Environmental Impact Assessment, introduction Stages of EIA-monitoring and auditing

 

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Environmental Impact Assessment, introduction 

Stages of EIA-monitoring and auditing

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process of evaluating the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development, taking into account inter-related socio-economic, cultural and human-health impacts, both beneficial and adverse.

UNEP defines Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as a tool used to identify the environmental, social and economic impacts of a project prior to decision-making. It aims to predict environmental impacts at an early stage in project planning and design, find ways and means to reduce adverse impacts, shape projects to suit the local environment and present the predictions and options to decision-makers. By using EIA both environmental and economic benefits can be achieved, such as reduced cost and time of project implementation and design, avoided treatment/clean-up costs and impacts of laws and regulations.

Although legislation and practice vary around the world, the fundamental components of an EIA would necessarily involve the following stages:

a.    Screening to determine which projects or developments require a full or partial impact assessment study;

b.   Scoping to identify which potential impacts are relevant to assess (based on legislative requirements, international conventions, expert knowledge and public involvement), to identify alternative solutions that avoid, mitigate or compensate adverse impacts on biodiversity (including the option of not proceeding with the development, finding alternative designs or sites which avoid the impacts, incorporating safeguards in the design of the project, or providing compensation for adverse impacts), and finally to derive terms of reference for the impact assessment;

c.    Assessment and evaluation of impacts and development of alternatives, to predict and identify the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development, including the detailed elaboration of alternatives;

d.   Reporting the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or EIA report, including an environmental management plan (EMP), and a non-technical summary for the general audience.

e.    Review of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), based on the terms of reference (scoping) and public (including authority) participation.

f.     Decision-making on whether to approve the project or not, and under what conditions; and

g.    Monitoring, compliance, enforcement and environmental auditing. Monitor whether the predicted impacts and proposed mitigation measures occur as defined in the EMP. Verify the compliance of proponent with the EMP, to ensure that unpredicted impacts or failed mitigation measures are identified and addressed in a timely fashion.

 

Strategic Environmental Assessment

Sadler and Verheem (1996) define Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) as the formalized, systematic and comprehensive process of identifying and evaluating the environmental consequences of proposed policies, plans or programmes to ensure that they are fully included and appropriately addressed at the earliest possible stage of decision-making on a par with economic and social considerations. 

Since this early definition the field of SEA has rapidly developed and expanded, and the number of definitions of SEA has multiplied accordingly. SEA, by its nature, covers a wider range of activities or a wider area and often over a longer time span than the environmental impact assessment of projects. 

SEA might be applied to an entire sector (such as a national policy on energy for example) or to a geographical area (for example, in the context of a regional development scheme). SEA does not replace or reduce the need for project-level EIA (although in some cases it can), but it can help to streamline and focus the incorporation of environmental concerns (including biodiversity) into the decision-making process, often making project-level EIA a more effective process.

SEA is commonly described as being proactive and ‘sustainability driven’, whilst EIA is often described as being largely reactive.

Methods

General and industry specific assessment methods are available including:

·         Industrial products – Product environmental life cycle analysis (LCA) is used for identifying and measuring the impact of industrial products on the environment. These EIAs consider activities related to extraction of raw materials, ancillary materials, equipment; production, use, disposal and ancillary equipment.

·         Genetically modified plants – Specific methods available to perform EIAs of genetically modified organisms include GMP-RAM and INOVA.

·         Fuzzy logic – EIA methods need measurement data to estimate values of impact indicators. However, many of the environment impacts cannot be quantified, e.g. landscape quality, lifestyle quality and social acceptance. Instead information from similar EIAs, expert judgment and community sentiment are employed. Approximate reasoning methods known as fuzzy logic can be used. A fuzzy arithmetic approach has also been proposed and implemented using a software tool (TDEIA).

Follow-up

At the end of the project, an audit evaluates the accuracy of the EIA by comparing actual to predicted impacts. The objective is to make future EIAs more valid and effective. Two primary considerations are:

·         Scientific – to examine the accuracy of predictions and explain errors

·         Management – to assess the success of mitigation in reducing impacts

Audits can be performed either as a rigorous assessment of the null hypothesis or with a simpler approach comparing what actually occurred against the predictions in the EIA document.

