EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

MODULE 3
EIA methodologies: Ad hoc, checklist, matrix, network and overlay- Impact Prediction,
Evaluation and Mitigation-Prediction and assessment of the impact on water (surface water
and groundwater), air, and noise environment- assessment of ecological impacts and Socio
economic Impacts.
1. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGIES
• There is no single “best” methodology for environmental impact assessment.
• Characteristics of a methodology such as the type of impacts or projects covered and the
resources required may be virtues in one, but vices in another.
• Only the user can determine which tools may best fit a specific task.
• In selecting the most appropriate tools, the following key considerations may be useful:
(i) Use: Is the analysis primarily a decision or an information document?
(A decision document is vital to determine the best course of action, while an
information document is intended primarily to reveal the implications of a single,
clearly best choice.) A decision document analysis will generally require a more
comprehensive analysis concentrating on interpreting the significance of a broader
spectrum of possible impacts.
(ii) Alternatives: Are alternatives fundamentally or incrementally different?
If differences are fundamental, such as preventing flood damage by levee
construction as opposed to flood plain zoning, for example, then impact significance
can better be measured against some absolute standard than by direct comparison of
alternatives, since impacts will differ in kind as well as size. Fundamentally and
incrementally different alternative sets require different levels of analysis to
discriminate between alternatives and also require greater degree of quantification.
(iii) Public involvement: Does the anticipated role of the public in the analysis involve
substantive preparation, token review, or vital review?
The first two roles allow the use of more complex techniques such as computer or
statistical analysis that might be difficult to explain to a previously uninvolved but
highly concerned public. A substantive preparation role will also allow a greater
degree of quantification or weighting of impact significance through the direct
incorporation of public values.
(iv) Resources: How much time, skill, money, data and computer facilities are
available?
Generally, more quantitative analysis requires more of everything.
(v) Familiarity: How familiar is the analyst with both the type of action contemplated
and the physical site?
Generally, familiarity will improve the validity of a more subjective analysis of
impact significance.
(vi) Issue significance: How big is the issue in terms of controversy and scope?
All other things being equal, the bigger the issue the greater the need for explicitness,
quantification, and identification of key issues and the less appropriate is the
arbitrary significance weights or specific formulas for trading-off one type of impact
(e.g., environmental) against another type (e.g., economic).

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EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

(vii) Administrative constraints: Are choices limited by the agency procedural or

format requirements?
Specific agency policy or guidelines may rule out some tools by specifying the range
of impacts to be addressed, the need for analyzing trade-offs, or the time frame of
analysis.
TYPES OF METHODOLOGIES
The various methodologies examined can be divided into the following five types based on the way
impacts are identified:
(i) Ad hoc
(ii) Overlays
(iii) Checklists
(iv) Matrices
(v) Networks
i. Ad Hoc methods:
• Indicate broad areas of possible impacts by listing composite environmental parameters (ex:
flora and fauna, impacts on lakes, forests, etc.) Likely to be affected by the proposed activity.
• These methods involve assembling a team of specialists who identify impacts in their area
of expertise. Here, each parameter is considered separately and the nature of impacts (long
term or short term, reversible or irreversible) are considered.
• These methods give a rough assessment of total impact while giving the broad areas and the
general nature of possible impacts.
• This method serves as a preliminary assessment and helps in identification of important
areas like:
wildlife, endangered species, natural vegetation, exotic vegetation, grazing, social
characteristics, natural drainage, groundwater, noise, air quality, visual description and services,
open space, recreation, health and safety, economic values and public facilities.
• Types of Ad hoc methods are: Opinion poll, Expert opinion and Delphi methods
• This method is very simple and can be performed without any training.
• It does not involve any relative weighting or any cause-effect relationship.
• It provides minimal guidance for impact analysis while suggesting broad areas for
possible impacts.
• It does not even state the actual impacts on specific parameters that will be affected.
• Drawbacks:

1. It gives no assurance that a comprehensive set of all relevant impacts have been studied

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EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

2. Analysis using this method lacks consistency as it different criteria are selectively
evaluated by different groups
3. It is inefficient as it requires a considerable effort to identify and assemble a panel for each
assessment.

ii. Overlays
• Depends on a set of maps of a project area's environmental characteristics covering
physical, social, ecological and aesthetic aspects
• It enables separate mapping of critical environmental features at the same scale as project's
site plan (Ex: wetlands, steep slopes, soils, floodplains, bedrock outcrops, wildlife habitats,
vegetative communities, cultural resources, etc.)
• In the old technique, environmental features were mappped on transparent plastic in different
colors
• Modern technique of the same activity is done using computer software, hardware, data and
skilled people. It is called GIS (Geographic Information Systems)
• The advantages of this method are:

✔ It is easy to understand and use

✔ It has a good display and

✔ It is good for setting site selection

• The disadvantages of this method are:

