Environmental Impact Assessment | Explained

Environmental Impact Assessment is a process of evaluating the proposed projects or policies to know the future impacts of that project on human health, economic and development of our environment. The EIA prevents the proposed infrastructure projects from being sanctioned without proper supervision. The recent EIA Draft 2020 is largely criticised for its changes in rules and those changes are violating the basic principles of Environmental protection Act, 1986.

I. Meaning and Definition of Environmental Impact Assessment

Environmental Impact Assessment is a tool for planning and decision making for approval of projects and policies. The main importance of the assessment is to predict the future impacts of the policies and projects and their environmental consequences. The Environmental Impact Assessment does not take decisions but it will assist the decision-makers by providing future impacts or consequences of the projects or policies.

The decision-makers will look into the negative aspects of the project on the Environment to prevent such consequences in society. Also, it is not biased and restricted to negative aspects alone it will also look into positive aspects of the projects and policies and suggest changes for the sustainable growth of the environment.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2007 defines EIA as “An analytical process that systematically examines the feasible environmental results of the implementation of projects, programmes and policies”.^[1]

Wood (2003)^[2] defines Environmental Impact Assessment is a systematic and integrative manner for thinking about viable impacts before a decision being taken or whether or not a proposal should be approved to proceed.

II. History of Environmental Impact Assessment

• 1970– Firstly, the Environmental Impact Assessment originated in the United States of America and due to large public pressure the government enacted the National Environmental Policy Act, 1970.
• 1980– Until the 1980s every project or proposed policies were implemented in India with no environmental concerns. The department of Environment came into existence in the 1980s and till then the matters related to the environment and forest were dealt with by the department of science and technology and agriculture.
• 1985– In this, The ministry of the department of Environment came into existence, after that it became an administrative requirement of Environmental clearance of large projects or policies.
• 1992– The Environmental Impact Assessment was recognised in the Earth Summit in Rio and stated that the assessment should be treated at the national level in order to safeguard the environment from harm which can be caused due to larger projects.
• 2006– The Ministry of Environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) enacted a new EIA legislation in 2006 in September. The notification made mandatory for several projects such as mining, Infrastructure and projects related to electroplating for environmental clearance. Like the EIA notification 1994, the new legislation also handed over the responsibilities to the state government depending upon the capacity of the projects or policies.

III. Objectives of Environmental Impact Assessment

The main objectives of the Environmental Impact Assessment are to protect human health and safety. Keep away the economy from irreversible changes and serious impact on the environment. Also, in order to safeguard the natural resources, areas and protect ecosystems. The main aim of the assessment is to link the environment with safe and sustainable development.

IV. Importance of Environmental Impact Assessment

EIA is economically feasible because it takes less time compared to other assessment techniques which may not be precise and not benefit the organization. The role of Environmental Impact Assessment is to predict and evaluate the causes and impacts to the environment due to the proposed projects and policies and to analyse the effects of the projects or policies in the environment and to prevent that beforehand.

Therefore, the importance of EIA for sustainable development of the environment is huge. Before approving an infrastructure project, EIA thoroughly studies the effect and causes of the project on the environment such as how any project would affect the inhabitants, the number of trees that would be cut, and climate change. It brings out both the positive and negative impact on the environment and tries to minimise the negative Impacts.

The Process of Environment Impact Assessment governed by the following Principles:

• The very first step is Screening, to decide whether the EIA is required for the project.
• Secondly Scoping, to decide the scope of the project.
• Thirdly, preparation of the environmental impact statement (i.e) EIS
• Public participation and consultation are required.
• Evaluation of consultation and reaching for a decision.
• Monitoring causes and effects on the environment after the implementation of the project.
• Description of project and environment.
• Identification and evaluation of the environmental impacts and the management of the same.
• Presentation of the study to public participation.
• Deciding by authorities.

The Participants in the process of Environmental Impact Assessment

• Members who propose the project.
• The consultant who prepares the environmental impact assessment on behalf of the proponent.
• State or National Pollution control board.
• Participation of the public.
• The agency for impact assessment.
• Ministry of Environment and forest.

V. Types of Environmental Impact Assessment

There are four types of EIA which are,

1. Regional EIA: It combines environmental concerns into development planning for a geographic region, generally at the sub-country level. It facilitates the proper combination of economic development with the management of renewable natural resources within the limits of carrying capacity to achieve sustainable development.
2. Sectoral EIA: It helps to identify particular or specific environmental problems that may be confronted in planning and implementing sectoral development projects.
3. Project level EIA: It refers to the development activity in isolation and the impacts on the environment. Thus, it may not effectively incorporate the cumulative effects of the development in a region.
4. Strategic Environmental Assessment: It represents a proactive approach to mainstream environmental considerations into the higher levels of decision-making beyond the project level when the main alternatives are still open.^[3]

VI. Salient features of EIA Notification, 2006

1. According to the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 the projects for the assessment were mainly categorized into two major categories which are Category A and Category B.
2. Whereas, Category A will be evaluated by the central government and Category B will be evaluated by the state government.\
3. To evaluate Category B, there are two committees at the state level which are state-level impact assessment authorities and committee and state environmental assessment committee.
4. The international standard has been incorporated to prescribe the terms for the stage of scoping. This has been made to improve the quality of assessment by improving the decision making and minimising the delays.
5. Public participation has been made and structures. The public can be involved in two ways (i.e) comments by the public and video graph the proceedings of the public hearing.
6. NOC’s from other regulatory bodies such as State pollution control board (SPCB) is not considered as a prerequisite for considering the environmental clearance.

