Environmental Impact Assessment

1. Environmental Impact Assessment ENVRE 115 Oct. 24, 2007

2. Announcements • Assignment #3 due • Schedule midterm review • Can people make Thurs, Nov 1? • Graduate Student Projects • Require topic approval by Tues., Oct. 30th • Make appointment to meet with Molly or Kazi

3. Agenda • Connections between infrastructure & environemtn • Regulatory Framework • Conducting an EIA • Case Study: Natural gas pipeline, PRC

4. “To say that infrastructure development has impact is to state the obvious. No industrial country has advanced to such status without developing solid infrastructure facilities. And no low-income country has managed to escape poverty in the absence of infrastructure. In addition to economic growth, infrastructure development has a very tangible impact on people's daily lives, and especially on the lives of poor people ” - Liqun Jin Vice President, ADB

5. What do we mean by development and what makes it sustainable?

6. Infrastructure Development “the stock of facilities, services and equipment that are needed for the economy and society to function properly”

7. Infrastructure Linked to Economics • Poverty reduction and economic development depend on sustained growth • Growth depends on productive activities supported by roads, railways, seaports and airports, power generation and transmission and other infrastructure services For example- • Reliable transport networks allow access to markets, schools and hospitals. • Electricity minimizes the need for bio-fuels

8. Challenges for infrastructure • Per capita GDP in developing Asia as a whole grew on average by 6% a year from 1999-2004 (and only 3.1%/annum for the poorest countries) Realities in developing Asia • 36% of households have no access to electricity • 31% of the rural population has no access to all-season roads (23% in all Asia) • 90% have no telephone connections (73% in all Asia) • 20% have no access to safe drinking water • 67% have no access to sanitation

9. Improve Infrastructure  Decrease Poverty Predicated on two assumptions: • Infrastructure development is managed well and in a cost-effective manner • Reduces constraints to economic activities by lowering costs of doing business and creating job opportunities • Appropriate social, environmental and governance policies are in place to ensure tangible benefits to people, especially poor people • Direct revenue generation from infrastructure projects and from the improved competitiveness of the economy are allocated to improving human capital (education, health, and other vital social services)

10. Improve Infrastructure  Build Capacity • Infrastructure development can also bring about capacity building in other related, and critical, areas • Mobilization of resources stimulates: • financial sector development • institutional capacity building • human resources development • legal and regulatory buildup • Well-designed and well-managed infrastructure investment allows a government to move to higher levels of sophistication • Broadens the horizons and raising the intellectual capital of the society as a whole

11. Consider Environment • provide the basic life support services and facilities which underpin human production and consumption • inseparable from other parts of development infrastructure • maintenance and upkeep requires an equal – or even greater – investment priority

12. Costs of environmental degradation • ecosystem degradation leads to real losses and costs • has tangible impacts on economic functioning and social and wellbeing • undermines profits and growthat all levels and for all sectors • disproportionate impacts on poorer and more vulnerable groups

13. ECOSYSTEM SERVICES HUMAN WELL-BEING • Provisioning • Food • Fresh water • Wood and fibre • Fuel • etc. … • Security • Personal safety • Secure resource access • Security from disasters Freedom of choice and action Opportunity to be able to achieve what an individual values being and doing • Supporting • Nutrient cycling • Soil formation • Primary production • etc. … • Basic material for good life • Adequate livelihoods • Sufficient nutritious food • Shelter • Access to goods • Regulating • Climate regulation • Flood regulation • Disease prevention • Water purification • etc. … • Health • Strength • Feeling well • Access to clean air & water • Cultural • Aesthetic • Spiritual • Educational • Recreational • etc. … • Good social relations • Social cohesion • Mutual respect • Ability to help others ecosystems and well-being Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005

14. Lessons Learned?

15. Air Pollution Air pollution in Harlesden London-Winter 1952. By Dr. Keith Ball Environ Health Perspect. 2001 109(S3):389–394

