Environmental Impact Assessment

Ajit Tambay Anup Tripathi Environmental Impact Assessment 9th December, 2017 EIA: ESA (End-Semester Assessment) 1. Introduction Resource use and environmental protection have always been 2 ideas that have been on opposite sides of an argument that sprung up in this past century. However, with the emergence of the term ‘sustainable development’ the possibility to use natural resources to satisfy human demand as well as promote natural environmental protection became a thing of reality. As a part of this process, institutions to manage the extraction and use of the natural resources within a country was gaining greater significance and the idea of an environmental clearance (EC) became crucial for any industry should they wish to start any new venture. As a part of obtaining an environmental clearance, 2 major processes were implemented that mandated the participation and inclusion of many players in these steps, including the government and the project proponent itself. EIA is a key step in any company’s process to begin construction on any manner of project as it pertains to the acquisition of an Environmental Clearance (EC). The three letters are an abbreviation for Environmental Impact Assessment, which at its most basic definition is a report on the environmental plan for a project site written by the entity aiming to construct said project. The EIA process is a relatively complex procedure, mostly due to everything that comes before and after the report itself. 1.1 Project Categorization Prior to starting the process for conducting an Environmental Impact Assessment, the first and foremost requirement is identifying the type of project that is being proposed. There are particular categories of projects that do not need an EIA while others most definitely need an EIA. As per the categories proposed by the World Bank (WB), there are 3 divisions for the project types all based on the spatial extent, geographical spread, and potential impacts they might have on the environment as well as on local human settlements (Achieng Ogola, 2007):  ‘Category A’ projects are those with a considerably significant environmental impact that can be categorized under a broad range of negatives. The scale of the impacts may be 1| 140275 Ajit Tambay Anup Tripathi Environmental Impact Assessment 9th December, 2017 more far-reaching than the area of the project itself, i.e. large scale coal mining (Achieng Ogola, 2007). Additionally, these projects are monitored by the Central Government via  the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC). ‘Category B’ projects are considered to have lower, less diverse, and less far-reaching impacts on the surrounding populous and environment than Category A projects. The project impacts do not tend to spread over their boundaries and are mostly reversible impacts which can be planned for and mitigated, i.e. quarrying projects (Achieng Ogola, 2007). This level of project is monitored at the state level rather than the central government level and is done so via the State Level Environment Impact Assessment  Authority (SEIAA). ‘Category C’ projects are considered to have the least environmental impact, if at all the project has any impact. In this scenario, a project under this category does not necessitate any further steps of inquiry and are given a green-light to facilitate the project, i.e. school buildings (Achieng Ogola, 2007). 2. Environmental Impact Assessment The Environmental Impact Assessment process is divided into 4 major steps. Each part of this process is a key step in obtaining an environmental clearance. 2.1 Screening Stage The first part of an Environmental Impact Assessment is the project Screening stage. The Screening stage is only conducted for projects classified under Category B. This is simply because a distinction needs to be made in the application as to what manner of project this is; the reason being that a different assessment authority will then look over the project. The application that is submitted in this stage is known as Form 1 / Form 1A (Tripathi, 2017). The main goal of the Screening stage is to assess the need for any further environmental studies on the project in preparation for conducting an Environmental Impact Assessment which lays the ground work for the acquisition of an Environmental Clearance for the proposed project. As such, there is a subdivision within Category B projects: B1 projects are those that mandate the facilitation of an Environmental Impact Assessment; B2 projects do not need further environmental studies in the 2| 140275 Ajit Tambay Anup Tripathi Environmental Impact Assessment 9th December, 2017 form of an EIA. The Category B sub-divisions have guidelines that tend to be updated by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change every so often (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2006). The final outcome of the Screening stage is a document that is habitually known as an “Initial Environmental Examination or Evaluation (IEE)” (Achieng Ogola, 2007). 