After an EIA, the precautionary and polluter pays principles may be applied to decide whether to reject, modify or require strict liability or insurance coverage to a project, based on predicted harms.

The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol is a sector specific method for checking the quality of Environmental and Social assessments and management plans.

 

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) of India has been in a great effort in Environmental Impact Assessment in India. The main laws in action are the Water Act(1974), the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972), the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act (1981) and the Environment (Protection) Act (1986),Biological Diversity Act(2002). The responsible body for this is the Central Pollution Control Board. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies need a significant amount of primary and secondary environmental data. Primary data are those collected in the field to define the status of the environment (like air quality data, water quality data etc.). Secondary data are those collected over the years that can be used to understand the existing environmental scenario of the study area. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies are conducted over a short period of time and therefore the understanding of the environmental trends, based on a few months of primary data, has limitations. Ideally, the primary data must be considered along with the secondary data for complete understanding of the existing environmental status of the area. In many EIA studies, the secondary data needs could be as high as 80% of the total data requirement. EIC is the repository of one stop secondary data source for environmental impact assessment in India.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) experience in India indicates that the lack of timely availability of reliable and authentic environmental data has been a major bottle neck in achieving the full benefits of EIA. The environment being a multi-disciplinary subject, a multitude of agencies are involved in collection of environmental data. However, no single organization in India tracks available data from these agencies and makes it available in one place in a form required by environmental impact assessment practitioners. Further, environmental data is not available in enhanced forms that improve the quality of the EIA. This makes it harder and more time-consuming to generate environmental impact assessments and receive timely environmental clearances from regulators. With this background, the Environmental Information Centre (EIC) has been set up to serve as a professionally managed clearing house of environmental information that can be used by MoEF, project proponents, consultants, NGOs and other stakeholders involved in the process of environmental impact assessment in India. EIC caters to the need of creating and disseminating of organized environmental data for various developmental initiatives all over the country.

EIC stores data in GIS format and makes it available to all environmental impact assessment studies and to EIA stakeholders in a cost effective and timely manner. So that we can manage that in different proportions such as remedy measures etc.,

 

Environmental assessment

An environmental assessment (EA) is an environmental analysis prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act to determine whether a federal action would significantly affect the environment and thus require a more detailed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The certified release of an Environmental Assessment results in either a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) or an EIS.

 

Likewise, even the preparation of an accurate EA is viewed today as an onerous burden by many entities responsible for the environmental review of a proposal. Federal agencies have responded by streamlining their regulations that implement NEPA environmental review, by defining categories of projects that by their well understood nature may be safely excluded from review under NEPA, and by drawing up lists of project types that have negligible material impact upon the environment and can thus be exempted.

Content      

The Environmental Assessment is a concise public document prepared by the federal action agency that serves to:

1.  briefly provide sufficient evidence and analysis for determining whether to prepare an EIS or a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)

2.  Demonstrate compliance with the act when no EIS is required

3.  facilitate the preparation of an EIS when a FONSI cannot be demonstrated

The Environmental Assessment includes a brief discussion of the purpose and need of the proposal and of its alternatives as required by NEPA 102(2)(E), and of the human environmental impacts resulting from and occurring to the proposed actions and alternatives considered practicable, plus a listing of studies conducted and agencies and stakeholders consulted to reach these conclusions. The action agency must approve an EA before it is made available to the public. The EA is made public through notices of availability by local, state, or regional clearing houses, often triggered by the purchase of a public notice advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the proposed activity area.

Structure

Environmental impact statement

The adequacy of an environmental impact statement (EIS) can be challenged in federal court. Major proposed projects have been blocked because of an agency's failure to prepare an acceptable EIS. One prominent example was the Westway landfill and highway development in and along the Hudson River in New York City. Another prominent case involved the Sierra Clubsuing the Nevada Department of Transportation over its denial of the club's request to issue a supplemental EIS addressing air emissions of particulate matter and hazardous air pollutants in the case of widening U.S. Route 95 through Las Vegas. The case reached the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which led to construction on the highway being halted until the court's final decision. The case was settled prior to the court's final decision.