16. Over 3 billion people cook using wood, dung, crop waste, coal and charcoal. The World Health Organization estimates that ~1.5 million people die each year from smoke in their homes. Ezzati and Kammen (2002) The Health Impacts of Exposure to Indoor Air Pollution from Solid Fuels in Developing Countries: Knowledge, Gaps, and Data Needs. Env. Health Perspect. 110(11):

17. Water Pollution From 1936 through 1960’s, the Cuyahoga River would catch fire because of oil and debris in the river. http://web.ulib.csuohio.edu/SpecColl/croe/accfire.html

19. Hazardous Chemicals “…Trees and gardens were turning black and dying…Everywhere the air had a faint, choking smell. Children returned from play with burns on their hands and faces. And then there were the birth defects…” – EPA Journal (1978)

20. NY Times, Feb. 15, 2007 e-Waste in Africa, Env. Health Perspect. 2006 114(4)

21. Regulatory FrameworkforEIAs

22. US National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) • Requires federal agencies to consider environmental impacts of their proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to those actions • Declaration of National Environmental Policy (Title I) requires the federal government to use all practicable means to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony • Use a systematic interdisciplinary approach for incorporating environmental considerations in their planning and decision-making • Support initiatives and programs designed to anticipate and prevent a decline in the quality of mankind’s world environment

23. National Goals of NEPA • Fulfill the responsibilities of each generation as a trustee of the environment for succeeding generations • Assure for all Americans safe, healthful, productive, and aesthetically and culturally pleasing surroundings • Attain the widest range of beneficial uses of the environment without degradation, risk to health or safety, or other undesirable and unintended consequences

24. National Goals of NEPA • Preserve historical, cultural, and natural aspects of our heritage and maintain, where possible, an environment that supports diversity and a variety of individual choice • Achieve a balance between population and resource use that permits a high standard of living and a wide sharing of life’s amenities • Enhance the quality of renewable resources and approach the maximum attainable recycling of depletable resources

25. NEPA Does Not • Decide which alternative to chose • Prevent environmental impacts from happening • Guarantee decisions you like • Prohibit any actions

26. International Banks • The World Bank requires environmental assessments as part of Operational Directive 4.01 issued in 1989 • Apply to any Bank-financed or implemented projects • Natural environment • Human health and safety • Social aspects (involuntary resettlement, indigenous peoples, and physical cultural resources) • Transboundary and global environmental aspects • Designed to be used as a tool to improve project performance and sustainability • Asian Development Bank requires environmental assessments • http://www.adb.org/Projects/reports.asp?key=reps&val=ERD

27. WB& ADB EIA Categories Category A Project • Projects with many significant environmental impacts requiring mitigation measures • In-depth studies needed Examples • Forest industries (large scale) • Irrigation (large scale with new source of development) • River Basin Development or Large Water Impoundments • Medium and Large Scale Thermal or Hydropower Power Plant • New Railways/Mass Transit/Roads • Ports and Harbors • Large Municipal Water Supplies

28. WB& ADB EIA Categories Category B Project • Projects with a few significant environmental impacts and for which mitigation measures may be readily prescribed Examples • Agro-industries (small-scale or no wet processing) • Renewable Energy or Power Plants (medium scale) • Aquaculture and Mariculture • Rehabilitation, maintenance and upgrading projects • Industries (small scale and without toxic/ harmful pollutants) • Watershed projects (management or rehabilitation) • Water Supply (without impoundments or new river intakes) • Tourism Projects

29. WB& ADB EIA Categories Category C Project • Projects unlikely to have significant adverse environmental impacts Examples • Forest Research and Extension • Primary and Rural Health Surveys • Geological or Mineral Surveys • Education • Family Planning • Capital Market Development Study

30. Assessment Process

31. Environmental Impact Assessment Transparency Participation Practicality EIA “ a systematic process of identifying future consequences of a current or proposed action” Feasibility Cost-effective Credibility Certainty Accountability 8 Guiding Principles

