Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) System in the Philippines

1. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) System in the Philippines By: Hans Maverick O. Yu

2. Objectives • To introduce the concept of EIA, placing it within the framework of sustainable development. • To outline the history of EIA, why it was introduced and how it has evolved. • To describe the purpose, principles and process of EIA.

3. Relevance • Worldwide, the EIA process is based upon commonly accepted definitions, concepts, principles and elements of approach. It is important that all those involved in the EIA process understand these foundations and how they promote integrated environment and development decision-making in support of sustainable development.

4. Nature and Scope of EIA

5. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in the context of the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System (PEISS) • It is a 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”.

6. Purpose • to enhance planning and guide decision-making. • to integrate environmental concerns in the planning process of projects at the feasibility stage. • to considerably reduce the adverse environmental impacts of proposed actions are through a reiterative review process of project setting, design and other alternatives, and the subsequent formulation of environmental management and monitoring plans

7. Background of EIA Laws in the Philippines • Presidential Decree No. 1151 • Philippine Environmental Policy: which requires sponsors of projects affecting the quality of the environment to prepare environmental impact statements • Presidential Decree No. 1586 • Establishment of the Philippines Environmental Impact Statement System (PEISS) w/ the National Environmental Protection Council (NEPC) as the lead agency • DENR Administrative Order 03-30 • Implementation of rules and regulations of PD No. 1586 • Memorandum Circular 2010-14 • Standardization of requirements and enhancement of public participation in the stremlined implementation of the Philippine EIS system • Memorandum Circular 2011-005 • Incorporating Disaster Risk Reduction (DDR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) concerns in the Philippine EIS system

9. Stages of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process: • Project Identification • Screening • Scoping • EIA Study and Report Preparation • EIA Report, Review, and Evaluation • Decision Making • Monitoring, Validation, and Evaluation/Audit

10. Screening • determines if a project is covered or not covered by the PEISS. • If a project is covered, screening further determines what document type the project should prepare to secure the needed approval, and what the rest of the requirements are in terms of EMB office of application, endorsing and decision authorities, duration of processing.

11. Scoping • Scoping identifies the most significant issues/impacts of a proposed project, and then, delimits the extent of baseline information to those necessary to evaluate and mitigate the impacts. • The need for and scope of an Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) is also done during the scoping session. • Scoping is done with the local community through Public Scoping and with a third party EIA Review Committee (EIARC) through Technical Scoping, both with the participation of the DENR-EMB.

12. EIA Study and Report Preparation • involves a description of the proposed project and its alternatives, characterization of the project environment, impact identification and prediction, evaluation of impact significance, impact mitigation, formulation of Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan, with corresponding cost estimates and institutional support commitment. • The study results are presented in an EIA Report for which an outline is prescribed by EMB for every major document type.

13. EIA Report, Review, and Evaluation • review of composed third party experts commissioned by EMB as the EIA Review Committee for PEIS/EIS-based applications, or DENR/EMB internal specialists, the Technical Committee, for IEE-based applications. • EMB evaluates the EIARC recommendations and the public’s inputs during public consultations/hearings in the process of recommending a decision on the application. The EIARC Chair signs EIARC recommendations including issues outside the mandate of the EMB.

14. Decision Making • involves evaluation of EIA recommendations and the draft decision document, resulting to the issuance of an ECC, CNC or Denial Letter. • When approved, a covered project is issued its certificate of Environmental Compliance Commitment (ECC) while an application of a non-covered project is issued a Certificate of Non-Coverage (CNC). • The Proponent signs a sworn statement of full responsibility on implementation of its commitments prior to the release of the ECC. • Then, the ECC is transmitted to concerned LGUs and other GAs for integration into their decision-making process.

15. Monitoring, Validation, and Evaluation/Audit • assesses performance of the Proponent against the ECC and its commitments in the Environmental Management and Monitoring Plans to ensure actual impacts of the project are adequately prevented or mitigated

16. 3 Core Values of EIA • Integrity- the EIA process will conform to agreed standards • Utility – the EIA process will provide balanced, credible information for decision-making • Sustainability – the EIA process will result in environmental safeguards

17. Basic Principles of EIA • Purposive • Rigorous • Transparent • Adaptive • Focused • Practical • Relevant • Credible • Participa-tive • Cost-effective • Efficient • Interdisci-plinary • Systematic • Integrated

18. EIA Benefits and Flaws

19. List of Projects requiring Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

20. Example of an EIA Report • Category: Thermal Power Station • Summary: The impact assessment was developed for the new (planned) 350 MW gas fired plant (gas/steam turbine) which will supply up to 250 MW of district heat. With an efficiency of up to 86% (power and heating combined), it will be one of the most modern and efficient plants in operation: older power plants reach an efficiency of around 40%. The new block 3 of the Donaustadt TPS complements the existing blocks in Vienna's three major power stations, including Simmering (5 blocks with a total of 1050 MW electrical, and heat capacity of up to 630 MW) and the TPS Leopoldau with 155 MW electrical and 170 MW thermal. • Problems encountered: Very restricted access to the available data and study results; since the assessment is closed, no more public access to the relevant documents is being granted. • EIA study results: The main issues was to demonstrate the effects of • an additional stack and emissions from the new power plant block; • the reduced emissions from the building blocks now connected to the district heating scheme. The approach involves: • simulation of the status quo; • simulation of the new TPS design; • simulation of the reduced block emissions; • impact analysis or building of the deltas: 1 + 2 -3

21. References: • Environmental Management Bureau R07 > Divisions > Environmental Impact Assessment. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.emb.gov.ph/portal/r07/Divisions/EnvironmentalImpactAssessment.aspx • Retrieved from http://emb.gov.ph/ECA%20Center/01-EIA%20Revised%20Procedural%20Manual%20Main%20Document%20-%20New.pdf • Retrieved from http://www.emb.gov.ph/portal/Portals/13/EIA/MC%202010-14%20Standardization%20of%20Req%20and%20Enhancement%20of%20Pub%20Part%5B1%5D.pdf • Retrieved from http://www.emb.gov.ph/portal/Portals/13/EIA/MC%202011-005.pdf • Retrieved from http://www.emb.gov.ph/portal/Portals/13/LAWS%20PDF/PD1586.pdf • Retrieved from http://www.emb.gov.ph/portal/Portals/21/EIA%20LAWS/PD%201151.pdf • Retrieved from https://dspace.ist.utl.pt/bitstream/2295/291794/1/Vol1_EIA_Manual-%20section%20E.pdf • Retrieved from http://www.iaia.org/publicdocuments/special-publications/Principles%20of%20IA_web.pdf