Environmental impacts Assessment; EAC

1. EIA-Environmental impacts Assessment; EAC
Presented by
Bhukya Bhaskar
FISHERIES-ICAR

2. PREAMBLE:
• PREAMBLE:
• 1. The MoE&F, GOI vide S.O. 1533 dt. 14.09.2006 issued Environmental
Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 (EIA-2006).
• 2. As per the provisions laid under EIA-2006 notification, prior
Environmental Clearance (EC) is required for the following projects.
• * All new projects/activities listed in Schedule
• * Expansion and/or modernization of existing projects/activities
• * Change in product mix if the pollution load is increasing.
• 3. The MoE&F, GOI process the environmental clearance applications
related to Category-A projects and the State level Environment Impact
Assessment Authority (SEIAA) process the environmental clearance
applications related to Category-B projects.
• The list of the projects which require prior EC is mentioned in the EIA
Notification-2006.
• 4. In the process of prior Environmental Clearance there are 4 stages.
• Stage I: Screening
• Stage II: Scoping
• Stage III: Public Consultation
• Stage IV: Appraisal

3. • SEAC; State Level Expert Appraisal Committee
• SEIAA; State Level Environment Impact
Assessment Authority
• P-EIA; Programmatic Environmental Impact
Assessment
• PCC; Pollution Control Committee

4. Introduction
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process of identifying,
predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other
relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being
taken and commitments made.” These studies integrate the
environmental concerns of developmental activities into the process of
decision-making.
• EIA has emerged as one of the successful policy innovations of the 20th
Century in the process of ensuring sustained development.
• Today, EIA is formalized as a regulatory tool in more than 100 countries
for effectively integration of environmental concerns in the economic
development process.
• The EIA process in India was made mandatory and was also given a
legislative status through a Notification issued by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MoEF) in January 1994.
• The Notification, however, covered only a few selected industrial
developmental activities.
• While there are subsequent amendments, the Notification issued on
September 14, 2006 supersedes all the earlier Notifications, and has
brought out structural changes in the clearance mechanism.

5. The basic tenets of this EIA Notification
could be summarized into following:
• Pollution potential as the basis for prior
environmental clearance instead of investment
criteria; and
• Decentralization of clearing powers to the
State/Union Territory (UT) level Authorities for
certain developmental activities to make the prior
environmental clearance process quicker,
transparent and effective.

6. Technical issues
• Ensuring level playing ground to avoid arbitrariness in the decision-
making process
• Classification of projects which do not require public hearing and
detailed EIA (Category B2)
• Variations in drawing Terms of Reference (ToR) for EIA studies for a given
developmental activity across the States/UTs
• Varying developmental-activity-specific expertise requirement for
conducting EIA studies and their appraisal
• Availability of adequate sectoral experts and variations in competency
levels
• Inadequate data verification, cross checking tools and supporting
institutional framework
• Meeting time targets without compromising with the quality of
assessments/ reviews
• Varying knowledge and skill levels of regulators, consultants and experts
• Newly added developmental activities for prior environmental clearance,
etc.

7. CONCEPTUAL FACETS OF EIA
• ’Environment’ in EIA context mainly focuses, but is not limited to
physical, chemical, biological, geological, social, economical, and
aesthetic dimensions along with their complex interactions,
which affects individuals, communities and ultimately
determines their forms, character, relationship, and survival.
• ‘impact’ is considered as a value judgment of the significance of
an effect.
• Figure 2-1: Inclusive Components of Sustainable Development

8. Objectives of EIA
• To ensure that the environmental considerations
are explicitly addressed and incorporated into the
development and decision-making process;
• To anticipate and avoid, minimize or offset the
adverse significant biophysical, social and other
relevant effects of development proposals;
• To protect the productivity and capacity of natural
systems and the ecological processes which
maintain their functions; and
• To promote development that is sustainable and
optimizes resource use as well as management
opportunities.