Several state governments that have adopted "little NEPAs," state laws imposing EIS requirements for particular state actions. Some of those state laws such as the California Environmental Quality Act refer to the required environmental impact study as an environmental impact report. This variety of state requirements produces voluminous data not just upon impacts of individual projects, but also in insufficiently researched scientific domains. For example, in a seemingly routine Environmental Impact Report for the city of Monterey, California, information came to light that led to the official federal endangered species listing of Hickman's potentilla, a rare coastal wildflower.

Transboundary application

Environmental threats do not respect national borders. International pollution can have detrimental effects on the atmosphere, oceans, rivers, aquifers, farmland, the weather and biodiversity. Global climate change is transnational. Specific pollution threats include acid rain, radioactive contamination, debris in outer space, stratospheric ozone depletion and toxic oil spills. The Chernobyl disaster, precipitated by a nuclear accident on April 26, 1986, is a stark reminder of the devastating effects of transboundary nuclear pollution.

Environmental protection is inherently a cross-border issue and has led to the creation of transnational regulation via multilateral and bilateral treaties. The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE or Stockholm Conference) held in Stockholm in 1972 and the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED or Rio Summit, Rio Conference, or Earth Summit) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 were key in the creation of about 1,000 international instruments that include at least some provisions related to the environment and its protection.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context was negotiated to provide an international legal framework for transboundary EIA.                                                             However, as there is no universal legislature or administration with a comprehensive mandate, most international treaties exist parallel to one another and are further developed without the benefit of consideration being given to potential conflicts with other agreements. There is also the issue of international enforcement. This has led to duplications and failures, in part due to an inability to enforce agreements. An example is the failure of many international fisheries regimes to restrict harvesting practises.  Application shall be achieved by the willing of counties authorities. / Aphro10

Criticism

As per Jay et al., EIA is used as a decision aiding tool rather than decision making tool. There is growing dissent about them as their influence on decisions is limited. Improved training for practitioners, guidance on best practice and continuing research have all been proposed.

EIAs have been criticized for excessively limiting their scope in space and time. No accepted procedure exists for determining such boundaries. The boundary refers to ‘the spatial and temporal boundary of the proposal’s effects’. This boundary is determined by the applicant and the lead assessor, but in practice, almost all EIAs address only direct and immediate on-site effects.

Development causes both direct and indirect effects. Consumption of goods and services, production, use and disposal of building materials and machinery, additional land use for activities of manufacturing and services, mining and refining, etc., all have environmental impacts. The indirect effects of development can be much higher than the direct effects examined by an EIA. Proposals such as airports or shipyards cause wide-ranging national and international effects, which should be covered in EIAs.

Broadening the scope of EIA can benefit the conservation of threatened species. Instead of concentrating on the project site, some EIAs employed a habitat-based approach that focused on much broader relationships among humans and the environment. As a result, alternatives that reduce the negative effects to the population of whole species, rather than local subpopulations, can be assessed.

Thissen and Agusdinata have argued that little attention is given to the systematic identification and assessment of uncertainties in environmental studies which is critical in situations where uncertainty cannot be easily reduced by doing more research. In line with this, Maier et al. have concluded on the need to consider uncertainty at all stages of the decision-making process. In such a way decisions can be made with confidence or known uncertainty. These proposals are justified on data that shows that environmental assessments fail to predict accurately the impacts observed. Tenney et al. and Wood et al. have reported evidence of the intrinsic uncertainty attached to EIAs predictions from a number of case studies worldwide. The gathered evidence consisted of comparisons between predictions in EIAs and the impacts measured during, or following project implementation. In explaining this trend, Tenney et al. have highlighted major causes such as project changes, modelling errors, errors in data and assumptions taken and bias introduced by people in the projects analyzed.

