ECONOMIC RESEARCH CENTRE

ENVIRONMENT
AND TRANSPORT
INFRASTRUCTURES

EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT

PARIS 1989
 ECONOMIC RESEARCH CENTRE

REPORT OF
THE SEVENTY-NINTH ROUND TABLE
ON TRANSPORT ECONOMICS

held in Paris on 8th - 9th December 1988

on the following topic:

ENVIRONMENT
AND TRANSPORT
INFRASTRUCTURES

EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT

 THE EUROPEAN CONFERENCE

OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT (ECMT)

The European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT), an inter-governmental organisation

established by a Protocol signed in Brussels on 17th October 1953, constitutes a forum for the Ministers of
Transport of 19 European countries1. The work of the Council of Ministers is prepared by a Committee of
Deputies.
The purposes of the Conference are :

a) to take whatever measures may be necessary to achieve, at general or regional level, the most
efficient use and rational development of European inland transport of international impor¬
tance;

b) to co-ordinate and promote the activities of international organisations concerned with European
inland transport, taking into account the work of supranational authorities in this field.
Major problems which are being studied by the ECMT include: transport policy; the financial situation
and organisation of railways and road transport; problems concerning inland waterway transport and
combined transport; development of European trunk lines of communication; problems concerning urban
transport; the prevention of road accidents and co-ordination, at European level, of road traffic rules and road
signs and signals; traffic trends and long-term traffic forecasts.
Moreover, the ECMT organises Round Tables and Symposia. Their conclusions are considered by the
competent organs of the Conference, under the authority of the Committee of Deputies, so that the latter may
formulate proposals for policy decisions to be submitted to the Ministers.
The ECMT is equipped with a computerised documentation centre.
The Secretariat is attached from an administrative point of view to the Secretariat of the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which publishes and distributes its publications.

1. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Norway. Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia (associated countries: Australia, Canada, Japan,
United States).

Pub-lie en francais sous le litre :

ENVIRONNEMENT ET INFRASTRUCTURES DE TRANSPORT

© ECMT, 1989
ECMT publications are published and distributed by the OECD Publications Service,
2, rue Andre-Pascal, 75775 PARIS CEDEX 16, France.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ENVIRONMENT AND TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURES

FRANCE

G . LAMURE 5

ITALY

G.P. BASOLI 53

SWITZERLAND

C. HIDBER 95

SELECTIVE OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH CARRIED OUT

J.-M. BEAUVAIS 113

SUMMARY OF THE DISCUSSION

(Round Table debate on the reports) 139

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 153

ECMT - ECONOMIC RESEARCH CENTRE

Forthcoming publications 157

 FRANCE

G. LAMURE

Institut de Recherche sur les

Transports et leur Securite (INRETS)

Bron
 SUMMARY

1. THE EVALUATION SYSTEM 9

1.1. Legal and social context 9

1.2. The non-aggregated effects evaluated 11
1.3. Participation of the public and of
"defenders of the environment" 16

1.4. Decision-making procedures, decentralisation,

supervision 16
1.5. Impact assessment agencies 18

2. FORECASTING AND EVALUATION METHODS --

THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT 18

2.1. Tools for evaluation 18

2.2. Noise 20
2.3. Vibration 23

2.4. Air pollution by motor vehicle traffic 25

2.5. Water pollution 27

3. SOCIO-ECONOMIC EVALUATION 28

3.1. Impact on local life -- The divisive effect 28

3.2. Transformation of the urban landscape 30
3.3. Study methods in the urban environment 31
3.4. Agriculture 31

4 . THE COMMON HERITAGE 3 5

4.1. Wildlife 35

4.2. Vegetation and flora 37

4.3. Sensitive sites and areas 38
4.4. Visual intrusion 40

4.5. Taking account of the archaeological,

historical and literary heritage 41

- ./.
5. TRENDS IN TRAFFIC REMEDIAL PROCEDURES --
NOISE ABATEMENT 42

5.1. A road is to be constructed near existing

buildings (pro mem) 43
5.2. Buildings are to be constructed near
existing transport infrastructure
(road or rail) 43
5.3. Buildings and road and rail
infrastructure already exist 44
5.4. Noise black spots 44
5.5. Railway black spots 47
5.6. Prospective trends 47

6 . CONCLUSION 48

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 49

ACRONYMS USED 49

REFERENCES 50

Bron, April 1988

 1. THE EVALUATION SYSTEM

1.1. Legal and social context

a) Legal bases

The first legislative bases for environmental protection

in France were laid down quite a long time ago, although they
remained incomplete or of a sectoral nature for quite some
time. For example, the protection of ancient monuments and
sites is based on legislation dating from 1913 and 1920, a law
of 1943 covers the archaeological heritage and a law of 1964
relates to water and so on, the body of legislation developing
gradually in this way.

However, the overall policy for environmental protection

is now based on the so-called Nature Conservation Law No. 7-629

of 10th July 1976 which essentially sets out two major

principles :

-- First, the protection of the natural environment,

natural resources and quality of life of populations
are declared to be of general interest;

-- Secondly, the law sets out the obligation to

undertake an environmental impact study prior to
carrying out certain civil engineering or
construction projects.

There is no obligation under the law to achieve

particular results.

The scope of application of the law is, therefore,

confined to civil engineering and construction projects instead
of focusing on the American concept of action. It is,
accordingly, essential to note that there is in principle no
question of requiring consideration of the advisability of the
construction work (or traffic diversion) from the standpoint of
the environment [1].

Decree No. 77-1141 of 12th October 1977 provides details

on three points:

-- The content of the impact study which should list in

succession: a description of the initial situation,
an analysis of the foreseeable effects of the various
 possible solutions, the reasons for selecting the
solution adopted (reasons relating not only to the
environment but also the technical and economic
aspects) and, lastly, a description and assessment of
the measures designed to eliminate, reduce or
compensate for the detrimental effects of the project
on the environment;

-- Projects for which the impact study is not required.

It should be pointed out in passing that, quite aside
from the impact study procedure. road and rail
services, like any other services, must take account
of environmental considerations in all their
activities;

-- Procedures for publishing the impact study. It may

be noted here that these are included among the usual
procedures for preparing projects and that,
accordingly, the impact study documentation is part
of the exploratory material prior to the declaration
of public utility ("Declaration d'Utilite Publique"
-- DUP) .

The DUP procedure was established in France well before

1976 and is still the main procedure for public consultation.
The opinions are published in the press and the records are
available in town halls.

b) Scope of application

For the sake of clarity and in order to avoid ambiguity

and misinterpretation, under the French system a list is drawn
up of projects that are not subject to the impact study
procedure and, where public or private transport infrastructure
is concerned, it covers:

-- Maintenance work and large-scale repairs;

-- Reinforcement work with no change in the land

situation;

-- Improvements to structures or other work costing less

than a total of FF 6 million, it being understood
that where the work is phased over stages the amount
in question is that for the general programme.

It should be noted that fresh work for an amount equal

to or higher than FF 6 million is subject to an impact study,
even if it is carried out entirely within the public domain.

c) Procedure

As indicated above, the law and decree established the

general framework for the procedure.

10
 As regards the application of these principles, the
Ministry of Transport (Highways Department) has published
directives concerning the methods to be used to prepare the
impact study documentation for road projects and for urban road
systems .

The implementation of the previous methods (Directive of

23rd January 1978) made a major contribution towards the
development of the overall methods for preparing projects which
were reclassified by a circular of 25th March 1981.

The following essential points may be noted in these

various texts.

-- There is a difference between "environmental studies"

-- which begin in the initial stages of planning a

project and continue throughout the public enquiry
for its technical development and implementation --
and the "impact study" which is prepared with a view
to the enquiry prior to the DUP and is both a
synthesis of the preliminary studies and a commitment
on the part of the promoter to implement
environmental protection measures;

-- Two major phases are to be differentiated upstream

from the impact study: a comparative study of all
conceivable variants (including the reference
variant) and then the more thorough study of the
variant that is to be adopted;

-- The importance of the exchange of information and

consultation among all the partners concerned
throughout the planning and implementation of the
project; the role of elected representatives takes
pride of place over that of the general public up
until the DUP enquiry;

-- A disaggregated multicriterion approach covering the

technical, economic and environmental aspects.

Among the weaknesses, it will be noted that no account

is taken, in theory, of the work-site disamenities or the
environmental impact of the removal or unloading of materials,
aspects that cannot be determined at the stage of simplified
preliminary plans. However, the relevant constraints to be
placed on contractors may be specified.

Table 1 sets out the procedure for motorways. See

Note [2] for a difficult practical example.

1.2. The non-aggregated effects evaluated

The legislation gives no definition of the effects to be

taken into consideration. Indicative lists are provided by the
circulars and implementing legislation enacted by the

11
 Table 1

PROCEDURE USED FOR MOTORWAYS

The Minister of Transport decides:

ACTION CONSULTATION

Inclusion in the national Ministers

master plan Government departments

Delimitation by the DRCR of an "Principal elected

exploratory zone from 5 to 20 km representatives"
wide

Study and then selection of a belt Elected representatives

of about 1 km wide (possibilities -- Government departments.
of using quite different Trade associations

belts are compared) Possibly representative

associations

(Meeting at the
"Prefecture" )

Development of a preliminary outline Government departments

plan or a simplified preliminary -- Local associations of
project in the case of a concession. representatives (communes,
The layout of the road is defined districts). Public
in a belt about 300 m wide. hearings may be held if
the mayors want them.

Preparation of a DUP file which

includes the impact study

DUP preliminary enquiry File available to the

public which may register

its comments through the
Possible declaration of public persons supervising the
utility enquiry

Detailed preliminary plan

Appropriation of land
Road works

Monitoring of the construction work for the records

Monitoring of the operation for the records

12
government departments. Where the environment is concerned,
the effects to be studied are highly dependent on the
particular cases and may be classified in three categories:

a) Physical environment:

-- Water (hydrology -- quality)

-- Land (geomorphology, pedology)
-- Noise and vibration
-- Air pollution: gases and dust
-- Risks (fire, explosion, asphyxia).

b) Human or socio-economic environment:

-- Rehousing, expropriation
-- Obstacles to travel in the vicinity and safety
questions
-- Equilibrium of the agricultural and rural economy.

c) Heritage:

-- Fauna and flora

-- Sensitive sites -- ecosystems -- leisure areas

-- Archaeological, geological and literary heritage
-- Landscape and architecture: visual intrusion.

Despite some earlier attempts to aggregate, France now

precludes any aggregation or ranking of effects. Complete
transparency would seem to be essential, moreover, for open
consultation with elected representatives and the public and
also provides for adjustment to situations which are found to
differ widely in practice. The disaggregation of the criteria
even precludes the grouping of effects which might be the
subject of economic evaluation at the outset. For example,
with reference to the environment, the Instruction of
March 1986 concerning methods of evaluating road investment
projects in urban areas calls for an estimate of the number of
expropriations and persons to be rehoused, a precise indicator
that is a significant measurement of the disturbance caused and
which has implications that are not solely economic [3]. It
may also be noted that the proposed analysis even singles out
the reduction in energy dependency [see Tables 2(a) and 2(b)].

The evaluation primarily concerns the infrastructure

rather than construction periods for which forecasting and
evaluation methods are not easy to apply. After ten years of
application of the Nature Conservation Law. the State road
services have considerable experience and very complete -- if
not exhaustive -- impact studies. Less experience has been
acquired where local rail and road services are concerned.

A number of effects would seem to be hardly ever taken

into consideration such as, for example, annoyance caused by
light during nighttime, the effect of heavy metals on
agricultural produce, and some temporary effects caused by the