9. Types of Impacts
Cumulative Impact

10. Details of constitution and projects dealt
by EAC at Central Level
S.N
o. Sector
Date of
Constitu
tion
Term of the
EAC up to
Item Numbers of Projects
/
Activities Dealt by EAC
Member
Secretary Email ID
1 Infrastruc
ture-I
13th
July,2020
12th
July,2023
• 7(b) All ship breaking yards
including ship breaking units •
7(c) Industrial estates/ parks/
complexes/ areas, export
processing Zones (EPZs),
Special Economic Zones (SEZs),
Biotech Parks, Leather
Complexes. • 7(e) Ports,
Harbours, break waters,
dredging • 7(f) Highways
Sh.
Amardeep
Raju
ad[dot]raju[at
]nic[dot]in
2 Hydro &
River
Valley
13th
July,2020
12th
July,2023
•1(c)-River Valley projects and
Irrigation Projects
Sh. Yogender
Pal Singh
yogendra78[a
t]nic[dot]in
3 CRZ 13th
July,2020
12th
July,2023
• Projects or activities
proposed in CRZ area
Dr. Harendra
Kharkwal
h[dot]kharkw
al[at]nic[dot]i
n

11. Pollution Control Strategy
• the best alternative is to take all possible steps to avoid pollution itself. This
preventive approach refers to a hierarchy that involves: i) prevention &
reduction; ii) recycling and re-use; iii) treatment; and iv) disposal, respectively.
• These tools preventive environmental management can be broadly classified into
following three groups:
• Tools for assessment and analysis - risk assessment, life cycle assessment,
total cost assessment, environmental audit / statement, environmental
benchmarking, environmental indicators
• Tools for action - environmental policy, market based economic instruments,
innovative funding mechanism, EMS and ISO certification, total
environmental quality movement, eco-labeling, cleaner production, eco-
efficiency, industrial ecosystem or metabolism, voluntary agreements
• Tools for communication - state of environment, corporate environmental
reporting Specific tools under each group are discussed precisely in next
sections.

12. cont…
Management Based Tools Process Based Tools Product Based Tools
Environmental management
system (EMS)
Environmental performance
evaluation
Environmental audits
Environmental reporting
and communication
Environmental technology
assessmentToxic use reduction
Best operating practices
Environmentally best practice Best
available technology (BAT)
Waste minimization
Industrial ecology
Extended producers
responsibility
Eco-labeling
Design for environment
Life cycle assessment
(LCA)
Total cost accounting
Pollution prevention
Law and policy Cleaner production
Trade and environment 4-R Concept
Environmental economics Cleaner technology
Eco-efficiency

13. Constitution of expert appraisal committee for river
valley & Hydroelectric projects

14. Cont…

15. 2. The terms of the Committee will be as follows:
To scrutinize the proposals relating to River Valley &
Hydroelectric Project for prescribing Terms of Reference
(TORs) for undertaking details Environment Impact
Assessment (EIA) studies.
To scrutinize the Environmental Impact Assessment reports
(EIAs) for River Valley & Hydroelectric Projects and
Environmental Management Plan (EMPs) prepared and
submitted by the project proponents/developers.
To recommend clearance or rejection of River Valley &
Hydroelectric Project from environmental angle.
Recommendation for rejection of any project and revision
/modification of any project will contain comprehensive
reasons thereof.
To suggest and prescribe adequate safeguard measures to
mitigate the adverse environmental impacts in respect of
projects recommend for approval.

16. 3. The Committee shall adopt the
following procedure for appraisal:
(i) The Committee shall meet at least once in a month on a fixed date/period.
(ii) The agenda for the meeting shall be circulated by the Member Secretary to all the members 15 days prior to
the scheduled meeting.
(ii) The appraisal of the proposal shall be completed ordinarily in single meeting and specific
recommendations made. In case the committee finds that additional information is required
for considering the proposal and the project proponent cannot furnish them in the meeting
itself, the consideration of the proposal may be deferred to subsequent dates, based on the
request and preparedness of the project proponent. The Committee will provide
recommendations in respect of any projects under the following three mutually exclusive
categories:
•
a. Recommended
b. Deferred (for consideration in the next or future meeting as may be specified in the
Committee deliberations, after submission of required additional information to be further
reviewed/examined by the EAC).
c. Rejected (along with reasons for rejection).
•
(ii) A site visit as part of the appraisal process may be undertaken where it is considered
necessary for reasons to be recorded by the Committee. The visit is to be undertaken with the
prior approval of the Ministry. The site visit team shall comprise of not more than three
members.
(iii) Minutes of each meeting shall be finalized within 5 working days after the meeting.