Stages of Environmental Impact Assessment

The following points highlight the ten main stages of environmental impact assessment. The stages are: 1. Identification 2. Screening 3. Scoping and Consideration of Alternatives 4. Impact Prediction 5. Mitigation 6. Reporting To Decision-Making Body 7. Public Hearing 8. Review (EIA Report) 9. Decision-Making 10. Post Project Monitoring & Environment Clearance Condition.

Stage # 1. Identification:

The first step is to define a project and study all the likely activities involved in its process so as to understand the range and reach of the project. This helps in deciding the possible zones of environmental impacts.

Stage # 2. Screening:

Screening is done to see whether a project requires environmental clearance as per the statutory notifications.

Screening criteria are based upon:

(i) Scales of investment

(ii) Types of development

(iii) Location of development

A project will have several ramifications biophysical or environmental, economic and social. Hence, it requires some degree of public participation. The law for EIA varies from country to country. If screening shows that a project necessitates EIA, it moves to the next stage.

Some projects may not require EIA. It is generally determined by the size of the project and is sometimes based on the site-specific information.

The output of the screening process is a document known as “Initial Environmental Examination or Evaluation (IEE)”, based on which the decision is taken whether an EIA is needed and if so, to what extent.

Stage # 3. Scoping and Consideration of Alternatives:

Scoping is the procedure of identifying the key environmental issues and is possibly the most important step in an EIA. Scoping means the scope or range of the EIA report.

It undertakes the project’s effect on the air, water, soil, noise level, air quality and physical impact.

It identifies issues and concerns, decides the assessment methods, identifies af­fected parties and invites public participation for agreement on debatable issues. In which public participation involves interactions of all stakeholders including project benefi­ciaries, local people, private sectors, NGOs, scientists and other.

It is on-going process and is likely to continue in the planning and design phases of the project.

Scoping is important because it is possible to bring changes in the project in the early stages of the cycle of the project and it ensures the study of all possible important issues.

In this stage there is an option for cancelling or revising the project. After crossing this stage, there is little opportunity for major changes to the project.

Stage # 4. Impact Prediction:

Impact Prediction is a way of ‘mapping’ the environmental consequences of the signifi­cant aspects of the project and its alternatives.

There are two steps in impact analysis:

(i) Identification:

Identification of the impacts would have been initiated in the scoping stage itself. These initial identifications may be confirmed and new ones are added as and when the investigations reveal.

(ii) Prediction of Impacts:

Predication of impacts is both qualitative and quantitative. The scale and severity of an impact is determined by whether it is reversible or irreversible. If the impact is reversible, then it may be taken as low impact. If the adverse impact cannot be reversed then the impact is said to be high.

Duration of the impact is equally important to understand. The chronological aspects of impacts, arising at different stages must be taken into account.

Thus, it may be catego­rized into:

(i) Short-term (3-9 years)

(ii) Medium-term (10-20 years)

(iii) Long-term (beyond 20 years)

Stage # 5. Mitigation:

This stage includes recommended actions that can offset the adverse impacts of the project. This is done with the idea of lessening the negative effects and improving the scope for project benefits.

Mitigating measures may be:

(i) Preventive: public awareness programmes

(ii) Compensatory: to reduce potential reactions

(iii) Corrective: putting into place devices and installations

Stage # 6. Reporting To Decision-Making Body:

The project authorities have to furnish the following documents for environmental appraisal of a development project.

(i) Detailed project report (DPR)

(ii) Filled in questionnaire

(iii) Environmental impact statement (EIS): EIS should provide the possible impact (positive and negative) of the project.

Some of the issues to be included are:

1. Impact on soil, water (hydrologic regime, ground water and surface water) and air quality

2. Impact on land use, forests, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, recreation etc.

3. Socio-economic impact including short and long-term impact on population

4. Impact on health

5. Impact on flora, fauna and wildlife, particularly endemic and endangered species, and

6. Cost benefits analysis including the measures for environmental protection.

(iv) Environmental Management Plan (EMP):

It covers the following aspects:

1. Safeguards and control measures proposed to prevent or mitigate the adverse environmental impact

2. Plans for habitation of project outers

3. Contingency plans for dealing with accidents and disasters

4. Monitoring add feedback mechanisms on implementation of necessary safe­guards.

(v) Human Exposure Assessment Location (HEAL):

The concept of Human Expo­sure Assessment Location (HEAL) was developed as a part of the health-related monitoring programme by WHO in cooperation with UNEP, and the project has three components, viz., air quality monitoring, water quality monitoring and food contamination monitoring on a global basis.

