Enviro Consulting Flashcards
(53 cards)
EIA is defined as:
An activity designed to identify and predict the impact on the biophysical environment and on man’s health and well being of legislative proposals, polices, programmes, projects and operational procedures, and to interpret and communicate information about the impacts.
What are the stages of an EIA?
- Impact identification
- Forecasting of impacts
- Evaluation of impacts
- Communication of results
EIA is carried out in an iterative manner, with close consultation between…?
The developer, Local Planning Authority and the Environmental Authority
What are the main tasks to be carried out for the EIA?
- ID of the physical and temporal boundaries of effect;
- Investigation of proposed site(s) and surrounding physcial, ecological, social and economic environment;
- Conduct of baseline studies and ID of on-site and off-site (current and future) enviro conditions, without the proposed development (for future comparison)
- Detailed analysis of the workings of the proposal, including its various phases, functions and connections with the environment.
- Investigation of enviro safeguards and mitigation measures;
- Prediction of enviro impacts of the proposal;
- Analysis of alternatives to proposed action, including environmental effects;
- Evaluation of development alts and enviro protection measures;
- Indication of recommended course of action for implementation of the proposal - including enviro monitoring, management and post-development provisions.
How would you establish initial environmental conditions?
Baseline study
A preliminary planning document is prepared following the initial process of environmental screening by the developer.
This document should include:
- Specification of the proposal with discussion of feasible and prident alts
- Description of the implementation and management plan
- Desc of the existing environment
- Indication of potential EIs
- Outline of environmental safeguards and mitigation measures
- Desc of monitoring programme
- ID of statutory requirements
- Scope for modification of the proposal
- Issues of special concern
- Finanical profitability or feasability
- Expenditure on environmental protection
- Off-site financial impacts
- Economic benefits and costs
What are the steps in EIA proposal procedure?
- The developer formulates the proposal. Prior to submission, this may undergo revision to reduce adverse environmental impacts.
- Submit the proposal to the Local Planning Authority.
- The Planning Authority (PA) screens the proposal to assess the significance of the likely enviro impacts of the activity.
- PA considers scope and programme for an EIA
- PA notifies the Enviro Authority (EA)
- The EA determines the appropriate level of EIA, scopes the key issues, and establishes the terms of reference or guidelines for the EIA and any public review.
- Detailed EIA undertaken and documented in an Enviro Impact Statement (EIS)
- Public inquiry/review to enable citizens to comment on the contents of the EIS (useful comments incorporated)
- EIS and mitigatory and monitoring program reviewed by the EA;
- Final EIS prepared (incl. full account of mitigation and monitoring measures)
- the PA makes decision to proceed or cancel.
- A post-audit is undertaken by the Determining Authority and the EA to determine accuracy of the predictions and to see whether mitigation measures were properly carried out.
During step 3 of EIA procedure, the Planning Authority screens the proposal to assess the significance of the likely enviro impacts of the activity.
The significance of the activity will depend on what?
> Size > Nature > Kinds of enviro impact > Ecosystems or human systems under threat > Likely magnitude of effects
An EIS should contain:
- A desc of the proposed activity and its deed or rationale;
- A desc of feasible alts
- A desc of the potentially affected environments
- An assessment of all the likely or potential environmental impacts (including cumulative, direct, indirect, short and long term effects)
- ID, desc and assessment of mitigation measures for each alt
- Account of provision for post-audit
The methods available in EIA can be categorized into:
> Index methods (e.g. check lists) > Matrices >Map overlay >System or flow diagram >Simulation modelling
What is the role of baseline studies and monitoring in environmental management?
> Baseline studies used to establish statistically valid descriptions of environmental attributes prior to the onset of the project.
> Simulation modelling used to predict extent of change.
> When project becomes operational, the baseline variables are monitored and remeasured over time to determine the extent of predicted changes.
Enviro monitoring aims to:
Determine the occurrence and magnitude of an impact
During monitoring, it is important to establish that the perceived change is a consequence of the project under consideration and not the function of some other cause (e.g. natural variation in the monitored parameter, or result of another project in the vacinity).
How would one do this?
> It is common practice to use reference monitoring locations
The reference locations are selected in areas similar to the treatment locations but where the impacts are not expected to occur
E.g. river quality monitoring stations downstream of an effluent discharge point together with reference locations upstream.
The basic techniques of monitoring enviro data are:
> Grab sampling techniques
Automated sampling techniques
Automated continuous monitoring and data analysis
Biological monitoring systems
What factors have to be appraised in the design of an enviro monitoring system?
- The enviro variables that will be monitored
- The frequency at which these variables must/can be evaluated
Enviro legislation and the T and C’s of any planning consent would provide the guidelines for these decisions.
Give an example of a simple data gathering technique
Grab sampling
Grab sampling is often used for the evaluation of:
water and soil quality and gaseous emissions
What are the disadvantages of simple data gathering techniques such as grab sampling?
By the time the samples are analysed, the impact of the pollutant could have already occurred
Particularly important in sensitive areas e.g. effluent discharge into rivers around tailings dam
The more sophisticated approach is that of continuous monitoring of the environment.
This means:
Monitoring instrumentation that has the ability to repeatedly monitor one or more attributes at a regular interval.
The frequency is defined by the user or the physical limit of the monitor.
What are the advantages of a continuous monitoring system?
- Continuous monitoring in time
- Instantaneous data
- Remedial action/closed circuit control possible
- Sampling error is minimized
- Less labour required
- A large amount of data
What are the disadvantages of a continuous monitoring system?
- Complex to install
- Difficult to tailor a suitable ‘customised’ system
- Calibration has to carried out at regular intervals
- System is only as accurate as instrument
- Skilled labour required
- A large amount of data
- Initial capital cost
- Not suitable for all environmental attributes
Give e.g.’s of typical continuously monitored environmental attributes
> Water quality (e.g. pH, O2, heavy metals, conductivity, T)
> Noise
> Air quality (ambient dust, gaseous emissions)
What enviro data are not suitable to be continuously monitored?
> Soil contamination (samples taken at regular intervals to study cumulative effects)
> Biological surveys (virtually impossible to automate)
What enviro variables are considered when monitoring soil quality?
> Metals > Nitrates > Sulphides > Organic content > pH
