Page 161 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

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Sustainable Industrial Design and Waste Management
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before taking any action. Any developer who intends to establish a new project
or extend/upgrade an existing one should perform an environmental impact
assessment for his project to study the possible environmental consequences. If
the consequences include negative effects then NEPA needs to implement mit-
igating measures or develop alternatives to the action that would produce simi-
lar end results but less damage to the environment (Bregman, 1999). This 1969
Act encourages the people to change their attitude from “build now and don’t
worry about its impacts” to “build now and worry about it later” to “plan for
your impacts before build”.
The main purpose of EIA is to ensure environmental protection and con-
servation of the natural resources including public and occupational health
aspects against uncontrolled development. EIA is defined by UNEP as “a tool
to identify the environmental and social aspects of a project prior to decision
making. It aims to predict environmental impacts at an early stage in project
planning and design. Find ways and means to reduce adverse impacts, shape
projects to suit the local environment and present the predictions and options
to decision makers.” Another definition for environmental impact assess-
ment is “the systematic examination of unintended consequences of a devel-
opment project or program, with the view to reduce or mitigate negative
impacts and maximize on positive ones” (El-Haggar and El-Azizy, 2003;
EEAA, 1996). Through EIA the negative impacts of the project on the envi-
ronment are studied and the alternative solutions for mitigating measures are
presented with complete analysis from technical, economical, environmen-
tal, and social aspects to ensure sustainability of the project. Accordingly, pro-
posed projects with allowable environmental impacts and proper mitigating
measures are authorized for initiation from the Competent Administrative
Authority (CAA). Proper enforcement of regulations necessitates conducting
EIA studies to guarantee full control of environmental impacts for new proj-
ects or an existing project that needs expansion or renovation. Different
mechanisms for implementing EIA for different countries according to
their culture and environmental awareness level will be discussed in the next
section.

Environmental management system (EMS)
EIA is a preliminary procedure for a project; it should be accompanied by an
environmental management system to sustain the implementation of envi-
ronmental policies. An EMS is a systematic process that allows an organiza-
tion to assess, manage, and reduce the environmental hazards due to its
operations. The monitoring of the organization’s environmental impact is
integrated into the actual management system to guarantee its continuation
as well as commitment to success. The details of implementing EMS were
discussed above.