Page 163 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

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Sustainable Industrial Design and Waste Management
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The EIA contents
The general description of the EIA contents can be demonstrated through
the following seven steps:

• Project description: A brief description for the basic details of the
project is required such as:
– Process flow diagram(s) showing clearly all inputs (raw materials,
water, and energy), output products, wastes, and emissions.
– Construction phase, operation phase, maintenance activities,
estimating staffing, plants facilities, and services.
• Surrounding environment: Description of the surrounding environ-
ment showing all details with the necessary maps to describe the
neighbors and their impacts on the project and vice versa. Baseline
environmental conditions are very important at this stage, the base-
line data that will be collected such as water, soil, and air quality as
well as weather conditions. The appropriate data of the surrounding
environment for the EIA should be carefully reviewed. Project loca-
tion with a general layout and the necessary maps of the surround-
ing environment with wind direction are very important for EIA.
• Screening: This is the step of deciding whether an EIA is required for
a project. This might be left in a generic format as will be discussed
later or will be left to the country to develop guidelines to identify
the projects that must have an EIA or are exempted from EIA. Other
countries might develop a screening list (A, B, or C) to classify the
projects into three classes where each class reflects the severity of
the potential environmental impact such as World Bank, Egypt, and
some developing countries according to the following:
– White list: Those likely to have minor environmental impact.
– Gray list: Those that may result in significant environmental
impact.
– Black list: Those projects that require complete EIA due to their
potential impact.
• Scoping: The stage of the identification of the issues that should be
covered in the EIA and the geographic boundary. At that stage a site
visit and consultation with relevant regulatory authorities must be
done. Consultants must identify the characteristics of the develop-
ment that might give rise to impacts. Also consultants should iden-
tify all regional and local issues that might be relevant to the EIA.
• Prediction of impacts: The impact prediction must encompass both
construction and operation of the development. The impacts should
be quantified, if possible, or described. The following impacts should
be considered:
– Magnitude and duration of impact.
– Whether impacts are temporary or permanent.