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EIA Notes PDF
EIA Notes PDF
○ Screening
○ Scoping
○ Public hearing
○ Appraisal
● Category A projects require mandatory environmental
clearance and thus they do not undergo the screening process.
● Category B projects undergoes screening process and they are
classified into two types.
EIA Report should clearly set out the methodological considerations and the
reasoning behind the identification and assessment of significant effects so that
others can see the weight attached to different factors and can understand the
rationale of the assessment. The following format captures the main elements of
a typical report:
1. Table of Contents
● Chapters and Titles
● List of Maps, Illustrations, and Figures
● List of Tables
● List of Acronyms
● EIA Preparers
2.Executive Summary
3. Executive Summary
4. Acknowledgment
5.(Chap.1) Introduction-
○ Background Information
○ Objectives of the EIA
○ Scope of the EIA
○ Administrative and Legal Framework
○ Federal Regulations / Guidelines, State Regulations, and
International Conventions and Guidelines
○ The EIA Premises/ Process
○ Terms of Reference (TOR)
○ Structure of the Report
○ Declaration
6. (Chap.2) Project justification
○ Need for the project
○ Value for the project
○ Envisaged sustainability
● Study approach
● Baseline data acquisition methods
● Geographical location
● Field data
● Climatic conditions
● Air quality assessments
● Noise level assessment
● Vegetation cover characteristics
● Potential land use and landscape patterns
● Groundwater resources
● Socio-economic studies
● Infrastructural services
9. (Chap.5)Associated and Potential Environmental Impacts
○ Scope of monitoring
○ Parameters to be monitored
○ Methodology
○ Monitoring schedule
14. Bibliography
15. Appendices
Major Methodologies for EIA The methodologies can be broadly divided into five
types on the basis of impact identification strength. 1. Adhoc methods 2.
Matrices methods 3. Network methods 4. Overlays methods 5. Environmental
index using factor analysis 6. Cost/benefit analysis
Methods of EIA
Methods of EIA
Listed below are the important methodologies for assessing the impacts of any
developmental activity on the environment:
1. Adhoc method
2. Checklist method
3. Matrix method
4. Network method
5. Overlay method
6. Environmental index using factor analysis
7. Cost/Benefit analysis
8. Predictive or Simulation methods
Simple to Complex
The change in EIA is moving away from a simple listing of potential impacts to complex
modes involving identification of feedback paths leading to higher order impacts as
compared to the easily visible first order impacts involving uncertainities. This approach can
be considered as an overall management technique requiring different
kinds of data in different formats along with varying levels of expertise and technological
inputs to accurately forecast the results of any planned development.
1. Ad hoc methods
Ad hoc methods indicate broad areas of possible impacts by listing composite environmental
parameters (Ex: flora and fauna) likely to be affected by the proposed activity.
These methods involve assembling a team of specialists who identify impacts in their area of
expertise. Here, each parameter is considered separately and the nature of impacts (long
term or short term, reversible or irreversible) are considered.
These methods give a rough assessment of total impact while giving the broad areas and
the general nature of possible impacts. In this method, the assessor relies on an intuitive
approach and makes a broad-based qualitative assessment. This method serves as a
preliminary assessment and helps in identification of important areas like:
● Wildlife
● Endangered species
● Natural vegetation
● Exotic vegetation
● Grazing
● Social characteristics
● Natural drainage
● Groundwater
● Noise
● Air quality
● Visual description and services
● Open space
● Recreation
● Health and safety
● Economic values and
● Public facilities
● Opinion poll
● Expert opinion and
● Delphi methods
This method is very simple and can be performed without any training. It does not involve
any relative weighting or any cause-effect relationship.
It provides minimal guidance for impact analysis while suggesting broad areas for possible
impacts. Moreover, it does not even state the actual impacts on specific parameters that will
be affected.
The drawbacks of this method are listed below:
1. It gives no assurance that a comprehensive set of all relevant impacts have been
studied
2. Analysis using this method lacks consistency as it different criteria are selectively
evaluated by different groups
3. It is blatantly inefficient as it requires a considerable effort to identify and assemble a
panel for each assessment.
2. Checklist method
In this method, environmental factors are listed in a structured format by giving importance
weightings for factors and application of scaling techniques for impacts of each alternative.
Checklists are strong indicators of impact identification. They effectively garner the attention
and awareness of their audience. Impact identification is a fundamental function of an EIA.
Checklists may be:
1. Simple
2. Descriptive
3. Scaling or
4. weighting type
Simple checklists are a list of parameters without guidelines regarding either interpretation
or measurement of environmental parameters or specific data needs or impact prediction
and assessment.
Descriptive checklists include list of environmental factors along with information on
measurement, impact prediction and assessment.
Scaling and weighting checklists facilitate decision making. Such checklists are strong in
impact identification. While including the function of impact identification, they include a
certain degree of interpretation and evaluation. The aforementined factors make these
methods attractive to decision-making analysis.
However, the scaling and weighting methods are subjective and hence pose the danger of
imparting equal importance to every impact. Another defect observed by critics is that
numerical values assigned to impacts can be derived on the basis of expert knowledge and
judgement alone.
Scaling and weighting checklist techniques quantify impacts reasonably well although they
use subjective extimates. However, they make no provision for assessing dynamic
probabilistic trends or mitigation, enhancement and monitoring programmes. These
methods cannot identify higher order effects, impacts and interactions.
Simple and descriptive checklists simply identify the possible potential impacts without any
rating regarding their relative magnitudes.
Scaling and weighting checklists remove decision making from the hands of decision makers
while they impart a single number to various inherently different impacts and this aspect
prevents the decision maker to consider the possibility of trade-offs.
In checklist method, the impacts are tabulated in the form of cells with information either in
the descriptive form that gives information regarding possibility or potential existence of an
impact whereas in the scaling or weighing methods the magnitude or importance of impact
is given. Sample checklists or weighing methods used in EIA are shown below:
The advantages of this method are:
4. Network method:
● This method uses the matrix approach and extends it to include both the primary as
well as the secondary impacts
● It is shown in the form of a tree called impact tree. This diagram is also called as
reference or sequence diagram
● Identification of direct, indirect along with short, long term impact is a crucial and
basic step of making an impact tree
● The impact tree is used to identify cause-effect linkages
● The impact tree is a visual description of linkages
● The diagram below shows the example of a network analysis:
The advantages of the network method are:
5. Overlays