13
 Table 2(a)

EVALUATION OF EACH VARIANT OR EACH OPERATION

WITH REFERENCE TO EACH CRITERION -- OUTSIDE BUILT-UP AREAS [3]

~~~~- ^^^^ Variants or

^^^^-^^^ operations
A B C N

Criteria ^^"~^~^^^

Regional and local

++ +
economy and development
-- --

Safety + + -
--

User benefits + + --

Environment -

++,

Exceptionally bad
4-
initial situation -

Impact on other modes

Direct effects on

employment

Energy expenditure
and cost in foreign
currency

Financial position of
the public authorities
and the companies holding
concessions

Cost/financial benefit

situation

I++I Highly favourable + Favourable

| | Neutral - 1 Unfavourable

I--I Highly unfavourable

14
 Table 2(b)

EVALUATION WITH REFERENCE TO URBAN ENVIRONMENT CRITERIA [3]

_^\fariants
A B C ....

Criteria "

Route continuity + + + + + +

Improved functioning of
the built-up area + + + + +

+ + + +
Safety + +

User satisfaction,

relief of traffic

congestion + + + + +

Environment + + + + + +

Exceptional character
of the initial situation + + + + + + +

Employment + + + + 4- +

Reduction of energy
dependency + + + 4- + +

Land-use

planning, regional
development + + +

Costs + + + + + +

15
construction work (quarries, transport operations). Refuse
strewn alongside railway tracks is beginning to be a matter of
concern, so the SNCF has announced that the windows of the TGV
coaches are tightly closed to ensure that the sides of the
track are kept clear of rubbish.

For some years now. increasing attention has been given

to accident risks associated with the transport of dangerous
goods .

1.3. Participation of the public and of "defenders of the

environment"

Rail or road construction projects almost always give

rise to keen reactions from the public, associations,
organisations, and some elected representatives or government
services, reactions that are partly attributable to the
particular interests of the economic agents involved, the
owners or districts wishing to obtain the highest possible
compensation. They are also related to all the environmental
effects listed in Section 1.2. The less information,
consultation and participation of the public there is, the
greater the difficulties experienced.

The impact study procedure was designed to provide

better information for all the parties involved prior to
decision-making and also to ensure broad consultation of the
various specialised bodies concerned as a means of enhancing
the projects and reducing the risk of deadlock.

No procedures are really specified for the collaboration

or participation of the public, and those responsible for the
project act in the light of the local socio-economic context.
Public participation is usually through elected
representatives, or at any rate with their agreement.

There have been some experiments with public hearings

-- prompted by examples in America or the United Kingdom -- but
they have not produced results on a scale equivalent to the
resources mobilised. Lastly. while one might speak of
negotiations in some cases, they hardly ever directly concern
environmental matters, since the constitutional and political
power of the bodies defending the environment are negligible.
For the same reasons, no mention will be made of mediation or
trade-off procedures.

1.4. Decision-making procedures, decentralisation, supervision

The Minister of Transport takes decisions with

respect to projects of national importance such as
motorways, high-speed trains and national roads, and
the impact studies are carried out by government
services with a high degree of technical competence.

16
 When major projects were taken up again, more
particularly the TGV, with very short deadlines for
completion, there were problems in connection with
the exchange of information and consultation with
elected representatives. The efficiency of the
approach was based on the appointment of experts by
the government and, after studying the various route
layouts proposed by the various parties, the experts
submitted to the Minister their conclusions with
respect to the choice of layouts and the accompanying
measures called for. The final "policy" decision of
the Minister can only be challenged by instituting an
action in the administrative courts, and such actions
may result in additional means of protection without,
in any way, altering the route layout. For example,
tunnels had to be constructed for sections of the TGV
line to the west of Paris, more particularly at
Verrieres-Le-Buisson.

As a general rule, however, the administrative courts

are concerned solely with ensuring that the procedure complies
with legal requirements.

The relatively short deadlines (4 or 5 years) required

between the decision to proceed with the project and the entry
into service of a large-scale infrastructure are fairly
characteristic of the existing situation in France. For
example, there is no question of undertaking lengthy prior
deliberations concerning possible zones for the layout of the
route before the engineers begin to draw up the preliminary
plans. (The situation may be contrasted with such projects as
the Tampa-Miami motorway, the Los Angeles-San Diego train,
etc . ) .

-- As a result of the move towards decentralisation

initiated in the early 1980s, many financial and

technical responsibilities were transferred to the
elected authorities in the Regions and Departements.
These authorities are gradually establishing their
technical services and, by and large, adopt the lines
of approach laid down by government services for
transport infrastructure projects. The direct
involvement of local elected representatives has
become essential, however, entailing considerable
diversity in the degree of sensitivity to
environmental problems and, as a general rule,
improving the collaboration for the completion of
local projects.

-- The DRAE ("Direction Regionale de 1 'Architecture et

de l'Environnement") and the "Inspections Generales
de l'Equipement" (Public Works Inspectorate) ensure
the technical supervision of the completion and
operation of environmental protection schemes decided
on as a result of the DUPs . The resources available

17
 to these institutions for this purpose are quite
inadequate. The concessions to the motorway
companies are based on specifications that are
inevitably not very precise with respect to.
environmental matters, so the supervision loses much
of its validity, and only recourse to the courts by
individuals can prompt concessionnaires to ensure
that the planned protection is provided properly.

1.5. Impact assessment agencies

Almost all the studies are conducted by the Centres

d'Etudes Techniques de l'Equipement (CETE). The CETEs are
services of the Ministere de l'Equipement in the various
regions and they carry out studies in connection with urban
development, civil engineering and roads. The network of CETEs
relies on the Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussees (LCPC)
for scientific data. Since 1976 the Centre d'Etude des

Transports Urbains (CETUR), for urban affairs, and the Service

d'Etude Technique des Routes et Autoroutes (SETRA), for roads,
have increased the technical support they give to the CETEs by
extending it to the environmental sciences. Where specialised
assessment of the physical or natural environment is concerned,
the CETEs sub-contract the studies to scientific bodies or

universities, thus providing for productive co-operation

between the CETEs and some university departments. The CETEs
might be regarded as in almost a monopolistic situation in
their capacity as a government service available to local
authorities; a situation that would seem to be quite natural
insofar as government departments also possess the data and/or
the authority in a number of disciplines: "Institut
Geographique National". "Services Archeologiques et de
Protection des Monuments Historiques" .

Private consultancy firms may, however, also be involved

in spheres where the tools for evaluation are available, such
as noise and air pollution. Decentralisation will probably
result in more private firms competent in environmental
matters, as is the case in the more advanced field of urban
planning.

2. FORECASTING AND EVALUATION METHODS --

THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

2.1. Tools for evaluation

In principle, the evaluation of the various effects on

the physical environment calls for:

-- Knowledge of the "targets": the exposed population

or resources;

18
 -- Quantification criteria or significant indices of the
risks or harmful effects experienced by individuals
subject to given levels of exposure;

-- Qualitative standards: corresponding to various

levels of harmfulness which are acceptable to a
greater or lesser degree;

-- If possible, indicators which aggregate for the same

disamenity its effects on a target as a whole: the
object being to combine the effects experienced by
the individuals subject to different levels of
exposure;

-- Methods of measurement in order to determine the

initial situation;

-- Criteria/indices forecasting models.

In practice, it is only for noise generated by rail and

road traffic that France has almost all of the tools required,
although the potential aggregated indicator is not used. If it
were, it would use the following formula to aggregate the
probable numbers of individuals suffering considerable
annoyance at each level of exposure:

I = Z i Pi f (Li)

where Pi is the population exposed at index level Li, and

f(L) is the function giving the probable percentage of persons
suffering considerable annoyance at level L. However, the most
recent official texts propose the following form of aggregating
the exposures of housing units to various disamenities:

I = I n Ln log Nn

where Nn is the number of vehicles per hour travelling on

section n (one lorry is equivalent to ten cars).

Ln is the number of housing units directly exposed on

the section. The main advantage of I is that it would provide
a means of evaluating impacts attributable to variations in
traffic on a road or track in an urban area. No practical
experience has as yet been acquired.

On level ground, one can simply calculate the number of

housing units located at a distance less than 1 from the axis
of the track or road (see Section 3.4 where the figures taken
for the TGV are: 1 = 40 m and I = 200 m) .

Forecasting methods and even the criteria are still of

poor quality for vibration and air pollution. Where the
natural environment is concerned, evaluation is still often of
an exploratory nature, although considerable progress has been
made in both acquiring knowledge of targets and defining means

19
of protection. The lack of intermediate knowledge has often
meant that the scale of the protection is poorly calculated,
and this is often the case for protection against metro
vibrations or water pollution, so a great deal is at stake in
the research from an economic standpoint.

As a general rule, models are far from being precise

enough to predict future situations, but it is very important
to note that they are usually acceptable where the aim is
primarily to compare variants of route layouts or means of
protection.

2.2. Noise

a) Indices -- Evaluation

The index used in France to evaluate the annoyance

caused to populations exposed to land transport noise is LeqA
(8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). In the case of dense traffic this index
has just as good a correlation with the levels of annoyance
shown by the populations as other indices that are more
difficult to calculate or measure. It represents the "mean"
noise level measured in front of the facades of buildings.
During daytime, therefore, LeqA (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) is used for
noise generated by both rail and road traffic.

Exceptionally. during night-time, LeqA (midnight to

5 a.m.) is used but, as a general rule, it is considered that
LeqA (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) is well correlated with LeqA (midnight
to 5 a.m.) for major roads and, accordingly, suffices to
distinguish a situation as a whole. For particular situations
such as bus and coach stations, etc., LeqA (midnight to 5 a.m.)
is sometimes used.

As regards the evening, rail case studies have shown

that there can be specific interference with sound broadcasts
(TV, and so on) . The fact that road noise usually diminishes
faster than rail noise after 8 p.m. makes intermodal
comparisons very difficult on the basis of LeqA (8 a.m. to
8 p.m. ) .

b) Objectives and quality standards

(For roads, also see Section 5.1)

Builders of national roads and motorways must comply

with regulations which incorporate the recommendations in the
manual on land transport noise ("Guide du Bruit des Transports
Terrestres") .

The rule is that levels LeqA of 65 dB(A) must not be

exceeded in front of housing units. For dense traffic, this
level usually corresponds to 55 db(A) during night-time.

20
 As regards the construction of new roads, there was a
period during which it was acceptable to exceed the threshold
of 65 dB(A) by up to 5 dB(A), but the necessary technical
measures are now provided to ensure that the threshold is not
exceeded (route layout, screens, soundproofing of facades).

In principle, the initial ceiling for rail traffic was

70 dB(A). but this may be reduced to 65 dB(A) as a result of
discussions now under way.

The aim is to establish a lower level of noise,

particularly in residential areas, provided the additional cost

is not too great.

There are no specific regulations setting thresholds for

hospitals, schools and other sensitive activities but, on the
basis of consultation with specialists in acoustics, it is
usually possible to reach agreement to comply with the limits
on which a consensus has already been established among such
specialists .

c) Forecasting methods

The planning agencies now have a very full range of

tools for forecasting and evaluating noise, tools that
complement each other and may be used at various stages in the
course of the same study [4]. By way of illustration. Table 3
sets out the main fields in which the various tools available

in France are used for noise (X) and air pollution (O) .

The various tools are used as follows:

-- Direct measurements:

* Description of the initial situation;

* Study aids by means of calculations;
* Commissioning of the protective structural works
in order to supervise the work.

-- Calculations:

* Rough planning by the simplified method of

calculation (formulae and charts) to size up the
problem, identify the exposed areas and determine
the detailed study programme needed to deal with
them;

* Detailed studies: detailed method, computer

programs or, exceptionally, the BRUIT computer
program are used;

To describe the initial situations (with

measurement in addition if possible);

21
 Table 3

^\^ Tools Methods of calculation Program Models Long-term

for computer 1n situ
calculations measurements

Stages of study ^\^ Manual Calculator Simplified Detailed

Initial situation XO XO

Identification of

problems
Outline solutions XO X XO

rO

Position at the

preliminary plan stage XO X XO X XO

F1nal1sat1on of
solutions X XO XO

Completion of
architectural X

details at project stage

Commissioning of the
structural works X
 To evaluate all the variants of an

infrastructure project;

To test different assumptions concerning

protection and evaluate their effectiveness so
as to determine the optimum dimensions.

Simulation models

The introduction of small-scale models by the CSTB in

Grenoble has meant that complete acoustic studies can be
carried out in urban areas:

* Operational studies of the propagation of noise in

simple or complex sites where the problems have
not yet been resolved in theoretical terms and are
not therefore incorporated in models (coverage by
acoustic grid systems, variable profile cuttings,
complex sites from the standpoint of acoustic
reflection or defraction);

* Studies of very extensive sites including many

variants (clcver-ieaf intersections on motorways
with many variants of layout and acoustic
protection) ;

* Studies of overall plans of buildings located in

areas exposed to considerable external noise.

d) Research in progress

With a view to considering possibilities for evaluating

noise associated with disturbance of sleep, endeavours are
being made to ascertain the characteristics by an analysis of
the acoustic patterns relevant to vehicles in urban areas.
INRETS is carrying out research on disturbance of sleep by
noise with reference to indices for rail traffic in the evening.

2.3. Vibration

a) Assessment of the degree of annoyance

In response to yes/no questionnaires, some 8 to 10 per

cent of the population in built-up areas in France gives
vibration as a source of annoyance felt at home. In the vast
majority of cases, no distinction is made between the annoyance
attributable to vibration that is attributable to noise, the
latter being by far the major annoyance mentioned and
associated with vibration in more than 80 per cent of
cases (underground metros). The degree of annoyance specific
to vibration is less marked in those situations where it is

correctly identified as such. As a general rule, this is the

case for urban areas in which there is heavy lorry traffic
where the facades of housing units are close to the roadside.

23
The perception of vibration increases where the road suface has
deteriorated, on slight inclines, or near traffic lights. The
most marked impact is found where sensitive equipment, such as
electronic microscopes, are located near to -roads. The
assessment can, therefore. only be made by specialised
researchers, but new roads are seldom involved.

There is little point in using the ISO standards for the

perception of vibration, and the levels recorded are usually
below the thresholds set by these standards.

b) Physical mechanisms involved

The physical mechanisms are highly complex. In the case

of roads for motor vehicles, vibration comes from two
independent sources:

--The dynamic stresses of vehicles generating ground

waves which are propagated in the land and
foundations of neighbouring housing and inducing
vibration at frequencies of the order of 10 to
50 Hz. Such stresses are very weak in the case of
smooth carriageways;

-- Sound waves emitted by vehicles, especially at low

frequences (below 100 Hz) when the exhaust outlets
have very high levels of emission at pure frequencies
linked to the engine speed. These waves make the
facades vibrate and they are spread through the
housing units.

Steps have been taken in France to identify both the

real sources of the induced vibration and the reaction of
acoustic and vibratory fields to specific stresses. As a
general rule. it would appear that the reaction is mainly
attributable to stresses of acoustic origin which make light
structures vibrate. Other than in particular cases, it does
not seem that ground waves predominate.

Where rail traffic is concerned, account has to be taken

only of the propagation of the vibration caused by the wheel on
the rail.

c) Research in progress -- Outlook

The road problem amounts simply to that of low-frequency

emissions by vehicles which some consider should be subject to
regulations .

Research is being pursued actively by means of models

incorporating the vibration caused by metro trains. The
connection between track wear and tear and sound/vibration
emission is an incentive to conduct research in that both
economic and environmental aims are involved.

24
2.4. Air pollution by motor vehicle traffic (1)

a) The problem of criteria

Motor vehicle traffic gives rise to pollution by exhaust

gas and dust emissions. The various toxic gas pollutants
include:

Carbon monoxide (CO);

Various hydrocarbons (HC);
-- Nitrogen monoxide and bioxide (NOx).

Petrol-fuelled vehicles also emit compounds of lead and

other metals, while the emissions of diesel-fuelled vehicles
consist of hydrocarbons, particulate, aromatic products and
sulphur compounds.

With the exception of carbon monoxide, on which there is

a considerable volume of scientific literature, the effects of
these pollutants are not very well understood. The improvement
of vehicles is considered to be the means of making substantial
progress towards reducing the degree to which the public is
exposed to such pollution.

In France, the pollutant content of the air is seldom

measured at significant roadside sites. In principle, one
takes integrated CO contents in 15 minutes. In selecting an
index, one takes average contents measured over 15 minutes for
periods such as 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. or 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.. the
latter period having the advantage of adequately covering peak
traffic times on the roads and being closest to that used for
the noise index.

Among the notable effects of air pollution. those

relating to odours are currently receiving most attention in
studies being carried out in France. The INRETS has conducted
a survey on aspects of the perception of odours emitted by
diesel-fuelled motor vehicles.

b) Dispersal models

Dispersal results from:

-- The following main weather conditions:

* Wind direction and speed, which can be ascertained

at a local airport;

1. The role of diesel traction units is limited, while the

transfer of the site of the pollution through electric
traction may also be noted.

25
 * The conditions governing atmospheric stability,
i.e. the ease with which pollutants disperse with
altitude; this parameter is often ignored owing
to the prohibitive cost of measurement.

-- The topographic conditions relevant to the area

immediately surrounding the road if this is where the
pollutant contents are being measured, or to the
district or town if longer-distance dispersion or
background pollution is being investigated.

The following dispersal models are used in France:

-- A very simple statistical model for open motorways,

set out in graph form and with a degree of accuracy
of + 60-70 per cent;

-- Formulae using the volume of traffic or exhaust

emissions, wind speed and distance from roads to
calculate pollutant content at the fagades of
buildings in U-shaped roads, i.e. the traditional
type of road in old city centres. There is a very
good correlation between predicted levels and actual
measurements in this connection;

-- A computer program that calculates pollutant content

at any point along a U-shaped road and takes highly
precise account of the wind effects, the degree of
accuracy being from + 0 to 20 per cent;

-- A much less sophisticated computer program which

calculates pollutant contents at any point in a
district covering a few hundred square metres and
certainly gives a good indication of the
concentration to be expected. although fairly
approximate in terms of spacing.

The models are seldom used because problems of air

pollution are mainly found in urban areas and the effect of new
roads on busy older roads tends to be indirect.

c) Lines of research

Models always have a fairly low level of precision, and

such is usually the case for air pollution models. There is
also uncertainty about emissions, which most models have to
include, and this is undoubtedly the weak point in the chain.
The research done by INRETS and the Agence de la Qualite de
l'Air (AQA) primarily involves an evaluation of emissions
during the actual use of vehicles. It should be noted that it
is, of course, far less efficient to use emission or dispersal
models for comparative studies of variants.

The Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussees is

conducting research with respect to air pollution by

road-surfacing units and quarries.

26
2.5. Water pollution

a) Types of pollution

Infrastructure construction work, road traffic and road

maintenance give rise to the pollution of both surface and

ground water which may result from:

-- The washing away of fine matter in suspension as a

result bf earth work and erosion which may block the
flow of water and affect the living organisms in it;

-- Waste hydrocarbons from construction and operating

machinery, manufacturing plants and certain users;

-- Runoff of chloride substances as a result of

spreading salt in winter;

-- Pollution resulting from traffic accidents, which may

have very different effects according to the location
and the quality and type of product; the question
here is ecological but also economic in cases where
tapped water becomes unusable;

-- Various forms of contamination, more particularly by

heavy metals from vehicles, tyres and motor fuels;

-- Waterproofing of large areas (roads, parking areas)

which produces a runoff and flash floods.

b) Evaluation and conservation

Estimates of monthly figures per kilometre have been

supplied [SETRA, Reference 5.1] for chemical oxygen demand,
suspended matter, zinc and lead. However, methods of
conservation have received greater attention than methods of
evaluation. In view of the fact that impact evaluation seemed
very difficult whereas efficient conservation could be
achieved, the various services did not expect too high a
performance from the specialists.

The sensitive areas are:

-- Watercourses with low rates of flow in summer,

particularly in the mountains;

-- Watercourses used for breeding fish;

-- Lakes and ponds;

-- More particularly, catchment areas for drinking water

or natural springs (mineral waters).

In view of the cost of conservation, it is now desirable

to define the acceptable risks.

27
 The impact study must not, be carried out in isolation
and calls for a great many contacts. especially with
specialists at universities (geologists, etc.), fishing
associations and so on. Given the present state of the art.
the studies entail complete in situ analyses (e.g. the
Clermont-Atlantique motorway in the Volvic area). Conservation
involves the channelling of runoff water towards settling and
oil-removal tanks, which is done in such a way as to stem the
peak flows (dykes and vegetation). Studies are also being
carried out on means of providing rapid warning of incidents
occurring on construction sites or in traffic.

c) Research on evaluation

Various forms of research are called for in order to

improve impact evaluation, and the following have been
undertaken:

-- Long-term studies on sites equipped with instruments,

where measurements are taken of the main chronic or

winter pollution in the immediate vicinity of roads

(LCPC);

-- Monitoring of the quality of watercourses, changes in

the various fauna and in the accumulation of metals
in living organisms (Bordeaux University);

-- Analysis of the metal content of sediment core

samples taken from drainage channels and receiving
watercourses (LCPC).

By and large, it is considered that both the amount of

research and the number of specialists working on water quality
are very inadequate in France.

3. SOCIO-ECONOMIC EVALUATION

3.1. Impact on local life The divisive effect

a) Effects

A road carrying traffic has the following divisive

effects in residential areas:

-- Difficulties in crossing the area are created, more

particularly for pedestrians and, accordingly, for
the elderly and schoolchildren who in many cases are
obliged to walk. Riders of two-wheeled vehicles may
also have such difficulties. The trips are often
obligatory ones to or from shops or public
facilities. Such effects can loosen the ties to the
community for individuals and even create local

28
 political difficulties where public facilities are
concerned;

-- Loss of the physical and social identity of some

districts, which reflects the general impression of a
barrier and is very clearly shown in studies. The
dividing up of areas handicaps their use even if the
overall area is little affected;

Barriers and visual disamenities: the loss of scenic

views is felt very strongly, as is the deterioration

of visual space owing to poor planning or subsequent
impairment and inadequate maintenance;

-- The disruption of local business: the two problems

as regards stores and shops are expropriation and
less accessibility, hence loss of customers;

-- The safety of crossings.

Real estate also seems to be affected, primarily owing

to the fact that it takes longer to market goods, the slower
rate of turnover giving rise to a financial loss, although the
main factor involved here is certainly open to question.

It should also be noted that the urban fabric subject to

such disruption has considerable capacity to adapt.

b) State of research -- Theory on the divisive effect

Psychological research relates to the individual

representation of space, identification of locations, etc.. the
practical aim being to construct a model of the divisive effect
on journeys so as to take more specific account of it in the
choices of variants of a project.

The divisive effect means that a previously continuous

area is divided up. It can be said that the undivided area is
a source of "value", and any division results in a loss or
shortfall in this value, which can be expressed in formal terms
as a value function of any convex surface area in that the sum
of the values of the reduced area remaining after division is
smaller than the value of the initial surface area. The
difference between the two is the shortfall due to the division.

The value function depends on the attributes of each

surface area (size. form, inherent wealth, etc.). Ecological
aspects may also be taken into account (wildlife and the
disturbance of the tracks followed by animals, genetic
effects), as well as agricultural aspects (dividing up of
farms), social and cultural aspects (symbolic value of the
space, recreational value, spoiling of special sites, etc.).
The concept of depletion of a scarce good is also associated
with division (local surface area, number of preserved sites).

29
 Knowledge of urban areas will remain very limited as
long as fewer resources are allocated to the observation of
human life than to the observation of animal life.

3.2. Transformation of the urban landscape

a) Effects

Surface transport infrastructures play a major role in

the development of urban and suburban landscapes.

New roads are seldom built in towns. There have been

some recent cases in which the urban fabric has lost its
structure and social and architectural homogeneity owing to a
change in scale.

New infrastructures in the outlying areas of towns

create new landscapes, sometimes on a large scale. They may
also destroy areas of value for leisure activities and sports,
such as forests near conurbations.

The living conditions in residential areas are changed

both by being divided up and by the disruption of traffic,
since some roads become simply traffic corridors and lose their
character as a place for people to meet. The awareness of
these effects and the efforts made by the Council of Europe
found expression in the organisation of a conference at the
CNRS under the heading "The street is not a road" [7].
However, there is still some way to go before procedures for
estimating changes in traffic volume in the streets are
available. In France, there has not been the same success in
the reduction of speed limits as has been achieved, for
example, in Germany with the Tempo 30 projects (30 km/h speed
limit), but the "safe town" and "accident-free district"
projects are good examples of progress being made, especially
where the crossing of built-up areas is concerned.

b) Solutions

For major infrastructures on the outskirts of urban

areas, tunnels are increasingly recommended, a case in point
being the Motorway 14 to connect La Defense with the
Motorway A13 (Paris-Normandy), where it is necessary to cross
forestland to the west of Paris (which is used a great deal for
rambling) and various residential areas before passing
alongside the gardens at Saint-Germain (a renowned site since
the time of Louis XIV) .

The procedure does not involve choice of the route by a

government department but competitive tendering for the whole
project. The proposals of the groups that will subsequently
operate the motorway include quite distinct route layouts and
solutions. It is interesting to note the proposals for the
underground sections for the 2 700 metres of forest and gardens

30
in question: in one of the projects, only 400 metres would
remain uncovered with the rest of the covered cutting being
designed for leisure activities, while in another project a
