supplemental EIS

Lead agencies are to prepare supplements to either draft or final EISs if authority makes substantial changes in the proposed action that are relevant to environmental concerns and there are significant new circumstances and information relevant to environmental concerns and bearing on the proposed action and its impacts. Lead agencies may also prepare supplements when the agency determines that the purposes of the act will be furthered by doing so.

The approach used to prepare a draft, final, or supplemental EIS should be interdisciplinary, systematic, and reproducible. Requirements for a systematic and reproducible approach indicate that a degree of organization and uniformity should be utilized in the assessment process. In this regard, numerous assessment methodologies have been developed since 1970, and these are discussed in the later chapters. Requirements for an interdisciplinary approach indicate that the environment must be considered in its broadest sense. Thus, the input of persons trained in a number of technical fields needs to be included, and information of the most result-oriented EIA team is very much needed, which becomes major part of EIA process. The disciplines represented in a specific EIS must be oriented to the unique features of proposed action and the environmental setting. It is also necessary to have input from a physical scientist, an engineer, a biologist, and a person who can address cultural and socioeconomic impacts.

1.6 Environmental Due Diligence (EDD) process

Environmental due diligence (EDD) is the collection and assessment of data relative to the environmental conditions and impacts prior to a transaction to identify and quantify environment-related financial, legal, and reputational risks. Banks have put in place a number of instruments to manage the risk. One of these instruments is commonly termed a due diligence review. This term and its practice originate from the United States and refer to the background work like investigation, analysis, and verification done by a prudent entrepreneur, owner executive, or lender when making a decision. The general intention of a due diligence review is to ensure that project investment does not carry financial, legal, or environmental liabilities beyond those that are clearly defined in an investment proposal. The Environmental Due Diligence (EDD) is originally used by lenders to manage environmental risks and liabilities stemming from an investment decision. Recently, it has become a way for financial institutions to incorporate environmental and social considerations in their investment review process.

EDD has become largely standardized for many sectors, but not for all. There is a growing realization in energy and environmental policy and research circles that procedures for environmental due diligence are poorly defined and financiers must often adopt ad hoc procedures for environmental review. Although most renewable energy technologies are environmentally sound in theory, all of them can have negative impacts on the environment if poorly planned.

1.6.1 Procedure to EDD

The process consists of three stages, shown in Fig. 1.7: (1) establishing the regulatory framework, (2) environmental appraisal, and (3) monitoring the project after approval.

Fig. 1.7 Procedure for environmental due diligence.

The first stage of the procedure is establishing the relevant regulatory framework for the project, including national regulations, international standards, and good practice guidelines. The environmental laws provide the background for determining the main issues that should be considered during the environmental appraisal process. Environmental regulations, standards, and guidelines provide practical information concerning emission limits, permitting requirements, pollution abatement and control techniques and equipment, best management and operational practices, etc., against which the investment proposal should be benchmarked. Two time frames must be considered for this process: first, that of existing laws and regulations that currently affect the project, and second, that of anticipated laws and regulations (e.g., in the process of development, discussion, or approval) that may change the conditions under which the project must operate.

The second stage is the core of the entire process. It comprises four main steps: (a) assessing the environmental risk, (b) determining mitigation measures, (c) estimating the cost of risk management, and (d) reporting the results.

To facilitate the first two steps of this stage, a number of new EDD tools are proposed. These tools are intended to complement, not replace, any EDD tools currently used for environmental review procedures. In addition, it is important to note that since these tools are intended for general use, they may not reflect all the possible environmental and/or social issues related to a particular investment. The analyst should incorporate additional issues as needed.

The third stage is the monitoring and environmental evaluation of the project. This procedure serves two main purposes:

(a) To ensure that the project sponsor complies with the applicable environmental standards and various environmental components of operations included in legal agreements

(b) To keep track of ongoing environmental impacts associated with project operations and of the effectiveness of any mitigation measures

1.7 Objectives of EIA

The general objectives of EIA are listed in the technical EIA guidance manual prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. The objectives, sometimes, vary from situation based on the number of parameters—social parameters, cultural parameters, and requirement and need of the proposed activity of development. For instance, in India, there is shortage of power in most of the states. In such situation, the government should define the objective keeping the requirement in mind. However, this needful development should not cause any damage to the environment. Some of the sample objectives as listed in the manual are given below:

• To ensure that the environmental considerations are explicitly addressed and incorporated into the development and decision-making process

• To anticipate and avoid, minimize, or offset the adverse significant biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals

• To protect the productivity and capacity of natural systems and the ecological processes that maintain their functions

• To promote development that is sustainable and optimizes resource use and management opportunities

The aim of environmental impact assessment is to enable the administrative competent authority, the local and central government, and the developer to properly consider the potential environmental consequences of a proposal, and to make recommendations to mitigate these consequences if necessary. It is important to provide sufficient information for the competent administrative authority to assess the proposal. If sufficient information is not available in the presented study, the study will not be approved, and the developer will waste time in gathering the lacking information. The EIA thus provides the basis for sound environmental administration and management.