2.2 Scoping Stage The second step in the EIA process is the Scoping Stage. In this stage, the attention is on identifying the key environmental impacts and concerns in the beginning of the venture, namely the planning stage for the project. If the project is a Category A project, its process is managed by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), however, if it is a Category B1 project the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) is what handles the case. In this section, along with the submission of Form 1, the EAC or SEAC (depending on the project category) also require a prefeasibility report and a TOR (Tripathi, 2017). The Terms of Reference or TOR document stipulates the guidelines that are required for the execution of an Environmental Impact Assessment. It contains all the different environmental impacts and concerns that the project venture will cause as the groundwork for the EIA. TORs can be both simple or elaborate, though the latter is not recommended; though there are no specific structures for this document, it does have a few key parts or guideline that need to be included or used (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2006). The TOR should begin with a brief of the project, the site location and the expected area of affliction, direct or otherwise. It is meant to contain all the necessary references and information to conduct an effective Environmental Impact Assessment and include a timeline for the completion of the assessment. Further, the Scoping stage also contains the determination of the initial reference state of the site. In other words, the baseline data for the site location must be added to the documents along with the estimation for the future state of the site with the inclusion of the project, and an estimation of the future state of the site without the project, ceteris paribus (Tripathi, 2017). Once the project proponent turns in its Form 1 and TOR to the EAC or SEAC, the authority is expected to send back a revised version of the Terms of Reference within 60 days of receiving the documents. The EAC/SEAC can revise the TOR guidelines as per the information provided in Form 1/1A. If no such revision is returned, then by 3| 140275 Ajit Tambay Anup Tripathi Environmental Impact Assessment 9th December, 2017 default the Terms of Reference provided by the applicant will be deemed as the final TOR for the Environmental Impact Assessment. The TOR is also meant to be posted for public viewing on the MOEFCC website as well as the SEIAA website. As with any planning policy, there are exceptions for certain cases, i.e. Category B projects that are either Construction/Townships/Commercial Complexes/Housing do not require Scoping and are simply examined via the Form1/1A and the project plan (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2006). An additional point is that this stage also allows for the direct rejection of the application for an Environmental Clearance by the aforementioned authority (MOEFCC or SEIAA) as per the recommendation/s provided by the EAC/SEAC; this rejection must be given within 60 days of the application submission along with the reasons behind the refusal (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2006). 2.3 Public Consultation Stage The next step is the Public Consultation stage. Arguably one of the most important aspect of the EIA process and perhaps the more poorly conducted as well. All Category A & B1 projects or activities are required to do this step; though there do exist a rather large list of exceptions. All plausible stakeholders and local affected persons who have any connection to the environmental impacts in relation to the setting up and functioning of the project/program are involved in this process. The Public Consultation stage is sub-divided into two parts. The first is a Public Hearing that must occur on site or in the near vicinity/close proximity. The aim in this phase is to ascertain the reactions of the local affected parties towards the project and address any problems, concerns of issues they might have; as such all plausible stakeholders are mandated to be invited to this meeting, though attendance is not. There also needs to be recorded proof (audio or video) of the public hearing (Tripathi, 2017). The hearing must be conducted within 45 days of the application, and is done so by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or the UTPCC which is the Union Territory Pollution Control Committee (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2006). The second part of the Public Consultation stage is obtaining the responses of the concerned stakeholders who have any plausible interest in the project. These responses can be in the form of anonymous letters as well in order to maintain confidentiality and must be accepted and considered. In order to prompt these letters the SPCB or UTPCC needs to post the summary EIA 4| 140275 Ajit Tambay Anup Tripathi Environmental Impact Assessment 9th December, 2017 report on their website/s along with the copy of the original application; all this must occur within 7 days of the public hearing application (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2006). Once these steps are complete, the recommendations and concerns brought to light in Public Consultation musts be incorporated and addressed within the draft EIA. Additionally, an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) also needs to be submitted to the appropriate authority (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2006). 2.4 Appraisal Stage In the end comes the Appraisal Stage. This involves a meticulous inspection of the entirety of the project proposal, starting from the application documents to the EIA, EMP, TOR, the Public Hearing, etc. All parts of the proposal are examined by the Expert Appraisal Committee or the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee, depending on the project categorization (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2006). The purpose here is to assess the viability of the project and whether or not to grant the Environmental Clearance, though that decision remains strictly with the authority (MOEFCC or SEIAA). The expert committees provide their recommendation to the respective authority which can then choose to forego the recommendation or accept it and make its decision which must be indicated to the applicant within 60 days of the submission of the final Environmental Impact Assessment and all related documentation. 