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Finance > Environmental Clearance > EIA
Environmental Impact Assessment
While all industrial projects may have some environmental impacts all of
them may not be significant enough to warrant elaborate assessment
procedures. The need for such exercises will have to be decided after
initial evaluation of the possible implications of a particular and its
location. The projects, which could be the candidates for detailed
Environmental Impact Assessment, include the following:
(i)
Those which can significantly alter the landscape, land use pattern and
lead to concentration of working and service population;
(ii) Those which need upstream development activity like assured mineral
and forest products supply or downstream industrial process development;
(iii) Those involving manufacture, handling and use of hazardous
materials;
(iv) Those which are sited near ecologically sensitive area, urban centres,
hill resorts, places of scientific and religious importance;
(v) Industrial Estates with constituent units of various types which could
cumulatively cause significant environmental damage.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should be prepared on the basis of the existing background pollution levels vis-à-vis contributions of pollutants from the proposed plant. The EIA should address some of the basic factors listed below:
(a)
Meteorology and air quality Ambient levels of pollutants such as sulphur
dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, carbonmonoxide, suspended particulate
matters, should be determined at the centre and at 3 other locations on a
radius of 10 km with 120 degrees angle between stations. Additional
contribution of pollutants at the locations are required to be predicted
after taking into account the emission rates of the pollutants from the
stacks of the proposed plant, under different meteorological conditions
prevailing in the area.
(b) Hydrology and water quality
(c) Site and its surroundings
(d) Occupational safety and health
(e) Details of the treatment and disposal of effluents (liquid, air and
solid) and the methods of alternative uses.
(f) Transportation of raw material and details of material and details of
material handling.
(g) Impact on sensitive targets.
(h) Control equipment and measures proposed to be adopted.
Preparation of environmental management plan is required for formulation, implementation and monitoring and of environmental protection measures during and after commissioning of projects. The plans should indicate the details as to how various measures have been or proposed to be taken including cost components as may be required. Cost of measures for environmental safeguards should be treated as an integral component of the project costs and environmental aspects should be taken into account at various stages of the projects:
(a)
Conceptualization: preliminary environmental assessment.
(b) Planning: detailed studies of environmental impacts and design of
safeguards.
(c) Execution: implementation of environmental safety measures.
(d) Operation: monitoring of effectiveness of built-in safeguards.