VII. Salient features of EIA draft 2020

(i) Replacement of the incumbent 4-Stage Process by a 6-Stage process-

The 2006 framework provides for 4 stages in the process of EIA:

• Screening,
• Scoping
• Public Consultation and
• Appraisal

The draft EIA Notification, 2020 proposes a 6 stage process:

• Scoping
• Preparation of Draft EIA
• Public Consultation
• Final EIA
• Appraisal and
• Grant or Rejection of EC/EP.

(ii) Increase in the Number of Categories of Projects

The current framework under the 2006 Notification consists of only three categories of projects-

• A Project,
• B1 Project
• B2 Project

However, the draft EIA Notification proposes an increase in the number of categories of projects to five:

• A projects (require prior EC from the Ministry),
• B1 projects fulfilling General Conditions mentioned in Clause 3 (require prior EC from the Ministry),
• B1 projects not fulfilling General Conditions mentioned in Clause 3 (require prior EC from SEIAA or UTEIAA),
• B2 projects which are required to be placed before the Appraisal Committee (require prior EC from SEIAA or UTEIAA), and
• B2 projects not required to be placed before the Appraisal Committee (require prior EP from SEIAA or UTEIAA).

(iii) The EIA draft 2020 notification exempted a lengthy list of projects from public opinion or consultation. For instance, linear projects such as roads and pipelines in frontal areas will not require a public hearing. The “frontal area” is defined as “an area less than 100 kilometres in air distance from the effective line of control with countries bordering India”. This covered a large part of the northeast, which is the repository of one of the country’s richest biodiversity.

(iv) The projects for environmental clearance has been classified into three categories such as A, B1 and B2. Each category has a separate Environmental clearance process.

(v) Period for public consultation has been reduced from 45 days to 40 days.

(vi) The monitoring period has been relaxed to six months to once a year

(vii) Provision for appeal against prior environmental clearance: An appeal can be made to the National green tribunal against prior environmental clearance.

VIII. Drawbacks of EIA draft 2020

1. Post Facto clearance: The EIA draft 2020 allows post facto clearance, with this even if a project or policy has come up without environmental clearance can be carried out under the new EIA draft 2020. This is very dangerous because for eg, LG Polymer Plant in Visakhapatnam was running without clearance for two decades and a gas leak happened and many people died.
2. Public participation is an important factor under EIA, where people get a chance to know about the projects and its impacts also can speak about their opinions regarding the project. But, the new EIA draft has a list of projects that are exempted from public consultation. It takes away the voice of affected communities by exempting projects.
3. According to EIA notification 2006, the industries have to submit compliance report once in 6 months but the new draft 2020 has reduced it to once in a year. Where it can be a major drawback to keep a check on the industries also many of the activities made by the industries against the environment will go unseen.
4. The new draft has been reduced the period of the public to submit responses during a public hearing regarding the project from 30 days to 20 days. This is not meaningful, therefore the whole process would lack its transparency.
5. The new EIA draft is of the kind bypassing the parliament by denying the laws made by the parliament, like not considering the enactments like forest Act etc.

IX. Judicial pronouncement that negates Post facto clearance

In the case of Common cause v. Union of India^[4] the Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur stated that the grant of ex post facto environmental clearance would be harmful to the environment and that would lead to irreparable degradation to the environment.

Similarly, in Alembic Pharmaceuticals v. Rohit Prajapathi & Ors^[5] the National Green Tribunal in its decision in January 2016 stated that the law did not permit the grant of ex post facto environmental clearances and the Supreme Court in April 2020 has pronounced that the environmental law cannot countenance the notion of an ex post facto clearance.

X. Conclusion

To conclude by stating that nature should be given the primary importance of the sustainable development of the economy. Economic development cannot be used as a trump card for killing our environment, even we can recover from the economic disaster but environmental disaster is irreversible and it takes many lives and livelihood of people.

There should be a balance between economic development and environmental development. The new changes dealt with the draft 2020 is regressive rather than progressive.

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^[1] DAC Guidelines and Reference Series Applying Strategic Environmental Assessment, OECD, 2006, Available Here

^[2] Wood, C. (2003) Environmental Impact Assessment: A Comparative Review. 2nd Edition, Longman, Harlow.

^[3] Kees Bastmeijer, Theory and Practice of Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2008-Pg-300

^[4] Writ Petition (Civil) No. 194 of 2014, On 2 August, 2017

^[5] Civil Appeal No. 1526 of 2016, On 1 April, 2020

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