bored tunnel is the sole solution for retaining the forestland
covering entirely. Bearing in mind that one metre of tunnel
costs 1.5 times the price of cut and cover process and 3 times
the price of an open cutting, it can be seen how much
consideration has been given to the environment to the west of
Paris by the major groups of enterprises.

3.3. Study methods in the urban environment

The studies coyer:

-- A full analysis of the site: examination of the way

in which the urban area functions: location of
facilities, residential areas, stores and shops,
leisure and other activities;

-- Observation of practices with, if .possible, surveys

and interviews.

A study of effects is then carried out and solutions are

chosen as regards:

-- The routes that must be established for all modes of

travel ;

-- Accompanying measures: new roads, changes in the

public transport network, construction of new
facilities, transfers, and land improvement.

One crucial aspect of work in an urban environment is

collaboration among the many partners involved, and the
improvement of methods for this purpose is a prerequisite for
the central and local authorities concerned.

3.4. Agriculture

a) The effects -- Evaluation

Those involved in agriculture are highly sensitive to

the construction of transport infrastructure that is not often
of direct use to them. Leaving aside areas with very
large-scale farms, one cannot confine oneself to purely
economic evaluation. The economic and social effects cannot be
dissociated in cases where the situation of farmers is
extremely delicate and is not governed by economic laws.
Lifestyles are highly stable, moreover, and may be particularly
severely disrupted as a result of new infrastructure,
disruption that can be classified under the following headings:

31
 -- The effects on human activities related to

agricultural production, the disruption in question

being essentially due to the cutting of roads which
results in:

* The destruction of farms;

* The need to travel greater distances from point to

point;

* The abandonment of particular plots of land.

-- Effects on vegetation grown. either directly or

indirectly through the inputs (soil, climate, water),
the disruption in question being:

* Changes in the mesoclimate (alteration of air

flows and increase in evapotranspiration) ;

* Changes in the physical characteristics of the

land (too much or too little water, subsidence);

* The planting of horticultural or non-indigenous

species;

* Projection of substances (mud, dust and grit,

de-icing salt) ;

* Atmospheric pollution (lead);

* Water and soil pollution (sodium, lead).

The SETRA technical guide provides detailed information

on agricultural problems in connection with roads: "Prise en
compte de 1 ' agriculture dans les projets routiers" [5.2].

The professional bodies, farmers' associations and

unions are well structured, the farmers themselves carrying
considerable political weight and, as a rule, owning land.
Accordingly, if the information procedures should prove
inadequate, they are often the first to learn of construction
projects since they soon receive proposals for purchase by
agreement. The discussion of effects in the broadest sense
results in maximum compensation more often than in other cases.

Assessments of the situation through the farmers'

associations and the agricultural authorities of the
Departements do not give rise to any major problems and the
criteria adopted include:

-- The position with regard to the consolidation of

agricultural land (general measures taken for many
years to modernise farms);

-- Farmers' ages.

32
 By and large, it can be said that farmers ask for
specific information and are not particularly interested in
fine coloured brochures and joint meetings.

b) An example of negotiated arrangements the TGV

loopline to the north-east of Lyons

Since the Winter Olympic Games are to be held in 1992 in

Albertville. those responsible for the TGV line to the
north-east of Lyons have been obliged to act quickly as this
line is to link up the existing Paris-Lyons TGV line with the
Satolas air terminal. It will then not only make connections
with Grenoble and Chambery but also with the extension towards
the Rhone Valley without crossing Lyons. The poor circulation
of information, even among elected representatives, has been
characteristic of a difficult situation. The choice, moreover,
was between a very large built-up area and a rural area that
had already been disrupted by the construction of the recently
completed Lyons-Geneva motorway.

The three experts appointed by the Minister of Transport

had to compare four route layouts among the many put forward by
local groups. In view of the cost of passing close to Lyons,
the experts recommended the crossing through the rural area
although their proposal was combined with a series of
recommendations for accompanying measures, which do not
preclude assistance for the marketing of agricultural
products. The scale of the assistance proposed in this
connection is warranted by the fact that the irrigation and
drainage work had been carried out a little beforehand in the
agricultural areas, together with additional land
consolidation. owing to the recent completion of the
Lyons-Geneva motorway.

The selection of the route layout in question was amply

justified by counts of buildings located between 40 m and 200 m
of the axis. Table 4, which was published in the press, is a
good example of communication that can be understood by
everyone.

Where the TGV is concerned, attempts are often made to

reduce the route cuttings by combining rail layouts with those
for new motorways. This will be the case for the TGV section
in the Satolas area and for various sections of the TGV
Atlantique and Nord. It is acceptable in flat open country to
make the motorways comply with the geometric constraints on the
TGV. but environmental problems are likely to arise in the case
of any areas lying between the routes.

To complete this section on agriculture, an anecdote

will serve to draw attention to the diversity of problems. The
crossing of wine-growing areas -- which are. as a general rule,
quite rich -- sometimes has effects that are difficult to
assess, a case in point being the pollution of the grapes with
dust from the construction site while, in the case of the TGV

33
 Table 4

THE TGV LOOPLINE AROUND LYONS ANO ITS IMPACT ON THE BUILT-UP LAND IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF AIN AND RHONE

ROUTE LAYOUT A ROUTE LAYOUT E ROUTE LAYOUT H COMMON

SUD PUSIGNAN

IMPACT 40 M 200 M 40 M 200 M 40 M 200 M 40 M 200 M

TGV Houses 36 185 0 5 22 83

IN Blocks of flats 2 21 - - _ -

TUNNEL Buildings 5 6 1

Other 1 school 1 school

Of which

TGV WITH Houses 6 68 (1)

CUT AND Blocks of flats -
4

COVER Buildings -
2
METHOD Other
Of which

ui

TGV IN Houses 7 118 3 31 3 35 0 21

OPEN Blocks of flats
CUTTING Buildings --
5
Other 1 7 1 5 5

of which 1 children's EOF garage EDF garage

centre

Houses 43 303 3 36 31 186 0 21

Blocks of flats 2 21 - - - 4

TOTAL Buildings 7 13 1 5 -
8 -_

Other, of which 1 school 1 school EDF garage EDF garage

+ 1 children's
centre

COST 2 160 MF (2) 816 MF 1 966 MF

1. Including 14 buildings to be demolished to provide for the outlet towards Neyron and Mlrlbel.
2. MF: millions of francs.

Table drawn up by the SNCF to estimate the Impact on buildings of the various route layouts for a TGV loopUne to the east
of Lyons.
Atlantique, the SNCF had to undertake research on the
sensitivity of Vouvray wine ageing in a cellar subject to
vibration.

THE COMMON HERITAGE

4.1. Wildlife

a) Effects on wildlife

Knowledge of the relationships between the road and

wildlife has increased significantly since 1976, much of this
progress being attributable to impact studies, as evidenced by
the seminar held in Strasbourg on 5th-7th June 1985 by the
Ministers for Public Works and for the Environment [5.3].

Roads have the following effects:

-- Small animals are crushed: small carnivorous and

herbivorous mammals. birds, frogs and toads, etc.

Mortality statistics are now available and the case
of barn-owls is a matter of great concern;

-- Collisions occur with large mammals: deer, stags and

wild boar, and these can be a source of road
accidents. Deaths have been recorded since 1984 by
the Office National des Forets and the initial

findings showed that road deaths were probably

equivalent to 16 per cent of the deer and 6 per cent
of the stags killed in the 1982-1983 hunting season;

-- The tracks followed by animals each season between

reproduction or feeding areas (for example, for frogs
and toads) are severed, which can endanger isolated
animals, dangerously impoverish the genetic capital
and throw the species out of balance;

-- The areas inhabited by vulnerable or wild species are

disturbed by the intrusion of men and dogs
(e.g. grouse in the Jura) and this is largely
attributable to the building of new roads through
mountains or forests.

b) Study methods

For wildlife, too, the methodology comprises three main

phases :

-- Determination of the initial situation;

-- Comparison of variants of the project;

35
 Definition of protective measures for the route
layout selected.

There are seldom any quantitative data available on

population densities of the main species, and the orders of
magnitude available for forecasts are obtained solely from
mortality statistics.

The information compiled to determine the initial

situation is obtained from very varied sources: Delegue
Regional a 1 'Architecture et a l'Environnement, universities
and individual enthusiasts. The fact that there is a national
body responsible for hunting ("Office National de la Chasse")
and each departement has hunting and fishing federations is
important in this connection. Charts of the areas: habitats,
species, tracks, etc., can then be used for a first comparison
of the variants, although it is necessary to have further
consultations to assess the value, rarity and dynamics of the
target species in order to work out the protective measures to
be taken for the selected route layout.

c) Protective measures

The protective measures include fencing along the roads

and structural works and special crossing places. Fences are
still the means of keeping animals away since light reflectors,
for example, have not as yet been proved satisfactory.

Considerable attention has been paid to the use of

crossing facilities which varies according to where they are
located, the size and the earth with which they are covered.
No general solution has been found to the question of how to
manage these facilities to which man must not be allowed
access. Crossings under the road through specially designed
water channels are relatively effective for small mammals and
amphibians. The cost of these protective measuresis
reasonable: in the case of the A. 71 road in the Sologne,
seven crossings for wildlife, fences and crossings for
amphibians entailed only a 2 per cent increase in construction
costs .

d) General education of the public

\
x Impact studies have given rise to a considerable amount
of multi-disciplinary research on the natural environment and
they have had a marked effect on applied* research. Since the
effects of roadworks on wildlife can only be seen in the medium
or longer-term, the Highways Department and Ministry of the
Environment decided in 1978 that observation centres should be
set up to monitor the patterns of development of animal
populations over a long period, using the ringing system or
radio-tracking for some specimens. Accordingly, when the A. 36
came into service in 1980, an observation centre was set up on
the Dole-Beaune section which keeps records of animals run over
and details of particular populations (by systematic field

36
trips to check on barn-owls, for example), analyses the
influence of particular times and environments crossed,
reconstructs animal movements, etc. (Also see [10].)

Another favourable spin-off effect is the dissemination

of knowledge among the general public, which not only occurs
during the consultation procedures but also in the context of
novel activities such as, for example, an itinerant exhibition
in a mini-bus organised by the observation centre in connection
with the crossing of the Sologne by the motorway A. 71 between
Orleans and Salbris.

As with other problems, for purposes of protecting

wildlife, the general level of knowledge of the public at large
and its elected representatives is essential to the
effectiveness of impact studies. Given the great diversity of
the regions in France, such knowledge is not evenly
distributed, but it is to be hoped that, in the longer term,
the impact studies themselves will prove effective for both the
spread of knowledge and the conservation of natural resources.

4.2. Vegetation and flora

Vegetation has a number of very different roles to play:

-- An aesthetic function in the countryside;

-- A forestry and agricultural production function;

-- Recreation and leisure function;

-- Means of protection against erosion;

-- An ecological and scientific function (flora).

Vegetation may be destroyed or trees in the vicinity

damaged, and there may be fringe micro-climatic effects,
repercussions on plant health, chemical pollution, changes in
rates of flow of water, etc., all of which can lead to changes
in plant distribution.

a) Flora

Fewer studies have been devoted to the effects on the

flora, which is probably less sensitive than fauna. It should
be borne in mind that some species are protected by law. There
is considerable concern about cutting roads through forests,
particularly when the forests are near towns. A number of
variants had to be studied when the A. 71 motorway was
constructed through the Sologne [2]. (It is known that the
acid pollution which attacks the forests did not come
specifically from nearby motor vehicle traffic.) Flora finds a
refuge in the vicinity of roads even more than wildlife in
regions where large-scale agriculture has put an end to small

37
woods and copses. In this connection, the question sometimes
arises of the extent to which weedkillers can destroy fairly
rare plants [5.4].

The major motorways and their embankments have, in some

cases, enabled certain plant species to develop, a case in
point being the ambrosia plant which progressed up the Rhone
Valley and gave rise to allergic reactions among the people in
the region.

By and large, although flora is a source of less

activity than fauna, the work in this connection has the same
characteristics in terms of multi-disciplinary collaboration
and the involvement of the universities.

For some centuries now. the conservation or planting of

trees alongside roads has been a subject of particular interest
to road engineers [5.5].

4.3. Sensitive sites and areas

Impacts on natural environments have to be evaluated in

terms of a habitat or ecological area as a whole as soon as the
general equilibrium of the flora and fauna is threatened.
Moreover, mountainous and water sites have value in terms of
rarity and landscape formation which call for particular
attention.

a) Mountainous areas

An increase in the difficult work of road building in

the mountains, more particularly in the Alps, has recently
given rise to a more thorough investigation of its impact, and
government agencies such as the Centre d'Etudes du Machinisme
Agricole et des Forets (CEMAGREF) have made an active
contribution. A seminar on mountain roads and the environment
was organised by the Ministry of the Environment and the
Institut International de Gestion et de Genie de
l'Environnement (IIGGE) at Aix-Les-Bains in November 1987 [6].
Where motorways are concerned, the impact study for the A. 42
from Lyons to Geneva was the first case in which the law of
July 1976 was applied to motorway sections in mountainous
areas; an analysis was made of this by Chabert [8]. In many
cases the roads are cut into the mountain slopes owing to the
topography and the fact that the valley floors are quite
densely populated. The infrastructures can have considerable
visual and ecological impact. Viaducts (such as the one
located between Cluse and the Chamonix Valley) are to a certain
extent the least detrimental solution in terms of impact on the
natural and human environment, but the problem of visual
intrusion remains.

The use of tunnels is economically acceptable in some

cases when the layout of the route can be shortened. For

38
example, the motorway tunnel near Nantua would have entailed an
increase of only about 10 per cent in the cost of constructing
the section.

For smaller roads, a classification of the sensitivity

of mountainous areas has been established and takes account of

altitude and geographical exposure. Engineers and associated

specialists (from universities. CEMAGREF. etc.) are paying
increasing attention to the great fragility of flora and fauna
and to the visual aspect (landscaping, neatness, etc.). There
is. as yet. little evidence of work on the evaluation of impact
and advice to planners.

France will gain considerable experience in mountainous

areas over the next four years as work is to be carried out on
a number of roads to provide access to the Albertville Olympic
Games sites in 1992.

b) Green belts around towns

The use value, scarcity and fragility of green or forest

belts near large built-up areas calls for an approach which
goes beyond the problem of conserving vegetation alone, since
the provision of access for the population is an esential
factor.

The case of the A. 14 to the west of Paris in the

Saint-Germain forest was mentioned in Section 3.2. Attention

may also be drawn to the green strip running for about 12 km

alongside the TGV Atlantique to the west of Paris where a
number of sections of track are covered over a total length of
3 km to provide a space for rambling and leisure activities.
Here, too, the increasing use of covered tracks is to be noted.

c) Marshy areas - River banks and stretches of water

Marshy areas, river banks, etc.. provide a habitat for a

rich variety of flora and fauna (birds, etc.) -- which are of
considerable interest although their number is diminishing --
and the construction of roads along watercourses is also a
matter of concern to conservationists. Steps have to be taken
beforehand to cope with the detrimental effects of the lowering
of ground water levels, erosion and changes in the frequency of
flood waters. Full account is taken of these areas by impact
studies, and the river banks are also protected by fishing
federations. As a general rule, the result of negotiations is
to move the road further away from the river bank, to the
detriment of agricultural land. The problems are usually
caused by filling materials or the removal of materials,
activities which tend to be carried out in these areas of
little interest for agricultural purposes. New stretches of
water are sometimes created.

N.B. : Problems near the sea coast relate more to the

overall development of coastal areas than to

39
 impact studies concerning an individual route for
traffic. This highly complex matter does not come
within the scope of this paper.

d) Access to sensitive sites

The arrival of many tourists or seasonal visitors in

areas where access was previously difficult can lead to
fundamental changes in every aspect of the environment. There
is a threat to the valleys in the mountain ranges, the
mediterranean forests, highly vulnerable to fire, and certain
islands such as the lie de Re which is now reached by a
bridge. The aim in such cases is to evaluate the general
advisability of a project rather than to compare variants of
route layouts. However. decisions concerning access to
sensitive sites are essentially political, the decentralisation
of powers tends to reduce the influence of State agencies and.
lastly, the 1976 law makes no provision for considering the
advisability of projects.

The "Atelier Central de l'Environnement". a service of

the Ministry of the Environment, continues to play a difficult
role. For the Winter 1992 Olympic Games, a special convention
has been signed between the Ministry of the Environment and the
Departement of Savoie, and the President has drawn attention to
the fact that the environment must be protected in the course
of the preparations for the Games.

4.4. Visual intrusion

a) Objectives

Objectives in this connection may differ considerably

according to the site:

-- Integration with the landscape to ensure that the

general aspect is changed as little as possible or
that the new features are not so prominent;

-- Unobtrusive integration in the proximity of special

sites, monuments or buildings;

-- To provide users of the route with excellent views of

the natural sites or buildings; exploitation of the
potential of the landscape (viewing points, etc.);
proper maintenance of the surroundings;

The construction of civil engineering works of high

aesthetic value, which should continue to be worthy
of their reputation, such as the Pont du Gard.

b) Methods

No use is made of quantitative methods such as

solid-angle techniques. The photo-montage method has been

40
widely used for a very long time and is very commonly employed
for impact studies. In the case of major construction works,
the well-tried system of an architectural project competition
is used, particularly for engineering works that are of an
exceptional nature by virtue of their size or the site in
question (for example, the Pertuiset bridge over a barrier lake
on the Loire). The Highways Department and the Service
d'Etudes Technique des Routes et Autoroutes (SETRA) have
published various studies to encourage planners to protect the
landscape and provide them with useful material [5.7].

c) Protective measures

The cutting or tunnelling techniques used in mountainous

areas or in the suburbs of cities are costly. A measure, that
planners are sometimes too quickly satisfied with, consists of
planting trees alongside roads. A number of species may be
used and the services concerned have considerable technical

capabilities in this connection. Local species provide the

best protection.

In some cases, if the approaches to a site or

exceptional building cannot be avoided, attempts are made to
improve access instead.

4.5. Taking account of the archaeological, historical and

literary heritage

Protection of the archaeological heritage is covered by

the Law of 27th September 1941, but it comes within the scope
of impact studies. Here, too, the studies have increased the
awareness of engineers and have not only helped to protect the
archaeological sites but have also led to improved
understanding and knowledge.

As from October 1978. the road services have received

recommendations from SETRA [5.6] specifying the means of

compiling data prior to determining the route layout, namely
documentary material, maps, aerial photographs or photographs
in oblique evening light, and ground reconnaissance data. The
main purpose is to obtain the approval of the service concerned
in the Ministry of Culture and of the specialists. The studies
and consultations have the advantage of enabling the
construction services to get to know these local private
specialists who are often very well informed.

In the case of the TGVs , the SNCF sent plans to the

scale of 1/25 000 to the archaeological excavation service so
that the railways could be notified of areas calling for
careful investigation.

The assessment of probable remains of earlier

civilisations depends on their rarity, value and state of
conservation. Route layouts have to make a detour to avoid

41
exceptional sites likely to be legally protected by the
Ministry of Culture. In the case of exceptional sites that
cannot be totally preserved, time must be allowed to provide
for excavation in the best scientific conditions. Lastly,
where sensitive sites are concerned, the work is organised in
such a way as to enable specialists to keep them under
observation.

It is almost impossible in such cases to use protective

measures. However, archaeological sites have been developed in
some cases or public awareness has been increased. In
Languedoc. the road engineers rebuilt sections of the Domitia
road which linked Rome to the Iberian Peninsula. Progress has
also been made in road archaeology itself, and some rail
installations will shortly become part of our heritage.

The Beaune archaeological centre is an information point

on the Paris-Lyons motorway concerned with archaeological finds
in Burgundy and has life-size reconstructions of Merovingian or
Gallo-Roman habitations. This centre symbolises a new culture
in which the protection of archaeological remains is no longer
regarded as an inopportune interruption of road building when
unexpected discoveries are made.

Many sites, which provide the background to the lives or

works of writers or painters, must be considered to belong to
the literary heritage of France and the world at large. The
SNCF had to take care when the TGV went through the Val Lam-
artinien near Macon. Unfortunately. the Bourges Clermont-
Ferrand A. 71 motorway goes through the Grand Meaulnes country
in which Alain Fournier located his novel. The action taken by
the association of friends of Jacques Riviere and Alain
Fournier. and that of the Instituteur d'Epineil-le-Fleuriel in
1980. could not change a decision taken in 1978. This
unfortunate incident, even though environmental studies were
particularly thorough for the A. 71 motorway, is a stage in the
learning process of government departments. Precautions were
at least taken with respect to integration of the project as a
result of the awareness of the engineers.

TRENDS IN TRAFFIC REMEDIAL PROCEDURES

NOISE ABATEMENT

Environmental disruption is very largely attributable to

the increase in traffic on existing routes where impact study
procedures are not applied, although these cases are of the
utmost importance from the standpoint of the general impact of
transport of the environment. Noise is one of the effects that
is most sensitive to any increases in traffic. Considerable
effort has been made in France to reduce the number of housing
units exposed to excessive traffic noise. Regulations on land
transport noise include a coherent body of legislation

42
differentiating situations in which buildings or even roads are
to be constructed [9].

5.1. A road is to be constructed near existing buildings

(Also see Section 2.2)

In such cases the fundamental legal position is set out

in the Law of 10th July 1976 on conservation of natural
resources, more particularly in Section 2 of this law. As
regards noise, the implementing regulations are set out in
Circular 78-43 of 6th March 1978 of the Ministry of Transport,
a text recently replaced by the Circular of 2nd March 1983
relating to "protection against noise in the vicinity of roads
in the national network".

Noise is treated in the same way as damage caused by

public works and remedial measures must be taken if it reaches
a level at which it causes "special and abnormal" annoyance.

Briefly, the circular requires the services planning

transport infrastructures to ensure that the noise generated by
a new road does not exceed 65 dB (A) evaluated in Leq (8 a.m.
to 8 p.m.) in front of buildings which existed before the road
was declared to be a public utility (principle of prior
existence). It also specifies the thresholds to be complied
with when an existing road is modified.

5.2. Buildings are to be constructed near existing transport

infrastructure (road or rail)

In this case, the legal bases for action are provided by

both the Urban Development Code and the Building Regulations.

Amendments to the Urban Development Code on

31st December 1976 made it possible to treat noise as a serious
disamenity, such as floods or avalanches, and provided the
means of regulating construction accordingly. The conditions
for implementing the amendments were set out in three Orders of
7th July 1977.

The implementing legislation consisted of the

Interministerial Order of 6 October 1978, as amended (without
substantive changes but technical adjustments in the light of
recent experience) by the Order of 28th February 1983
concerning the insulation of housing against outside noise.

This Order calls for general records to be kept of all

routes which are noisy or likely to become so in urban areas
(in whichcase it is integrated in the land-use plans) or
inter-urban areas (in which case it is the subject of a
Prefectoral Order) and classification of them into type I (very
annoying) and type II (annoying) routes.

43
 It provides a means of quickly examining the exposure of
planned buildings to noise that would come from routes I or II
located within a radius of 200 m of the building site.

This Order also makes provision for the builder to be

required to soundproof the facade, soundproofing which may be
30. 35. 40 or 45 dB (A), depending on the degree of existing or
foreseeable annoyance.

5.3. Buildings and road and rail infrastructure already exist

It is a long and difficult matter to establish precise

regulations to deal with the most annoying "existing"
situations, one reason perhaps being what is seen to be the
incompatibility between noise thresholds generally accepted as
satisfactory and the considerable economic and technical
resources that would have to be employed to cope with all
existing sources of annoyance. However, a very pragmatic
approach was recently initiated in the form of a programme to
remedy the situation as regards black spots.

5.4. Noise black spots

a) Preparatory work

An interministerial working group was set up by a joint

decision of 2nd March 1981 by the Ministry for the Environment
and Quality of Life and the Ministry of Transport, and it
focused its attention solely on housing. Managers of public
buildings either settled their difficulties themselves -- as in
the case of hospitals -- or required the local authorities to
intervene. as in the case with schools. It was found,
moreover, that as schools usually have no more than two floors,
including the ground floor, they benefited from a protective
noise screen in many cases.

Firstly. the working group was invited to examine

fifteen or so special cases of their choice with a view to
reaching initial conclusions and then drawing up remedial
programmes under the conditions set out below.

Earlier studies were available which estimated the cost

of protection against noise at sums between
FF (1977) 40 billion [about FF (1987) 70 billion] for the
entire network (motorways, national roads, departmental and
local authority rail traffic) and FF (1979) 100 billion [about
FF (1987) 150 billion] for all housing exposed to over
65 dB (A) outside the centres of large built-up areas.
Accordingly, the working group carried out a survey which the
interministerial committee on the quality of life approved in
February 1982 and set out in the Prime Minister's
Circular 1698/SG of 30th July 1982. The term "noise black

44
spot" was defined in this context: "A geographical area
including buildings and outside grounds adjacent to housing
units, homogeneous from the standpoint of the propagation of
noise and where the noise levels expressed in Leq (8 a.m. to
8 p.m.) exceed 70 dB (A) in front of the buildings". The
centres of large built-up areas equipped with by-pass roads for
transit traffic are not covered by this definition, since the
aim was not to take account of the many older city streets,
such as the Boulevard Saint-Michel in Paris or the Canebiere in
Marseilles which, from the time they were constructed, have had
levels of noise necessarily accepted by the local inhabitants.

b) Remedial programme: "Road black spots"

Since it was seen to be unfeasible from an economic

standpoint to programme the above amounts within a reasonable
time and. accordingly, remedy the situation systematically, it
was decided to adopt a pragmatic approach which may be summed
up as follows:

c) Survey

A survey of all noise black spots was carried out in

France in 1983 with the following findings:

2 600 black spots, ranging in size from 20 to 2 000

housing units, with 140 units as the national average;

-- About 354 500 housing units were covered, of which:

* 188 800 units exposed to over 75 dB (A);

* 235 700 units exposed to 70 - 75 dB (A);

-- These housing units consisted of 224 600 (or 63.4 per

cent) on the outskirts of built-up areas of over