17. Cont…
2. The tenure of the Committee shall be for a period of 3 years from the date of issue
of this Order.
3. Meetings of the Committee shall normally be organized in Delhi. However, in
special cases, with the prior approval of the Ministry, meeting may be held
elsewhere inthe country.
4.
The Committee may co-opt an expert as a member in a relevant field for particular
meetings of the Committee, with prior approval of the Ministry.
5. TA/DA of the member/co-opted experts/independent experts nominated by the
Ministry for attending the meeting of the Committee or undertaking site visits
approved by the Ministry shall be met by the Ministry as per rules. The Chairman
and other members of the Committee ae entitled to travel by Air route by Air India
and as per Rules.
6. The non-official members/co-opted experts/independent nominated experts
attending the Committee meetings/site visits are also entitled for honorarium of Rs.
6000/- per day and road mileage as per the Government Rules.
7. This issues with the concurrence of IFD vide their Diary No. E-136769 dated
13.07.2020 and with the approval of the Competent Authority.
•

19.  Environmental assessments could be classified into
four types i.e. strategic environmental assessment,
regional EIA, sectoral EIA and project level EIA.

20.  Strategic environmental assessment (SEA)
refers to systematic analysis of the
environmental effects of development
policies, plans, programmes and other
proposed strategic actions. SEA represents a
proactive approach to integrating
environmental considerations into the higher
levels of decision-making – beyond the
project level, when major alternatives are still
open.

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

22.  Instead of project-level-EIA, an EIA should take
place in the context of regional and sectoral level
planning.
 Once sectoral level development plans have the
integrated sectoral environmental concerns
addressed, the scope of project-level EIA will be
quite minimal.
 Sectoral EIA helps in addressing specific
environmental problems that may be encountered
in planning and implementing sectoral
development projects.

23.  Project level EIA refers to the developmental activity in isolation and
the impacts that it exerts on the receiving environment.
 it may not effectively integrate the cumulative effects of the
development in a region.
 it is clear that EIA shall be integrated at all the levels i.e. strategic,
regional, sectoral and the project level.
 Whereas, the strategic EIA is a structural change in the way the
things are evaluated for decision-making, the regional EIA refers to
substantial information processing and drawing complex
inferences.
 The project-level EIA is relatively simple and reaches to meaningful
conclusions.
 Therefore in India, the project-level EIA studies take place on a
large scale and are being considered.
 However, in the re-engineered Notification, provisions have been
incorporated for giving a single clearance for the entire industrial
estate for e.g., Leather parks, pharma cities etc., which is a step
towards the regional approach.
 As we progress and the resource planning concepts emerge in our
decision-making process, the integration of overall regional issues
will become part of the impact assessment studies.

24.  A properly-conducted-EIA also lessens conflicts by promoting community participation, informing decision makers, and also helps
in laying the base for environmentally sound projects. An EIA should meet at least three core values:

 Integrity: The EIA process should be fair, objective, unbiased and balanced
 Utility: The EIA process should provide balanced, credible information for decision- making
 Sustainability: The EIA process should result in environmental safeguards Ideally an EIA process should be:
 Purposive - should inform decision makers and result in appropriate levels of
 environmental protection and community well-being.
 Rigorous - should apply ‘best practicable’ science, employing methodologies and techniques appropriate to address the
problems being investigated.
 Practical - should result in providing information and outputs which assist with problem solving and are acceptable to and
able to be implemented by proponents.
 Relevant- should provide sufficient, reliable and usable information for development planning and decision making.
 Cost-effective - should impose minimum cost burdens in terms of time and finance on proponents and participants
consistent with meeting accepted requirements and objectives of EIA.
 Efficient -.should achieve the objectives of EIA within the limits of available information, time, resources and methodology.
 Focused - should concentrate on significant environmental effects and key issues; i.e., the matters that need to be taken
into account in making decisions.
 Adaptive - should be adjusted to the realities, issues and circumstances of the proposals under review without
compromising the integrity of the process, and be iterative, incorporating lessons learned throughout the project life cycle.
 Participative - should provide appropriate opportunities to inform and involve the interested and affected publics, and their
inputs and concerns should be addressed explicitly in the documentation and decision making.
 Inter-disciplinary - should ensure that appropriate techniques and experts in relevant bio-physical and socio-economic
disciplines are employed, including use of traditional knowledge as relevant.
 Credible - should be carried out with professionalism, rigor, fairness, objectivity, impartiality and balance, and be subject to
independent checks and verification.
 Integrated - should address the interrelationships of social, economic and biophysical aspects.
 Transparent - should have clear, easily understood requirements for EIA content; ensure public access to information;
identify the factors that are to be taken into account in decision making; and acknowledge limitations and difficulties.
 Systematic - should result in full consideration of all relevant information on the affected environment, of proposed
alternatives and their impacts, and of the measures necessary to monitor and investigate residual effects.