✔ It does not address impact duration or probability

✔ It addresses only direct impacts

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EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

iii. Check lists

Environmental factors are listed in a structured format by giving importance weightings for factors
and application of scaling techniques for impacts of each alternative. Checklists are strong indicators
of impact identification.
Checklists may be:
● Simple
● Descriptive
● Scaling or
● Weighting type

A typical checklist might contain entries such as:

1. Earth: mineral resources; construction material; soils; land form; force fields and
background radiation; unique physical features;
2. Water: surface (rivers, lakes and reservoirs, estuaries); coastal seas and ocean,
underground; quality; temperature; recharge; snow, ice, and permafrost;
3. Atmosphere: quality (gases, particles); climate (micro, macro); temperature;
4. Flora: trees; shrubs; grass; crops; microflora; aquatic plants; endangered species;
barriers; corridors;
5. Fauna: birds; land animals including reptiles; fish and shellfish; benthic organisms;
insects; microfauna; endangered species; barriers; corridors;

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EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

6. Land use: wilderness and open space; wetlands; forestry; grazing; agriculture;
residential; commercial; industrial; mining and quarrying;
7. Recreation: hunting; fishing; boating; swimming; camping and hiking; picnicking;
resorts.
• Simple checklists are a list of parameters without guidelines regarding either interpretation
or measurement of environmental parameters or specific data needs or impact prediction
and assessment.
• Descriptive checklists include list of environmental factors along with information on
measurement, impact prediction and assessment.
• Scaling and weighting checklists facilitate decision making. Such checklists are strong in
impact identification. While including the function of impact identification, they include a
certain degree of interpretation and evaluation. The aforementined factors make these
methods attractive to decision-making analysis.
• EXAMPLES:

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EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

The advantages of this method are:

• It is simple to understand and use
• It is good for site selection and priority setting
Disadvantages of this method are:
• It does not distinguish between direct and indirect impacts
• It does not link action and impact
It is cumbersome at times
iv) Matrix Method
• This methodology provides a framework of interaction of different activities of a project with
potential environmental impacts caused by them.
• A simple interaction matrix is formed when project actions are listed on one axis (usually
vertical) and environmental impacts are listed along the other axis.
Comparison with checklist method:
• Checklists tend to be long. It also requires a lot of work in describing an impact or writing it
out in words. In matrices, this ambiguity and extra work is removed by introducing a
quantitative aspect in the assessment of an impact.
• Checklist tends to get confusing when you assess multiple levels of impacts descriptively.
This is resolved in matrices, to an extent, with the help of customized matrices. I’ll explain
one such matrix below. Matrices are also versatile, as they can be used for small and large-
scale projects alike.

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EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

• Simple matrix: This is simply a list of environmental aspects listed along the vertical axis,
against which we determine whether an activity would have an adverse effect, no effect or
beneficial effect. A simple “x” or “tick” is given under the appropriate column.

• Sometimes, the activities are listed along the horizontal axis with the environmental aspects
in the vertical axis, and the same “x” is given to those pairs that have an interaction between
themselves.

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 EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

• LEOPOLD MATRIX: This was designed by Leopold in 1971. Leopold matrix is among the two
major forms of matrices used in EIAs. The cells of the matrix are divided by a diagonal line. The top
division is used to describe the magnitude of the impact that activity will have on the environmental
aspect, and the bottom division is used to describe the significance of that impact. It does not explicitly
describe spatial and temporal effects of the environmental activity.
It tends to be too simplified when you require a comprehensive analysis of the impacts on the project
area. They cannot explain linkages between two environmental aspects. In other words, it does not
describe secondary and tertiary impacts.

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 EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

The advantage of the matrix method is :

• It links action to impact
• This is a very good method for displaying EIA results
The disadvantages of this method are listed below:
• It is difficult to distinguish between direct and indirect impacts using this method
• There is potential for double-counting of impacts
• It is qualitative in nature and does not refer to quantity of impact
Application of matrices:
• Matrices can be applied in medium to large scale projects where the number of developmental
activities are many (up to 100).
• This will obviously result in effects on many environmental aspects. All of these cannot be
covered easily in checklists.
• It is perfectly acceptable to customize the matrix according to the project at hand. You are not
required by law to have 100 activities and 88 impacts on each of the axes, if the project does
not encompass so many components.
• Matrices are flexible, which is why they have been accepted and used the world over.

v) NETWORK METHOD
● This method uses the matrix approach and extends it to include both the primary as well as
the secondary impacts.
● It is shown in the form of a tree called impact tree. This diagram is also called as reference or
sequence diagram.
● Identification of direct, indirect along with short, long-term impact is a crucial and basic step
of making an impact tree.
● The impact tree is used to identify cause-effect linkages.
● The impact tree is a visual description of linkages

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 EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

Network Model:

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 EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
• As per ISO 14001:2004 – Definition of impact is:
“Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from
an organization’s environmental aspects”
• Environmental aspect: Element of an organization's activities or products or services that can
interact with the environment”.
• An impact is defined where an interaction occurs between a project activity and an
environmental receptor.