50 000 inhabitants. some 98 000 in medium-sized
built-up areas and communes, and 31 500 (or about
9 per cent) in rural areas (less than 3 000
inhabitants) .

The approximate cost of eliminating these black spots

was estimated to be as follows:

FF 3.6 to 4 billion for the housing units exposed to

over 75 dB (A);

FF 3.5 to 5 billion for units exposed to 70/75 dB (A);

or a total of FF (1983) 7.1 to 9 billion.

Since the total expenditure is to be broken down between

the government, local authorities (to the extent that they
participate in the construction of the routes concerned), the
low-cost housing authorities (Offices d'HLM) and property

45
owners, it is clear that the amounts do indeed call for some
effort but are not beyond the country's means.

d) Funding

In cases where the housing units were clearly

constructed beforehand, the cost of protection against noise is
funded on the same terms as the construction of the road:

Main motorways:

-- Government share: 55 per cent

-- Local authorities' share: 45 per cent

Link motorways:

-- Government share: 85 per cent

^- Local authorities' share: 15 per cent

e) Implementation of the programme

The objectives were either to reduce the Leq A (8h a.m.

to 8 p.m.) level to less than 65 dB (A) in front of the housing
units or to insulate these units.

As matters now stand, the following have been dealt with

or examined under the remedial programme:

-- In 1982-83: 15 black spots accounting for some 2 000

housing units, for a total of FF 60 million;

-- In 1984-85: 23 black spots, accounting for some

5 000 housing units, for an approximate total of
FF 130 million;

In 1986: analysis of 12 reports on black spots,

altogether accounting for 2 500 housing units for a
total of some FF 80 million;

In 1987 and the years to follow: 170 black spots,

accounting for some 17 000 housing units, for a total
of FF 474 million (FF 190 million in the provinces
and FF 284 million in the I le-de-France region).

f ) The Boulevard Peripherique (ring road). Paris

Some 50 per cent of a programme to protect 100 000

inhabitants in 30 000 housing units has been completed.

The worst black spots have been (or are being) dealt
with but 17 000 housing units remain exposed to over 70 dB (A),
that is to say, 150 black spots under the definition given
above.

46
5.5. Railway black spots

In principle, the criterion for defining black points

was also noise in excess of LeqA (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) of 70 dB
(A).

The aim is also to bring this level down to below

65 dB (A) in front of housing units.

However, the specific nature of noise and annoyance

caused by rail transport warrants endeavours to determine
indices representative of the annoyance felt by persons living
in the proximity of railway lines or elevated metros.

In the case of the railways, moreover, the question of

remedying the situation as regards noise black spots differs
from that for roads, primarily because the rail infrastructure
has as a general rule been constructed before the buildings.
From this standpoint, the funding problem remains unsolved.

Two black spots have been noted for their mixed

character, i.e. the existence of both a rail and road
infrastructure which are sources of noise. Local residents

would have found it incomprehensible to deal separately, at

different times and places, with the annoyance from these two
sources .

5.6. Prospective trends

As shown by the above figures, substantial sums have

been invested by the government over the past fifteen years to
reduce noise on its road and motorway network, both during the
construction of new roads and in order to remedy existing
situations.

It should also be pointed out that there is considerable

public demand for noise abatement and the relevant regulations
have been introduced. It is, therefore, clear that the process
of taking account of noise problems in the vicinity of traffic
routes will continue in the future, perhaps at an even faster
pace.

Local authorities also have to cope with these issues.

Since 1972 the City of Paris and the lie de France region have
been carrying out a major programme of protection against noise
along the Boulevard Peripherique (ring road) at a cost of
FF 470 million. It should also be noted that the recent

European Directive concerning impact studies will probably mean

that a policy comparable to that followed on the domestic
network will be adopted for all the new routes constructed.

Noise abatement will remain one of the major matters of

concern in the construction of traffic infrastructures for many
years to come.

47
 CONCLUSION

Impact study procedures are now well established in

France, and the fact that it is compulsory to include the
findings in the records of enquiries made prior to the public
utility declaration ensures that projects include all essential
protective measures. One advantage of these procedures is that
they have involved road and rail engineers in environmental
studies and led to the development of diversified working
methods. For example, considerable progress has been made over
the past ten years with methods relating to noise, fauna and
specialised cartography.

What still has to be done to ensure greater economic

efficiency of environmental protection measures is to acquire
more knowledge in many spheres in order to make more stringent
evaluations and forecasts. More particularly, specialised
studies of water and its flows and quality still call for
sustained development.

Evidence of a significant cultural and scientific

movement is to be found in the development of very different
types of specialisation, the experience of the Centre d'Etudes
Techniques de l'Environnement (CETE), action by specialised
institutes and universities, and the establishment of
observation centres.

At present, however, impact studies retain a formal

character and present the factual situation rather than provide
a basis for discussion. The question may also be raised as to
the role of environmental protection issues in decision-making
relevant to the choice of a route layout or the advisability of
constructing new routes or civil engineering works. Where
ecology is concerned, the controversial aspects have generally
meant that it has no influence on projects and there are at
present no negotiations or mediation in this connection. It
may well be that the above-mentioned process of education will
help to reconcile the "controversial" and "reforming"
approaches of the ecologists, thus ensuring that reasonable
account is taken of environmental requirements at an early
enough stage.

The effects of the current process of decentralisation

of powers in France cannot be predicted, and the sensitivity of
the elected representatives and local populations will probably
differ considerably from site to site, so the future can be
expected to produce a wide range of different practices. The
general legal framework will continue to be that provided by
the existing legislation, which will mean that there is no
difficulty in adopting the European Directive that entered into
force in 1988.

48
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I should like to extend the warmest thanks to the

following persons for their assistance:

Mr. BAR (CETUR)

Mr. SPAKE (SETRA)
Mr. TAILLE (SNCF)
Mr. VILLEY-DESMESERET (Director. Atelier Central de
1 'Environnement)
Mr. VARAN (CETE Rhone-Alpes)

ACRONYMS USED IN THIS PAPER

AQA Agence de la Qualite de l'Air

CEMAGREF Centre d'Etudes du Machinisme Agricole et
des Forets

CETE: Centre d'Etudes Techniques de

1 'Environnement
CETUR Centre d'Etude des Transports Urbains
DDAF Directions Departementales de
1 'Agriculture Francaise
DRAE Direction Regionale de 1 'Architecture et
de l'Environnement
HLM Habitation a Loyer Modere
IIGGE Institut International de Gestion et de
Genie de l'Environnement
INRETS Institut National de Recherche sur les
Transports et leur Securite
LCPC Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussees
ONF Office National des Forets
SETRA Service d'Etude Technique des Routes et
Autoroutes

ZNIEFF Zones Naturelles qui presentent un Interet

Ecologique, Faunistique ou Floristique

49
 REFERENCES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Falque, Max. Analyse critique et prospective des

etudes d' impact, 1981, Cahiers du Germes No. 12,
December 1987.

2. Grandjean. A.. Henry, C, Choix Autoroutiers en

France: le cas de l'autoroute A. 71. Orleans-

Bourges-Clermont. 1982. Cahiers du Germes

No. 12, December 1987.

3. Bulletin officiel du Ministere de l'Equipement et

des Transports, Fascicule special No. 86 -- 11 bis.
Instruction concerning methods of evaluating road
investment projects both within and outside
built-up areas. Circulaire MULT of 14th March 1986
-- Fascicule special No. 86 -- 4 bis.

4. Guide du bruit des transports terrestres. CETUR.

Paris.

5. Excerpts from the SETRA Catalogue. 1987:

5.1 Routes et pollution des eaux. Information Note

ECC1, 1987.

Protection des eaux contre la pollution

d'origine routiere. Document de Synthese,
Donnees generales, 1980.
Protection Acoustique par buttes de terre.
Information Note ECC 9, 1987.

5.2 Prise en compte de 1 ' agriculture dans les

projets routiers. Technical Manual. 1982.

5.3 Colloque "Routes et faune sauvage". Record of

the Strasbourg Seminar, 1985.
Protection de la faune et de la circulation

routiere. Summary Report, 1985.

Amenagements pour la faune sauvage. Information
Note EEC 10, 1987.

5.4 Traitement chimique des abords chaussees,

Utilisation des desherbants, debroussaillants.
Technical Manual, 1984.

50
 5.5 Les plantations des routes nationales.
Technical Manual.
Autoroute A. 71. Etude de la vegetation.
Leaflet. 1985
Impact des routes sur la vegetation. Report of
study. 1985.
Guide pour les marches de raise en vegetation de
1' emprise routiere. CGT pour marches.
Renforcements coordonnes et plantations. Manual.
Surveillance et soins sanitaires des
plantations routieres. Information Note EEC 11.
1987.

5.6 Prise en compte du patrimoine archeologique

dans les etudes routieres-recommendations. 1982.

5.7 Guide environnement et paysage No. 3. Technical

manual.

Etudes d' impact des pro jets routiers

(extraits). Instructions. 1985.
L'Art de la route. Brochure. 1984.
Prise en compte de l'Environnement dans les
projets routiers. Instructions. 1985.

6. Route de Montagne et Environnement. Proceedings of

the Seminar.
Institut International de Gestion et de Genie de
l'Environnement. IIGGE Aix-les-Bains. November 1987.

7. La Rue n'est past une route. CNRS Seminar. Paris.

8. Chabert. M. Autoroute A. 42. Exemple d'etude

d' impact. Revue PCM.

9. Reduction de 1' exposition au bruit de circulation.

Travaux. January 1988.

10. Carsignol. J. Observatoire ecologique de la Basse

Vallee de la Doller. CETE de l'Est. Metz. December
1987.

SNCF Bibliography

11. Chambron. E.. Escaron. J., New lines: TGV

Atlantique et Environnement. 28 Rail Interna¬
tional, October 1987.

12. Chambron, Etienne. La conduite du pro jet TGV

Atlantique et les travaux de Genie Civil. Revue
Generale des Chemins de Fer. December 1986.

51
 SOURCES OF INFORMATION WITH RESPECT TO THE NATURAL AND

AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS

Inventory of vegetation Consultation of existing

vegetation maps

-- Universities

CNRS

-- Service de Cartographie
Vegetale
-- 1/200 000 scale map of
France (Toulouse)
-- ONF maps of forests

Consultation of aerial

photographs (see below)

On-site with a

specialist (ONF warden, DDAF

official)

Stations for rare -- Consultation of

animal or plant species associations for nature

animal or plant species
conservation

-- Contacts with the DRAE,

Consultation of the
ZNIEFF inventories
Consultation of the DDAF

Animal populations, DDAF

movements of major -- Departmental hunters'

species federations

. Meetings with the

chairman of local

hunting groups
. Meeting with the
warden of the Office
National de la Chasse
responsible for the
sector

-- ONF (Person in charge of

sector), on-site
personnel
Local associations for
nature conservation

Each region has a databank and maps covering the

natural sites of interest from the standpoint of ecology,
fauna and flora (ZNIEFF). For example, in the Rhone-Alpes
region, 1 850 ZNIEFF have been surveyed and recorded on
maps which have been widely distributed.

52
 ITALY

G.P. BASOLI

Ministero dei Trasporti

Rome
 SUMMARY

1. PREAMBLE 55

2 . THE INSTITUTIONAL SITUATION IN LAW 57

3 . METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES AND PROCEDURES 61

3.1. Preamble 61
3.2. Relations between environmental impact studies
and evaluations 63
3.3. Evaluation methods 64

THE EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 65

4. CASE STUDY No. 1: ROME-NAPLES HIGH SPEED RAIL LINK... 65

4.1. General remarks about the high-speed rail

link project 66
4.2. The background to the development of rail
transport 67
4.3. The procedures for evaluating environmental
impact 67
4.4. Objectives 69
4.5. The operating process 70
4.6. The procedure 72

5. CASE STUDY No 2: PROJECT FOR MOTORWAY LINK

BETWEEN AOSTA AND THE MONT-BLANC TUNNEL 74

5.1. Evaluation procedures 74

5.2. Methodology 76

6 . CONCLUS IONS 79

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES 81

DIAGRAMS AND MAPS 85

Rome. April 1988

54
 PREAMBLE

Studies of the environmental impact of transport

infrastructure projects have been conducted at national level
following promulgation of the Community Directive on evaluation
of the environmental impact of public and private sector
projects.

Impact studies, with the accent on methodology and

experimentation, have been carried out since the start of the
eighties on research already performed abroad in the chief
industrialised countries, i.e. the United States and Canada in
the western hemisphere and France, the United Kingdom and
Sweden in Europe.

Considering the specific case of projects in the

transport sector, the procedure for evaluating environmental
impact has not yet been finally established, as work is still
in progress on defining the methods and processes to which
projects should be subjected to gain approval.

However, public administrative bodies have, for some

time, required that transport projects submitted for approval
should be accompanied by environmental studies.

As a result. those putting forward projects for

engineering works and infrastructure developments often carry
out studies of their environmental impacts using methods
already tried out internationally and suitably adapted to
domestic circumstances.

For the purposes of information and discussion of the

methodology involved, it therefore seems desirable to look at
the problem of infrastructure projects and to draw attention at
Community level to the technical and practical aspects of the
experiments conducted in our country.

In general terms, impact studies and their evaluation

may assume great technical and scientific significance, as the
particular characteristics of such studies demand a
multidisciplinary "systemic" approach, using innovative and
sophisticated techniques which are most properly addressed to
assisting the decision-making process.

So. for the administrative decision-maker, the study of

environmental impacts may prove specially useful in that it
facilitates organisational economies in terms of the

55
effectiveness and efficiency of the administrative procedures
for project authorisation. On specific technical problems
studies of this kind bring together the parties concerned in
direct consultation -- the analytical specialists. the
promoters of the project and the bodies responsible for the
management of environmental and social resources.

The tangible result attainable by mobilising the complex

procedures for evaluating impacts on the environment, manifests
itself at practical level both in the enhanced quality of the
resulting projects and in the likely degree of consensus
attending decisions on project implementation as a direct
consequence of the participation in the selection process of
those affected by the infrastructure development -- the
promoter of the project and local authorities (regions and
communes) .

That is the general background to this report, which

basically falls into three parts:

-- The first part describes the institutional situation

in law. which provides the reference point for the
evaluation of infrastructure impacts on the
environment. This part describes the statutory
measures already enacted and those in the legislative
process together with the "institutional bodies"
which intervene in the decision-making process on the
basis of the current authorisation procedures set up
following promulgation of the Community Directive;

-- The second part outlines the methodologies employed

in the study of environmental impacts, which are
essentially based on multicriterion analysis (MCA).
By the use of this analytical technique. it is
possible to quantify an infrastructure project's
tangible effects on the natural, aesthetico-cultural
and socioeconomic environments by determining the
interactions between project and environment, thereby
ensuring that the choice eventually made in respect
of any project is the best of the available
alternatives;

-- In the third part. significant case studies

illustrating the results to be achieved by
application of multicriterion analytical techniques
are presented. These case studies concern two
categories of infrastructure which have to undergo an
evaluation of the environmental impact under the
terms of the EEC Directive and current domestic
legislation. The projects in question are:

1. The Rome-Naples high-speed rail link, and

2. The motorway link between Aosta and the Mont-Blanc

tunnel.

56
 Infrastructure projects of this kind involve
environmental impact studies and are subject to the Environment
Ministry's evaluation procedure before being allowed to go
ahead .

2. THE INSTITUTIONAL SITUATION IN LAW

The legislative reference framework for environmental

impact evaluation currently being evolved is fundamentally
based on Community Directive 85/337/EEC. promulgated on
27th June 1985.

This Directive, which applies to public and private

sector projects of particular categories with important
environmental implications. introduces into current
authorisation procedures the general principle of environmental
impact evaluation as a necessary complement to the governmental
decision-making process.

In summary, the elements concerned in procedures for

evaluating environmental impacts are as follows:

-- Pro ject : The performance of building works. the

establishment of plants or installations and other
activities affecting the natural environment or
countryside, including those intended for the
exploitation of land resources;

-- Principal : The applicant for authorisation of a

private sector project or the public authority
responsible for initiating a project;

-- Authorisation: The decision by the competent

authority or authorities granting the principal the
right to proceed with the project, and defining the
broad categories on which evaluation is based:

Human population, fauna and flora

Land, water, air, climate and countryside

Interaction between the factors under the first

and second headings

Tangible assets and the cultural heritage.

The Directive also introduces a dual principle for the

public bodies concerned, which covers the entitlement to
information and the right to comment before projects are
approved .

57
 The
Directive expressly emphasizes that, in laying down
authorisation procedures, attention shall be given to the
information provided with special stress on the measures
envisaged for mitigating and/or compensating undesirable
effects, and to the means of informing and consulting the
public affected by the activities.

Lastly, the Directive calls upon the member States to

conform to the principles it lays down within a period of three
years from the date of promulgation, and to notify the
Commission of the relative internal statutory instruments.

The annexes to the Directive state the categories of

projects subject to evaluation in any event and those where
this is left to the discretion of the member States.

The former category includes major road and rail

transport infrastructures belonging to the chief national and
international networks, but for projects of only local interest
the decision whether to evaluate the impact is left to the
member States.

The promulgation of the Community Directive has brought

about a profound change. legal and institutional. in the
national legislative provisions dealing with the environment
and its protection.

An important legislative action is the Environment

Ministry's administrative Law No 349 of 8th July 1986. which
lays down the competent authority on environmental matters to
which the principal has to apply. The Environment Ministry
also specifies the evaluation procedures, the methodological
criteria and the standard values to be applied to the
supervised environmental categories.

For this purpose, the Environment Ministry has set up

the General Directorate for the Evaluation of Environmental
Impact, which is responsible for applying the authorisation
procedures to the projects, subject to approval by the Ministry.

Paragraph 1 of Section 6 of the Environment Ministry's

administrative Law. referred to above. provides for the
presentation of a specific bill implementing the European
Directive within a period of six months from the enactment of
the Law.

The approval regulations to be incorporated in this bill

include appropriate safeguards introduced by the Council of
Ministers (DPCM) at the proposal of the Minister of the
Environment. acting in consultation with his Ministry's
scientific committee.

The relevant legislative instruments for the control of

effects on the environment may be summarized as follows:

58
1. The bill of December 1986 for environmental
evaluation procedures aimed at defining the areas of
responsibility of the bodies concerned at national,
regional and commune level. Two procedures were laid
down for the evaluation of environmental effects: a
first, complete procedure for major infrastructure
developments, and a second, simplified procedure for
projects regarded by the competent authority as being
of minor environmental concern;

2. A proposed directive based on the technical findings

of the environmental impact (VIA) studies carried out
on major roadways. This proposal lays down the
evaluation procedures to be applied to infrastructure
developments, the methodology to be employed, the
environmental categories subject to evaluation, the
technical documentation to be furnished for
preliminary examination and the evaluation of
projects by the technical organs of the Ministry of
the Environment:

3. The decree of the Council of Ministers (DPCM)

provided for under the Environment Ministry's
administrative law referred to above (Section 6.
paragraph 2 of Law No 349 of 8th July 1986), aimed at
"regulating the procedures for determining
environmental compatibility".

This decree covers:

a) The categories of activity subject to procedures for

the evaluation of environmental impact (Section 1),
including especially major infrastructure
developments of types mentioned in the EEC Directive
(Annex 1).

b) The technical requirements for project notification

(Section 2) comprising:

-- Project location; environmental implications;

compatibility of the activities with plans for
urban development. land use and allocation,
archaeology. State property and hydrogeology,
backed up with the appropriate maps;

-- Specification of pollution sources. including

solid and liquid pollutants, emissions into the
atmosphere of volatile matter and noise pollution;

-- Means of cutting down emissions in line with

current regulations;

-- Description of disposal facilities, methods of

counteracting environmental damage and plans for

59
 preventing harm to the environment during the
building and management phases;

-- Plans for monitoring the environment in line with

the requirements imposed by current regulations
and by the specific needs of particular activities.

c) Ruling on the environmental compatibility of projects

In enguiries and invitations to tender, administrative

bodies must advise principals that project approval is subject
to the procedures for the evaluation of environmental impact
(Section 6 of Law No 346 of 6th July 1986).

The principal commissioning work covered by the decree

shall, at the time of notification, arrange for publication in
the daily newspaper with the widest circulation in the affected
region, of an announcement describing the operation or the
infrastructure development and its location together with a
summary description of the project.

Very important to environmental impact evaluations are

the preliminary examinations, which cover the following points:

Verification that the submitted documentation is

complete;

-- Verification that the description of the sites and

their environmental characteristics match those
stated by the applicant;

-- Verification that the project data relating to liquid

and solid discharges and to pollutant emissions into
the atmosphere conform to the standards prescribed in
the relevant regulations;

-- Verification of the consistency of the manufacturing

and production techniques envisaged in the project
with the consumption data for raw materials and
natural resources;

-- Verification of the correct use by the applicant of

analytical and forecasting techniques and of the
methods of survey and projection used to forecast the
effects on the environment;

-- Identification and description of the project's total

impact on the environment, with reference to final
quality levels and comparing the current situation
with a forecast of that prevailing after
implementation of the project.

Finally. under the decree. the Minister of the

Environment, when giving his ruling or tacit consent on the
project's environmental compatibility, certifies the documents

60
on which he has based his view or does so. at his discretion,
on the expiry of a 90-day period, as provided for under
Section 6 of Law No 349 of 8th July 1986.

These legislative instruments constitute the legal basis

to which the principal is required to conform in carrying out
environmental impact studies.

The methodological aspects and the practical

applications of the authorisation procedures will be
illustrated in the last part of this report describing the case
studies mentioned previously:

-- Study of the environmental impact of the motorway

infrastructure linking Aosta and the Mont-Blanc
tunnel;

-- Study of the environmental impact of the proposed new

Rome-Naples high-speed rail link.

METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES AND PROCEDURES

3.1. Preamble

When devising the general methodology in the initial

phase of setting up environmental impact studies, account needs
to be taken of a range of factors arising from an evolving (and
as yet barely-launched) legislative framework.

Pending the enactment of a specific law defining the

criteria and methods to be used in evaluating environmental
effects. reference must be made to Section 6 of the
administrative law introduced by the Ministry of the
Environment, which provides as follows:

"Those putting forward projects shall notify this

Ministry, the Ministry of Cultural and Environmental
Assets and the Region affected, and such notification
shall be widely publicised via the press to those
concerned. "

Although this notification is not an environmental

impact study in the true sense, it does provide a clear guide
in political terms to the steps which have to be taken in the
decision-making processes. The aims of the current legislation
are not merely to identify and alleviate the environmental
effects of infrastructure developments but to establish, at the
same time, a continuing process for checking the potential
changes the environment is liable to undergo, i.e. it is
designed to create a means of monitoring the environment or.
rather, a way of keeping it under observation.

61
 With regard to method and organisation, the experience
acquired so far at national level suggests the need to
investigate methods and techniques which look at the study of
environmental effects not as an aggregate of individual
research efforts but as a new comprehensive system of
environmental analysis appropriate to the activities in
question. A fundamental element in the proper planning of
environmental impact studies is the preparation of the general
programme. and the definition of an analytical methodology
capable of identifying the criteria of choice on which the
organisation of the study is to be based.

The programming phase includes definition of the

purposes of the study, the investigations to be conducted and
the information to be gathered, as well as the processing
models which enable the analysed phenomena to be quantified and
the results obtained to be assessed.

The experiments conducted at national level have

revealed notable deficiencies in systems dealing with the
environment in terms of both data and scientific technique, and
it is therefore necessary to carry out systematic surveys in
order to construct an environmental data bank backed up by
a
processing system serving a univocal environmental monitoring
network.

At this point, the considerations relevant to the

procedures and methods used may be summarized as follows:

-- Impact studies relate to a large mass of data and,

therefore, demand specially exacting and difficult
analytical and interpretative efforts which have to
be compatible with the available processing tools and
the results to be obtained;

-- The appropriate selection of data following the

choice of approved processing models should be such
as to preclude research activity of greater scope
than is required for the ultimate purpose of the
study;

-- Study definition encompassing the method used, which

must conform to the processing procedures laid down
by the Environment Ministry, is essential both to
correct evaluation on the part of the body
responsible for the authorisation procedures and to
the proposer of the project, who has to compile the
final documentation;

Given that environmental impact studies are addressed

to a variety of interested parties (engineers, social
bodies, public institutions, private individuals
etc.), they should be concise and easy to read, while
maintaining the requisite technical, scientific and
cultural standards.

62
3.2. Relations between environmmental impact studies and
evaluations

The study of impacts on the environment can and must

play a part in the various phases of the infrastructure
programming process:

-- In the planning phase, the environmental impact study

analyses a very broad geographical zone to pinpoint
those areas most likely to help resolve the complexes
of problems associated with the different stages of
project implementation;

-- In the preliminary project phase, the environmental

impact study focuses on a more narrowly defined area,
thereby enabling possible alternatives to be
evaluated and helping to optimise the project in
relation to the sites affected by the activities;

-- In the final project phase, the environmental impact

study analyses the area directly and indirectly
affected by the project. The aim here is to put
forward modifications at microproject and
constructional level in order to alleviate the impact
on the environment.

The objectives common to all three phases involving

environmental impact studies may be stated as follows:

-- Identification of categories of impact;

-- Definition of the criteria to be used either to

establish impact priorities by sector or category or

to determine the value ratings assignable to
environmental factors and their variation as a result

of the effects of the project;

-- Determination of the actions aimed at containing

and/or eliminating the impacts in line with the
objective of minimising undesirable effects.

The operational phases of environmental impact study are

related to the infrastructure planning and engineering process
along the lines prescribed in the Community Directive.

In this context, environmental impact studies and

evaluations are related to each other in the sense that the

evaluation is an authorisation procedure founded on the

technical data and information supplied by the study.