In our country, Chembur and central Bombay city have been identified for such study of human exposure with reference to pollutants such as chlorinated pesticides (DDT and BHC), heavy metals (lead, cadmium) and air pollutants (nitrogen oxides).

Stage # 7. Public Hearing:

After the completion of EIA report the law requires that the public must be informed and consulted on a proposed development after the completion of EIA report.

Any one likely to be affected by the proposed project is entitled to have access to the executive summary of the EIA.

The affected person may include:

(i) Bonafide local residents;

(ii) Local associations;

(iii) Environmental groups active in the area

(iv) Any other person located at the project site/ sites of displacement

They are to be given an opportunity to make oral/written suggestions to the State Pollution Control Board as per Schedule IV of the act.

Stage # 8. Review (EIA Report):

Once the final report is prepared, it may be reviewed based on the comments and inputs of stakeholders.

Stage # 9. Decision-Making:

The final decision is based on the EIA to approve or reject the project. This is open to administrative or judicial review based on procedural aspects.

Stage # 10. Post Project Monitoring & Environment Clearance Condition:

Once a project is approved, then it should function as per the conditions stipulated based on environmental clearance. These conditions have to be strictly monitored and implemented.

Monitoring should be done during both construction and operation phases of a project. This is not only to ensure that the commitments made are complied with, but also to observe whether the predictions made in the EIA reports were correct or not.

 

Environmental monitoring describes the processes and activities that need to take place to characterize and monitor the quality of the environment. Environmental monitoring is used in the preparation of environmental impact assessments, as well as in many circumstances in which human activities carry a risk of harmful effects on the natural environment. All monitoring strategies and programmes have reasons and justifications which are often designed to establish the current status of an environment or to establish trends in environmental parameters. In all cases the results of monitoring will be reviewed, analysed statistically and published. The design of a monitoring programme must therefore have regard to the final use of the data before monitoring starts.

Air quality monitoring

Air quality monitoring station

Air pollutants are atmospheric substances—both naturally occurring and anthropogenic—which may potentially have a negative impact on the environment and organism health. With the evolution of new chemicals and industrial processes has come the introduction or elevation of pollutants in the atmosphere, as well as environmental research and regulations, increasing the demand for air quality monitoring.

Air quality monitoring is challenging to enact as it requires the effective integration of multiple environmental data sources, which often originate from different environmental networks and institutions. These challenges require specialized observation equipment and tools to establish air pollutant concentrations, including sensor networks, geographic information system (GIS) models, and the Sensor Observation Service (SOS), a web service for querying real-time sensor data. Air dispersion models that combine topographic, emissions, and meteorological data to predict air pollutant concentrations are often helpful in interpreting air monitoring data. Additionally, consideration of anemometer data in the area between sources and the monitor often provides insights on the source of the air contaminants recorded by an air pollution monitor.

Air quality monitors are operated by citizens, regulatory agencies, and researchers to investigate air quality and the effects of air pollution. Interpretation of ambient air monitoring data often involves a consideration of the spatial and temporal representativeness of the data gathered, and the health effects associated with exposure to the monitored levels. If the interpretation reveals concentrations of multiple chemical compounds, a unique "chemical fingerprint" of a particular air pollution source may emerge from analysis of the data.

Air sampling

Passive or "diffusive" air sampling depends on meteorological conditions such as wind to diffuse air pollutants to a sorbent medium. Passive samplers have the advantage of typically being small, quiet, and easy to deploy, and they are particularly useful in air quality studies that determine key areas for future continuous monitoring.

Air pollution can also be assessed by biomonitoring with organisms that bioaccumulate air pollutants, such as lichens, mosses, fungi, and other biomass. One of the benefits of this type of sampling is how quantitative information can be obtained via measurements of accumulated compounds, representative of the environment from which they came. However, careful considerations must be made in choosing the particular organism, how it's dispersed, and relevance to the pollutant.