25.  Environmental impacts resulting from proposed
actions can be grouped into following categories:
Beneficial or detrimental
Naturally reversible or irreversible
Repairable via management practices or irreparable
Short term or long term
Temporary or continuous
Occurring during construction phase or operational phase
Local, regional, national or global
Accidental or planned (recognized before hand)
Direct (primary) or Indirect (secondary)
Cumulative or single
 The category of impact as stated above, and the
significance will facilitate the expert appraisal
committee (EAC)/State level EAC (SEAC) to take a view
on the ToR for EIA studies, as well as in decision
making process about the developmental activity.

26. Zone Number of CETPs
Northern Zone (UP – 3, Haryana – 1, Punjab –2, Delhi
– 10 complete, 2under construction, 3 kept in abeyance
16
Western Zone (Gujarat – 19, Maharashtra – 12) 31
Eastern Zone (WB-1) 1
Zone Number of CETPs
Central Zone (Rajasthan – 5, MP- 1) 6
South Zone (T.N – 33, AP – 2, Karnataka – 2) 37
Table 3-1: Zone-wise Status of CETPs in
India
Source: CPCB (Year 2006)
Parameter Concentration
pH 5.5 - 9.0
Temperature (oC) 45.0
Oil and grease 20.0
Cyanide (as CN) 2.0
Ammoniacal nitrogen(as N) 50.0
Phenolic compounds (as
C6H5OH) 5.0
Hexavalent Chromium 2.0
Total chromium 2.0
Copper 3.0
Nickel 3.0
Zinc 15.0
Lead 1.0
Arsenic 0.2
Mercury 0.01
Cadmium 1.0
Selenium 0.05
Fluoride 15.0
Boron 2.0
Radioactive Materials
Alfa emitters, Hc/ml 10-7
Beta emitters, Hc/ml 10-8
Table 3-2: Inlet Effluent Quality
Standards for CETPs

28.  The professional Team identified for a specific EIA study should
comprise of qualified and experienced professionals from
various disciplines in order to address the critical aspects
identified for the specific project. Based on the nature and the
environmental setting, following professionals may be identified
for EIA studies:
 Environmental management specialist/Regulator
 Air and noise quality expert
 Occupational health
 Geology/geo-hydrology
 Ecologist
 Transportation Specialist
 Safety and health specialist
 Social scientist
 Chemical engineer, etc.

30. Appraisal means the detailed scrutiny by the EAC/SEAC
of the application and the other documents like the
final EIA report, outcome of the public consultation
including public hearing proceedings submitted by the
applicant for grant of environmental clearance.
 The appraisal shall be made by EAC to the
Central Government or SEAC to SEIAA.
 Project proponent either personally or through
consultant can make a presentation to
EAC/SEAC for the purpose of appraising the
features of the project proposal and also to
clarify the issues raised by the members of the
EAC/SEAC.

31.  On completion of these proceedings, concerned EAC/SEAC
shall make categorical recommendations to the respective
Authority, either for grant of prior environmental clearance on
stipulated terms & conditions, if any, or rejection of the
application with reasons.
 In case EAC/SEAC needs to visit the site or obtain further
information before being able to make categorical
recommendations, EAC/SEAC may inform the project
proponent accordingly. In such an event, it should be ensured
that the process of environmental clearance is not unduly
delayed to go beyond the prescribed timeframe.
 Up on the scrutiny of the final report, if EAC/SEAC opines that
ToR for EIA studies finalized at the scoping stage are not
covered by the proponent, then the project proponent may be
asked to provide such information. If such information is
declined by the project proponent or is unlikely to be provided
early enough so as to complete the environmental appraisal
within prescribed time of 60 days, the EAC/SEAC may
recommend for rejection of the proposal with the same reason.

32.  Appraisal shall be strictly in terms of the ToR for
EIA studies finalized at the scoping stage and the
concerns expressed during public consultation.
 This process of appraisal shall be completed
within 60 days from the receipt of the updated EIA
report and EMP report, after completing public
consultation.

33. • https://parivesh.nic.in/Notifications.aspx?id=E
C