Rey Kenneth E.

Galang July 6, 2021

BSEE 2-A

Module 4 – Environmental Impact Assessment

Activity #1
1. Expand EIA and define the term.
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an environmental assessment tool
conducted to analyze the environmental implication of a plan, policy, program,
or projects, to provide the decision-makers and the public with an important
information to the for environmentally sustainable economic developments.
2. Why EIA necessary?
 EIA is necessary because it protects and improve the environmental quality of
life by providing technical report to an environmental development. It provide
findings to decision-makers to assess a project’s impacts in all of its phases.
3. What are the important aspects of EIA?
 The important aspects of EIA are risk assessment, environmental
management, and post product monitoring. EIA is a cost-effective way to
reduce the negative impact of development initiatives.
4. What is meant by environmental clearance?
 Environmental clearance is a permit granted by the government to green-light
certain projects. This projects has negative consequences to the
environmental, so it needs to be regulated for the protection and conservation
of the environment.
5. Name any three projects requiring such clearance.
 Thermal power plants, petroleum refining industries, and nuclear power
projects.
6. Name two environmental components of EIA.
 Air environment like air quality and water environment like water quality and
quantity.
7. State the various steps in EIA.
 Screening: The project plan is screened for scale of investment, location and
type of development and if the project needs statutory clearance.
 Scoping: The project’s potential impacts, zone of impacts, mitigation
possibilities and need for monitoring. The EIA agency has to follow the
 published guidelines by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) of
government of India.
 Collection of baseline data: Baseline data is the environmental status of study
area.
 Impact prediction: Positive and negative, reversible and irreversible and
temporary and permanent impacts need to be predicted which presupposes a
good understanding of the project by the assessment agency.
 Mitigation measures and EIA report: The EIA report should include the
actions and steps for preventing, minimizing or by passing the impacts or else
the level of compensation for probable environmental damage or loss.
 Public hearing: On completion of the EIA report, public and environmental
groups living close to project site may be informed and consulted.
 Decision making: Impact Assessment (IA) Authority along with the experts
consult the project-in-charge along with consultant to take the final decision,
keeping mind EIA and EMP (Environment Management Plan).
 Monitoring and implementation of environmental management plan: The
various phases of implementation of the project are monitored.
 Risk assessment: Inventory analysis and hazard probability and index also
form part of EIA procedures
8. Name six regional offices of India those undertake monitoring of cleared projects.
 The six regional offices of the Ministry is located at Shillong, Bhubneshwar,
Chandigarh, Bangloru, Lucknow, and Bhopa.
9. What are the steps included for issuing environmental clearance or rejection letters?
 The EIA process in obtaining environmental clearance or rejection are shown
in the following flow chart:
10. Who gives the clearance for foresting projects?
 The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) or the State Government
11. Apart from the government, two others are participants for EIA, name them.
 The Developer/EIA Consultant and the Public/NGOs
12. What does the statement, “evaluation of EIA is possible only if EIA report is
reliable”, mean?
 It means the EIA can evaluate a certain project if the EIA technical report
contains valid grounds in the project’s environmental and social impacts,
mitigation measures and other important project components.
13. Give an account of the importance of development as against environmental
protection.
 While environmental protection is very important, development is also
necessary because it helps improves our lives as a whole and is an essential
components for the economic growth and progress of a country. That’s why we
should balance development and environmental protection for our sustainability
and for the future.
14. Explain the three core values of EIA.
 Integrity, utility and sustainability. Integrity indicates that the process will be in
an acceptable standards and principle of good practice. Utility implies that the
process will provide balanced and credible data for decision-making.
Sustainability means that the process will promote environmentally responsible
development while maintaining sustainability.
15. Numerate the legal basis of EIA.
 The EIA process will be designed such that its guidelines follow basic legal and
policy equipment:
1) serve as a primary environmental tool with clear provisions.
2) apply consistently to all proposals with potential environmental impacts.
3) use scientific practice and suggests strategies for mitigation.
4) address all possible factors such as short term, long term, small scale
and large scale effects.
5) consider sustainable aspects such as capacity for assimilation, carrying
capacity, biodiversity protection.
6) lay down a flexible approach with and provides for public involvement.
7) have in built mechanism of follow up and feedback for comply into
mandatory requirements.
8) include mechanisms for monitoring, auditing and evaluation.
16. What is meant by environmental clearance?
 Environmental clearance is a green-light permission given by the government
to certain potential environmentally harmful projects.
17. For which projects is environmental clearance mandatory?
 Projects that require clearance are those project related to industries, mining,
thermal power plants, river valley projects, Infrastructure and Coastal
Regulation Zone (CRZ), and nuclear power projects.
18. What all is assessed under EIA?
 The following are necessary in order to conduct an EIA.
1) assessment of existing environmental status.
2) assessment of various factors of ecosystem (air, water, land, biological).
3) analysis of adverse environmental impacts of the proposed project to be
started.
4) impact on people in the neighborhood.
19. What is the composition of the expert committee for EIA?
 The Committees will consist of experts in the following disciplines:
1) Eco-system management
2) Air/ water pollution control
3) Water resource management
4) Flora/ fauna conservation and management
5) Land use planning
6) Social Sciences/ Rehabilitation
7) Project appraisal
8) Ecology
9) Environmental Health
10) Subject Area Specialists
11) Representatives of NGOs/persons concerned with environmental issues
20. Describe the various components of process of EIA.
 Air environment. Assess the quality of air.
 Noise. Assess the noise level.
 Water environment. Assess the water quality and quantity.
 Biological Environment. Assess the biological impact in the environment.
 Land Environment. Assess the land and soil characteristics.