Other sampling methods include the use of a denuder, needle trap devices, and microextraction techniques.

Soil monitoring

Soil monitoring involves the collection and/or analysis of soil and its associated quality, constituents, and physical status to determine or guarantee its fitness for use. Soil faces many threats, including compaction, contamination, organic material loss, biodiversity loss, slope stability issues, erosion, salinization, and acidification. Soil monitoring helps characterize these and other potential risks to the soil, surrounding environments, animal health, and human health.

Assessing these and other risks to soil can be challenging due to a variety of factors, including soil's heterogeneity and complexity, scarcity of toxicity data, lack of understanding of a contaminant's fate, and variability in levels of soil screening. This requires a risk assessment approach and analysis techniques that prioritize environmental protection, risk reduction, and, if necessary, remediation methods. Soil monitoring plays a significant role in that risk assessment, not only aiding in the identification of at-risk and affected areas but also in the establishment of base background values of soil.

Soil monitoring has historically focused on more classical conditions and contaminants, including toxic elements (e.g., mercury, lead, and arsenic) and persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Historically, testing for these and other aspects of soil, however, has had its own set of challenges, as sampling in most cases is of a destructive in nature, requiring multiple samples over time. Additionally, procedural and analytical errors may be introduced due to variability among references and methods, particularly over time. However, as analytical techniques evolve and new knowledge about ecological processes and contaminant effects disseminate, the focus of monitoring will likely broaden over time and the quality of monitoring will continue to improve.

Soil sampling

The two primary types of soil sampling are grab sampling and composite sampling. Grab sampling involves the collection of an individual sample at a specific time and place, while composite sampling involves the collection of a homogenized mixture of multiple individual samples at either a specific place over different times or multiple locations at a specific time. Soil sampling may occur both at shallow ground levels or deep in the ground, with collection methods varying by level collected from. Scoops, augers, core barrel and solid-tube samplers, and other tools are used shallow, whereas split-tube, solid-tube, or hydraulic methods may be used in deep ground.

Monitoring programs

Soil contamination monitoring

Soil contamination monitoring helps researchers identify patterns and trends in contaminant deposition, movement, and effect. Human-based pressures such as tourism, industrial activity, urban sprawl, construction work, and inadequate agriculture/forestry practices can contribute to and make worse soil contamination and lead to the soil becoming unfit for its intended use. Both inorganic and organic pollutants may make their way to the soil, having a wide variety of detrimental effects. Soil contamination monitoring is there for important to identify risk areas, set baselines, and identify contaminated zones for remediation. Monitoring efforts may range from local farms to nationwide efforts, such as those made by China in the late 2000s, providing details such as the nature of contaminants, their quantity, effects, concentration patterns, and remediation feasibility. Monitoring and analytical equipment will ideally will have high response times, high levels of resolution and automation, and a certain degree of self-sufficiency. Chemical techniques may be used to measure toxic elements and POPs using chromatography and spectrometry, geophysical techniques may assess physical properties of large terrains, and biological techniques may use specific organisms to gauge not only contaminant level but also byproducts of contaminant biodegradation. These techniques and others are increasingly becoming more efficient, and laboratory instrumentation is becoming more precise, resulting in more meaningful monitoring outcomes.

Soil erosion monitoring                 

Soil erosion monitoring helps researchers identify patterns and trends in soil and sediment movement. Monitoring programs have varied over the years, from long-term academic research on university plots to reconnaissance-based surveys of biogeoclimatic areas. In most methods, however, the general focus is on identifying and measuring all the dominant erosion processes in a given area. Additionally, soil erosion monitoring may attempt to quantify the effects of erosion on crop productivity, though challenging "because of the many complexities in the relationship between soils and plants and their management under a variable climate."