3. Strategic Environmental Assessment As a part of a newer initiative to strengthen the EIA process, one comes across the SEA or the Strategic Environmental Assessment. The SEA is a process that works primarily on the planning or policy level of the entire process and follows and affects the 3 Ps (Policy, Plan, Program), as per the image to the left. Due to the strategic nature of its impact, the SEA is in fact a decision aiding tool, Source: Tripathi, A. (2017). Environmental Impact Assessment (Class Notes). Lecture, FLAME University. 5| 140275 Ajit Tambay Anup Tripathi Environmental Impact Assessment 9th December, 2017 not a decision making one. Each step of the SEA process is focused on improving the PPP as it reconsiders the plan from a “cross-cutting perspective” (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2006). The stages of the Strategic Environmental Assessment are as follows: 1. Screening: this is the first step of the SEA; at this point, the agencies that are involved and responsible carry out a suitable evaluation of every related strategic choice that pertains to noteworthy environmental outcomes, with the goal being to identify and assess the majorly negative consequences (Tripathi, 2017). 2. Timing: all the results of the Screening assessment are made available early enough for the use of the results in the planning of the strategic decision (Tripathi, 2017). 3. Environmental Scoping: all applicable information is made available to effectively make informed decisions pertaining to the proposed activity, its objectives and whether there are more “environmentally friendly” alternatives available to incorporate (Tripathi, 2017). 4. Other Factors: in order to consider other factors, an appropriate amount of information is provided on the topic of the proposed activity including the impact/s from other aspects, i.e. socio-economic concerns (Tripathi, 2017). 5. Review: there is a review mechanism that maintains the quality and integrity of the information and processes followed (Tripathi, 2017). 6. Participation: to make a better and more informed strategic decision, an adequate amount of information pertaining to the views of the appropriate stakeholders (local stakeholders included) is provided timely enough to incorporate it in the planning (Tripathi, 2017). 7. Documentation: the results of all the studies and assessments are presented and made accessible to all parties in a clear and legible format to ensure the spread of information (Tripathi, 2017). 8. Decision-Making and Accountability: this step ensures that all affected stakeholders know and understand the consequence they will have to cope with as well as how all the previous knowledge has been incorporated in the strategic decision making process (Tripathi, 2017). 6| 140275 Ajit Tambay Anup Tripathi Environmental Impact Assessment 9th December, 2017 9. Post-Decision: an assessment is carried out to obtain the pertinent information to help evaluate the continuation of the current initiative or the need for an amendment (Tripathi, 2017). It is possible for the SEA steps to not be followed in the exact order provided, so long as all steps occur. Additionally, any and all mitigation measures are addressed within the SEA and should the need arise the document can even be re-drafted. The Strategic Environmental Assessment is a broad planning based intervention that helps strengthen the future Environmental Impact Assessment actions (Tripathi, 2017). 4. EIA vs. SEA While the SEA and the EIA process are in a sense trying to achieve a similar goal, there are marked differences between the two. For starters, the premise behind the type of action that the EIA and SEA follow is different. The Environmental Impact Assessment is a reactive process as it only takes place after the project proposal has been fully formed. The Strategic Environmental Assessment is a proactive process, in that it is responsible for influencing the guidelines for that very same project proposal. The EIA looks towards examining and evaluating the environmental impact that the proposed project will have, on both the natural and the man-made; the SEA, however, looks towards evaluating the impact of the 3 Ps (Policy, Plan, Program) on the surroundings, and vice versa in terms of the environment affecting the type of opportunities that can be made available (Tripathi, 2017). Following this, an Environmental Impact Assessment focuses only on one specific project at a time; the Strategic Environmental Assessment addresses the entire scale of that level of development project. Tying into the first point itself, the EIA process is reactive; hence it works towards addressing the impacts and consequences that are a direct result of the project. The SEA looks more towards addressing the cumulative effects of that level/type/scale of development project and the consequences related to it. Furthermore, as a part of the reactive/proactive approach, the EIA aims at producing a framework that acts as mitigation measure for the detrimental effects of the project implementation. The SEA is aimed towards maintaining a particular level and type of quality based on a broader impact range from the scale of the project/s (Tripathi, 2017). Due to the single-project nature of the EIA process, it 7| 140275 Ajit Tambay Anup Tripathi Environmental Impact Assessment 9th December, 2017 contains a very high level of specific and detailed analysis which offers a very narrow perspective on the topic; conversely, the SEA uses a far broader perspective, looking more towards a general overarching framework with a low level of detail that simply