EIS

Waestrel

Has anyone ever filled in an environmental impact statement? I may have to do one soon for a friends company, and have no idea what's even involved.

His company is tidal energy no less! Just getting started! The future is bright, the future is green!

aquascrotum

If you believe an EIS is something to be "filled in" then your almost certainly not qualified to do it...

Waestrel

Great! Good contribution.

Is there not trees you should be hugging somewhere rather than than inconveniencing electrons on the internet?

El Siglo

Folks, can we cool the jets a wee bit.;)

Op, I know EISs are done in the US and generally go in this format:

• An Introduction including a statement of the Purpose and Need of the Proposed Action.
• A description of the Affected Environment.
• A Range of Alternatives to the proposed action. Alternatives are considered the "heart" of the EIS.
• An analysis of the environmental impacts of each of the possible alternatives.

I'm more familiar with EIAs (Environmental Impact Assessments), the best examples of this should be available from your county library or from the county council for any proposed development (all developments legally require these). The county council also have a strategic environmental assessment (SEAs) which generally covers the same aspects as the the EIAs at county level and is more concerned with the general development of the county with regards the natural environment.

An EIA is a very large document, usually over a 100 pages, it costs about €40,000 to produce and involves a lot of work. Environmental Scientists will carry out some of the work involved but their biggest role is to act as an intermediary between the client and the people doing the species taxonomy, chemical analysis etc...

aquascrotum

Waestrel wrote: »

Great! Good contribution.

Is there not trees you should be hugging somewhere rather than than inconveniencing electrons on the internet?

Definitely no tree hugging going on here....

My eh...short response was on the basis that an EIS is too complicated and too site specific start going over, and is definitely not to be "filled in".

I'm not familiar with tidal energy projects specifically but the starting point is consultation with the planning authorities and detailed scoping to define what actually needs to be assessed - certainly there'll be heavy emphasis on marine biology impacts, visual and landscape assessment if your scheme involves a structure out of water, probable analysis of effects on tidal water movements, effects on coastal flood risk etc etc etc by specialist consultants in those respective fields of expertise.

El Siglo's response maybe put that slightly better than my original.

Thomasofmel

As per El Siglo an EIS is quite bit of work. Depending on the proposed development it can be assessed if an EIS is required and if yes, how much work will be required to complete one.
I work as an environmental consultant and we are very familiar with the EIS process - if you need any further assistance, PM me and we can take it further.

Waestrel

whats the difference between an EIS and EIA?

Thomasofmel

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the process by which the anticipated effects on the environment of a proposed development or project are measured. If the likely effects are unacceptable, design measures or other relevant mitigation measures can be taken to reduce or avoid those effects.

The document from this process is called an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).