The document discusses the significance and process of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which evaluates the potential environmental impacts of major projects to inform decision-making. EIA considers social, economic, and ecological factors, aiming to minimize adverse effects while promoting sustainable development. The report outlines the steps involved in conducting EIA, the types of projects requiring assessment, and the benefits and challenges associated with implementing EIA in various countries.

1. Submitted by:
DEEPIKA VERMA (15001506003)
HIMANSHI BAGGA (15001506004)
SHIVANI GOEL (15001506013)
M. Arch. (2015-17), 2nd Sem,
Department of Architechture,
Deenbandhu ChhotuRam University
of Science & Technology, Murthal

2. • Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA)-
INTRODUCTION
• Impacts :
• Evolution of EIA
• Benefits of EIA
• The process of EIA
• Contents of EIA Report
• List of projects requiring EIA
• EXTERNALITIES OF EIA
• Conclusions
Contents:

3. INTRODUCTION
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) refers to the evaluation of the environmental
impacts likely to raise from a major project significantly affecting the environment.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process which ensures that all
environmental matters are taken into account quite early in the project at
planning process itself. It takes into consideration not only technical and
economic considerations but also, traditional aspects like impact on local people,
biodiversity etc.
• A tool used to identify the environmental, social and economic impacts of a project
prior to decision-making.
• It aims to predict environmental impacts at an early stage in project planning and
design, find ways and means to reduce adverse impacts, shape projects to suit the
local environment and present the predictions and options to decision-makers.
• By using EIA both environmental and economic benefits can be achieved, such as
reduced cost and time of project implementation and design, avoided
treatment/clean-up costs and impacts of laws and regulations.

4. TYPES OF IMPACTS
IMPACTS
• The impact of an activity is a deviation (a change) from
the baseline situation that is caused by the activity.
• The baseline situation is the existing environmental
situation or condition in the absence of the activity.
Ecological Impact
Fisheries, forests, plantation, eutrophication
Physico-chemical Impact
Erosion and Siltation, drainage congestion /water
logging, regional hydrology/flooding, obstruction
to waste water flow, dust /noise pollution
Impact on Human Interest
Loss of agricultural lands, generation of
employment opportunities, navigation and boat
communication, commercial and service
facilities, industrial activities, irrigation facilities
Environmental impacts:
1. Depletion of natural
resources.
2. Destruction of habitats.
3. Change in ph, oxygen level,
toxicity of water.
4. Increase in toxicity of air.
5. Global warming.
6. Ozone depletion.

5. EIA is one of the successful policy innovations of the 20th Century for environmental
conservation. Thirty-seven years ago, there was no EIA but today, it is a formal process in
many countries and is currently practiced in more than 100 countries. EIA as a mandatory
regulatory procedure originated in the early 1970s, with the implementation of the
National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) 1969 in the US. A large part of the initial
development took place in a few high-income countries, like Canada, Australia, and New
Zealand (1973-74). However, there were some developing countries as well, which
introduced EIA relatively early - Columbia (1974), Philippines (1978).
The EIA process really took off after the mid-1980s. In 1989, the World Bank adopted EIA
for major development projects, in which a borrower country had to undertake an EIA
under the Bank's supervision
EVOLUTION OF EIA

6. BENEFITS OF EIA
Lower project costs in the long-term
Increased project acceptance
Improved project design
Informed decision making
Environmentally sensitive decisions
Increased accountability and transparency
Reduced environmental damage
Improved integration of projects into their environmental
and social settings

7. BENEFITS OF EIA

8. PROCESS OF EIA
EIA process includes following steps:
† Screening
† Scoping
† Impact analysis
† Impact mitigation
† Reporting
† Review
† Decision making
† Monitoring

9. PROCESS OF EIA
† Screening: to determine which
projects or developments require a full
or partial impact assessment study;
† Scoping: to identify which potential
impacts are relevant to assess (based
on legislative requirements,
international conventions, expert
knowledge and public involvement), to
identify alternative solutions that
avoid, mitigate or compensate adverse
impacts on biodiversity (including the
option of not proceeding with the
development, finding alternative
designs or sites which avoid the
impacts, incorporating safeguards in
the design of the project, or providing
compensation for adverse impacts),
and finally to derive terms of reference
for the impact assessment;

10. †Assessment and evaluation of impacts and development of alternatives, to predict and identify
the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development, including the
detailed elaboration of alternatives;
†Reporting the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or EIA report, including an
environmental management plan (EMP), and a non-technical summary for the general
audience.
†Review of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), based on the terms of reference
(scoping) and public (including authority) participation.
†Decision-making on whether to approve the project or not, and under what conditions; and
†Monitoring, compliance, enforcement and environmental auditing. Monitor whether the
predicted impacts and proposed mitigation measures occur as defined in the EMP. Verify the
compliance of proponent with the EMP, to ensure that unpredicted impacts or failed
mitigation measures are identified and addressed in a timely fashion.

