EIA Processes

(SCREENING)
Lesson-4 & 5
EIA Screening
At the end of this lesson student should be able to:
• Systematically Screen out any project/development
• Brief screening approaches and Categorization
• Brief out systematic framework of Pakistan-EIA on Project Screening

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Procedures in the assessment of
an environmental component for
an EIA

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 What is screening and how is it done?
Screening is the first stage of the EIA process which results in a
key EIA decision being made to?
• either conduct the assessment, based on the likely significant
impacts
• or not to conduct it in the anticipated absence of such
impacts

Key contributions of screening to a good EIA?

• Facilitates informed decision making
• Influences both project selection and policy design

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 Requirements for Screening
• In order to carry out screening, some basic information about
the development proposal along with the environment in
which it is set is required
basic baseline data?
• flora and fauna
• water
• air and soil quality
• Social-economic
• cultural

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Screening depends on?

the specific type

of proposal

the
understanding of the specific legal
potential requirements for
environmental screening
impacts

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 Main EIA screening approaches

Prescriptive or standardized approach (Threshold basis)

• in which development proposals that either require or are
exempt from EIA are listed in legislation and regulations

• Discretionary or customized approach (case by case basis)

in which proposals are screened on an individual or case-
by-case base, using indicative guidance

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 When and how screening should be done?
• Screening should be done as early as possible in the
development of the proposal in order for the proponent and
other stakeholders to be aware of possible EIA obligations
• It is also important that screening is applied systematically
and consistently, so that the same decision would be reached
if others did the screening

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Specific methods used for screening

Inclusion
Legal list of
projects

Establishing
Exclusion criteria for
list of case-by-
activities case
screening

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Specific methods used for screening
• Legal (or policy) definition of proposals to which EIA does or does not
apply
• Inclusion list of projects (with or without thresholds) for which an EIA
is automatically required
• Exclusion list of activities which do not require EIA because they are
insignificant or are exempt by law (e.g. national security or emergency
activities)
• Establishing criteria for case-by-case screening of proposals to identify
those requiring an EIA because of their potentially significant
environmental effects

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 Flexibility in Screening
• It is important that screening lists are not static, but that
they need to be revised in the light of the experiences gained
• Also, environments may be changing and new demands may
arise which should lead to an adaptation of lists
• Different countries and international agencies combine types of
screening procedures. Most often, a simple categorization (such as A
– C or 1 – 3) is used.
• These categories help proponents and licensing agencies decide when
a full EIA is needed.

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 Categorization
For high-impact projects-1/A: A full EIA is required
These often include:
• Dams and reservoirs.
• Forestry and production projects.
• Industrial plants (large-scale).
• Irrigation, drainage, and flood control (large-scale).
• Mining and mineral development (including oil and gas).
• Port and harbour development.
• Reclamation, resettlement and new land development.
• Thermal and hydropower development;
• Manufacture, transportation, and use of pesticides and other hazardous and/or
toxic materials.
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 Categorization…
For medium-impact projects-2/B: Normally a limited EIA will be
undertaken to identify suitable mitigation and management measures,
• Agro-industries
• Electrical transmission; rural electrification
• Aquaculture, irrigation and drainage (small-scale)
• Renewable energy
• Tourism
• Rural water supply and sanitation

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 Categorization…
For low-impact projects-3/C (Those that are likely to have minimal or
no adverse environmental impacts): No EIA is required.
• Construction of small buildings
• Community garden development
• Development of wells in a community
• Outdoor recreation
• Other small projects/developments

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 Another Categorization Type
• In Honduras, Projects are screened according to four different
categories (1, 2, 3, and 4):
• Category 1: Low-Impact Potential environmental or Low
Environmental Risk.
• Category 2: Moderate – Low Potential Environmental Impact
and Environmental Risk.
• Category 3: Moderate – High Potential Environmental Impact
and Environmental Risk.
• Category 4: High Environmental Impact or Environmental Risk.

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 Questions YES NO

Will there be a large change in environmental conditions?    

Will new features be out-of-scale with the existing environment?    

Another Will the effect be unusual in the area or particularly complex?    

Screening Criteria Will the effect extend over a large area?    

(European Union) Will there be any potential for transboundary impact?    

Will many people be affected?    

Will many receptors of other types (fauna and flora, businesses, facilities) be affected?    

Will valuable or scarce features or resources be affected?    

•The European Union
Is there a risk that environmental standards will be breached?    
suggests a set of questions
to quickly assess project Is there a risk that protected sites, areas, features will be affected?    

proposals. Is there a high probability of the effect occurring?    

•Answer in ‘YES’ then EIA Will the effect continue for a long time?    

is required, Answer in ‘NO’ Will the effect be permanent rather than temporary?    
then NO EIA is required
Will the impact be continuous rather than intermittent?    

If it is intermittent will it be frequent rather than rare?    

Will the impact be irreversible?    

Will it be difficult to avoid, or reduce or repair or compensate for the effect?    

