Helwan University

Faculty Of Engineering

Environmental Impact
Assessment

Name : Mahmoud Omar Abd Alaziz

Section : 11

Introduction
Everycountrystrivestoprogressaheadoneaspectofprogressis
economicdevelopmentthroughmanufacturingandtrading.Every
countrybuildsindustrieswhichprovideemployment,servethe
consumersneedsandhelptogeneraterevenue.
Developmentprojectsinthepastwereundertakenwithoutany
considerationtotheirenvironmentalconsequences.Asaresultrivers
andlakesgotpolluted,airpollutionreachedatthreateningleveland
pillingofindustrialwastesresultedinlanddegradation.
Industrializationandeconomicgrowthprovidedmaterialcomforts
andluxuriesoflifebutatthesametimedeterioratedthequalityof
life.
Inviewofthecolossaldamagetoenvironmentbydevelopmental
activitiespeoplearenowconcernedabouttheenvironmentalimpact
ofdevelopmentalprojects.EIAenablesthedecisionmakersto
analysetheeffectofdevelopmentalactivitiesontheenvironment,if
anywellbeforethedevelopmentalprojectisimplement.
InthisReport,youshalllearnaboutEnvironmentalImpact
Assessment(EIA)whichisatoolforpreventingadverse
environmentalimpactofdevelopmentalactivities,significance,
methodologyandpractice.

IMPORTANCEOFEIAINRESPECTOF
ENVIORNMENTALPROTECTION
Unfortunatelyindustrialdevelopmenthashadadverseimpactonthe
environment.Mostofthedevelopmentalactivitiessuchasbuildingof
dams,roads,airports,industries,railwaytracks,citiesetc.use
enormousamountsofnaturalresourcesasrawmaterialandtheymay
generatewaste,whichisdisposedoffintotheenvironment.Waste
disposalcausesdamagetoair,soilandwater,andbringsabout
depletionofnaturalresources.
Theprotectionoftheglobalenvironmentisintheinterestofallofus
livingonthisplanet.Variousmeasureshavebeentakenatnational
andinternationallevelstocorrectanumberofenvironmental
problemsasyouhavealreadylearntinthepreviouslesson.
Inlightoftheaboveitisimportanttoanticipatethelikely
environmentalproblemsandthreatsthatmayariseoutofthe
proposeddevelopmentalactivitiesandhumanactions.Suchan
anticipationistermedEnvironmentalImpactAssessment (EIA).
EIAistoolthatimprovesdecisionmakingandensuresthattheproject
underconsiderationisanacceptableoption.

CONCEPTOFENVIRONMENTALIMPACT
ASSESSMENT
ConceptofEnvironmentalImpactAssessment(EIA)

Afterreadingthepreviouslessons,youmustbeconvincedthat
sustainabledevelopmentandenvironmentalconservationare
necessaryforsurvivalandwellbeingoffuturegenerations.
ThisisEnvironmentalImpactAssessment(EIA).EIAisatoolwhich
helpstoevaluateenvironmentalimpactofproposeddevelopmental
projectsorprogramsarevisualizedclearanceaccordedafter
mitigationstrategiesareincludedintheplan.EIAthusprovestobea
toolwhichimprovesdecisionmakingandensuresthattheproject
underconstructionisenvironmentallysoundandwithinlimitsofthe
capacityofassimilationandregenerationcapacitiesoftheecosystem.
Environmentalclearanceofdevelopmentalprojectsismandatoryfor
thenewproject.
TheimportantaspectsofEIAare:

riskassessment,

environmentalmanagementand

postproductmonitoring.
EIAprovidesacosteffectivemethodtoeliminateorminimize
theadverseimpactofdevelopmentprojects.

ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE
Environmentalclearanceorthegoahead signalisgrantedbythe
ImpactAssessmentAgencyintheMinistryofEnvironmentand
Forests,GovernmentofIndia.
Allprojectsthatrequireclearancefromcentralgovernmentcanbe
broadlycategorizedintothefollowing:
(1)Industries(4)Rivervalleyprojects
(2)Mining(5)InfrastructureandCRZ
(3)Thermalpowerplants(6)Nuclearpowerprojects

WHATALLISASSESSEDINENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTASSESSMENT
Inordertocarryoutanenvironmentalimpactassessment,the
followingareessential:
(i) assessmentofexistingenvironmentalstatus.
(ii) assessmentofvariousfactorsof
ecosystem(air,water,land,biological)
(iii) analysisofadverseenvironmentalimpactsoftheproposedproject
tobestarted.
(iv) impactonpeopleintheneighborhood

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPONENTS OF EIA

TheEIAprocesslooksintothefollowingcomponentsofthe
environment.
Airenvironment

Qualityofambientair.

Windspeed,direction,humidityetc.

Quantityofemissionlikelyfromproject.

Impactoftheemissiononthearea.

Pollutioncontroldesires/airqualitystandards.

Noise

Levelsofnoisepresentandpredicted

Strategiesforreducingnoisepollution.Waterenvironment

Existinggroundandsurfacewaterresources,theirqualityand
quantitywithinthezone.

Impactofproposedprojectonwaterresources.Biological
environment

Floraandfaunainimpactzone.

Waterenvironment

Existinggroundandsurfacewaterresources,theirqualityand
quantitywithinthezone.

Impactofproposedprojectonwaterresources.Biological
environment

Biologicalenvironment

Floraandfaunainimpactzone.

Potentialdamage(likely)duetoproject,duetoeffluents,
emissionsandlandscaping.

Biologicalstress(prediction).

Landenvironment
Studyofsoilcharacteristics,landuse,anddrainagepattern,andthe
likelyadverseimpactoftheproject.

 Impactonhistoricalmonumentsandheritagesite.
Assessmentofexpectedeconomicbenefitsarisingoutoftheproject
havetobecomparedtothealltheabovementionedfactors.
Thuswecansaythatenvironmentalconcernshavetobemadeapart
ofthedecisiontosetupaproject.