11. CONTENT OF EIA REPORT
A description of the project
An outline of the main alternatives studied by the developer, and an indication
of the main reasons for this choice
A description of the aspects of the environment likely to be significantly affected
by the proposed project
A description of the likely significant environmental effects of the proposed
project
Measures to prevent, reduce and possibly offset adverse
environmental effects
A non-technical summary
An indication of any difficulties (technical deficiencies or
lack of know-how) encountered while compiling the required information

12. MOST DEFINITIONS RECOGNIZE THE FOLLOWING FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES
I. Procedural principle; EIA establishes a systematic method for
incorporating environmental considerations into decision-making;
II. Informational principle; EIA provides the necessary elements to make
an informed decision;
III. Preventive principle; EIA should be applied at the earliest opportunity
within the decision-making process to allow the anticipation and
avoidance of environmental impacts wherever possible; and
IV. Iterative principle; the information generated by EIA is made available
to interested parties to elicit a response which in turn should be fed
back into EIA process.

13. DATA REQUIREMENTS
• PROJECT
• Type
• Size
• Location
• AREA OF POTENTIAL IMPACT
» Physical resources
» Biological resources
» Economic development resources
» Quality of life
» Other existing and planned projects

14. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should be prepared on the basis of the existing
background pollution levels vis-a-vis contributions of pollutants from the proposed plant.
The EIA should address some of the basic factors listed below:
• Meteorology and air quality
Ambient levels of pollutants such as Sulphur Dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, carbon
monoxide, suspended particulate matters, should be determined at the center and at 3
other locations on a radius of 10 km with 120 degrees angle between stations. Additional
contribution of pollutants at the locations are required to be predicted after taking into
account the emission rates of the pollutants from the stacks of the proposed plant, under
different meteorological conditions prevailing in the area.
• Hydrology and water quality
• Site and its surroundings
• Occupational safety and health
• Details of the treatment and disposal of effluentS(liquid,air and solid) and the methods of
alternative uses
• Transportation of raw material and details of material handling
• Control equipment and measures proposed to be adopted

15. SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (SIA)
• Social Impact Assessment (SIA) includes the processes of analysing, monitoring and
managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of
planned interventions and any social change processes invoked by those interventions
(Vanclay, 1999).
• The analysis should include the use of land, culture, the main economic activities e.g.
tourism, agriculture, employment levels and impact on service provision e.g. education,
water use, traffic, energy use etc.
• Its primary purpose is to bring about a more sustainable and equitable biophysical and
human environment.
• Social Impact Assessment assumes that social, economic and biophysical impacts are
interconnected.
• Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is therefore done to ensure that there is no mismatch
between the development and socio-cultural and economic of the project area.
EIA RELATED STUDIES

16. HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT (HIA)
• Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely absence
of disease or infirmity (WHO, 1946).
• In most EIAs, HIA is usually included under SIA. HIA is now emerging as a key component
of EIA because health is determined by a multiplicity of factors including socio-economic
and environmental factors.
• There is no clear definition about where health concerns end and where environmental or
social concerns begin.
• HIA is a broad concept that may be interpreted in different ways by a range of different
users but all imply an interest in the safeguarding and enhancement of human health and
a concern that human activities and decisions, in the form of development projects, plans,
programs and policies can affect human health in both positive and negative ways.
STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (SEA)
SEA is undertaken much earlier in the decision-making process than EIA - it is therefore seen
as a key tool for sustainable development. „Strategic Environmental Assessment aims to
incorporate environmental and sustainability considerations into strategic decision making
processes, such as the formulation of policies, plans and programs.‟
EIA RELATED STUDIES

17. LIST OF PROJECTS REQUIRING AN EIA
(A) Energy
1. Hydroelectric power generation over 50 MW.
2. Thermal power generation over 200 MW.
3. Transmission lines (11 KV and above) and grid stations.
4. Nuclear Power plants.
5. Petroleum refineries.
(B) Manufacturing and Processing
1. Cement Plants.
2. Chemicals projects.
3. Fertilizers plants.
4. Food processing industries including sugar mills, beverages, milk and dairy products
with total cost of Rs. 100 Million and above.
5. Industrial Estates (including export processing zones)

