Environmental Impact Assessment

University of Santo TomasCollege of Architecture

SP2 Ecological Construction Environmental Architecture

Definitions“An assessment of the possible positive or negative impact that a proposed project may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects”.

- Wikipedia

Definitions

“A procedure that ensures that the environmental implications of decisions are taken into account before the decisions are made”. - European Commission

Definitions

“Describes a procedure that must be followed for certain types of project before they can be given 'development consent'. The procedure is a means of drawing together, in a systematic way, an assessment of a project's likely significant environmental effects”. - Department for Communities and Local Government, UK

Definitions

“Refers to both a decision-making process and a document that provides a systematic, reproducible, and interdisclipinary evaluation of the potential physical, biological, cultural, and socioeconomic effects of a proposed action and its practical alternatives”. - US Environmental Protection Agency

Definitions“Process that involves predicting and evaluating the likely impacts of a project (including cumulative impacts) on the environment during construction, commissioning, operation and abandonment. It also includes designing appropriate preventive, mitigating and enhancement measures addressing these consequences to protect the environment and the community’s welfare”. - RP’s DENR EMB

“EIA is thus an anticipatory, participatory design, planning and environmental management tool.” - The Royal Town Planning Institute, UK

EIA around the World

• Australia

One of the pioneering states was New South Wales, whose State Pollution Control Commission issued EIA guidelines in 1974.

This was followed by passing of the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act in 1974.

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) superseded the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974 and is the current central piece for EIA in Australia on a Commonwealth (Federal) level.

EIA around the World

• Canada

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) is the legal basis for the federal environmental assessment (EA) process. CEAA came into force in 1995.

Legislative amendments were introduced in 2001 and came into force on October 30, 2003.

EIA around the World

• China

EIAs are governed in China by the Environmental Impact Assessment Law (effective September 1, 2003)

China's State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) used the legislation to halt 30 projects in 2004, including three hydro-power plants under the Three Gorges Project Company.

EIA around the World

• European Union

European Union Directive (85/337/EEC) on Environmental Impact Assessments (known as the EIA Directive) was first introduced in 1985 and was amended in 1997.

The directive was amended again in 2003, following EU signature of the 1998 Aarhus Convention.

In 2001, the issue was enlarged to the assessment of plans and programmes by the so called Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive (2001/42/EC), which is now in force.

EIA around the World

• United States

Under United States environmental law an Environmental Assessment (EA) is compiled to determine the need for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and originated in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), enacted in 1969.