An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies how a proposed project will affect the air, water, land, wildlife and people around it — and how those effects can be avoided or reduced. For projects with significant impacts, it is a condition of environmental clearance.
The main stages
- Screening and scoping: deciding which impacts need detailed study
- Baseline study: measuring the current state of air, water, noise, soil and ecology
- Impact prediction: estimating what will change once the project is built and running
- Mitigation: designing measures to avoid, reduce or offset the impacts
- Environmental Management Plan: setting out who will do what, and how it will be monitored
Public consultation
Talking to the communities affected is a key part of a good EIA. Their knowledge often reveals issues that maps and models miss.
More than a formality
Done properly, an EIA improves the project itself: a better site layout, a correctly sized treatment plant, or a drainage design that avoids flooding neighbours.
IEE or EIA?
Projects with moderate impacts may need only an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE). The DOE category of the project decides which study is required.
Water Exchange prepares IEE and EIA reports, carries out baseline monitoring and supports clients through the review process.
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