In fact, the authorisation procedures, which are closely

geared to the decision-making process on project
implementation, are rooted in the information and analyses
contained in the environmental impact study prepared by the
principal .

63
3.3. Evaluation methods

When first used. environmental impact evaluation was

based on methods designed to determine the compatibility of
projects with the natural and human environment so as to rule
out project options seriously affecting the area concerned.

Methods were then developed by which it became possible

to identify and evaluate the interactions between project and
environment by the use of correlative matrices identifying the
relationships of cause and effect between project and
environmental factors.

The most recent environmental impact studies conducted

at national level employ multicriterion analytical techniques
making possible the quantitative determination of the impacts
associated with project implementation and management.

The choice of the method of multicriterion analysis

(MCA) is normally determined by the nature of the problems to
which it is applied:

l.a Problems involve the selection of one, and only one,

alternative. This category includes, as a specific
case, the classical optimisation problem;

2./J Problems concern the selection of acceptable

alternatives, the rejection of inferior solutions
and possible additional treatment of all the others;

3 . y Problems involve the establishment of a hierarchy of

alternatives from the best to the worst.;

4.6 Problems consist in describing the alternatives

and/or their consequences to provide information
which may be of use to the decision-maker in
arriving at a choice (1).

1. Examples of non-compensating methods are the

lexicographic method and the ELECTRE techniques
(Elimination et choix traduisant la realite): ELECTRE I
applicable to a type problems, and ELECTRE II, III and
IV applicable to Y type problems (Roy, 1985). Classical
compensating methods are those based on multiattribute
utility theory (MAUT, Keeney and Raiffa. 1976),
multiattribute value theory (MAVT, Keeney and Raiffa,
1976, Dyer and Sarin, 1979) and vectoral optimisation
theory (VOT. Chankong and Haimes, 1983). Some methods
of evaluation traditionally used in environmental impact
evaluation can be classed as multicriterion methods.
These include, for instance, the EES and WRAM methods,
in which environmental factors provide the criteria.

64
 In the most recent work on environmental impact study,
the methods proposed tend to analyse the full range of problems
to enable the decision-maker to evaluate the project.

As will become clearer in the case studies. the

multicriterion analytical methods used in environmental impact
evaluations in the national context are generally of the
non-compensating type. This means that it is necessary to
assign veto thresholds to the criteria. which represent
"inviolable" values. According to this method. when
alternative projects are compared, the priority of one project
against another in terms of the evaluative criterion alone
cannot be offset by the values assumed by other criteria.

The use of non-compensating methods may. therefore, lead

to a ruling against the implementation of a project as the
result of a single impact on the natural environment which is
deemed to be "unacceptable" and therefore produces a zero
option.

THE EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

CASE STUDY No 1

ROME-NAPLES HIGH-SPEED RAIL LINK

TITLE OF PROJECT: Rome-Naples high-speed rail link

PROJECT TYPE: Railway project affecting regional

areas with a vulnerable natural
and human environment

CHARACTERISTICS OF PROJECT: 220 km of special high-speed

double track

PROJECT PROPOSED BY: Ferrovie dello Stato (Italian

State Railways)

AUTHORITIES RESPONSIBLE: Ministry of Transport

Ministry of the Environment
Lazio and Campania regions

MAJOR AREAS OF IMPACT ON Hydrogeological morphology

THE ENVIRONMENT: Ecological and biological
conditions and habitat
Aesthetic and cultural conditions
Socioeconomic conditions

65
DECISION-MAKING PROCESS: The initial examination procedures
for evaluating the environmental
impact are being conducted by an
interministerial working party of
experts.

4.1. General remarks about the high-speed rail link project

This case study illustrates the application of the study

of environmental impacts to a proposed railway line across land
in the Lazio and Campania regions with a specially vulnerable
human and natural environment.

The proposed railway line affects some densely-populated

areas including parts of the municipalities of Rome and Naples,
areas of archaeological and cultural value and valuable
countryside as well as land which is geomorphologically
vulnerable.

The field investigations aimed at surveying the

environmental implications were particularly thorough and
considered a number of alternative corridors for the project in
question.

By considering the 10 km-wide strips of land liable to

be affected by the line, it is possible to select within each
corridor the optimum route minimising the effect of the
pollution factors on the elements of the environment under
consideration.

The projected routes studied by the State Railways were

worked out by an internal State Railways working group of
interdisciplinary type, composed of railway planning engineers
and outside experts in the various environmental disciplines.

The methodological approach to the impact study takes

account both of the provisions of the EEC Directive mentioned
previously and of the national rules and regulations governing
the evaluation of effects on the environment.

The innovative facet of the study is that, already at

the preliminary stage, it seeks to ensure the environmental
compatibility of the projected routes.

For this purpose, attention was directed, within each

corridor of land, to the alternative proposed routes so as to
identify the optimum technical solution consistent with the
objective of minimising the impact of the project on the
environment.

The purpose of the study is to provide the Ministry of

the Environment with all the necessary background data to
enable it to set in motion the impact evaluation procedures

66
and. with these, the authorisation processes which have to
precede implementation of the project.

At this stage, the environmental associations and public

and private sector lobbies are not involved in the debate, as
the procedure for rulings on environmental compatibility,
provided for under Section 6 of Law No 349 of 8th July 1986.
has not been initiated.

4.2. The background to the development of rail transport

The State Railways have launched a plan for the

development of high-speed services and have assigned priority
to the Milan-Rome-Naples-Battipaglia route.

This project is part of the State Railways' development

programmes funded by the Integrated Plan (Law No 17/81) and is
in line with the recent multi-year plan for the development of
the national railway network.

The high-speed rail project is consistent with the

objectives laid down in the General Transport Plan, approved in
1985, and with the proposed Master Plan for rationalising road
and rail infrastructures of importance to the Community.

The strategic lines which the State Railways intend to

build are aimed at enhancing the levels of productivity and
competitiveness of rail services by means of technological
innovation into the railway system as a corollary to the
introduction of high-speed services.

To achieve this aim, it is proposed that a network of

high-speed lines should be established analogous to the TGV
system in France and the projected high-speed services now
under consideration in the Federal Republic of Germany, the
Netherlands. Belgium and the United Kingdom.

The high-speed network is being developed along the

routes representing the most intense concentration of transport
demand in parallel with the Milan-Naples axis, which accounts
for 30 per cent of total rail transport and embraces the
country's greatest concentrations of industrial capacity and
population.

4.3. The procedures for evaluating environmental impact

Within this planning framework, the State Railways, as

principal of the project, have been authorised by the Ministry
of Transport, their supervisory authority, to carry out the
works connected with the high-speed services insofar as these
are consistent with the national planning objectives laid down
in the General Transport Plan.

67
 In infrastructure projects, the regional authorities are
essentially concerned with their territorial areas and,
therefore, with the choice of routes.

In this sense. the Lazio and Campania regions are

interested parties in the process of approving and authorising
the high-speed lines.

Under the current regulations on the environment, the

high-speed rail link project, together with the environmental
impact study prepared by the State Railways as principal, has
to be submitted for approval to the Ministry of the Environment.

Under the procedures for evaluating the impact on the

environment, the Ministry gives a ruling on the environmental
compatibility of the infrastructure as a preliminary to the
expressions of view and authorisations provided for by the
current legislation.

Under the proposed decree of the Council of Ministers

provision is made, in respect of the procedures for evaluating
environmental impact, for a recognised extension of the present
approval process amounting to at least 90 days. During this
period, the preliminary examination has to be concluded and the
authorisation procedures have to be set in motion.

On the basis of the proposed decree of the Council of

Ministers, now passing through the approval process, it should
be pointed out that the evaluation of environmental impact is
conducted with reference to the final project, to which the
impact study has to relate.

In the particular case of the high-speed rail link, the

State Railways, as principal, have paid close attention to the
siting of the facility and have determined its substantial
geographical configuration by studying the projected
alternatives within the limits of each corridor.

By using this methodology, it has been possible to make

the optimum choice for each corridor, so minimising the
corresponding environmental effects.

The authorisation procedures set in motion at the

Ministry of the Environment embrace the definition of the
project options and their geographical configuration.

A working group
made up of experts from the Ministry of
the Environment. the
Ministry of Transport and the State
Railways is now analysing the impact studies carried out by the
principal in order to prepare the full range of supporting
data, to enable the responsible ministry to institute the
preliminary examination and authorisation procedures.

The group of experts has also been instructed to check

that the method of study adopted by the principal is sound and

68
correct, and that the extent and quantifications of the impacts
measured by the analytical models are plausible and conducive
to a genuine evaluation of environmental effects.

This informal consultation procedure, set up by the

Ministry of the Environment. also provides a means of
validating the evaluation procedures which subsequently have to
be incorporated in the legislative instrument provided for
under Section 6 of Law No 345. thus implementing the Community
Directive.

4.4. Objectives

The methodology adopted in studying the environmental

impact of the Rome-Naples high-speed rail link breaks down into
two working phases:

-- The first phase, involving the analysis of the strips

of land (corridors) through which the line might be
laid, was limited to choosing the preferred corridor
from the possible alternatives (1. Rome-Formia-
Naples. 2. Rome-Cassino-Naples and "intermediate"
corridors) .

This study employed the principles. methods and

techniques of environmental planning. particularly
with regard to the search for environmental
"compatibility" .

The results of the study have already been passed to

the responsible authorities for processing.

-- The second phase calls for identification of the most

rational line configuration within the corridor
(bearing in mind the relevant environmental and
technological parameters), as well as the substantive
variations to be introduced at the definitive project
stage. with a view to minimising environmental
impacts.

This part of the work involves the environmental

impact study proper, at a stage which has not yet
reached the level of definition of the final project,
i.e. one considered acceptable. given the great
inflexibility of railway projects and. more
particularly, the high-speed characteristics of the
new line.

In conformity with the Community Directive. the

analytical techniques used provided for:

a) Correct use of the surveys and analyses carried out

by the proposer of the project;

69
 b) Comparison of the present situation with that
following implementation of the analysed version of
the project;

c) Identification and description of the project's

total environmental impact;

d) Provision of sufficient information and arrangements

aimed at minimising possible effects.

The second phase was. therefore, subdivided into

treatment at various levels:

-- The first part analysed the land within the corridor

to determine its initial environmental status;

-- The second part identified and evaluated the impacts

liable to arise from the possible routes, so
providing the decision-makers with the data for
selecting a route based on the calculated effects on
the initial environmental status;

-- The third part was concerned with pinpointing and

minimising the possible impacts of the preselected
route.

4.5. The operating process

From the operational point of view, the course of the

study for evaluating the impacts of the proposed railway line
comprises two phases as follows:

1) Determination of the initial environmental status

with a view to ensuring the compatibility of the
proposed line with the affected area, and

2) General development of the impact study.

4.5.1. Phase I -- Determination of initial environmental

status

The purpose of determining initial environmental status

is to minimise the effects which are unavoidable.

To this end, a scenario has been devised which takes

account of every aspect of the territory and the environment
and is arranged in the form of a tree, representing the
hierarchical relationships between the various environmental
components .

The study of environmental impacts, from the

compatibility stage to the final phase of organising operations
so as to minimise the resulting effects, is aimed at

70
pinpointing the optimum route giving rise to the least
environmental disturbance to the areas crossed.

A salient problem is the planning of sections of line in

urban areas and the choice of terminus stations.

Given the inflexibility of the line configuration, the

environmental impact study of the terminal sections was.
therefore, primarily aimed at measures capable of reducing the
effects to a minimum.

This methodological approach, dictated in practice by

the density and spread of the urban areas, led to the selection
of proposed routes in belts of land lying alongside railway
lines already in operation or parallel to the major roadway
infrastructures.

In short, environmental impact studies are a means of

analysing the sensitivity levels of the areas affected by
linear infrastructure developments by a simulation technique
which identifies those areas where the effects of the project
are minimised.

4.5.2. Phase II -- Impact study

The methodological approach to the study of

environmental effects therefore breaks down into two phases,
the first aimed at establishing the prima facie compatibility
of the project with the environment and the second designed to
develop, by feasibility studies, the analyses of environmental
impact within the corridor chosen in the first phase.

To sum up. the study of environmental effects yielded

the following results:

-- Choice of the optimum line configuration from the

possible alternatives within the territorial corridor
under analysis;

-- Identification and alleviation of the major impacts

andminimisation of all the effects produced.

The operating phases of the impact study, which are

shown in Figure 1 to this report, may be described as follows:

1. Analysis of the environmental sensitivity of the

preselected corridor. The aim of the sensitivity
analysis is to determine the initial environmental
status of the area prior to the project.

The environmental status was determined for the

individual components of the "tree" and enabled

"sensitivity maps" to be produced. showing the
various levels of vulnerability of the areas affected
by a linear infrastructure, such as the railway line.

71
 By this means it was possible. already at the
preliminary project stage, to rule out proposed
routes through areas where the environmental
repercussions were greatest;

2. Identification and evaluation of the environmental

impacts for the alternative routes. The purpose of

this phase of the study was to choose the proposed
route with the least environmental impact by using
simulation techniques on the infrastructure
sensitivity maps for the various line configurations.

The work of selecting the optimum route was conducted

by postulating for each environmental component an
acceptability threshold which suggested either the
conditions to be applied in order to minimise the
effects or the need for subsequent corrections to the
projected routes.

The result is obtained by measuring the differential

variation between the initial environmental status in
the absence of the project and the final status after
its implementation;

3. Impact minimisation. For the preselected route,

attention was then turned to determining the
technical constructional measures which would be
likely to alleviate or eliminate the effects of the
project on the environment during building.

This led to the production of a detailed picture of

the types of impact and the measures to be taken to
contain them.

4.6. The procedure

To clarify the methodological process employed, it may

be helpful to outline some of the fundamental operations
underpinning the entire study.

For practical purposes, the strip of land considered was

approximately 10 km wide (about 600 times the width actually
occupied by the infrastructure) over the whole length of the
line (about 220 km).

Within this strip, the land was divided into units with
sides of 250 m, compatible with the establishment of
territorial modules fitting in with the 1 km x 1 km grid used
by the National Cartographical Authority.

The environmental system was then subdivided into

components arranged in a hierarchical "tree" summarizing the
research results.

72
 The tree of environmental components is arranged in four
levels denoted as:

-- Scenario;
-- Categories;
Factors; and
-- Indicators.

In the hierarchy of environmental components, the first

two levels -- scenario and categories -- are of prime
importance compared with the other components as they reflect
the concerns of the political and administrative
decision-making organs.

These organs, by consultations and DELPHI techniques,

have to "weight" individual objectives while, at the levels of
the factors and indicators, it is the engineers and specialists
who determine the weightings of the selected indicators.

For the definition of the initial environmental status,

the basic information for the preparation of the thematic maps
was gathered during investigations carried out by the State
Railways.

Acting jointly, the specialists for each sector laid

down detailed qualitative scales for each indicator in the tree.

Lastly, a quality function was determined for each

indicator based on the dual comparison technique.

For each territorial unit a quality level could

therefore be assigned to all the indicators considered.

Using this method, the initial environmental status for

each component of the tree was determined as the product of the
individual indicator weighting and the value of the quality
function.

The final result was the production of sensitivity maps

showing graphically the initial environmental status considered
in aggregate or for the individual components of the tree.

A second result of the impact study was that it produced

an overall picture of the corridor affected by the high-speed
line.

The aim of the study was to pinpoint those areas most

sensitive to the implementation of a major infrastructure
development like the high-speed rail project.

The work paved the way to defining a possible route

compatible with the environment and facilitated rapid progress
in preparing the preliminary project.

The same method was used to devise possible improvements

73
with regard to avoidable impacts in the interests of producing
a project plan compatible with the affected environmental
system.

CASE STUDY No. 2

PROJECT FOR MOTORWAY LINK

BETWEEN AOSTA AND THE MONT- BLANC TUNNEL

TITLE OF PROJECT: Project for Aosta-Mont-Blanc

motorway link

PROJECT TYPE: Motorway project affecting an

area of special vulnerability
with regard to the natural
ecological environment and the
countryside

CHARACTERISTICS OF PROJECT: 37 km long 4-lane motorway link

(with 2 lanes in each direction).

PROJECT PROPOSED BY: Societa Autostrade S.p.A.. IRI

Group. acting for the Valle
d 'Aosta Autonomous Region

AUTHORITIES RESPONSIBLE: Ministry of Public Works. ANAS

(Azienda Nazionale Autonoma delle
Strade) .
Ministry of the Environment, and
Valle d' Aosta Autonomous Region.

5.1. Evaluation procedures

The environmental impact study on the projected motorway

link between Aosta and the Mont-Blanc tunnel is at present by
far the most complete impact study covering the essential
planning considerations: the decision-making process. the
level of technical treatment and the integration of the project
with land and urban planning programmes.

The most interesting aspect of the study is the

decision-making process, which encompasses the procedures for
approving the motorway project at the level of the Valle
d' Aosta Autonomous Region.

The impact study has been an organic part of the

administrative authorisation procedure set up by the regional
authorities, which have exercised their local powers under
Regional Law No 196/1978 and DPR 616/1977.

74
 With regard to the regulatory framework, the study was
set up before promulgation of the Environment Ministry's
administrative Law No 349/1986. Section 6 of which has. as
mentioned above, provided an. albeit summary, definition of
environmental impact study, explicitly assigning to it the role
of an instrument for evaluating the degree of environmental
compatibility of a project and determining the measures
necessary to improve it.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the

compatibility issue both by measuring the degree of
compatibility of the original project and by assessing how this
could be increased by making improvements.

The impacts. placed in their internal hierarchical

relationship, thus provided the input into research on measures
for their alleviation.

In a somewhat innovative way. the environmental impact

study on the Valle d' Aosta motorway succeeded in coping with
the complex problem of public participation in the
decision-making process and did so by pursuing two courses of
action.

The first entailed considering the "interests",

including the environmental interests, of the competent parties
representing occasionally conflicting views, and the second was
to make the results of the study available to the local
population in order to increase public awareness of the problem.

The "competent" parties referred to were the regional

authority, which had several times expressed itself in favour
of the project with the support of its technical departments,
which had laid down conditions and constraints: the communes,
which had also expressed their generally favourable views,
notwithstanding the conditions they also expressed; and the
environmental associations of national and local character,
which held more radical and opposing views either against the
project as a whole and/or against the individual routes
selected.

The regional authority broadened its considerations,

albeit implicity. to the interests of the entire regional
community, with particular emphasis on economic activities.
Conflicting interests obviously arise here, both between and
within individual business sectors.

This is illustrated by the case of tourism. the

promoters of which are obviously keen to improve the
accessibility and quality of life in tourist areas which now
suffer greatly from heavy traffic passing along the single road
through the upper valley and mixing with tourist and local
traffic. But there is also the worry that the image of the
upper valley may be harmed by the presence of the new highway
which, directly or indirectly, will affect the environment.

75
Similarly, business activities as a whole will, no doubt,
benefit from the new motorway, but they must also suffer the
consequences of the inevitable shift in the traffic flow.
Again, there are farming activities and landowners' interests
in general to be considered. This is a very important problem,"
given the scarcity of level, readily accessible land with a
good infrastructure.

The economic interests were, of course, taken into

account in the positions adopted by the regional authority and
the communes, and when the balance was struck in the

environmental study of the project, these were set against the

"ecological" arguments advanced by the environmental
associations .

With regard to the duration of the approval procedure,

the outcome of the experiment proved favourable. The study
itself took about six months, and the regional approval
procedure took about three months including the consultation
phase encompassing the impact study, the proposer of the
project and the regional administration. The approval
procedure at central government level and, therefore, the final
processes authorising implementation of the infrastructure
project are now in hand.

5.2. Methodology

The method outlined here was devised for the analysis of

the Aosta-Mont-Blanc motorway project within the framework of
the environmental impact study commissioned by the Valle
d'Aosta Autonomous Region (1).

The study of the project proposals called for an

evaluation of the total effects produced by the alternative
routes in terms of their socioeconomic repercussions and their
influence on transport variables (congestion times and costs).

The evaluation of the effects encompassed both the

construction and operational phases of the infrastructure
development.

In its application, the method involved analysing the

project in discrete values relating to 100 m segments of the
motorway route.

The operating phases of the methodology were defined as

follows :

1. The environmental impact study was carried out by

Societa BONIFICA and the final project was prepared by
Societa SPEA, both of which companies belong to the
IRI-ITALSTAT Group.

76
 a) Establishment of a hierarchy of objectives aimed at
impact minimisation;

b) Determination of the criteria to be used for

evaluating impact levels;

c) Establishment of an evaluative matrix, impact

functions related to "terminal" criteria and
assignment of criterion weightings;

d) Analytical calculation of the impacts using the

multicriterion technique.

The general aim of phase (a) of the process is to

minimise the impact of the infrastructures on the natural and
human environment.

This objective was broken down into specific subordinate

objectives arranged in a hierarchically structured tree.

In determining the objectives, attention was paid to the

vulnerability of the natural and human environment in the area
affected by the project and exposed to its effects, and account
was taken of the views expressed by the experts, the regional
and local administrative bodies and the environmental groups.

Phase (b) involved determining the criteria linked to

the various objectives (the leaves of the hierarchical tree) in
order to define the levels of impact caused by the interactions
between project and environment.

The identification and relative rakings of the impact

components were decided by the sectoral experts.

The levels, graded from zero (no impact) up to 6 on a

rising scale of integers, were applied to each criterion
relevant to the specific aim of minimising the loss of animal
habitat.

Stage (c) covers the mathematical procedures

constituting multicriterion analysis.

Multicriterion analysis was used to construct the

evaluative matrix in which the thresholds represent the project
segments (100 m on a 1:4000 scale) while the columns represent
the evaluative criteria for these segments. This phase of the
operation was entrusted to the experts.

The next step was the determination of the impact

functions, the 0-1 limit values of which stand for the
conditions of minimum and maximum impact. Within this range,
the function assumes discrete values according to a scale of
ratios or graduations corresponding to equal differences in
impact measurement.

77
 Finally, each criterion was weighted using the dual
comparison rating technique.

The weighting operation is of crucial importance in the

impact evaluation and must therefore be decided by direct
consultation with those participating in the decision-making
process.

The technical participants or "sectoral experts" assign

the weightings to the lower levels of the hierarchy (in this
particular case levels 4 and 5 of the tree), while the
institutional bodies, administrative authorities and public
groups assign weightings to the "strategip" criteria
represented by the objectives at the upper levels of the
hierarchy.

Where the analysis gives rise to disagreements, the

opinions of the parties concerned are compared in joint debates
aimed at assessing the differences of view and arriving at
possible accommodations entailing the separation of substantive
disagreements (requiring remedy at scenario level) from those
which are not significant.

The method is rounded off by phase (d) in which the

impacts are calculated by applying a multiattribute value
theory model (Keeney-Raif f a MAVT model) of additive type using
the compensating techniques appropriate to the problem (and
stated in the preliminary methodology) . The compensating
method was chosen in response to the views of those concerned,
who recognised that the criteria were capable of compensation
and all carried the same sign (i.e. were due to negative
impacts) .

The model may therefore be written:

V = Ii pj vi

in which V represents the impact function of a given criterion

at any level in the hierarchy, and vi and pi are,
respectively. the impact and weighting functions directly
assigned to the criterion in question.

The evaluation process ends with the determination of

the impact functions linked to each criterion, and this enables
the individual project segments to be evaluated in terms of all
the identified criteria.

The detailed analysis of the impacts and their

evaluation, divided into two scenarios A and B, is described in
depth ih the impact study prepared by Societa Bonifica. The
results of the analysis pinpointed the most significant impacts
of the project and the segments of route giving rise to the
most serious impacts within each area.

78
 On the basis of these evaluations, the proposer of the
project, using the results of the study and bearing in mind the
nature of the impacts as well as technical and economic
considerations, established suitable measures for reducing the
environmental impact either by modifying the motorway route or
taking steps to protect and safeguard the environment.

6. CONCLUSIONS

By analysing the environmental impact studies carried

out nationally, it is possible to identify the problems posed
by environmental evaluatign in relation to transport planning.

The first need is to integrate the engineering scheme

with the planning process at the different geographical levels
(regional and local) in order to recognise the environmental
implications to be considered as the project proceeds.

In the particular case of infrastructures for the

different sectors of national transport planning, i.e. the road
