Environmental Impact Assessment In The United States

Globally, environmental impact assessment (EIA) is one of the most enduring and influential environmental management tools. This handbook provides readers with a strong foundation for understanding the practice of EIA, by outlining the different types of assessment while also providing a guide to best practice. This collection deploys a research and practice-based approach to the subject, delivering an overview of EIA as an essential and practical tool of environmental protection, planning, and policy. To best understand the most pertinent issues and challenges surrounding EIA today, this volume draws together prominent researchers, practitioners, and young scholars who share their work and knowledge to cover two key parts. The first part introduces EIA processes and best practices through analytical and critical chapters on the stages/elements of the EIA process and different components and forms of assessment. These provide examples that cover a wide range of assessment methods and cross-cutting issues, including cumulative effects assessment, social impact assessment, Indigenous-led assessment, risk assessment, climate change, and gender-based assessment. The second part provides jurisdictional reviews of the European Union, the US National Environmental Policy Act, recent assessment reforms in Canada, EIA in developing economies, and the EIA context in England. By providing a concise outline of the process followed by in-depth illustrations of approaches, methods and tools, and case studies, this book will be essential for students, scholars, and practitioners of environmental impact assessment.

"The Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal are unique among Canada's courts because they are itinerant -- they hear cases in all parts of Canada -- as well as bilingual and bijural. This book was prepared for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Federal Courts of Canada in 2021. Seventy-eight current and retired judges on the two courts were interviewed and are referred to throughout the book. The authors present a brief history of these courts and their predecessor -- the Exchequer Court of Canada -- and an overview of the courts' jurisdiction, decision-making trends, and unique attributes. There are chapters on each of the courts' specialties -- administrative law, immigration and refugee law, intellectual property, security and intelligence, Indigenous issues, the environment, admiralty, labour and human rights, and tax. Chief Justice Noèel and Chief Justice Crampton each contribute a chapter. The preface is by Justice Frank Iacobucci and the epilogue by Justice Robert Dâecary."--

Environmental impact assessment is now firmly established as an important and often mandatory part of proposing any development project. Environmental Impact Assessment in the United States provides foundational knowledge of environmental review in the United States as carried out at federal, state, and local levels, with detailed information about the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its applications, and other relevant federal and state legislation. This book will aid planners, architects, engineers, project managers, or consultants who work with environmental impact statements to assess the effects of a proposed activity on the environment and who develop and assess measures to avoid or minimize those impacts. It will serve as a desk reference for professional environmental planners as well as a core textbook for students who intend to work in the fields of environmental policy, civil engineering, environmental law, resources management, or other areas of environmental management.

The experience of highly industrialized countries demonstrates that single-minded pursuit of economic develop ment is self-defeating because, by disregarding the other components of what is cxmnonly called "the quality of life", it creates conditions which are not acceptable to large sectors of the population. In the recent past a number of projects, for example, major darns, have had unexpectedly deleterious social, envir onmental and health consequences. As a result, many govern ment department and agencies are investigating the impacts of specific projects and are examining the role impact analysis could play in project planning. The process of environmental impact analysis has been developed, tested and institutionalized in several countries. The objective of the process is a prior identification and definition of likely environmental impacts of projects such as public works, industrial developments and tourist develop ments, as well as the impact of policies and legislative proposals. The environmental impact analysis process also includes the definition of alternative courses of action which would achieve comparable economic objectives while eliminatir .. g some or all of the detrimental environmental consequences. Identification of preventive or precautionary measures, which would minimize the unavoidable impacts, fonn an integral part of the process. The aim should be for a balanced appraisal in which economic, technical, social, environmental and health aspects are fully evaluated. Thus viewed, environmental impact analysis emerges as one of the most powerful planning tools for the prevention of environmental pollution and degradation.

First Published in 1994. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The basis of a training course of Prin. of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Designed for policy makers from gov't., academia, and environmental and industrial org. Chapters: what is EIA and why is it important: how may EIA programs evolve in different cultures and countries?; the basis for EIAs; EIA laws and require.; circumstances requiring EIAs; key considerations in the EIA process; steps in the EIA process; methods for forecasting and assessing impacts; writing, reviewing and evaluating EIA reports; building an effective EIA program; assess. for small projects and contaminated sites; lessons learned from other EIA prog.; info. sources; and model EIA checklists for scoping and impact assess.