1.8 Environmental impacts analysis

Considering the list of factors as briefed above, we may say that environment is a quite comprehensive term and not only the physical one as normally believed in common sense. If the conditions of the environment change and/or new set of conditions emerge, then it will have effects on ecology including on human life. The effects are normally defined through the term environmental impacts that may be caused or induced by an action or set of actions of man or nature itself. The environmental conditions vary according to number of parameters like the nature, scale and location of the action, topography, climate, forestry, fauna, and socioeconomic condition of that area. The impacts of the conditions are assessed through environmental impact assessment study as it is called in common terminology or environmental impact analysis called in scientific terminology. The EIA (i.e., environmental impact assessment or analysis) is an activity designed to identify and predict the impacts on biogeographic environment. Legislative proposals, policies, program, projects, and operational procedures interpret and communicate information about the impacts.

The EIA exercise gives a recognition to the fact that environmental considerations related to the projects, program, and other actions are important and so they are to be incorporated in the decision-making process. An industrial project may be sound in generating high profits but may pollute water and air causing very high social costs. Legislation may be good for maintaining law and order, but it may cripple some aspects of social cohesion in the society. Similarly, an administrative program may improve the government efficiency, but it may cause political distortions. Through EIA, all such aspects are to be considered for the projects, plans, program, and legislative actions relative to the physical, chemical, biological, cultural, and socioeconomic components of the total environment surrounding project site. As narrated in the earlier sections, environmental impacts may be primary or direct and secondary or indirect. The primary impacts are in fact the first round impacts associated with projects, program, and other activities of man such as air pollution, water pollution, noise, employment generation, and displacement of people and business. From such impacts, one may link several types of induced effects in the subsequent rounds. For example, if people are displaced, there might be several consequences in due course of time for their proper settlement, and in fact, their socioeconomic conditions might change over time. Construction of highways, airports, dams, powerhouses, and other large projects would generate several types of primary impacts, but the investments in such projects induce several other types of investment. This leads to bring significant socioeconomic changes in the project region. Normally, a project inputs cause primary impacts, and its outputs cause secondary impacts. Most of the socioeconomic environmental changes fall in the category of secondary, i.e., induced effects or impacts.

Environmental impacts may also be classified as short term and long term. The impacts that are felt in the shorter period of time such as during construction period of a project and its early phase of operation or of an action when it becomes operative are short term in nature, and the impacts that are felt in a longer period of time are defined as long-term impacts. The cutoff period of time separating the short-term and long-term impacts cannot be defined precisely. It depends on the nature of project or action and of the impact itself. Economists take a time period over which certain factor of production is fixed that is unchanged as a short term, and when all factors of production including the size of the plant are variable, then it is a long term. Ecologists or environmentalists, however, have their own time perspective of impacts. For them, a time period of 5–10 years may be short term and 50 or more years as long term. Construction noise, dusting traffic, disruption, air pollution, water pollution, removal of forests, displacement of people, shifting of businesses, etc. are some examples of short-term environmental impacts. Similarly, pollution from the use of septic systems, poor drainage, infrastructural overcrowding, growth including effects, disruption or improvements in social cohesion, changes in cultural values, changes in economic structure, rise in sea level, drifting of mountains, drying up of rivers, changes in the pattern of climate, etc. are some examples of the long-term environmental impacts. The long-term impacts will be cumulative and permanent in nature of the sustainability of environment and growth or development of a society or of a nation.

Considering the nature of the short-term and long-term environmental impacts, positive or negative, one may find a trade-off between them. Short-term gains or losses might be counteracted by the opposite consequences in the long term. A project like Narmada dam in India may displace people in the short term, submerge a large tract of forest, and create all kinds of construction damages, but it brings economic prosperity in the long run. The green revolution in short term improves farm productivity and hence incomes of farmers, but in the long run, one may find a declining fertility of farms due to excessive chemicals used as fertilizers and insecticides. Such chemicals may also be cited as sources of several diseases like cancer as they enter in the human body through food grains produced with the help of chemical fertilizers based on farm technology under the green revolution. Through proper environmental impact analysis, one may get a clear idea of such trade-offs and suggest appropriate mitigation measures to minimize them.

As mentioned earlier, environmental changes might be natural and/or man-made. In the absence of man, environment undergoes continual slow changes taking a long period of time. We do have several examples for this, such as continental drifting and mountain building, changes in sea levels, siltation of lakes, and forest building. Natural changes might be irreversible (like mountain building and eutrophication of a lake) or cyclical (e.g., changes in annual weather) or transient (e.g., droughts). Man-made environmental changes are the results of human actions. Man has exploited nature for his benefits. He has devised ways and means to achieve his goals and improve his well-being. Man