system, the State Railways, airports and harbours, the desired
objective is that explicit consideration of the environment
should form part of the decision-making and authorisation
process.

It follows that the processes for approving transport

projects should have regard to the environmental component so
that the issue of environmental compatibility can be taken into
account already at the project planning stage.

The second concern relates to the choice of methodology

and to the scope of the impact studies, and this is strictly
linked to the stage of the project: general planning,
preliminary project or final project. In the preliminary
studies associated with projects at the early stage it is
possible to locate the preferred "corridors" which are most
compatible with the environment so that the proposed operations
can be integrated into the geographical planning of the
transport system. However, in undertaking the procedures for
evaluating environmental impact, the principal is required by
present regulations to base his impact study on the final
project for the infrastructure development. With regard to
methodology, the expedience gained in environmental impact
studies at national level tends to confirm the application of
weighting techniques and' mult jcr iterion analysis both for
evaluating the impacts and for catering for opposing interests
in the decision-making and authorisation process.

The third consideration gpncerns the need for ex-post

project evaluation for the purposes of monitoring the
environment and building up territory-related environmental
data systems.

79
 Finally, analysis of the impact studies on transport
infrastructures at national level encourages a dynamic approach
to methodological and practical research which is constantly
improving the scope and results of environmental evaluations.

In the legal and administrative field, the work of

evaluating environmental impacts is being conducted with great
commitment by the institutional bodies concerned.

Thanks to the interest in these problems displayed by

the scientific and administrative worlds, it will be possible
to enhance the level of the planning and project development
processes applied to transport infrastructures and so
contribute to the overall purpose of improving the quality of
the environment.

80
 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

a) NATIONAL LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS

Law No 319 of 10th May 1976

on the protection of water resources.

Law No 431 of 8th August 1985

on the protection of areas of special environmental
interest.

Law No 349 of 8th July 1986

introduced by the Ministry of the Environment, and
regulations on damage to the environment.

Decree No 177 of 8th May 1987

on urgent measures to protect the environment.

Directive on the technical scope of environmental

impact studies relating to major roads -- July 1987.

Ministry of the Environment

Proposed Decree of the Council of Ministers (DPCM) --
December 1987.

Procedure for rulings on environmental compatibility

(under Section 6 of Law No 349 of 8th July 1986).

b) SPECIALISED PUBLICATIONS

Proceedings of meeting: Studies on the evaluation of

the environmental impact of transport
infrastructures, organised by Soc. Bonifica under the
sponsorship of the Ministry of the Environment. Rome.
10-11 December 1986.

La valutazione di impatto ambientale nella

pianif icazione territoriale (Environmental impact
evaluation in town and country planning).
Alberto Lacava .

81
Multidisciplinarita e gestione degli studi di impatto
ambientale (The multidisciplinary character and
conduct of environmental impact studies).
Claudio Cipollini.

V.I. A. e porti: le prime esperienze ed alcuni casi

di studio (Environmental impact evaluations and
ports: the initial experiences and some case
studies). Alberto Sica.

V.I. A. e viabilita: un caso di studio del Ministero

dell 'Ambiente. II potenziamento dell ' attraversamento

viario tra Bologna e Firenze (Environmental impact
study and the road system: a case study by the
Ministry of the Environment. Development of the road
link between Bologna and Florence), Elvidio Lugia
Palmieri .

Gli studi specialistici della V.I. A.: metodi e

tecniche (The specialised study of environmental
impact evaluation: methods and techniques), Costanza
Pera.

Gli studi V.I. A. per le inf rastrutture di trasporto:

metodi e prime esperienze (Studies on the
environmental impact evaluation of transport
infrastructures: methods and initial experiences),
Francesco Karrer.

Un ipotesi di metodo per gli studi di impatto;

l'analisi multicr iter ia (A proposed method for impact
studies; multicriterion analysis), Alessandro
Giangrande.

Alberti, M. and Sorlini, C: Impatto ambientale

nella pianif icazione territoriali (Environmental
impact in town and country planning). Franco Angeli,
Milan, 1985.

Basile, G. : Ambienti lacustri, quesiti per la

valutazione di impatto nelle operazioni di drenaggio
(Lake environments: problems of impact evaluation in
drainage operations), published in Ambiente. Risorse
e Salute, N° 31, 1984.

Bettini, V., Falqui, E. and Alberti, M. : II V.I. A.

(Environmental impact evaluation). Clup-cluber,
Milan, 1984.

Boca, D. and Oneto. G.: Analisi paessaggistica :

manuale per la preparazione dei piani previsti dalla
Legge Galasso (Environmental analysis: handbook for
the preparation of plans under the Galasso
legislation), Pirola Editore, Milan, 1986.

82
Bresso. M. . Russo. R. and Zeppetella. A.: Analisi
dei progetti e V.I. A. Aspetti economico-territoriali
(Project analysis and environmental impact
evaluation. Economic and territorial issues).
Franco Angeli. Milan. 1985.

Bresso. M. : Economia e ambiente negli anni novanta

verso la seconda generazione di politiche arobientali
(Economics and the environment in the nineties
leading to the second generation of environment
policies), published in Economia e Ambiente. Nos.
1-2. 1985.

Bruschi. S. and Gisotti. G. : Valutazione

dell' impatto ambientale: proposte metodologiche ed
esempi di metodi (Evaluation of environmental
impact: methodological suggestions and examples of
methods). Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato.
Rome. 1982.

Malatini. S. and Pinchera G.C.: Gli indicatori

ambientali: un confronto tra le tendenze
internazionali (Environmental indicators: a
comparison between international trends). ENEA. Rome.
1986.

Postiglione. A.: Le valutazioni di impatto e i

problemi del controllo pubblico (Impact evaluation
and the problems of public control), published in
Ambiente. Risorse e Salute. No 36. 1985.

83
DIAGRAMS AND MAPS

85
 I. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY ON THE AOSTA

"MONT BLANC MOTORWAY PROJECT"

Figure 1: Table summarizing main predictable types of

potential impact evaluation at commune level.

Figures 4a. 4b and 4c: Hierarchy of objectives.

II. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY

"ROME-NAPLES HIGH-SPEED RAIL LINK"

Figure 3: Layout of the high-speed rail network.

Figure 4: Corridor arrangement for modal transport system.

Figure 5: General procedure for the study of environmental

impact.

Figure 6: Tree of environmental components.

86
 Figure 1

Country¬
Atmos.
Hydro¬ Agri¬ Vege¬ side- Noise
Km Geology Fauna pollution Land Geograph. ref.
logy culture tation cultural pollution
assets

0-1 4 4 3 2 4
La Palud Entreves
1-2 2 2 4 3 3 2 4

2-3 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 Val Veny

3-4 1 1 3

4-5 1 Gall, di Dolonne

5-6 1

6-7 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 lalla

7-8 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 2 Verrand

8-9 2
Gall. Pre St.-Didier
9-10

10-11 2 2 1 3 3
Zona Montbardon
11-12 1 2 2 2 2 1 3

12-13

13-14 1 3 4 2 4 3 2 4

14-15 1 3 4 3 4 3 3 3 4 Zona di Morgex (barr.)

15-16 1 3 4 3 4 3 3 3 2

16-17 1 2 1 2 1 1 2
Echarlod Gall, di
17-18
Villaret
18-19

19-20 1 2 1 3 1 3 1 V. Champ
20-21 Equiliv.
21-22 1 4 1 2 1 Vertosan

22-23 G. Avisa

23-24 1 2 1 1 1 1 3 4 V. Avisa

24-25 Leverog.
25-26 1 3 2 1 1 2 4 Valgria
26-27 3 Arvier

27-28 3 1 2 3
Champag. Bavara
28-29 1 3 1 1 2 2 3 4

29-30
Gall, di Villen.
30-31

31-32 3 5 1 3 3 2 3 2
Aosta Overst
32-33 2 5 1 3 3 2 3

33-34 1 Cretes

34-35 4 Sarre

Impact levels

Geology Hydrology Agriculture

1 = not serious 1 = not serious or Impact levels rated 1- on rising
2 = serious poss. serious scale
2 = serious
3 = very serious

Vegetation Fauna Countryside

1 = indirect deterioration or destruction 1 = slight 1 = slight
2 = serious indirect destruction or fire 2 = significant 2 = serious
hazard 3 = moderate 3 = very serious
3 = direct destruction 4 = severe

Noise pollution Atmospheric pollution Land

1 = not serious 1 = poss. serious for vegetation 1 = slight
2 = serious 2 = poss. serious for health 2 = moderate
3 = very serious 3 = serious for health 3 = significant
4 = high

This table summarises in parametric form the impact levels identified by the specialists on the basis of the knowledge
acquired in establishing the initial environmental status and interpreting the interactions of the project and the
environment.
In the evaluation process these data were considered relevant to the choice of the areas to which the various levels of
action should be applied in order to eliminate or lessen the impact on the environment.

87
 Figure 2a

CNE

Minimising the impact

on the natural and
aesthetic/cultural
environment

ii

PAE ECO
Minimising the impact Minimise impact
on. the perceptible on ecological
natural and / or factors
historico-cultural
features of the

countryside
1 i A

co
PA1 PA2 GEC) PED IDR FLO FAU
co
Minimise changes Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise
to the natural changes to risk of impact on impact impact on impact on
and human sites or destabil the soil on water flora fauna
structures of artefacts of ising
the countryside natural or slopes
considered in historico-
relation lo the cultural
broad features interest
of the area

PE1 PE2 ID1 ID2 ID3 FL1 FL2 FL3 FA1 FA2 FA3
Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise
risk of risk of risk of risk of risk of loss of degrada risk of loss of distur risk of
surface soil polluting disturbing physico- areas tion of forest animal bance deaths
erosion pollution and/or surface chemina! covered flora fires habitats due to caused
of soil disturbing water deteriora with due to noise and by traffic
ground system tion of natural pollution visuel
water surface vegeta impact
system water tion

system
 Figure 2b

CSE

Minimising the
impact on the
socioeconomic
environment

I
INO TER RIS

Safeguarding Minimising Minimise loss of

the mental and the impact on the natural resources

physical health physical structures used or usable

of the resident and activities for economic and

of the area social purposes
population

I I
GO

_.

INI IN2 AGR TE1 TE2 TE3 TE4 R11 R12 R13 R14

Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise Minimise

the the the impact on the impact the impact inter¬ consump¬ loss of impact impact
atmos noise impact established on public on tourist ference tion mineral on areas on

pheric settlements facilities and similar of land suitable protected

pollution on areas with water

pollution of the with permanent outside facilities with for animal

of agri¬ service sources

of the inhabited cultural housing and the urban (physical and recreation
networks potential reserves

inhabited public areas context toss, for in the and

areas produc¬ (reduced water

areas tion (socioeconomic (physical economic capacity) farming supply natural hunting
damage) loss, and areas environ¬ and
reduced ment
forestry fishing
enjoyment) areas

AG1 AG2

Minimise the drop in Minimise damage

productivity and/or to farm production
operability due to pollution
due to loss of

farming or
forest land
 Figure 2c

VPP

Minimising conflicts
with planning, programmes
and constraints

URB VIN

Minimising conflicts Minimising conflicts with

with the land uses the environmental and

prescribed by the countryside requirements

O
town planners laid down (at national,
regional and commune level)

I E

UR1 UR2 UR3 UR4 URS V11 V12

Minimise the Minimise the Minimise the Minimise the Minimise Minimise Minimise

impact on areas impact on areas impact on areas impact on areas interference conflicts conflicts

allocated to allocated to allocated to allocated to with planned with the with the

dwellings public facilities tourist and road works constraints needs of

industry and
and services small businesses outside the similar facilities imposed by hydrogeology
(socioeconomic (physical loss, urban context (physical loss, the protection
damage) economic (physical toss. socioeconomic of sites of

damage) social damage) damage) natural beauty

Figure 3

91
 Figure 4

FIRENZE

ROME-NAPLES LINK

to

' Present line

High-speed line
NAPOLI

Motorway
 Figure 5

Establishment of
territorial data bank

Preliminary Objective :.
compatibility study choice of corridor on
Phase 1 1 : 1 00 000 scale
Thematic maps :
1 : 100 000 - phase 1 study
1 : 25 000 - phase 2 study
1 : 10 000 - study of urban segments

Objectives :
A - choice of route
Detailed environmental
8 - definition of micro
impact study
corrections
Phase 2
Scales used: 1:25 000
1: 10 000

Application of thematic maps

based on data banks

Determination of
Preparation of
environmental
sensitivity levels
for each relevant
scenario tree
environmental indicator

Definition of the sensitivity of the

area (initial environmental status)

Definition of the theoretical impacts

Calculation of the impacts for each

simulated project solution

Definition of the final environmental

status for each simulated project solution

Selection of the solution

with the lowest impact

Extrapolation of the changes in environmental

quality arising from the preselected solution
for each environmental indicator considered

Projection of possible corrective measures

for avoidable and unavoidable impacts

FINAL PROJECT

93
 Figure 6

TREE OF ENVIRONMENTAL COMPONENTS

ENVIRONMENT

.'Aesthetic-/
Socioeconomic
Hydrogeomorphology Ecology cultural
considerations
considerations

Pollution Pollution Allocation

Hydrology Geomechanics Morphology Biology Countryside
of habitat conditions of land
 SWITZERLAND

C. HIDBER

Institut fiir Verkehrsplanung

Transporttechnick. Strassen -und Eisenbahnbau, IVT
Zurich
 SUMMARY

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPATIBILITY ASSESSMENT (ECA)

IN SWITZERLAND 97

1 . FUNDAMENTALS 97

2. LEGAL BASIS AND LIMIT VALUES 98

3 . PROJECTS SUBJECT TO MANDATORY ECA 101

3.1. Road transport and standard procedure 102

3.2. Rail transport and standard procedure 103
3.3. Navigation and standard procedure 103
3.4. Air transport 104

4 . METHODOLOGY 104

4.1. Methodological approach 104

5 . THE ECA PROCEDURE 109

6. CONCLUSIONS 110

BIBLIOGRAPHY 112

Zurich, June 1988

96
 ENVIRONMENTAL COMPATIBILITY ASSESSMENT (ECA) IN SWITZERLAND

FUNDAMENTALS

In Switzerland, as elsewhere. elements of the

environment suffer severe damage and pollution in the march of
civilisation. The burden on the environment grew with
particular speed in 1960-1980, and the government has now
instituted wide-ranging measures aimed at reducing
environmental pollution to the level which prevailed between
1950 and 1960. These measures include environmental
compatibility assessment (ECA), which is now mandatory for
major undertakings (cf. Chapter 2). The purpose of this
assessment is to provide an early survey of the predictable
effects of projects liable to impose a serious burden on the
environment. The object is to reduce such effects to a
tolerable level.

The Swiss measures have been greatly influenced by the

development of ECA in the USA and some European countries
(notably the Netherlands) [1]. In contrast to the US National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) , which extends the scope of ECA
not merely to physical structures but also to legislation,
government regulations and the like, ECA in Switzerland is
solely confined to officially licensed and other private
projects. The projects in guestion belong to the following
sectors:

-- Transport (roads, railways, airports etc.);

-- Energy (thermal power stations, hydroelectric power

stations, refineries);

-- Industry (metalworking, chemical industry, food

production, etc.);

-- Hydraulic engineering (extraction from water bodies);

-- National defence (weapons research and troop training

areas, etc. ) ;

-- Disposal (dumps, incineration plants, etc.);

-- Sport and tourism (aerial cableways. etc.);

Miscellaneous (raw materials extraction. shopping

centres, etc. ) .

97
 Attention below is centred on the transport sector.

LEGAL BASIS AND LIMIT VALUES

The main basis for ECA is provided by the Federal

Environmental Protection Act, which has been in force since
7th October 1983 [2]. Although ECA is already quite
extensively defined in the Environmental Protection Act,
special regulations are required to give the arrangements a
more concrete form [3. 4]. For the time being, these
regulations exist only in draft form, side by side with the
1986 explanatory report. However, by a judgement given on
22nd January 1986, the Federal Court has ruled that the
Environmental Protection Act is to be applied in principle even
if the relevant regulations are only available in draft or as
yet inexistent. Section 9 of the Environmental Protection Act
dealing with ECA reads as follows:

Section 9: "Before an authority decides as to the planning,

implementation or modification of projects liable
to have a serious effect on the environment, it
shall examine their environmental compatibility.
These projects shall be designated by the Federal
Council .

The environmental compatibility assessment shall

be based on a report prepared for the authority in
accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the
environmental protection agencies. This report
shall cover the following points:

a) The initial environmental status;

b) The project, including the proposed measures

for protecting the environment and handling
catastrophic events;

c) The predicted residual environmental pollution;

d) Measures conducive to a further reduction of

environmental pollution and the associated
costs .

The applicant, irrespective of whether in the private or

public sector, is responsible for commissioning the report.

In the case of public sector and licensed private sector

projects, the report shall also state the grounds justifying
the scheme.

The environmental protection agencies shall assess the

reports and recommend to the decision-making authority the
measures to be taken.

98
 The competent authority may call for information or
additional clarification. If expert reports are required, the
authority shall allow the interested parties to comment prior
to the appointment of the experts.

In the assessment of refineries, aluminium smelters,

thermal power stations. large cooling towers, dumps for
hazardous wastes and any other plants designated by the Federal
Council, the authority shall also take cognizance of the views
of the Federal Environmental Protection Department.

The report and the results of the environmental

compatibility assessment shall be freely accessible to all
unless overriding private or public interests demand
confidentiality. Commercial and industrial secrets shall be
safeguarded in every case."

Remarks :

The above statutory instrument lays down the basic

structure of the ECA report, thus ensuring a measure of
comparability between different projects.

Point (b) also covers the prevention of catastrophes.

This is an issue which has since gained crucial importance in a
number of countries including Switzerland.

The ECA report is in every case commissioned not by the

supervisory authority but by the applicant. In most instances,
the applicant will call on expert specialists, for whom he is
responsible. Another special feature of the ECA report is that
it is. in principle, freely accessible to all.

Often highly important to the successful conduct of an

ECA relating to the transport and other sectors is compliance
with immission limits. The principal of these are:

Section 14: "Immission limits for air pollutants shall be set

in such a way that, according to the current state
of knowledge or experience, immissions below these
values do not:

a) Endanger humans, animals or plants, their

natural communities or habitats;

b) Seriously impair the welfare of the population;

c) Damage buildings;

d) Harm soil fertility, vegetation or water

bodies . "

99
 The following immission limits (simplified version
of [6]) have been laid down in compliance with this statutory
requirement:

Sulphur dioxide (SO2) 30 jttg/m3 Annual mean value

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) 30 ^g/m3 Annual mean value

Carbon monoxide (CO) 8 /u.g/m3 Mean 24 h value;

not to be exceeded

more than once a year

Ozone (03) 100 J4g/m3 98 % of the mean 1/2 h

values for a month

^ 100 fxq/m.

These immission limits are very low, lower in fact in

most cases than in any other European country. For instance,
the important nitrogen oxide (NOx) concentration is subject
to the following graduated limits in some industrialised
countries: 50 fiq/m. in the Netherlands, 60 ju.g/m3 in
Canada, 80 /tg/m3 Federal Republic of Germany and 100 g/m3
in the United States of America. A comparison shows that in
most countries the concentration is two to three times higher
than in Switzerland. Our country is consequently already
experiencing extreme difficulty in complying with these limit
values, and the effort encompasses not only measures affecting
building and behaviour (e.g. promotion of public transport) but
also necessitates stops to regulate or restrict traffic.

Section 15: "Immission limits for noise and vibration"

Immission limits for noise and vibration shall be

set in such a way that, according to the current

state of knowledge or experience, immissions below
these values do not seriously impair the welfare
of the population."

For all modes of transport (road, rail and regional

airports) a distinction is made when setting immission limits
between four levels of sensitivity [5]:

-- Sensitivity level I, applicable to areas where no

disturbing activities are allowed;

-- Sensitivity level II, applicable to areas where no

disturbing activities are allowed, specifically
residential areas and areas of public buildings and
facilities;

100
 -- Sensitivity level III. in areas where activities
causing moderate disturbance are allowed,
specifically residential. commercial (mixed) and
agricultural areas;

-- Sensitivity level IV, in areas where activities

causing major disturbance are allowed.

By way of example, the pollution limits for road traffic

noise are summarized below (Table 1). Apart from the immission
limit, compliance is also required with a "planning value" (for
new installations) and an alarm value demanding immediate
action.

Table 1

IMMISSION LIMITS FOR ROAD TRAFFIC

Sensitivity level Immission limit

Lr in dB (A)

Day Night

I 55 45

II 60 50

III 65 55

IV 70 60

3 . PROJECTS SUBJECT TO MANDATORY ECA

Since, firstly, environmental compatibility assessment

costs a not insignificant sum and, secondly, only those
projects are to be .covered which are liable to impose a
substantial burden on the environment. the Federal
Council (government) has incorporated in its ECA regulations a
full list of schemes which have to be scrutinised. It is

particularly interesting that certain projects have to be

evaluated more than once, i.e. in stages, as the planning and
project work proceeds. We give below a full list of transport
facilities subject to ECA. It should be pointed out that our
observations relate to the well-established 1986 draft [3],
which should receive its final form by the end of the year.

101
3.1. Road transport and standard procedure

NATIONAL HIGHWAYS (motorways)

Multi-stage ECA:

Stage 1: Decision on general route by the Federal

Council.,

Stage 2: Approval of general project by the Federal

Council .

Stage 3: Approval of detailed engineering project by

the Federal Transport and Energy Department.

MAIN ROADS, built with Federal assistance

Multi-stage ECA:

Stage 1: Preparation of general development projects

by the Federal Council.

Stage 2: Examination and approval of the engineering

projects by the Federal Transport and
Energy Department.

OTHER HEAVY DUTY AND ARTERIAL ROADS

Subject to cantonal regulations.

PARKING AREAS AND MULTI-STOREY CAR PARKS for over 500 vehicles

Building authorisation procedure.

TYPE-TESTING AND OTHER MOTOR VEHICLE TESTING FACILITIES

Building authorisation procedure.

102
3.2. Rail transport and standard procedure

RAILWAY LINES: Multi-stage ECA:

Swiss Federal Railways projects:

Stage 1: Preparation of the Federal Council's

proposal to the Federal Assembly for the
authorisation of the line.

Stage 2: Approval of the plans by the Federal

Transport and Energy Department.

Private railway projects

Stage 1: As for Swiss Federal Railways projects.

Stage 2: Approval of the plans by the supervisory

authority.

NETWORK FACILITIES Swiss Federal Railways and PTT projects

(e.g. : passenger
and goods stations. Approval of the plans by the Federal
marshalling yards. Transport and Energy Department.
loading yards
and maintenance Private railway projects
centres )
Approval of the plans by the supervisory
authority.

3.3. Navigation and standard procedure

HARBOUR FACILITIES Plan authorisation procedure,

for public navigation

COMMERCIAL DOCKS with Building approval procedure

permanently installed (in consultation with the Federal
loading and unloading Environmental Protection
facilities Department).

MARINAS with space for Building approval procedure

more than 100 boats (in consultation with the Federal
Environmental Protection

Department) .

103
 PROJECTS FOR MAKING Building approval procedure
STRETCHES OF RIVER (in consultation with the Federal
NAVIGABLE and costing Environmental Protection
over 5m SF Department).

3.4. Air transport

AIRPORTS used for Licensing procedure,

public transport

OTHER AIRPORTS Approval procedure. .

(airfields)

For the four transport -modes -- road, rail, water and

air -- a total of thirteen types of facility are listed above
which are subject to mandatory ECA when they are to be newly
built or substantially redeveloped. For each type of facility
the standard procedure is also indicated, which covers the
question of ECA as well as the overriding decision. The
implication of this is that the legislator was deliberately
unwilling to enact any additional administrative and
decision-making procedure for ECA as it was feared that this
would only make , the process of arriving at a decision still
more lengthy and cumbersome. Instead, one of the existing
procedures was deemed to be suitable for the inclusion of ECA
(cf. Section 4). Depending on circumstances, the plan
authorisation, building approval or licensing procedure, etc.,
as indicated in the tables, is applied.

The fact that ECA in most cases encroaches very deeply

into the areas of planning, project engineering and site
preparations is reflected in the multi-stage treatment applied
in the case of large-scale railway and road infrastructures,
where the environmental compatibility assessment has to be
reworked and refined in up to three stages according to the
level of detail.

4 . METHODOLOGY

4.1. Methodological approach

Many chains of cause and effect link a project to the

activities which it initiates. In principle, initial

104
consideration should embrace all these chains, but the demands
of economy of effort mean that detailed examination should be
confined to the important chains. It is for this reason that
ECA is divided into a preliminary and a major examination. The
Swiss Transport Engineers Association (Schweiz. Vereinigung fiir
Verkehrsingenieure-SVI) [7] recommends the following breakdown:

a) Preliminary examination

Objectives: Determination of incidence of environmental

impact;
Problem identification;
Basis for major, in-depth examination;
Determination of relevant boundary
conditions;
Working programme for the major examination.

b) Major examination

Objectives: Analysis of impacts (in the relevant areas).

Analysis of measures;
Sensitivity analysis;
Assessment;

Summary.

To arrive systematically at the important decisions in

the preliminary examination concerning the incidence of the
environmental impacts, an "incidence matrix" may prove very
useful. The severity of environmental impacts can be entered
into the following matrix (Table 2) using, say, a three- to
five- level rating system.

Another possibility for evaluating the environmental

impact of a project can be based on systematic conflict
category interrogation. The Swiss Transport Engineers
Association lists the following examples:

Loss and fragmentation of areas: are areas with a

high environmental quality encroached on or seriously
changed by the project and/or is free access impeded?

Pollution: are pollutants (exhaust gases, soot,

dust, grit or waste water) discharged?

Noise and/or vibration: is noise generated which is

deemed to constitute a serious disturbance in
sensitive areas?

Impact on visual quality: are prominent structures

(e.g. towers or high masts) erected or views
obstructed (e.g. by dams)?

105
 Table 2

FOR TRANSPORT PROJECTS, AN INCIDENCE MATRIX OF THIS KIND MIGHT TAKE THE FOLLOWING FORM

^~~~~~___^ Elements of the Air/ Noise/ Water Biosphere Ground Site Radiation Other
^~"^-^Env1 ronment climate vibration

Project ^^^^
activities ^^~--^^

1. Initial status

2. Erection

3. Operation

4. Ancillary activities

5. Supply/disposal,
transport

6. Possible further project

stages

7. Closure/shut down

8. Incidents/catastrophes

9. Other
 Table 2 (continued)

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE OF AN INCIDENCE MATRIX IS GIVEN BELOW FOR THE OFFICE, SCHOOL AND MULTI-STOREY CAR PARK COMPLEX OF THE BERN INSELSPITAL HOSPITAL.
THIS CLEARLY BRINGS OUT THE VARIOUS MAIN IMPACT AREAS [8].

OSP Complex Extent Air Ground Noise Haste Haste Refuse Urban Local Urban Care
water water heat climate life building of
monuments

OSP traffic Road traffic

trips/day

Staff 500
Patients/visitors 2 000
Total 2 500 1 3 1 3 3 3 3 2 3 3

Enerqy

Electricity (mains) 1 OBO KHh/a

Remote heat supply 550 KHh/a

Total 1 630 KHh/a 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3

O Other services

Mater consumption 7 500 m3/a 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3

Olsposal (waste wat.) 7 500 m3/a 3 3 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 3

Exhaust air 181 Mlo m3/a 1 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 2

Buildings

Sealing 100 X as before 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Civil engineering 40 000 m3 3 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Area exposed to wind 510 m2 HE 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3

Surface area/heat Paving, surfacing 3 3 2 3 3 3 2

reflection Concrete: 600m2

Green: 200 m2
Glass Metal: 350 m2
Elevated structures 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Catastrophic events

Fire 2 2 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 3

1. Impact severe or problematical, verify.

2. Probably moderate Impact, verify.
3. Relatively minor effects, no verification.
 Table 3

TRAFFIC FORECASTING AS AN ELEMENT IN

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPATIBILITY

(according to the SVI [7])

Projet subject to mandatory ECA Known traffic data and

principles

Initial status -- Transport network

Selection -- Settlement
Demarcation -- Mobility
Operating conditions -- Transport policy

Traffic forecast

Impact with Impact without

transport project transport project

I
basis for determining
the effects

I
Analysis of effects
Analysis of measures
Assessment

Report

108
 -- Ground sealing or drainage: does any extensive
ground sealing or drainage occur?

-- Topographical changes: is any change to the contour

of the land involved (e.g. extensive levelling,
excavations or embankments)?

--- Interference with waterways and banks: is it

intended to divert and/or block water courses or to

interfere with the associated vegetation?

-- Interference with groundwater flow: is the flow of

groundwater affected (by raising. lowering or
damming)?

-- Effect on climate: is the local climate seriously

affected (e.g. by barrier effects)?

In the major examination, the prime importance attaches