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Outcome of screening process
According to the UN (2006), the following four outcomes are possible

no further level of EIA is required

a full and comprehensive EIA is required

a more limited EIA is required (preliminary or initial

assessment)

further study is necessary to determine the level of EIA required

e.g. an initial environmental evaluation or examination (IEE)
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Test your knowledge on Screening
Link to the website
https://www.iisd.org/learning/eia/eia-7-steps/step-1-screening/

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Screening and project categorization for IEE / EIA under
Pakistani regulation

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Checklists for screening and project categorization for IEE / EIA under Pakistani
regulation
• The Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Review of IEE and EIA) Regulations 2000 (GoP, 2000)

specify projects requiring EIA, as well as those requiring a leaner IEE (Initial Environmental Examination)

• A proponent of a project from a category listed in Schedule I needs to prepare an IEE

• One listed in Schedule II needs to prepare an EIA

• Furthermore, for those projects not listed in either schedule I or II, no IEE or EIA need to be conducted,

provided the project is unlikely to cause an adverse environnemental affect

• Those projects that are not listed in either schedule I or II, but for which the Federal Agency has issued

guidelines for construction and operation, an application for approval needs to show how these

guidelines have been complied with

• Furthermore, the Federal Agency may ask a proponent to prepare an IEE or EIA

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IEE/EIA Regulations: Schedule-I list of projects requiring an
IEE
• Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries
• Energy
• Manufacturing and processing
• Mining and mineral processing
• Transport
• Water management, dams, irrigation and flood protection
• Water supply and treatment
• Waste disposal
• Urban development and tourism
• Other projects
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IEE/EIA Regulations: Schedule-I list of projects requiring an IEE
• Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries
• Projects involving repacking, formulation or warehousing of agricultural
products
• Energy
• Hydroelectric power generation less than 50 MW
• Waste-to-energy generation projects
• Manufacturing and processing
• Ceramics and glass units with total cost more than Rs.50 million
• Mining and mineral processing
• Crushing, grinding and separation processes
• Transport
• Ports and harbor development for ships less than 500 gross tons
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IEE/EIA Regulations: Schedule-I list of projects requiring an IEE
• Water management, dams, irrigation and flood protection
• Small-scale irrigation systems with total cost less than Rs.50 million
• Water supply and treatment
• Water supply schemes and treatment plants with total cost less than Rs.25
million
• Waste disposal
• Waste disposal facility for domestic or industrial wastes, with annual capacity
less than 10,000 cubic meters
• Urban development and tourism
• Urban development projects
• Other projects
• Any other project for which filing of an IEE is required by the Federal Agency
under sub-regulation (2) of Regulation 5
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IEE/EIA Regulations: Schedule-II list of projects requiring an EIA
• Energy
• Manufacturing and processing
• Mining and mineral processing
• Transport
• Water management, dams, irrigation and flood protection
• Water supply and treatment
• Waste Disposal
• Urban development and tourism
• Environmentally Sensitive Areas
• Other projects
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IEE/EIA Regulations: Schedule-II list of projects requiring an EIA
• Energy
• Hydroelectric power generation over 50 MW
• Manufacturing and processing
• Cement plants
• Mining and mineral processing
• Mining and processing of coal, gold, copper, Sulphur and precious stones
• Transport
• Airports, railway works
• Water management, dams, irrigation and flood protection
• Irrigation and drainage projects serving 15,000 hectares and above
• Water supply and treatment
• Water supply schemes and treatment plants with total cost of Rs.25 million and
above
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IEE/EIA Regulations: Schedule II list of projects requiring an EIA
• Waste Disposal
• Waste disposal and/or storage of hazardous or toxic wastes (including
landfill sites, incineration of hospital toxic waste)
• Urban development and tourism
• Large-scale tourism development projects with total cost more than
Rs.50 million
• Environmentally Sensitive Areas
• All projects situated in environmentally sensitive areas
• Other projects
• Any other project likely to cause an adverse environmental effect

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Rapid environmental assessment (REA)
• A tool to identify, define, and prioritize potential
environmental impacts in disaster situations
• A tool to identify, define, and prioritize potential
environmental impacts of some specific sectors

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The rapid environmental assessment (REA) checklists of the ADB
• Agro Industrial Projects • Irrigation
• Airports • Mining Industry
• Buildings • Petrochemical Industrial Projects
• Chemical-based Industrial Projects • Ports and Harbours
• Fisheries • Power Transmission
• Forestry • Roads and Highways
• General • Sewage Treatment
• Governance and Finance • Solar Energy
• Hydropower • Solid Waste Management
• Thermal Power Plants • Urban Development
• Water Supply • Wind Energy

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Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA)’ checklists of the ADB
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB, 2003iii) provides online access to a
range of screening checklists that are called here ‘rapid environmental
assessment (REA)’ checklists
• Each of these checklists consists of number of specific questions that
help the screening team to decide whether significant impacts are
likely
• As an example, the forestry sector screening checklist is presented
• Each of the checklists is followed by an appendix on anticipated
hazards and climate changes for different environments

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Screening checklist for forestry sector

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Screening checklist for forestry sector

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