32. Function of the EIA • Considered a management tool for collecting and analyzing information on the environmental effects of a project • identify potential environmental impacts • examine the significance of environmental implications • assess whether impacts can be mitigated • recommend preventive and corrective mitigating measures • inform decision makers and concerned parties about the environmental implications • advise whether development should go ahead

34. Project Cycle Source: ADB, 1997

35. 1. Project Concept/Identification • Initial stage of the project planning • Basic nature of the project is known including the site(s) where the project is being proposed to be implemented • “Screen” project to determine if project requires a full EIA

36. Screening • Screening • Identify environmental issues of concern • Determine whether EIA is needed • Establish need for project Environmental impact Project Economic impact Require EIA Impacts unclear Not require EIA Social impact

37. B. Pre-feasibility Stage • Identify alternatives for proposed projects • determine the assessment methods to be used • identify all affected interests • provide an opportunity for public involvement in determining the factors to be assessed • facilitate early agreement on contentious issues • establish terms of reference (TOR) for EIA study Methods for Scoping “Scope” the project to identify issues/impacts for investigation Making a plan for public involvement Evaluating the significance of issues Identifying major issues of public concern Distribution of information to interested parties Establishing priorities for environmental assessment Developing a strategy for addressing priorities Assemble relevant existing information

38. Baseline data are collected for two main purposes: • to provide a description of the status and trends of environmental factors (e.g., air pollutant concentrations) against which predicted changes can be compared and evaluated in terms of importance • to provide a means of detecting actual change by monitoring once a project has been initiated

39. Identify any potential impacts from the project • social, economic, environmental, cultural, and health Environmental • activities which may affect the bio-physical component of the surrounding environment should be evaluated and measured to avoid adverse impacts • the composition, structure, and abundances of flora and fauna should be recorded and protected from any likely damage

40. Identify mitigation measures thatreduce, avoid or offset the potential adverse environmental consequences of development activities • Preventative measures - reduce potential adverse impacts before occurrence • Health education • Public awareness • Compensatory measures - actions that compensate for unavoidable adverse impacts • restoration of damaged resources • creation of similar resources elsewhere • compensation to affected persons • Corrective measures - reduces the adverse impact to an acceptable level • Installation of pollution control devices • Specialized construction

41. C. Feasibility Stage Conduct the EIA and determine if the project is viable • Magnitude of impact of each potential impact and indicate whether the impact is irreversible or, reversible and estimated potential rate of recovery • Extent of impact (spatial extent) should be determined [e.g limited to the project area; a locally occurring impact within the watershed of the proposed project; a regional impact; and a national impact] • Duration of Impact arising at different phases of the project cycle and the length of the impact [e.g. short term (during construction-9 yrs), medium term (10-20 yrs), long term (20+ yrs)]

42. D. Implement & Audit the Project The EIA is a "reference" guide during implementation • Outlines mitigation strategies and monitoring schemes • Recommendations can form a part of contract tender Audit to determine lessons learned • After the project is completed determine how close the EIA's predictions were to the actual impacts of the project • This forms a valuable records for others conducting EIAs on similar projects in the future.

43. E. Environmental Monitoring • Environmental monitoring provides feedback about the actual environmental impacts of a project • Helps judge the success of mitigation measures in protecting the environment • Ensure compliance with environmental standards • Facilitate any needed project design or operational changes

45. Case StudyBeijing Environmental Improvement Project, People’s Republic of China http://www.adb.org/Documents/PCRs/PRC/pcr-prc-25371.pdf

46. Who has the coal? Source: Energy information administration, DOE

47. Coal in the future? Source: Energy information administration, DOE

48. Beijing Environmental Improvement Project

49. Beijing Environmental Improvement Project http://www.adb.org/Documents/PCRs/PRC/pcr-prc-25371.pdf

50. Summary Initial Environmental Examinations (SIEE) Project description: • Supply co-generated steam and hot water from Huaneng Power Station in a closed loop system to 21 factories • Install a natural gas distribution system pipeline to distribute 0.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas/year