to the analysis of effects and measures. One of the most
important fundamental considerations in gauging many effects is
a forecast of the traffic to be carried when the project
facility goes into service. To determine the effects of
transport projects with maximum clarity it is useful to project
two scenarios -- one without the planned facility and the other
with it. The work then assumes the pattern shown in Table 3.

In the analysis, it is specially important to ensure

that attention is turned not only to the facility when it is in
operation but also to all the principal phases of construction,
where these have an effect on the environment.

THE ECA PROCEDURE

It has already been mentioned that the ECA procedure is

characterised by a number of special features not found
elsewhere:

-- The preparation of the ECA report (the assessment

report) has to be undertaken by the project principal
or the government department responsible for it. or
experts are to be commissioned to prepare it;

-- The decision-making authority is the body otherwise

responsible for authorisations and licensing. This
authority is, however, bound to take due note of the
environmental compatibility report and, more
particularly, of its assessment by the environmental
protection agencies. Where appropriate. the
principal is to be instructed to revise the project;

-- As an unprecedented measure, free public access to

the environmental compatibility report is to be
guaranteed;

109
 -- Under Section 55 of the Environmental Protection Act.
environmental protection organisations are entitled
to object to measures taken by the cantonal or
federal authorities in regard to the assessment of
environmental compatibility. These environmental
protection organisations must, however, have been
established for at least ten years before making the
objection. In addition, the organisations entitled
to object are designated by the Federal Council.

The sequence of the various steps in the process and

their optional and mandatory links are shown in Table 4.

CONCLUSIONS

There have so far been few cases in which environmental

compatibility assessment (ECA) has been pursued from start to
finish in accordance with the existing regulations. The first
aim is. therefore, to accumulate experience so that in due
course an operating procedure rooted in practice can be
evolved. It must also be realised that, by definition, the
assessment of environmental compatibility concerns only the
environmental component of projects. There are other important
areas in which proof is required of the projects' general
desirability and viability in practical economic terms. For
major public sector transport undertakings (at federal,
cantonal and local levels) it has. therefore, recently been
recommended that considerations of the economic desirability of
projects should be combined with the assessment of their
environmental compatibility in full compliance with all the
relevant ECA regulations.

110
 Table 4

GENERAL LAYOUT FOR THE ECA PROCEOURE (AS STATED BY THE FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DEPARTMENT)

PRINCIPAL'S PLAN AND

8UILDING PROJECT OBJECTION BY
ASSOCIATION

Treatment according to (under Section 55

ECA REGULATIONS Project subject to ECA -» standard authorisation Environmental

procedure Protection Act)

YES

Intervention by PREPARATION OF THE _Any_ relevant instructions OECISION

authorities (Incl. ECA REPORT (ECA AUTHORITY)

Environmental

Protection Agency)
Project principal etc. Coordination of

Official dept. ECA procedure

Information concerned with "ECA DECISION"

Consultation project Announcement of

Guidelines decision

EVALUATION OF THE
TIME OF ECA ECA REPORT

Existing approval Under the control of

procedures under the Environmental

federal law Protection Department

Single-stage/mult 1- Evaluation by the

stage/antlclpatory Env. Prot. Agencies
ECA Official review

Application for any of ECA documents

extra Information or

explanatory material

Application to the MONITORING, IF

ECA Authority REQUIRED
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Larmschutz und Raumplanung (Noise protection and spatial

planning) training course; summary of paper by
Gianella, V.P.. Diibendorf. 1986.

2. Federal Environmental Protection Act, 7th October 1983.

3. Regulations for the Assessment of Environmental

Compatibility (UVPV) , draft of May 1986.

4. Report on the draft regulations for the assessment of

environmental compatibility (UVPV), May 1986.

5. Noise Protection Regulations, 15th December 1986.

6. Air Pollution Regulations. 1st January 1987.

7. Bachmann. P., Gottardi. G.. Scherrer. H.U. :

Behelf fiir die Umweltvertraglichkeitsprtif ung von
Verkehrsanlagen (Guide to assessing the environmental
compatibility of transport undertakings), Schweiz.
Vereiningung fiir Verkehrsingenieure (SVI - Swiss
Transport Engineers Association), Research Project
No. 11/88 EVED. Bern, February 1988.

8. Bern Inselspital ' s office, school and parking complex,

NP-Arbeitsgemeinschaf t : Moor & Heiniger AG., Grolimund
und Petermann. Sulzer AG., Sieber Cassina + Partner and
Somazzi Hafliger Grunder, 1987.

112
SELECTIVE OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH CARRIED OUT

J.-M. BEAUVAIS

Beauvais Consultant

Paris

France
 SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION OF THE SELECTION 115

PUBLICATIONS IN GERMAN 116

References 1 to 33

PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH 122

References 34 to 65

PUBLICATIONS IN FRENCH 128

References 66 to 114

OECD AND ECMT PUBLICATIONS 136

References 115 to 131

Paris, August 1988

114
 INTRODUCTION OF THE SELECTION

The present selection of research studies carried out in

connection with "environmental considerations in the evaluation

of transport projects" is based on the documentation research

done by Mr. MULUMBA on behalf of Cabinet Beauvais.

The opportunity is taken to thank Mrs. COQUAND of ECMT

for the assistance given to Mr. MULUMBA, more particularly for
purposes of retrievals from the databank.

The term "environment" has been understood in quite a

broad sense since the selection covers noise, air pollution,
accidents causing casualties, and congestion.

The work was conducted in each of the three languages

used by ECMT for documentation: English, French and German.
For any given language, the references are set out in inverse
chronological order, i.e. beginning with the most recent.
There is a total of 131 references from the period 1970 to 1988.

The breakdown in terms of languages and subject matter

is more or less evenly balanced. Although the German
literature may lay slightly greater stress on pollution, the
French on noise and the English on accidents, there is a very
clear-cut convergence in terms of the matters of concern.

It is hoped that this publication will lead to further

exchanges between the teams in different countries and even
avoid certain costly duplication of effort owing to the fact
that the findings of others are not known.

115
 PUBLICATIONS IN GERMAN

1988

1. BACHMANN. P.. GOTTARDI . G.. SCHERRER. H.U..

-- Behelf fiir die Umweltvertraglichkeitsprufung von

Verkehr sanlagen.

-- Forschungsauf trag Nr . 11/88. EVED, Bern. Februar 1988.

1986

2. GRUPP. H..

-- Die sozialen Kosten des Verkehrs, Grundriss zur ihrer

Berechnung.

-- Verkehr und Technik -- Nr . 9-10, 1986, Karlsruhe.

1985

3. FRERICH. J..

-- Verkehrsinvestitionen und raumwirtschaf tliche

Entwicklung-zum Wandel verkehrspolitischen

Planungsstrategien (Bericht).

-- Berlin, 1985, 347-377.

1984

4. WILLEKE, R.

-- Die Sozialkosten des Verkerhs-last Oder Preis ?

-- Internationales Verkehrswesen, Jahrg 36, Nr. 1,

01-02-1984, pp. 15-19.

5. WILLEKE. R.,

-- Sozialkosten des Strassenverkehrs und das

Verursacherprinzip (Bericht).

-- Probleme der Ordnungs-und Strukturpolitik, 1984,

pp. 291-303.

116
 6. VAN SUNTUM. U. .

-- Methodische Probleme der volkswirtschaf tlichen

Bewertung von Verkehrsunf Mllen.

-- Zeitschrift fiir Verkehrswissenschaft, Jahrg 55.

Heft 3. 07-08-09-1984, pp. 153-167.

7. WILLEKE. R..

-- Soziale Kosten und Nutzen der Siedlungsballung und

des Ballungsverkehrs .

-- Frankfurt. 1984, p. 209

8. MAUCH, S.. 6TTERLI. J.,

-- Die Erfassung der sozialen Nutzen und Kosten des

Verkehrs als Instrument der Gesamtverkehrspolitik.

-- Jahrbuch der schweizerischen Verkehrswirtschaft,

1984. pp. 107-123.

9. KOCH. U.. MILDNER. R..

-- Folgewirkungsnanalyse bei
OEPNV -- Investitionen-Beispiel-Untersuchung der
Stadtbahnstrecke a in Hannover.

-- Nahverkehr (Der), Jahrg 2, Nr . 3, 05-06-1984,

pp. 16-23.

10. KLAASSEN, L.,

-- Der Beitrag des offentlichen Verkehrs zur

gesellschaf tlichen Wohlfahrt.

-- Probleme der Ordnungs-und Strukturpolitik, 1984,

pp. 154-174.

1983

11. SCHNELL, F.,

-- Main-Donau-Kanal : wie die Bundesregierung den

Weiterbaubegriindet.

-- Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung. Band 37, Nr . 17.

10-02-1983. p. 3.

117
1982

12. HEMMER, H.R..

-- Kosten-Nutzen-Betrachtungen bei Planung und Betrieb

von HSfen (Rapport).

-- Hannover, 1982, pp. 248-258.

13. GULLER. P..

-- Verkehr und Raum : fiir eine erweiterte

Betrachtungsweise der Interaktionen.

-- Erf olgskontrolle raumwirksamer Politikbereiche. 1982,

pp. 285-295.

14. GLUCK. K., KRASSER. G.. KOPPEN, G.F..

-- Bewertung von Abgasimmissionen des Strassenverkehrs .

-- Bonn. 1982. p. 63.

15. BAUER. H.. GEHMACHER. E..

-- Kritische Anmerkungen zum Strassengiiterverkehr in

Osterreich.

-- Internationales Verkehrswesen, Band 34, Nr . 3,

05-06-1982. pp. 171-178.

1981

16. SPD KOMMISSION

-- SPD--Kommission : LKW -- Verkehr auf die Schiene

verlagern.

-- Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung, Band 36, Nr 80,

07-07-1981, p. 1.

17. STOLZ, M. .

-- Die Beriicksichtigung von Umzelteinf liissen in den

verschiedenen Planungsstadien.

-- Forschung Strassenbau und Strassenverkehrstechnik,

Nr. 352, 1981, pp. 7-20.

118
 18. WITTE. H..

Zur Verkniipfung von monetSren und nichtmonetSren

Werten bei Kosten-Nutzen-Analysen von
Verkehrsinvestitionen.

Schweizerische Zeitschrift fiir Verhehrswirtschaf t.

Band 36. Nr. 2. 08-1981. pp. 23-27.

19. BERTSCHI. H. .

Das Postulat "Eigenwirtschaf tlichkeit" im

schweizerischen Guterverkehr.

-- Schweizerische Zeitschrift fiir Verkehrswirtschaft.

Band 36. Nr. 3. 09-1981. pp. 3-9.

20. MAGER. N.,

-- Kraf tf ahrzeug und Umwelt-auch ein okonomisches

Problem.

Schriftenreihe des Verbandes der Automobilindustrie,

Nr. 35. 1981, 80 p.

21. PLANCO--CONSULTING GMBH

-- Nutzen-Kosten-Untersuchung Main-Donau-Kanal
Ntirnberg-Kehlheim.

-- Bonn, 1981, 32 p.

1980

22. HILL, M..

-- Verzicht von heute verbaut Strassen fiir morgen.

Handelsblatt. Band 35. Nr . 38. 22-23-02-1980, 18 p.

23. BURKHARDT, M. .

-- Die gesellschaf tlichen Kosten des Autoverkehrs .

BBU + UWI Bundschuh Verlag. Freiburg. 1980, 135 p.

24. NEUMANN, R. .

-- Grundlagen und Strategien zur Verminderung und

Vermeidung verkehrsbedingter Umweltschaden in
Ballungsgebieten.

-- Verkehrssysteme im Wander. 1980. pp. 277-300.

119
 25. GLUCK. K.. KRASSER. G. .

Wichtung von Umweltkriterien Teil 1 : Auswertung

und Weiterentwicklung vorhandener Quantif izierungs-,
Normierungs-und Wichtungsansatze (Report).

-- Forschung Strassenbau und Strassenverkehrstechnik.

Nr 299. Bonn. 1980. pp. 1-56.

1979

26. HIDBER. G.. ABAY, G..

-- Gemeinsame Ansatze und Richtwerte fiir die

Kostennutzenanalyse und Nutzwertanalyse in der

Nationalstrassen-iiberpriifung.

-- Zurich, 10-1979, p. 40

27. FRERICH. J.. METZNER. G. .

-- Ermittlung von Sicherheitsnutzen aus Projekten des

Fernstrassenbaus im Rahmen der Fortschreibung des
Bundesverkehrswegeprogramms (06/78. Report).

-- Bonn. 04-1979. p. 687.

.978

28. MUGGE. W..

-- Die Wirtschaf tliche Gewichtung von Unfallfolgen im

Strassenverkehr .

-- Internationales Verkehrswesen, Jahrg. 30, Heft 5,

9-10-1978, pp. 304-307.

29. KRELL. K..

-- Umweltgerechte Strassenplanung.

-- Strasse und Autobahn. 11-1978, pp. 489-498.

30. HORSMANN. W. , ILGMANN. G. ,

-- Zur Monetarisierung von Wirksamkeiten im Rahmen von

Kostenwirksamkeitsanalysen.

-- Zeitschrift fiir Verkehrswissenschaft, 01-1978,

pp. 55-64.

120
1975

31. BALLMER, R..

-- Versuch einer Erfassung der

Strassenverkehrsunf all-f olgekosten fiir die Schweiz
1972.

-- Berne. 1975, 224 p.

1973

32. WITTMANN, W. . BULTE. U. .

-- Die sozialen Kosten des Automobils in der Schweiz.

-- Fribourg, 1973. p. 139.

1972

33. KENTNER. W. ,

-- Die Verkehrssicherheit als wirtschaf tliche

Planungsgrosse.

-- Strasse und Autobahn, Jahrg 23, Nr. 12, 1972,

pp. 642-647.

121
 PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH

1985

34. BARAT, J..

-- Integrated metropolitan transport. Reconciling

efficiency, equity and environmental improvement.

-- Third World Plan R. , vol. 7, No. 3, 1985, pp. 241-261.

35. HALL. P.. HASS-KLAU, C. .

-- Can rail save the city? The impacts of rail rapid

transit and pedestrianisation on British and German
cities .

-- Aldershot, England: Gower. 1985. p. 241.

36. ANDERSSON. R. .

-- A Bridge to Faaroe: a cost-benefit analysis.

-- Journal of Advanced Transportation, vol. 19, No. 3,

1985, pp. 251-269.

1984

37. PLOWDEN. S., HILLMANN. M. .

-- Danger on the road: the needless scourge (Report No.

627).

-- London. May 1984. p. 239.

38. LEREIM. I..

-- Traffic accidents and their consequences: a study on

injured road users treated at the regional hospital
of Trondheim.

-- Trondheim. 1984. p. 249.

122
 39. DODGSON. J..

Benefit-cost analysis and the construction and

financing of tail-highway grade separation.

-- Transportation Research. Part A. vol. 18A. No. 5-6.

October 1984. pp. 367-377.

1983

40. WHITELEGG. J..

-- Road safety: defeat, complicity and the bankruptcy

of science.

-- Accident Analysis and Prevention, vol. 15, No. 2,

April 1983. pp. 153-160.

41. KLAASSEN. L..

-- Social well-being and public transport (International

Conference. Noordwijk. 12-15 April 1983).

-- The Hague. 1983. pp. 35-43.

42. KOSHI. M. . MIYAZAKI. M. . MORICHI. S.. et al..

-- Japanese national policy towards the automobile.

-- Transport Review. vol. 3, No. 1, January 1983.

pp. 1-33.

43. KANAFANI. A..

-- The social costs of road transport.

-- Paris. OECD. June 1983. 68 p.

1982

44. SILCOCK. D..

-- Traffic accidents: procedures adopted in various

countries for estimating the costs of valuing their
prevention.

-- Transport Review. vol. 2. No. 1. March 1982.

pp. 79-106

123
 45. BEE. C. SARGIOUS. M. .

The impact of changes in an urban transportation

system on the community.

Logistics and Transportation Review. March 1982.

pp. 59-88.

1981

46. RODDIN. F..

-- A Manual to determine benefits of separating

pedestrians and vehicles

National Cooperative Highway Research

Program (Report No. 240). November 1981. 56 p.

47. ALTSHULER. A.. WOMACK. J.. PUCHER. J..

The urban transportation system, politics and policy

innovation.

-- Cambridge. 1981, p. 543.

48. ALLPORT. R. .

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49. SABEY. B..

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54. VEMURI. S..

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56. SILVANI. N..

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1977

60. BERTRAND. T. .

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1976

61. FAIGIN. B.M..

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62. MISHAN. E..

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 64. KEELER. T.E.. et al..

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65. CALABRESI. G. .

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127
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1987

66. UNION INTERNATIONALE DES CHEMINS DE FER

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aux exploitants des transports terrestres.

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67. COMMUNAUTE EUROPEENNE DES CHEMINS DE FER

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1986

68. LAMBERT. J.,

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69. LORIN, R.. WACHENHEIM. M. .

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70. POUEY-MOUNOU. L..

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choix economiques et ecologiques.

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128
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72. CORCELLE. G..

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73. MINISTERE DE L'EQUIPEMENT

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1986-06, 147 p.

74. MASSOY, M.H., ORFEUIL. J. P.,

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pp. 155-179.

75. DUBUS

-- Calcul des couts externes des transports terrestres,

couts des accidents de transport ; cas de la Belgique.

-- SNCB, Bruxelles, mai 1986.

76. MINISTERE DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT (FRANCE)

-- Donnees economiques de 1 ' environnement .

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77. FRYBOURG, M. , BUREAU. D. .

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tarification de l'usage de 1 ' inf rastructure.

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 78. OCOTRAM

-- Les comptes publics des transports urbains et les

couts compares des modes "voiture particuliere" et
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OCOTRAM. Marseille, fevrier 1985. 20 p.

1984

79. MATHIEU. G.,

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80. MERLIN, P..

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Paris. Masson, 1984. 220 p.

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--- Transports No. 294, mai 1984, pp. 227-240.

82. GUIBERT. B. .

-- Choix des investissements de transport : une

importante renovation methodologique sollicitee par
le legislateur.

-- Transports No. 292, mars 1984, pp. 105-107.

83. MINISTERE DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT

-- Enquete nationale sur les nuisances dues aux

transports en France (CERNE).

-- Neuilly-sur-seine, 1984, 1-56 p.

1983

84. SETRA

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Bagneux, SETRA, 1983. 247 p.

130
 85. MINISTERE DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT

-- Evaluation cout-avantage et conditions de mise en

oeuvre a long terme de programmes alternatifs de
lutte contre le bruit des transports.

-- Bilan des etude's et recherches faites en

France (comparaison internationals), 1983, 46 p.

86. UNIVERSITE DE PARIS IV -- SICOT C,

Le TGV Atlantique : 1' etude du pro jet et son impact

sur 1 ' environnement et les populations (Memoire de
maitrise) .

Paris. Universite de Paris IV. 1983. 196 p.

Bibliographie.

87. BARRE, R. . CHAPUY. P.,

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environnement .

-- Paris, Dec. 1983. 32 p.

198 2

88. MINISTERE DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT

-- Les depenses de lutte contre le bruit.

-- Paris. BIPE. 1982. 93 p.

89. MINISTERE DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT

-- Dossier statistique de 1 ' envir ohnemeht.

-- Paris, La documentation francaise. 1982. 447 p.

90. LAMBERT, J..

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circulation ?

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Transports, No. 6, 1982, pp. 109-123.

131
 91. BURKHARDT. M. .

-- Incertitude sur l'avenir du transport automobile en

Republique Federale d'Allemagne.

Transport No. 272. Avril 1982. pp. 137-144.

92. CORNE. D..

-- Quelques aspects des couts sociaux des transports

urbains.

Paris. Institut d'urbanisme, 1982. 19 p.

93. THENES. C. .

-- Les Frontieres de la sante.

-- Eco 3. No. 104. Dec. 1981-jan. 1982. pp. 21-29.

1981

94. SCHERRER, C.

-- Pointes de transports : couts economiques et sociaux.

-- Transports, environnement, circulation. No. 44,

janvier-f evrier . 1981, pp. 15-19.

95. MINISTERE DE L'EQUIPEMENT

-- Aspects reglementaires et economiques de la lutte

contre le bruit.

-- Paris, CETUR, juin 1981, 110 p.

1980

96. MINISTERE DES TRANSPORTS

-- Methodes d' evaluation des grands pro jets des

transports urbains : aspects socio-economiques .

-- Bagneux. 1980, 172 p.

97. DELARUE. J.C.

-- Les problemes du bruit (rapport).

-- Paris. Conseil economique et social. 15 octobre 1980.

52 p.

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 98. MINISTERE DES TRANSPORTS

-- Instruction sur les methodes d' evaluation des effets

economiques des investissements routiers en rase
campagne.

-- Paris, Ministere des Transports, 29 juillet 1980,

46 p.

99. MINISTERE DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT

-- Cout social du bruit (rapport).

Paris, Sedes, septembre 1980. 86 p.

1979

100. MINISTERE DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT. COMITE DE BRUIT ET

VIBRATION

-- Recherche des couts sociaux implicites accordes aux

nuisances acoustiques des voies rapides.

-- Paris, Ministere de l'Environnement, decembre 1979.

101. MINISTERE DES TRANSPORTS. DIRECTION DES ROUTES ...

-- Etudes d' impact des projets routiers en milieu

urbain :

Annexe 1 : fiches pour la prevision et la prevention

des impacts sur 1 ' environnement .

-- Bagneux, decembre 1979, 109 p.

102. BOULADON. G..

-- Couts et avantages des vehicules a moteur.

-- OCDE, Paris, volume 1, 1979, pp. 313-356.

103. JOSSE. P..

-- Reflexions sur les couts sociaux.

-- Transports, No. 243, juin 1979. pp. 235-238.

133
1978
104. TACHE. P..

-- Cout de la congestion.

-- TEC (Transport, environnement. circulation). No. 3,

12 novembre. 1978, pp. 16-21.

105. LE NET. M. .

-- Le Prix de la vie humaine.

-- Notes et etudes documentaire. N° 4445,

9 fevrier 1978, 152 p. (3e edition en 1980).

106. INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE DES TRANSPORTS

-- Plans de circulation : etude des methodes de calcul

de la pollution et de la consommation d'energie.

-- Paris. IRT, juin 1978. 30 p.

1977

107. SAUVY. A..

-- Cout et valeur de la vie humaine.

-- Hermann. Paris. 1977. 210 p.

108. UNION INTERNATIONALE DES CHEMINS DE FER

-- Manuel d' analyse covits-avantages .

Paris. 1977. 3 vol.

109. FROST. M..

-- Analyse couts-avantages (Rapport de reunion No. 36).

-- Paris. 1977. 116 p.

1976

110. THEYS

-- Elements pour une evaluation du cout social du bruit.

-- Paris, mars 1976. 70 p.

134
 111. KAPP. K.W..

-- Les couts sociaux dans l'economie de marche.

-- Paris, Flammarion. 1976, 340 p.

1974

112. LAROCHE. D. . DESTISON. (Ph.), COURNIL, B., et al.

-- Couts sociaux de 1' automobile (Memoire de fin

d 'etudes) .

-- Saint-Etienne, mai 1974. 144 p.

1973

113. SAUVY. A..

-- Couts et avantages de 1' automobile pour la nation.

-- Chronique sociale de France, No. 415, 1973, pp. 47-68.

114. ORGANISME NATIONAL DE SECURITE ROUTIERE

-- Analyse des couts sociaux des accidents corporels

pour la securite routiere.

-- Arcueil. mai 1973.

135
 OECD AND ECMT PUBLICATIONS

(available in English and French)

1988
115. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND
DEVELOPMENT

-- Transport and Environment.

-- OECD. Paris. 1988. 148 p.

116. EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT

-- Round Table 79 on Environmental Considerations in

the Evaluation of Transport Projects.

(Rapporteurs: Mr. LAMURE. Mr. HIDBER and

Mr. BASOLI).

-- ECMT. Paris. 1988.

1987

117. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND

DEVELOPMENT

-- OECD Environmental Data (Compendium 1987).

OECD. Paris. 1987.

1986

118. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND

DEVELOPMENT

-- Environmental Effects of Automotive Transport.

OECD. Paris. 1986.

1985
119. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND
DEVELOPMENT

OECD Environmental Data (Compendium 1985).

OECD. Paris. 1985. 298 p.

136
1984

120. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND

DEVELOPMENT

-- Emission trends, costs and policies to 1990 in the

environmental area.

-- Environment and Economics. Vol. 1. 1984.

121. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND

DEVELOPMENT

-- Pilot Compendium of Environmental Data.

-- OECD. Paris. 1984. 251 p.

1983

122. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND

DEVELOPMENT

-- Incidences des politiques de 1 'environnement sur

le changement technique dans l'industrie
automobile. (The impact of environmental policy
on technical change in the automobile industry).

Bibliography.

123. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND

DEVELOPMENT

-- Impacts of Heavy Freight Vehicles.

-- Paris. Road Research. 1983, 181 p.

1982

124. EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT

-- Report on Transport and the Environment.

-- ECMT. Paris. 1982. 45 p.

1981

125. EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT

-- Exchange of Information on Investment Criteria

Applied to Transport Infrastructure Projects.

-- ECMT. Paris. 1981. 95 p.

137
1980
126. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND
DEVELOPMENT

Pollution Charges in Practice.

OECD. Paris. 1980. 118 p.

127. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND

DEVELOPMENT

-- Conference on Noise Abatement Policies.

-- OECD. Paris. May 1980. 390 p.

1979

128. SEMINAR ORGANISED BY OECD IN CO-OPERATION WITH THE

ECMT

Urban Transport and Environment.

OECD. Paris. 1979. 356 p + 331 p.

1977

129. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND

DEVELOPMENT

- Relative Aspects on the Environment.

-- OECD. Paris. 1977. 99 p.

1974

130. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND

DEVELOPMENT

-- Environmental Damage Costs.

(Proceedings of a seminar held at the OECD in
August 1972).

-- ECMT. Paris. 1974, 332 p.

1972

131. EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT

-- Round Table 18 on Studies on the Social Costs of

Urban Road Transports.
(Rapporteurs : LASSIERE. A. and BOWERS. P.).

ECMT. Paris. 1972. 145 p.

138
 SUMMARY OF THE DISCUSSION

1. INTRODUCTION: AIMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDIES

It is first essential to get a clearer picture of the

aims of environmental impact studies with a view to determining
the criteria that will subsequently be examined in evaluating
the impact of an infrastructure project.

The aim of such studies might be to prevent the

implementation of any project that might have detrimental
effects on the environment. Such a position would be an
extreme one but must not be underestimated in practice, since
experience has shown that such projects are very difficult to
implement in countries whose populations are very sensitive to
environmental problems.

There is indeed a real conflict between protection of

the environment and endeavours to achieve a better economic

return although, depending on the public concerned, the matter

may be seen in different ways. The rate of growth of traffic
indicates a demand for greater mobility, whereas
infrastructures for all modes of land and air transport are
overloaded. The building of new infrastructures is meeting
with increasing resistance from populations exposed to
disamenities, especially as very few measures are taken to
improve the quality of the environment. The effects may be
attenuated but not eliminated.

Accordingly, the aim is to achieve a balance between

protection of the environment, conservation of the heritage and
the need to ensure that there is no obstacle to economic

development. There is only a partial conflict between the

qualitative aspects and satisfaction of demand for mobility by
means of new infrastructures. The environmental aspect is an
integral part of the evaluation of infrastructure projects
designed to eliminate traffic black spots or reduce congestion,
so it is here possible to draw attention to the advantages in
terms of safety, journey times, energy conservation, user
comfort and pollution control. It is on the basis of these
generally accepted values that infrastructure projects are
adopted.

139
 The role of the studies is precisely to ensure that
social costs are better integrated into the decision-making
process. The evaluation can be improved in particular by
acquiring a clearer picture of the effects on the environment,
and it is unlikely that this aspect alone would warrant the
total rejection of an infrastructure project. Accessibility
has hitherto been regarded as a priority objective, and it
makes a positive contribution to economic growth by cutting
transport costs and to social well-being by facilitating human
relations .

The fact remains that an infrastructure project can meet

with local resistance, and it is precisely in this connection
that environmental impact studies can prove decisive. By
establishing a broad basis of assessment criteria the impact
studies ensure transparency of effects. Consultations can then
be held between the decision-making authorities and the public
concerned, thus providing for selection of the most
satisfactory variant of the project, since the endeavours to
ensure compatibility with the environment entail the planning
of a number of variants.

2. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION

AND THRESHOLD VALUES

In practice, the concept of the environment is broadened

in studies to the whole range of socio-economic effects of a
project or its variants. since there are many different
situations and the relevant criteria have to be geared to the
type of project. Overall, a number of categories of effects
can be ascertained:

-- The socio-economic impact on the environment when the

infrastructure offers direct advantages to the area
in question by making it more accessible, and
therefore the long-term effects on the regional
economy. What this involves is the contribution of
infrastructural investment to regional development, a
matter that is normally dealt with. The same applies
as regards the safety advantages for users of the
infrastructure. New infrastructures entail increased
mobility and environmental consequences of this must
not be ignored. Account must be taken of other
effects on local life styles. For example, problems
of crossing the infrastructure may be of particular
importance to young people and the elderly;
disruption is caused by the transfer of activities
and shops to other places; residents are disturbed
by breaks in the continuity or identity of the
locality when the area is divided up; what are
normally stable life styles are upset by the impact
on agriculture of the break-up of farms, more

140
 circuitous journeys from one point to another, and
the dividing up of land into small plots.
Expropriation and the relocation of people is a more
sensitive and costly matter in urban areas than in
the country. Note may also be taken of the effects
of the apprehension created by the density of traffic
in the vicinityof residential areas;

-- The effects on the physical environment come from

noise, vibration, air pollution by gases and dust,
pollution of surface and ground water, the use of
land for different purposes, hazards attached to the
transport of dangerous goods, etc.;

-- The effects detrimental to national heritage relate

to visual intrusion, spoiling of beauty spots and of
archaeological or historic sites. The fauna and
flora may be damaged by microclimatic effects,
accidents or human activity in vulnerable areas, and
so on.

In addition to these lasting effects there is the

disruption occurring while the infrastructure is being built.
If these different factors are to be brought into the
decision-making process it must be decided how much they cost
the community or, failing that, what the threshold values are
at which an effect becomes a perceptible problem. The
intensity can be assessed by establishing different thresholds
at which a problem may be described as minor, major or vital.
In addition to the concept of intensity there is that of the
scope of an effect which may be defined in terms of the number
of people or size of area affected.

The determination of threshold values is a tricky matter

since the sensitivity of populations differs considerably from
one country, or even region, to the next. Studies have shown
that responses to exposure to traffic noise differ from place
to place within Europe. Cultural differences are therefore
important and necessarily have a part to play in the
determination of thresholds. For purposes of predicting the
range of noise, for example, there is, however, consistency at
international level with respect to the methods used and their
limitations. In determining thresholds, therefore, one has to
make a distinction between the environment and the significance
