Environmental Impact Assessment

Environmental Impact Assessment is the process of determining how a project or development would likely affect the environment while taking into consideration related socioeconomic, cultural, and positive and negative effects on human health. An environmental, economic, and social impact assessment (EIA) is a tool used to evaluate a project’s potential benefits and drawbacks. This is used to forecast a project’s environmental effects at the pre-planning phase so that actions can be taken to lessen the negative effects.

What is the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)?

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a strategic evaluation process adopted by many nations to predetermine the socioeconomic, environmental, and human health impact of any development project. The EIA is an extraordinary and highly effective formula that can determine both adverse and helpful possible impacts of any upcoming project in the planning phase only. As EIA is adopted in the planning phase it helps evaluators assess the possible risks and impacts and find suitable alternatives for the same. The Environmental Impact Assessment in India is done under the Environment Protection Act, of 1986, and under this act, the guidelines and assessment procedure are decided.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Evolution and History of Environmental Impact Assessment

EIA is regarded as one of the most significant policy developments of the 20th century. EIA’s primary goals are environmental preservation and identifying the optimal balance between the costs and benefits of the environment and the economy:

• The EIA was established in the 1970s. The United States of America introduced the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) in 1969.
• The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was first implemented in rich countries, but it has gradually spread to underdeveloped countries like India.
• The Philippines and Columbia are the first developing countries to include EIA into their policies. It was introduced in 1974 by Columbia and in 1978 by the Philippines.
• EIA is currently used in over 100 countries worldwide. Approximately 110 nations have implemented EIA as a significant environmental strategy by the mid-1990s.
• The World Bank designated EIA as the primary development project in 1989.

Objectives of Environmental Impact Assessment

The Environmental Impact Assessment’s goals or objectives are as follows:

• Determining, projecting, and assessing the effects of development operations on the environment, society, and economy.
• Supplying data for decision-making regarding the effects on the environment.
• Promoting development that is reasonable and environmentally sound by figuring out suitable substitutes and mitigating strategies.

Environmental Impact Assessment in India

The Environmental Impact Assessment was first introduced in India in 1976-77 when the Department of Science and Technology was asked by the planning commission to check the environmental impact of the river valley project. Till 1994 the central Government of India acted as the main decision maker for providing environmental clearance for any development project. But in January 1994 the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) under the Environmental Protection Act 1986, released a notification for EIA, making it compulsory to get Environmental clearance for any new project. 

In September 2006, The Ministry of Forest and Climate Change made certain amendments under EIA. According to which any new projects under mining, thermal, powerplant, river-valley, infrastructure sectors need to get a compulsory environmental clearance. 

What are the Steps Involved in Environmental Impact Assessment

Steps or processes involved under Environmental Impact Assessment are mentioned below:

• Screening: The first step of the EIA involves the screening of projects based on whether they need a complete or a partial assessment.
• Scoping: This step involves the assessment of the potential impact based on experts’ knowledge, public opinion, international conventions, domestic legislation, etc. This step also involves the risk assessment and the potential impact of the upcoming project on human health and biodiversity present in that region. 
• Risk Assessment and evaluation of alternatives: In this step, the possible adverse environmental impacts are determined and involve the evaluation of alternatives.
• Submitting EIA report and EIS (Environmental Impact statement): Under this step, a detailed report is to be submitted with all the non-technical summary, Environmental Management Plan, and risk assessment summary.
• EIS and EIA Review: This is one of the most crucial steps of EIA that involves reviewing EIA reports, with all possible environmental impacts, and suggestive alternatives.
• Decision-Making: Based on the detailed study of the EIA report the government decides whether to approve the project or not.
• Compliance, Auditing, and Monitoring: The step involves the compliance of all the adaptive measures suggested by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to reduce the environmental impact. Also, the GOI monitors the whole project at the time of execution and even after that whether an individual organization complies with Environmental Management Plan or not.

Notification of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), 2006

The governing legislative document for approving the start-up or growth of an industry based on the project’s possible environmental impact is the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006. Since its debut in 1994, the notice has undergone multiple revisions in the present day.

An Overview

• Although the 2006 notification is adaptable and can change with the times, governments have taken advantage of it, trying to weaken its rules and regulations to make it simpler to start and grow polluting enterprises.
• This was made possible by the advent of office memos, which are notification modifications that don’t need to be approved by the public.
• 110 such adjustments have been implemented in the last five years, and some of them have been contested by the National Green Tribunal.
• The greatest number of changes to the 2006 notification were introduced in 2022–2023 compared to the previous five years.

Therefore, it appears that recent changes to India’s environmental clearance procedure are aiming for quicker approvals at the expense of thorough investigation and public involvement. It is important that the government maintains transparency, accountability, and participation in the process while striking a balance between environmental protection and economic development.

Category of Projects under the Environmental Impact Assessment

Category of Projects under the Environmental Impact Assessment are divided into two categories:

• A Category Projects: This category of projects does not go through the screening process of EIA, as it mandatorily requires Environmental clearance.
• B Category Projects: This category of projects may or may not require environmental clearance thus they go under screening. Thus the one which requires Environmental clearance is further classified under B1 projects and the one which doesn’t require environmental clearance is classified under B2 projects.

Participants in Environmental Impact Assessment

The follwing are the participants of Environmental Impact Assessment:

• The one who proposed the project
• The Environment consultant 
• The Impact assessment agency
• The pollution control board
• Ministry of Environment of Forest.
• Public opinion.

Advantages of Environmental Impact Assessment

The following are some of the advantages of Environmental Impact Assessment:

• It helps in creating a safe working environment while promoting sustainable development.
• It’s a cost-effective method that reduces the adverse impact of development projects on the environment.
• In the development plan, the EIA promotes mitigation strategies.
• This method helps to analyze the potential impact in the planning phase only so that suitable alternatives can be found out and necessary changes can be made.

Drawbacks of the Environmental Impact Assessment

The following are some of the disadvantages of Environmental Impact Assessment:

• Several hazardous projects don’t fall under the notification of EIA due to their budget listed under schedule I.
• The technical team and panels of experts are somehow found to be lacking in their expertise.
• Public opinion is one of the main steps under EIA but, much importance is not given to public comments when deciding on any project.
• There are some sectors whose details need to be kept confidential, like the nuclear sector, thus the public doesn’t get any information on the EIA of such sectors.

FAQs – Environmental Impact Assessment

1. What is the Environmental Impact Assessment?

An instrument used to evaluate a project’s or development proposal’s potential substantial environmental repercussions is the environmental impact assessment (EIA). Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) ensure that project decision makers consider the potential environmental effects as early as feasible and work toward mitigating, avoiding, or reducing such effects.

2. What are the 5 Stages of an EIA?

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process consists of five stages:

• Screening
• Scoping
• Preparing an Environmental Statement (ES)
• Making a planning application and consultation.
• Decision making.

3. What is the Importance of EIA?

The following points out the importance of EIA: 1) EIA is a tool to achieve a greater goal, namely the preservation and enhancement of the environment’s quality of life; it is more than just technical reports. 2) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process used to determine and assess how human activity affects the natural and social environments.

4. What is the Aim of the EIA?

Identification, forecasting, and assessment of the project’s possible effects on the environment—which includes ecosystems, natural resources, human health, and social, cultural, and economic aspects—are the main objectives of an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

5. What are the Limitations of EIA?

Environmental Impact Assessments come with difficulties and restrictions, such as poor scoping, little participation from stakeholders, insufficient project data, and noncompliance with permission requirements.