Environmental Management » Environmental Impact Assessment

Environmental Impact Assessment – Effective Cost Management

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:50:59 +0000

The cost of carrying out an environmental impact assessment can be a significant part of the planning and design cost of a development project. Notoriously, the EIA costs are difficult to predict at the outset of the project. This uncertainty is mainly due to an initial lack of knowledge of the environmental baseline conditions on the development site. As the project progresses, site knowledge increases gradually and new costs may emerge while some risks may reduce. Particularly in the current economic climate, there is a need to have a clear understanding of the costs and the risks of the environmental impact assessment at an early stage in the project.

The first step to effective cost management of an environmental impact assessment is to carry out a thorough EIA scoping study. The outcome of the EIA scoping study should be a clear understanding of the basic site characteristics and the likely environmental risks and sensitivities. It should also provide a clear programme on how to address the issues that have been identified in the further environmental impact assessment.

Following a carefully undertaken EIA scoping study, uncertainties remain. These uncertainties are however much more manageable. For instance, during the EIA scoping study it was identified that no important archaeological features have been recorded in the wider area around a site. The following step that is proposed is to carry out a geophysical site survey. Depending on the outcome of the survey there may be a requirement to carry out an intrusive investigation in the form of an excavation.

There are three uncertainties that will determine the final cost for archaeological work as part of the environmental impact assessment. Firstly there is the uncertainty about the exact cost to carry out the geophysical survey. The error margin on this should be relatively small as it is a fairly defined activity. The second uncertainty relates to whether or not the results of the survey indicate the need of further work. This is a yes or no issue, where the uncertainty relates to the chance that further work is required. Finally, the third piece of uncertainty relates to the cost of the intrusive investigation should this be required.

A system that is based on the Monte Carlo cost forecasting system is ideally suited to deal with these kind of uncertainties. The outcome of the Monte Carlo cost forecasting system is typically a series of potential project costs together with the probability that each of these costs will not be exceeded. Thus, employing a combination of a rigorous EIA scoping study and the use of the Monte Carlo cost forecasting methodology are essential tools in the effective cost management of environmental impact assessments.

Environmental impact assessment: do the regulations apply to your project?

admin — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:15:27 +0000

In 1985 the EIA Directive (EU legislation) on Environmental Impact Assessment of the effects of projects on the environment was introduced. It was amended in 1997. The requirements of the Directives are incorporated within UK law through “The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999″ and their equivalents for other parts of the country. Not all real estate development projects are covered by the regulations. In particular the regulations do not apply to most small scale development projects. I regularly receive questions from developers who want to know if their project is covered by the regulations and in this article I will describe the process to determine if the regulations apply to a particular project.

As an example we consider a new fifteen storey office block on a 0.4 ha site that currently comprise a non-listed Victorian four storey building and situated in close proximity to a number of grade II and grade II * listed buildings.

The 1999 EIA regulations distinguish between two different categories of development that will require or potentially require to undergo an environmental impact assessment. These developments are described in schedule 1 and schedule 2 of the regulations. Development proposals that would fit any of the descriptions in schedule 1 always require an environmental impact assessment. Schedule 1 developments are generally large infrastructure projects or development that is generally regarded as having a high potential for pollution. Examples of the latter development types include waste management sites and power stations. The proposed development in my example does not match any of the development types described in schedule 1.

Development that is classed as ’schedule 2 development’ only requires an EIA to be carried out when it is likely that a significant environmental impact will occur as a result of the development. To determine whether a development is a schedule 2 development is more complex than it is to determine a schedule 1 development. There are three aspects that require to be considered:

The descriptions of development categories in schedule 2. The threshold mentioned in schedule 2 for the development category. The presence of any sensitive areas as defined in the regulations.

The development matches the description in Schedule 2, 10(b) Urban development projects, including the construction of shopping centres and car parks, sports stadiums, leisure centres and multiplex cinemas. This category covers a wide variety of development types including office, retail and residential development projects.

For a development in this category to become a schedule 2 development its area needs to exceed 0.5 ha, or it needs to be situated in a sensitive area. The footprint of the development area in my development, taken as the red line planning application boundary, is less than 0.5 ha. Therefore, based on this criterion, the development would not be a schedule 2 development.

As I mentioned the next test is whether the development is proposed to take place in a sensitive site. The regulations define a sensitive site as any of the following sites:

Sites of Special Scientific Interest Land to which sub-section (3) of section 29 (nature conservation orders) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 applies Areas to which paragraph (u)(ii) in the table in article 10 of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 applies National Parks The Broads Properties appearing on the World Heritage List Scheduled Ancient Monuments Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty European sites within the meaning of regulation 10 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994

There are a number of public register available that can be used to determine if the location is a sensitive site. In my experience the “Multi-Agency Geographical Information” database is a very useful starting point to establish this. It can be found on the internet and is commonly know under its acronym Magic.