18. 6. Man-made fibers and resin projects with total cost of Rs. 100 Million and above.
7. Pesticides (manufacture or formulation).
8. Petrochemicals complex.
9. Synthetic resins, plastic and man-made fibers, paper and paperboard, paper pulping,
plastic products, textile (except apparel), printing and publishing, paints and dyes, oils
and fats and vegetable ghee projects with a total cost more than Rs. 10 Million.
10. Tanning and lather finishing projects.
(C) Mining and Mineral Processing.
1. Mining and processing of coal, gold, copper, sulphur and precious stones.
2. Mining and processing of major non-ferrous metals, iron and steel rolling.
3. Smelting plants with total cost of Rs. 50 Million and above.

19. (D)Transport
1. Airports.
2. Federal or provincial highways (except maintenance, rebuilding or reconstruction
of existing roads) with total cost of Rs.50 million and above.
3. Ports and harbors development for ships 500 gross tons and above.
4. Railway works.
(E)Water Management, Dams, Irrigation and Flood Protection..
1. Dams and reservoirs with storage volume 50 million cubic meters and above or
surface area of 08 square kilometers and above.
2. Irrigation and drainage projects serving 15,000 hectares and above.
(F)Water supply schemes and treatment.
Water supply schemes and treatment plants with total cost of Rs. 25 million and above

20. (G) Waste Disposal
1. Waste disposal and / or storage of hazardous or toxic wastes (including land fill
sites incineration of hospital toxic waste).
2. Waste disposal facility for domestic or industrial waste with annual capacity more
than 10,000 cubic meters.
(H)Urban development and tourism.
1. Land use studies and urban plans (large cities).
2. Large scale tourism development projects with total cost more than Rs. 50 million.
(I)Environmentally Sensitive Areas.
1. All projects situated in environmentally sensitive areas.

21. EXTERNALITIES OF EIA
POSITIVE EXTERNALITIES:
1. New jobs generated, economic growth stimulated.
2. Growth of local business enterprises supported.
3. Development of supporting and complementary industries.
4. Influx of capital and disposable income.
 NEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES:
• Social impacts:
1. Impacts on health of local population.
2. Increase in crime and deviant behavior.
3. Additional pressure on the existing physical infrastructure (sewage, water supply )
4. Decline in community cohesion.
5. Changed cultural values

23. BENEFITS OF THE EIA PROCESS
†Potentially screens out environmentally-unsound projects
†Proposes modified designs to reduce environmental impacts
†Identifies feasible alternatives
†Predicts significant adverse impacts
†Identifies mitigation measures to reduce, offset, or eliminate major
impacts
†Engages and informs potentially affected communities and individuals
†Influences decision-making and the development of terms and conditions

24. BENEFITS OF CONDUCTING EIA
†Facilitates informed decision making by providing clear, well structured dispassionate
analysis of the effect and consequences of proposed projects.
†Pre-emption or early withdrawal of unsound proposals.
†Assists in the selection of alternatives, including the selection of the best practicable and
most environmentally friendly option.
†Results in best practice prediction and mitigation of adverse effects of projects.
†Influences both project selection and design by screening out environmentally unsound
projects, as well as modifying feasible projects - Mitigation of negative environmental
and social impacts.
†Guides formal approval, including the establishment of terms and conditions of project
implementation and follow-up.
†Mitigation of negative environmental and social impacts.
†Serves as an adaptive, organizational learning process, in which the lessons of
experience are feedback into policy, institutional and project design - Enhancement of
positive aspects.

25. CONCLUSION
†Environment Impact Assessment is a very beneficial step to check, whether the project is
environment friendly or not.
†Since economic development is result of interaction between natural resources and technology
supported by designed for people, so all human activity should be economic, social and
environment friendly.
†EIA certainly has a crucial role to play in addressing environmental issues surrounding project
development and especially power projects.
†The integration of environment into development planning is the most important tool in
achieving sustainable development.
†Environmental protection and economic development must thus be dealt with in an integrated
manner.
†EIA process is necessary in providing an anticipatory and preventive mechanism for
environmental management and protection in any development.
†Several developing countries are still at the infancy stage of operationalization of their EIA
processes.
†The need for capacity building for quality EIA is also eminent in these countries.
†Despite these small setbacks, environmental impact assessment has become an integral part of
project planning one, which is continually being improved for posterity.