of the effects on the person perceiving them.

A number of specialists consider that it would be useful

to have internationally accepted criteria and thresholds.
Disparities among countries can be an obstacle to the
establishment of a European transport network if projects are
blocked or delayed owing to great sensitivity to environmental
problems. Distortions of competition may arise in
cases where
protection of the environment substantially increases the cost
of building infrastructures in particular countries. It can be
seen how important it is to make a stringent assessment of the

141
positive effects of environmental protection which would be the
counterpart to the resources employed. This distinction
between the direct costs of protecting the environment and the
longer-term benefits is not readily perceived by
decision-makers and calls for the economic evaluation of

environmental protection in a long-term perspective.

Local sensitivity is inevitable but the value of an

impact study is to make both the decision-makers and public
aware of all the advantages of a project or to modify the
project along lines more favourable to the persons concerned.

Theoretical models are used to measure the detrimental

effects of transport infrastructures on the environment, an

example being the impact of noise. Emission maps are drawn up
for pollution and it is possible to estimate emission contents
at various points in the vicinity of a carriageway. When the
estimates are compared with actual measurements there is found
to be considerable scatter. There is, in fact, always a series
of assumptions on which impact studies can be based, hence the
arguments among specialists concerning the projects
challenged. The debates concerning methods have called into
question the credibility of evaluation procedures, a problem
that is found in any forward-looking study. If the studies are
to be used for policy-making decisions, one of the
prerequisites is to make the methods transparent.

The experience of some countries in this connection is

acquired through the studies published by others, since work
has not been carried out domestically. Where little experience
has been acquired, new approaches may well not be developed,
and this also limits the possibilities for international
comparison. By and large. the aspects to be taken into
consideration in studies vary from one country to the next and
no. recommendations can be made in this respect. A creative
approach is essential in order to cater for the requirements in
each particular country.

A distinction may be made between four different stages

in the process of evaluating the impact of infrastructures on
the quality of life:

-- In measuring exposure, it is necessary to determine

indicators such as, for example, the number of
housing units exposed to a given level of noise, the
aim being to ascertain the scale, of the disturbance
caused and to set targets;

-- Perception of the disamenity, which calls for

degree-of-annoyance, indicators;

-- Behaviour patterns to cope with disamenities, which

enable individuals to reduce the degree of annoyance;

142
 -- The impact on health, i.e. the longer-term cumulative
consequences of exposure to the disamenity.

The studies focus more particularly on the annoyance

caused to residents, but one must not overlook the annoyance
felt outside buildings by pedestrians, not only as a result of
access problems but also owing to exposure to disamenities such
as noise and vibration. The impact is not the same for
everyone and, as a general rule, it is necessary to ascertain
the categories of user or socio-economic categories affected by
the new infrastructures.

Vehicle drivers and passengers may experience the

reverse effects of protective measures, e.g. noise screens or
tunnels may create a claustrophobic feeling and contribute to
driver fatigue.

Where land-use patterns or changes in the landscape are

concerned, clearly no direct assessment can be made of the
detrimental effects. Landscape specialists, urban planners or
architects may be called on to give their views about the
quality of projects.

Impact studies as a whole provide a means of identifying

a series of effects on the environment which are related to the

construction and use of transport infrastructures, and the

disamenities caused can be described by means of various
yardsticks and thresholds of intensity. While these methods
may be approximate in absolute terms, they do offer means of
comparing variants of the same project and it is in this
respect that they are unquestionably useful when the final
decision is taken.

ECONOMIC EVALUATION: THE PROBLEM OF ASSIGNING A MONETARY

VALUE TO EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT

In preparing yardsticks to measure the effects on the

environment, researchers try to adopt variables which can be
assigned a monetary value, the aim being to avoid separating
the physical effects and the economic analysis. This approach
reflects the priorities of decision-makers who are endeavouring
to determine the value of a project in economic terms.

As a general rule, impact studies seek to cover all

effects, but if some of them are not subject to market
mechanisms it is difficult to assign a monetary value to them.
The procedure adopted is that of indirect evaluation which is,
in fact, seriously challenged.

In principle, all perceived effects can be assigned a

monetary value since, in the case of every disamenity, those

143
exposed are prepared to pay a price to avoid it, which is its
monetary value. One can also estimate the value of the
willingness to sell, i.e. the amount an individual must be paid
to get him to accept the deterioration of his situation.

Estimating the monetary value of an effect on the basis

of the willingness to pay, in fact, gives rise to
methodological difficulties.

The customary problems of representativeness of samples

arise when sample surveys of the population are conducted. In
addition, the data compiled must themselves be interpreted with
caution. The limitations of surveys are explained by a number
of different factors. Individuals may find it to their
advantage to overestimate their willingness to pay on the
assumption that they might benefit from protective measures
without, in fact, having to pay. There may also be a problem
of expression of opinion in that individuals wish to influence
a policy even beyond the point of their willingness to pay in
order to get what they want. There may be a marked difference
between the declared intent and actual behaviour.

The stated willingness to pay will also depend on the

level of information available to the persons interviewed who
may be unaware of some of the effects in question. The
proposed evaluation may also be hypothetical owing to lack of
experience. Sometimes the questions asked have no real meaning
for some of the people interviewed. Furthermore, if the
expenditure actually had to be made, it would have to compete
with other uses of income, which is not the case when the
expenditure is simply envisaged in the context of a
questionnaire. There is the additional difficulty that levels
of income differ for the various categories of population. In
the last analysis, there will be no value that can be accepted
by everyone. The method of stated preferences by survey is
more an indication of the idea that individuals have of a
problem than of their willingness to pay to avoid the problem.

Surveys concerning willingness to pay have been carried

out in connection with road safety and the findings have been
disappointing. The risk involved is not really perceived by
road users. Where the environment is concerned, there is a
problem of level of information or knowledge of the factors
involved, which means that the questions can be worded in such
a way as to produce particular findings. In any event, the
findings of a survey cannot simply be accepted without
comparison with other similar endeavours, whereby one can try
to explain differences in the findings by analysing the
population sample, the wording of questions, types of reply
offered and so on.

Researchers have other means of coping with the

limitations of the stated preferences approach, since they can
calculate the value attached to avoiding disamenities on the
basis of actual behaviour.

144
 Property values and the level of rents are affected in
areas greatly exposed to disamenities such as noise. The
differences in monetary value for housing which is comparable
in other respects indicate the readiness to pay for a more
favourable environment. In this case, the problem is precisely
that it is difficult to single out the impact of one factor,
such as noise, from all the disamenities which contribute to
the lowering of market values. The depreciation may be
attributable to air pollution or vibration, for example.
Effects can, however, be differentiated by means of statistical
methods and, indeed, the aim in many cases is to evaluate the
consequences as a whole. There is. accordingly, no doubt that
progress has been made with the assignment of a monetary value
in some spheres.

Where the causal chain is complex, the assignment of a

monetary value is based on assumptions which leave the process
open to question.

The specialists participating in the Round Table drew

particular attention to the difficulties experienced in
determining how health is affected by pollution. First, there
is no way of expressing in economic terms the minor health
problems caused by pollution. There is also the more basic
question of evaluating the long-term effects. How often and to
what degree does one have to be exposed to harmful substances
to produce organic lesions? The problem is all the more
complex in that there are almost no explanations based on
single causes, since damage to health occurs as a result of the
combined effects of different factors. The toxicity of each of
them may be known but it is more difficult to determine the
particular contribution of a factor to the lesion.
Multi-factor analyses provide some knowledge of complex
phenomena but the findings depend on the samples studied where
other unknown mechanisms may also have an influence. When
attempts are made to evaluate the impact of air pollution,
considerable differences are found in the estimates. It is

difficult to take account of the actual effects owing to the

conflicting opinions of the specialists.

The assignment of a monetary value is hypothetical in

the case of other long-term effects. Water pollution results
from the contamination of ground water by heavy metals and
chlorides from salt spread on roads in winter. The cost of
protective measures can certainly be calculated when it is very
difficult to assign a monetary value to the impact. It is then
necessary to ascertain what risks or levels of damage are
acceptable although the information available on them is still
inadequate.

Not enough is known about incubation and diffusion in

the case of air pollution to evaluate them. The pollution does
not have simply a local or immediate impact.

145
 Specific difficulties arise in the case of effects on
society. For example, how can a monetary value be assigned to
the apprehension felt by pedestrians in the vicinity of a
transport infrastructure? The same applies for changes
perceived in space in the form of compartmentalisation effects,
a different geographical distribution of activities, or loss of
access to services. The effects of a project on human
behaviour are very often unknown. In this respect there is a
real lack of information. As regards visual impact,
specialists can give their views on the quality of a project or
projects but there is no means of proposing a monetary value
that takes account of what is experienced by local residents or
users of the infrastructure for whom the overall assessment of

a project must also take account of changes in comfort or of

the fatigue felt by a driver, for example, owing to the
environment. In urban areas, the stress felt in traffic jams
would also have to be calculated. Car passengers are also
concerned by the environment, and studies have shown in
particular that most carbon dioxide is absorbed within vehicles.

In practice, researchers carrying out environmental

studies often experience unforeseen problems such as how to
protect flora and fauna. However, an estimate can be made of
the cost of replanting species in protected sites. If there is
no possibility of replanting, the cost to be considered is
necessarily greater.

Account also has to be taken of the energy balance

since, by ensuring a smoother flow of traffic. an
infrastructure helps to conserve non-renewable sources of
energy. The energy factor should, in fact, be evaluated at its
cost of replacement by another method of producing the same
amount of energy in substitutable form.

It has been found practicable to assign a monetary value

to the positive impacts of a new infrastructure, more
particularly for time-saving and safety. Estimates of the
value of time correspond. However, it is difficult to estimate
the time saved in the case of urban infrastructures approaching
saturation. The influence of the time factor is, in fact, very
important for determining the economic return from a project.
Estimates are likewise challenged where road safety is
concerned, the value of human life being one example. However,
there is clearly a consensus among researchers concerning a
breakdown between production losses, damages estimated by the
courts, expenditure on health, traffic policing, and so on.

The specialists attending the Round Table considered

that there were a whole series of more or less cogent
indicators concerning the assignment of a monetary value to
effects. It is. in fact, necessary to make them transparent,
since a money value is accepted and can be used if the methods
adopted can be explained easily. The monetary value approach
cannot be considered to have greater precision than that
accepted in other spheres. Public opinion and the

146
decision-makers expect assistance from specialists concerning
problems which have long been ignored, so a great deal is
expected of the experts.

The advantage of assigning a monetary value is that a

recognised decision-making criterion is imposed, namely the
comparison of costs and benefits to society. It offers a way
of avoiding the weighting of decisions in favour of secondary
or private interests. The price mechanism directs
decision-making to what is vital in economic life, so a costing
method is necessary to clarify decision-making. The fact is,
however, that substantial resources may be required in order to
develop the methods of measuring and understanding effects
which are to be used to assign a monetary value, and the public
authorities are not always prepared to pay these operational
costs. As matters now stand, the statistical data are not
available for all situations and for all the different aspects,
so the assignment of a monetary value cannot be a decisive
criterion for taking account of an effect. It is simply easier
to synthesise impacts that are quantified, but this procedure
is not found particularly acceptable for decision-making
purposes .

MULT I -CRITERION ANALYSES AND DECISION-MAKING PROCEDURES

The statements made during the Round Table concerning

the experience of the various countries showed that the
procedure whereby effects are aggregated in monetary terms is
now hardly ever used. It is difficult to establish a consensus
with figures. The decision-makers want to have a transparent
presentation of the effects so that they can express their own
scale of values, the latter being essential when money values
cannot be proposed.

With multi-criterion analyses, some of the effects may

be assigned a monetary value and other categories of impact may
be presented by differentiating degrees of damage: little,
considerable or very substantial. Variants of a project can
accordingly be compared. This method is not without its
limitations however since, where there are a large number of
criteria, it is difficult to make a synthesised interpretation
of the information available. The weighting of the different
criteria is also difficult. Should priority be given to
reducing noise levels by locating the infrastructures further
away from sensitive areas, thus making them less accessible?
In any event, the specialists can help to rank the criteria or
propose alternative preferences while at the same time setting
out the consequences. Fundamentally, it may be considered that
the government represents the preferences of its members and
that the priorities or groups or governments reflect those of
the population.

147
 If the findings of a cost-benefit analysis are compared
with those of a multi-criterion analysis it is often found that
the projects are ranked in the same way, and this may be
attributable to the fact that the environmental problems are
only recognised to some extent.

Even in countries in which public opinion is highly

sensitive to environmental problems it is, in fact, found that
very little weight is still attached to environmental criteria
in the overall assessments. Examples of conflicting attitudes
were given during the Round Table. In view of the positive
economic spin-off from an infrastructure project, the question
of protecting the environment may be ignored whereas, in other
cases, the policy-makers do not know what to decide. This
indecision may be very costly in economic terms, moreover, if
only because further studies are called for.

Participants in the Round Table considered that the role

of impact studies might be to make decision-makers aware of
environmental problems by highlighting respect for the
environment among the factors of choice. Disaggregation
methods clearly have an educational value and, where the
effects cannot be assigned a monetary value, an understanding
of the problems is ensured by a comparative assessment of the
effects. The ecologists do not want an aggregation either but,
on the contrary, differentiate between the repercussions.
Experience has also shown that elected representatives wish to
have a comprehensive overview of the spin-off from an
infrastructure project. The probability of the occurrence of
risks of an ecological catastrophe, for example, ensure greater
precision which is useful for the final decision-making.

Given the cost of measures to protect the environment

(anti-noise screen, sound-proofing of facades, underpasses, and
so on), elected representatives may well be more concerned with
ensuring that the local authorities' finances are kept in
balance if all or part of the cost has to be borne locally.
The implicit problem is that of the distinction between those
who benefit from mobility and those who must bear the
consequences, so consideration should be given to compensation
in the form of charges on the former. Failing such
compensation, consideration of the qualitative aspects may be
limited or result in the blocking of a project because the
detrimental effects on the environment cannot be curbed.

The environment may also be given absolute priority over

other factors where irreplaceable historical or natural
heritage is placed at risk, in which case a general decision is
taken to find alternative means. More generally, however,
there is growing public resistance to the annoyance caused by
new infrastructures, especially when they have no specific
local value. Some large-scale projects of international
importance are being challenged at present. The specialists
participating in the Round Table considered that such conflicts
can be overcome provided the right approach is adopted at
different

148
stages. Whenever possible, it might be found advisable to
combine the presentation of large-scale projects with that of
local schemes. Bringing the project together will draw
attention to what is to be gained in return and to the
community of interests, namely, improved access for various
categories of the population. In addition, care must be taken
to enlist public opinion in various ways in all cases.

The procedure in Switzerland shows that a referendum is

very useful where large-scale projects are concerned, and this
calls for a precise and detailed description of a project's
effects and the reasons for carrying it out. A considerable
amount of time is therefore devoted to the preparation and
presentation of the project. The advantage of a referendum is
to give a clear decision that is binding on all concerned and
which cannot be reversed as a result of subsequent policy
changes. Experience has shown, moreover, that it is very
useful to canvass public opinion insofar as some aspects can be
reconsidered and resistance can be allayed. Associations for
protection of the environment, which have existed for over ten
years, can have recourse to the highest legal authorities and,
in practice, this right can block projects.

In France, it would seem impracticable to inform the

whole population owing to the cost. However, the
decentralisation of powers seeks to transfer responsibilities
to local authorities and it is in this context that the
referendum can be used to respond to local problems. Where
large-scale infrastructures are concerned, the decisions are
taken by central authorities in collaboration with the elected
representatives of the regions in question. The central
technical services outline the route layouts and consultations
are held between the government departments and intermediaries
informing the public (agricultural and fishing federations,
etc.). The precise layout is determined after the declaration
of public utility is made, a procedure that provides for public
consultation. In the earlier stages, the most important role
is played by elected representatives. The TGV infrastructures
tended to be well received since they had a positive patriotic
image, whereas motorway projects call for the expropriation of
more land and meet with some resistance. Accordingly, the
twinning of infrastructures may provide a solution.

In Spain, the public is consulted at a preliminary stage

and then before the final approval of the project. It would
seem that increasingly detailed account is being taken of the
effects. The United Kingdom has a standardized procedure for
large-scale road works. Public hearings are organised and
those opposing the project can put forward their arguments. In
the Federal Republic of Germany, there are public discussions
with the specialists for the presentation of route layouts and
the initial findings of impact studies. The public can make
suggestions concerning subsequent processes of assessment.
This consultation procedure does not have force of law, but it
is quite clear that some conflicts have been eased because the
public opinion has had its say.

149
 On the basis of the inter-country comparisons. the
specialists at the Round Table thought it important to enable
the public to participate at an early stage in the preparation
of a project, insofar as the strongest resistance can then be
allayed. The methods of evaluation must be explained by
experts in the matter and the possibility for objections to be
taken into account must be left open. The findings must not be
predetermined. It is not exactly a question of submitting
reports but rather of organising a debate between the
specialists and the public concerned. Arrangements should be
made to show to the public films, maps and exhibitions. It
might also . be useful for preparing subsequent steps to
distribute questionnaires to households concerning the
importance of transport, the risks perceived and any other
comments. These various stages are obviously lengthy and
costly but they have proved effective for overcoming conflict
which, emerging at a later stage, might prevent the project
from going ahead.

CONCLUSION: TOWARDS A STRATEGY FOR TAKING ACCOUNT OF

THE IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT IN THE LONG TERM

The fact that an environmental impact study is

undertaken means that there has been an earlier decision

concerning the usefulness of an investment project and that the

aim is now to curb the negative effects on the environment.
There are, therefore, a number of decisions to be taken with
different choices phased over time.

As regards most points, the specialists attending the

Round Table considered that the time had come to opt for a
long-term strategy for environmental problems. The aim is
certainly to minimise the detrimental effects at local level
but it is also necessary to see the difficulties on a broader
scale, since air and soil pollution can upset the equilibrium
of the biosphere. Choices concerning transport have lasting
effects -- some of which are irreversible -- which require that
they be considered in an historical context. It is here the
responsibility of Ministers of Transport to consider the
problem as part of pollution in general -- just as they have
responsibility for road safety measures -- a responsibility
that also extends to future generations if our use of energy is
not simply to be determined on the basis of present interests.
The willingness to pay that we have, so far, shown with respect
to the environment in the broadest sense can create many
difficulties for future generations, such as energy shortages
and pollution detrimental to health or even to survival of the
species .

When investment is being made in modes of transport, is

proper account taken of the fact that, while the modes perform
different functions, they also have different effects on the
environment in the long term?

150
 The specialists participating in the Round Table took
the view that it is necessary to see how important the
environment is in strategic decisions and, in order to do so, a
whole range of further research is called for along the
following lines:

-- Cost-benefit analyses of environmental protection

measures with respect to their impact on health,
quality of life and the overall ecological
equilibrium;

-- The heterogeneity or homogeneity of results achieved

by the combination of measures;

-- The scope offered by technological progress, whether

it be related to lean-burn engines, traffic control
or a reduction in the costs of protection (tunnels,
screens, etc.), where the regulatory framework should
be such as to provide incentives to ensure that the
many forms of technological progress are turned to
advantage.

A theoretical basis is essential if any evaluation of

environmental problems is to be carried out for society as a
whole. The aim is not to restrict accessibility by abandoning
infrastructural projects but rather to ensure that mobility is
offered with due regard to environmental considerations. Here,
too, the price mechanism can clearly play a role, and the use
of infrastructures must entail a price that is commensurate
with all the costs related to such use.

The Round Table did not deal explicitly with road

pricing. but environmental protection objectives can quite
clearly be achieved by a stringent system of charges for the
use of road infrastructures, since the price involved can have
a dissuasive effect and contribute towards the development of a
valid alternative in the form of public transport. A charge
geared to the effects of mobility on the environment would also
provide a means of compensating those affected and of financing
protective measures and research in this connection.

151
 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Professor Dr. Gerd ABERLE Chairman

Justus-Liebig-Universitat Giessen
Licher Strasse, 62
D-6300 GIESSEN

Monsieur Jean-Marie BEAUVAIS Rapporteur

Directeur General
Beauvais Consultants

36, rue Vaneau

F-75017 PARIS

M. le Professeur Carl HIDBER Rapporteur

(ETH)
Institut fiir Verkehrsplanung
Transporttechnik, Strassen
-und Eisenbahnbau, IVT
ETH-Honggerberg
CH-8093 ZURICH

Monsieur C. LAMURE Rapporteur

Directeur Delegue
Institut de Recherche sur les

Transports et leur Securite

(INRETS)
109, Avenue Salvadore Allende
Case 24

F-69675 BRON CEDEX

M. Ariel ALEXANDRE

Administrateur Principal
Direction de l'Environnement
OCDE

2, Rue Andre Pascal

F-75775 PARIS CEDEX 16

M. Christian AVEROUS
Administrateur
Direction de l'Environnement
OCDE

2, Rue Andre Pascal

F-75775 PARIS CEDEX 16

153
Professor Dr. Gus Jan BLAUWENS

Universiteit Antwerpen (UFSIA)

Prinsstraat. 13
B-2000 ANTWERPEN

Drs. Ing. Peter BLOK

Netherlands Economic Institute
Burgemeester Oudlaan. 50
NL-3062 PA ROTTERDAM

Dott. Mario CATALANI

Capo Ufficio 1°
Direzione Centrale

Pianif icazione e Coordinamento Strategico

Ente Ferrovie dello Stato

Piazza della Croce Rossa, 1

1-00161 ROMA

Dr. Denvil COOMBE

Director
Halcrow Fox and Associates

Vineyard House
44 Brook Green

GB- LONDON W6 7 BY

Mr. Torkil ERIKSEN

Chief of Section
Ministry of Transport and Communication
Frederiksholms Kanal. 27
DK-1220 COPENHAGEN K

Mr. Goran FRIBERG

Senior Administrative Officer

National Environmental Protection Board (SNV)

Box 1302

S-171 25 SOLNA

Dipl. -Ing. Dr. Jorn KANIAK

Osterreichisches Institut fiir Raumplanung (OIR)
(Austrian Institute for Regional Planning)
Franz Josefs Kai, 27
A-1010 WIEN

Mr. Max KLOK

Policy Research Unit

Ministry of Transport and Public Works
Plesmanweg. 1
NL-2500 EX THE HAGUE

154
Dr. Jacques LAMBERT
Economiste
INRETS-LEN

109. Avenue Salvadore Allende

Case 24

F-69675 BRON CEDEX

Mr. Helmut LEHMACHER

Economic Affairs Officer

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Palais des Nations
CH-1211 GENEVA 10

Mr. Pentti MUROLE

Managing Director
Liikennetekniikka Oy
Melkonkatu, 9
SF-0021O HELSINKI

Mr. Pedro PUIG-PEY

Ingeniero de Caminos
Equipo de Tecnicos en Transporte y Territorio (ETT s.a.)
Calle Jose Abascal, 45
E-28003 MADRID

Mr. Michael ROBERTS

Director

The MVA Consultancy

115 Shaftesbury Avenue
GB-LONDON WC2H SAD

Mr. Otto SCHI0TZ

Head of Planning Division.

The Road Directorate

Havnegade. 27
DK-1058 COPENHAGEN K

Dr. Mateu TURRO

Banque Europeenne d ' Investissement

100. Boulevard Konrad Adenauer
L-2950 LUXEMBOURG

Dr. rer. pol. Ulrich VOIGT

Verkehrsabteilung
Deutsches Institut fiir

Wirtschaftsforschung
(Institut fiir Konjunkturforschung)
Konigin-Luise-Strasse, 5
D-1000 BERLIN 33

155
Dr. Spyros VOUGIAS
Lecturer. Transportation Planning
Faculty of Technology
University of Thessaloniki
GR-54006 THESSALONIKI

Miss Mila ZLATIC

Research Associate

Institute of Transport Sciences

Gruska. 20
YU-41000 ZAGREB

ECMT secretariat

Dr. Jan C. TERLOUW Secretary-General

Economic Research and Documentation Division:

Dr. Arthur DE WAELE Head of Division

Dr. Michel VIOLLAND Administrator

Miss Siobhan CANTWELL Secretary

Transport Policy Division:

Mr. Jack SHORT Principal Administrator

156
 ECMT

ECONOMIC RESEARCH CENTRE

FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS

Round Table 80: Systems of infrastructure cost coverage

(road pricing, principle and applications)

Round Table 81: Possibilities for. and cost of. private

and public investment in transport

Round Table 82: Measures (other than infrastructural

investment) to promote transport at
regional level

Round Table 83: The role of Government in a deregulated

market (access, competition, safety)

Round Table 84: Deregulation of freight transport: scope

and impacts on modes

Eleventh International Symposium on Theory and Practice in

Transport Economics :

"RESOURCES FOR TOMORROW'S TRANSPORT".

157
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OECD PUBLICATIONS, 2, rue Andre-Pascal, 75775 PARIS CEDEX 16 - No. 44817 1989
PRINTED IN FRANCE
(75 89 08 11 ISBN 92-821-1141-5
 Both personal mobility and freight traffic are increasing in our
societies. At the same time, the quality of our lives and our environment
now becoming matters of vital concern is impaired in many ways by
transport related disamenities: noise, pollution, vibration and visual
intrusion. Such disamenities can, however, be curbed if due account is
taken of them in transport infrastructure planning for example, by
proposing alternative routes, noise screens, conservation of the
archaeological heritage and nature (flora and fauna).
Round Table 79 examines the environmental studies carried out

when infrastructures are being built and shows how the findings can be
incorporated in the decision-making process, for example, by final choice
of route, measuring degrees of disamenity, threshold values, and the
assignment of a monetary value to effects.

(75 89 08 1) ISBN 92-821-1141-5 FF110