Assuming that our research has demonstrated that development is not proposed to take place in a sensitive site, it follows that it is unlikely that the proposed development is a schedule 2 development and therefore it is not likely that an EIA is required.

There are two further issues that I need to address here. Firstly, certain activities that are proposed on a particular development have much lower thresholds in schedule 2. I have assumed that these activities do not form part of the current proposed development. It is particularly worth to verify that no fuel is stored in a structure exceeding an area of 0.05ha.

Secondly, in exceptional cases the Secretary of State has the power to direct that a development requires undergoing EIA even when the threshold is not exceeded and the site does not lie in a sensitive area. An example of this was the development of the London Eye. The height, its prominent location within London and the potential to attract large numbers of visitors were all factors that were considered to likely lead to a significant environment impact and therefore an EIA was required, even when the footprint of the development did not exceed the threshold and it is not situated in a sensitive site. This is a rare event, but it should be taken into consideration nevertheless.

Even if the development would be a schedule 2 development it would not necessarily be required that an EIA be carried out. The development would then be screened to determine if a significant environmental impact would likely occur. I will not consider this further here.

Even though it appears that the proposed development does not require an EIA and environmental statement, there are other pieces of legislation that may require the submission of adequate environmental information before a planning decision is made. In particular the legislation around species that are protected at European level, such as bats and great crested newts, can be onerous. This may for instance become an issue where demolition of existing buildings forms part of the development proposals.

Finally the local planning authority has a duty to take into account many other environmental and sustainability issues. The authority may therefore require a number of studies, statements or reports. These may include a flood risk assessment, an energy statement, overshadowing studies and a wind strength appraisal.

In this article I described the process to determine if a real estate development project falls within the reach of the 1999 EIA regulations. Although in many cases this will a relatively straightforward appraisal, it is recommended to consult a specialist for each of your projects.

By: Paul Giesberg

Environmental Statements – Addressing Contaminated Land Issues

admin — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:46:26 +0000

Under the relevant European Directives, an Environmental Statement is the formal product of an Environmental Impact Assessment. Environmental Statements are often organised in a way that describes the environmental baseline, mitigation and effects for each type of environmental receptors: ecology, water resources, archaeological resources, human beings etcetera. Contaminated land is often managed in the same ways as the various environmental receptor groups, although it is principally a cause of impacts rather than a receptor. It also often refers to a pre-existing condition and its damaging effect is on a variety of different receptors such as human health, structures and buildings, surface water features, groundwater features and ecology. This often means that land contamination specialists struggle with integrating the issue in a logical manner in an Environmental Statement. Sticking to the structured approach of an environmental statement is essential to ensure a clear description of the existing environmental condition, the potential impacts and the actions taken to avoid, minimise, offset or manage the impacts. This article is based on UK practice and legislation, although fundamentally the issues should be similar within other contexts.

Contaminated land is in many countries considered on a source-pathway-receptor basis. This is important to understand the impact land development can have on the issue of contaminated land. Development can interfere with any of these three elements. It can introduce sensitive receptors by changing the use of land, for instance by building new residential units on a site that was previously used for heavy industry. New pathways linking pre-existing contamination with an existing receptor can be formed, for instance when piling through a non-permeable layer connecting a layer of contaminated soils with a deep aquifer. Finally by introducing pollutants on the site a development project can introduce a potential source of contamination.

The second element to consider is the structured approach of an environmental statement. Apart from the introductory and procedural elements described in the environmental statement, a good environmental statement comprised the following sections:

environmental baseline conditions potential environmental impacts mitigating measures residual environmental impacts

There should be a logical relation between the different sections. Any receptor that is affected and described in the section about the potential impacts and effects should have been introduced in the section describing the baseline. Any material impact should be assigned a mitigation or management action etc. Implementing this structure allows a clear description and understanding of the environmental impacts and the way it will be managed.

Applying these principles to contaminated land will result in a baseline condition section that describes the current sensitive receptors that are present within the potential sphere of influence of the development, the sensitivity and importance of these receptors, the presence of any pre-existing contamination and the presence of actual and potential pathways. The next section, potential environmental impacts or effects, first considers the impacts that the development will have in terms of the introduction (or removal) of sensitive receptors and the creation of new pathways between existing and potential pollution sources and receptors. In addition this section will describe the potential environmental impacts that are associated with the introduction of new sources of contamination. In the third section, mitigating measures, a description of the actions to mitigate each of the impacts that may occur should be provided. Finally a statement of the residual impact of the development is provided in the last section: residual environmental impacts.

By: Paul Giesberg