gives a general picture of the end goal. The Environmental Impact Assessment process is one that concentrates on the “project-specific impacts” and only serves to evaluate the consequences of that one project (Tripathi, 2017). The Strategic Environmental Assessment is not project based, rather, it creates the structural framework against which all the various consequences of different projects can be measured, based on the scale and type of projects. Additionally, in order to address the large variety of projects, the alternatives provided in an SEA tend to be vague or abstract in nature as a means of creating better policy. Thus, the SEA has a much larger range of alternatives for any scale/type of situation compared to the EIA. Naturally, this also means that the duration of an SEA greater extends beyond the timeline of and EIA (Tripathi, 2017). Lastly, the point of an SEA is to strengthen the EIA process, aim for sustainability, and address the longterm consequences of any project; hence making it quite different from an EIA (Tripathi, 2017). 5. Social Impact Assessment Social Impact Assessment or an SIA is a process that is based on the lack of knowledge that is available on the execution and maintenance of a particular project in the field of social or anthropogenic impacts; namely, what is the effect on the surrounding local settlements of having, for example, a coal washery being constructed and working in the near vicinity. Are there any health impacts? What about social impacts? Perhaps the project is that of a dam, in which case the issues of relocation, resettlement, and remuneration are key points to consider. This is where the SIA comes into play. The answers to such questions are required before hand, not after the completion of the project; for by then, it is always too late to create and provide effective mitigation measures to tackle any negative effects (Mathur, 2011). There are a few different types of social impacts and can be categorized as the following:  Health: the effect on the general health of the person/populous (mental, physical, and social health) (Tripathi, 2017). 8| 140275 Ajit Tambay Anup Tripathi Environmental Impact Assessment 9th December, 2017  Quality of Life: in short, this can be summed up with including the aspects of a “sense of place, aesthetics and heritage, perception of belonging, security and    livability, and aspirations for the future” (Tripathi, 2017). Community: the effect on communal activities, voluntary institutions, services provided and infrastructure (Tripathi, 2017). Cultural: the impact on the shared behaviors, beliefs, values, customs and other ethnic/social factors that make a group unique (Tripathi, 2017). Lifestyle: the impact noticed on the day-to-day behavior of individuals and their inter-personal relationships (Tripathi, 2017). The Social Impact Assessment helps in identifying the groups that have been affected by the project. It is a useful tool and process to include the affected groups into the entire process as it helps to communicate with the affected people and allay their fears, thus increasing their trust in the project management. This makes is easier for the project proponent to cooperate with the locals, thus leading to the successful implementation of the project. As previously stated, the SIA is a part of the planning and proposal phase, which means it creates all the necessary mitigation measures that are needed to counteract the adverse effects from the project implementation (Mathur, 2011). Furthermore, a Social Impact Assessment helps enhance the positive impacts that can arise from a project; simply because it provides the means and capabilities to identify methods by which the benefits can be shared with others or even maximized. As a part of the idea of maximization, a cohesively conducted SIA can help optimize outcomes by addressing the social issues at the earliest stage possible; thus reducing overall costs by mitigating the need to struggle to future errors. A comprehensive SIA also helps in getting faster Environmental Clearance as it portrays a more serious aspect of the project to the assessment authority, proving that the public concerns are being considered earnestly (Mathur, 2011). 9| 140275 Ajit Tambay Anup Tripathi Environmental Impact Assessment 9th December, 2017 An SIA helps in n all these factors by accomplishing a comprehensive understanding of the context and situation of the local and regional area that will be affected by the policy. The diagram to the left simply illustrates the steps taken in a Social Impact Assessment process to arrive at Source: Tripathi, A. (2017). Environmental Impact Assessment (Class Notes). Notes) . Lecture, FLAME University. the afrementioned conclusion/s. nclusion/s. The SIA is a singurlary useful tool that needs to become a mandatory part of any EIA process that is aimed at creating development projects, for these scenarios will always have a large group of people people being affected, the their primary source of representation coming from the SIA process, as opposed to an external NGO (Tripathi, 2017) 2017). 10| 140275 Ajit Tambay Anup Tripathi Environmental Impact Assessment 9th December, 2017 6. References Achieng Ogola, P. (2007). Environment Impact Assessment General Procedures (pp. 1-16). Kenya: United Nations University, Kenya Electricity Generating Co., Ltd. Mathur, H. (2011). Social Impact Assessment. Social Change, 41(1), 97-120. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/004908571104100105 Ministry of Environment and Forests. (2006). Notification (pp. 1-42). New Delhi: Gazette of India. Tripathi, A. (2017). Environmental Impact Assessment (Class Notes). 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