IMPACT INDICATOR
• An element or a parameter that provides a measure of the significance of the effect
• The magnitude of an environmental impact.
• The selection of a set of indicators is often a crucial step in the impact assessment process
• The most widely used impact indicators are those within statutory laws, acts.
• Indicators such as air and water quality standards that have statutory authority.
IMPACT SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT
• Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) - GUIDELINES
• “Significance” determined by considering “project activity”, “event magnitude” and
“receptor sensitivity”
• Determining event magnitude requires the identification and quantification (as far as
practical) of the sources of potential environmental and socio-economic effects from routine
and nonroutine project activities.
• Determining receptor environmental sensitivity requires an understanding of the
biophysical environment
IMPACT IDENTIFICATION
• A wide range of methods has been developed for the purpose.
• Many of the methods were developed in response to the NEPA and have since been expanded
and refined.
• The simplest involves the use of lists of impacts to ensure that none has been left out.
• The most complex include the use of interactive computer programme, networks showing
energy flows and schemes to allocate significance weightings to various impacts.
• In choosing a method, however, the analyst needs to:
· ensure compliance with regulations;

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EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

· provide a comprehensive coverage of a full range of impacts including social, economic and
physical;
· distinguish between positive and negative, large and small, long-term and short-term,
reversible and irreversible impacts;
· identify secondary, indirect and cumulative impacts as well as direct impacts; distinguish
between significant and insignificant impacts;
· Consider impacts within the constraints of an areas carrying capacity; incorporate qualitative
as well as quantitative information;
· be easy and economical to use; be unbiased and to give consistent results;
· be of use in summarizing and presenting impacts in the EIS.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS
The socio-economic impact assessment (SEIA) will use a semi-qualitative assessment approach
to describe and evaluate impacts. Factors taken into account to establish impact significance will
include probability, spatial extent, duration and magnitude of the impacts in addition to the sensitivity
of receptors. Indirect socio-economic impacts (i.e. induced effects) will also be assessed using the
same approach.
Social impacts
• Social impacts can be defined as the consequences to people of any proposed action that
changes the way they live, work, relate to one another, organize themselves and function as
individuals and members of society.
• This definition includes social - psychological changes, for example to people’s values,
attitudes and perceptions of themselves and their community and environment.
• Indeed, some SIA practitioners consider social impacts to be only ‘as experienced’ (e.g. stress,
disruption, hunger) and differentiate these from the causal processes (e.g. over-crowding,
infrastructure pressure, poverty).
Socio-economic analysis (SEA) is a tool to assess impacts:
ü What are the benefits of a regulatory action?
ü What are the corresponding costs?
ü How do benefits and costs compare?

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 EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

Questions to be asked in SEIA:

Points to be analysed in SEIA:

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EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

5.1 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

• As per ISO14001:2004 – Definition of impact is:
“Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting
from an organization’s environmental aspects”
• Environmental aspect: Element of an organization's activities or products or services that
can interact with the environment”.
• An impact is defined where an interaction occurs between a project activity and an
environmental receptor.

Vidya Academy of Science & Technology

EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

5.2 IMPACT INDICATOR

• An element or a parameter that provides a measure of the significance of the effect
• The magnitude of an environmental impact.
• The selection of a set of indicators is often a crucial step in the impact assessment process
• The most widely used impact indicators are those within statutory laws, acts.
• Indicators such as air and water quality standards that have statutory authority.
5.3 IMPACT SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT
• Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) - GUIDELINES
• “Significance” determined by considering “project activity”, “event magnitude” and
“receptor sensitivity”
• Determining event magnitude requires the identification and quantification (as far as
practical) of the sources of potential environmental and socio-economic effects from routine
and nonroutine project activities.
• Determining receptor environmental sensitivity requires an understanding of the
biophysical environment
5.4 5.5 IMPACT IDENTIFICATION
• A wide range of methods has been developed for the purpose.
• Many of the methods were developed in response to the NEPA and have since been expanded
and refined.
• The simplest involves the use of lists of impacts to ensure that none has been left out.
• The most complex include the use of interactive computer programme, networks showing
energy flows and schemes to allocate significance weightings to various impacts.
• In choosing a method, however, the analyst needs to:
· ensure compliance with regulations;

Vidya Academy of Science & Technology

EMP 605 CET 415 EIA MODULE 3

· provide a comprehensive coverage of a full range of impacts including social, economic and
physical;
· distinguish between positive and negative, large and small, long-term and short-term,
reversible and irreversible impacts;
· identify secondary, indirect and cumulative impacts as well as direct impacts; distinguish
between significant and insignificant impacts;
· Consider impacts within the constraints of an areas carrying capacity; incorporate qualitative
as well as quantitative information;
· be easy and economical to use; be unbiased and to give consistent results;
· be of use in summarizing and presenting impacts in the EIS.

Vidya Academy of Science & Technology