Soil salinity monitoring

Soil salinity monitoring helps researchers identify patterns and trends in soil salt content. Both the natural process of seawater intrusion and the human-induced processes of inappropriate soil and water management can lead to salinity problems in soil, with up to one billion hectares of land affected globally (as of 2013). Salinity monitoring at the local level may look closely at the root zone to gauge salinity impact and develop management options, where at the regional and national level salinity monitoring may help with identifying areas at-risk and aiding policymakers in tackling the issue before it spreads. The monitoring process itself may be performed using technologies such as remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) to identify salinity via greenness, brightness, and whiteness at the surface level. Direct analysis of soil up close, including the use of electromagnetic induction techniques, may also be used to monitor soil salinity.

Water quality monitoring

Parameters

Chemical

Analyzing water samples for pesticides

The range of chemical parameters that have the potential to affect any ecosystem is very large and in all monitoring programmes it is necessary to target a suite of parameters based on local knowledge and past practice for an initial review. The list can be expanded or reduced based on developing knowledge and the outcome of the initial surveys.

Biological

In ecological monitoring, the monitoring strategy and effort is directed at the plants and animals in the environment under review and is specific to each individual study.

However, in more generalized environmental monitoring, many animals act as robust indicators of the quality of the environment that they are experiencing or have experienced in the recent past. One of the most familiar examples is the monitoring of numbers of Salmonid fish such as brown trout or Atlantic salmon in river systems and lakes to detect slow trends in adverse environmental effects. The steep decline in salmonid fish populations was one of the early indications of the problem that later became known as acid rain.

In recent years much more attention has been given to a more holistic approach in which the ecosystem health is assessed and used as the monitoring tool itself. It is this approach that underpins the monitoring protocols of the Water Framework Directivein the European Union.

Radiological

Radiation monitoring involves the measurement of radiation dose or radionuclide contamination for reasons related to the assessment or control of exposure to ionizing radiation or radioactive substances, and the interpretation of the results. The ‘measurement’ of dose often means the measurement of a dose equivalent quantity as a proxy (i.e. substitute) for a dose quantity that cannot be measured directly. Also, sampling may be involved as a preliminary step to measurement of the content of radionuclides in environmental media. The methodological and technical details of the design and operation of monitoring programmes and systems for different radionuclides, environmental media and types of facility are given in IAEA Safety Guide RS–G-1.8 and in IAEA Safety Report No. 64.

Radiation monitoring is often carried out using networks of fixed and deployable sensors such as the US Environmental Protection Agency's Radnet and the SPEEDI network in Japan. Airborne surveys are also made by organizations like the Nuclear Emergency Support Team.

Microbiological

Bacteria and viruses are the most commonly monitored groups of microbiological organisms and even these are only of great relevance where water in the aquatic environment is subsequently used as drinking water or where water contact recreation such as swimming or canoeing is practised.

Although pathogens are the primary focus of attention, the principal monitoring effort is almost always directed at much more common indicator species such as Escherichia coli, supplemented by overall coliform bacteria counts. The rationale behind this monitoring strategy is that most human pathogens originate from other humans via the sewage stream. Many sewage treatment plants have no sterilisation final stage and therefore discharge an effluent which, although having a clean appearance, still contains many millions of bacteria per litre, the majority of which are relatively harmless coliform bacteria. Counting the number of harmless (or less harmful) sewage bacteria allows a judgement to be made about the probability of significant numbers of pathogenic bacteria or viruses being present. Where E. coli or coliform levels exceed pre-set trigger values, more intensive monitoring including specific monitoring for pathogenic species is then initiated.

Populations

Monitoring strategies can produce misleading answers when relaying on counts of species or presence or absence of particular organisms if there is no regard to population size. Understanding the populations dynamics of an organism being monitored is critical.

As an example if presence or absence of a particular organism within a 10 km square is the measure adopted by a monitoring strategy, then a reduction of population from 10,000 per square to 10 per square will go unnoticed despite the very significant impact experienced by the organism.

Monitoring programmes

All scientifically reliable environmental monitoring is performed in line with a published programme. The programme may include the overall objectives of the organisation, references to the specific strategies that helps deliver the objective and details of specific projects or tasks within those strategies the key feature of any programme is the listing of what is being monitored and how that monitoring is to take place and the time-scale over which it should all happen. Typically, and often as an appendix, a monitoring programme will provide a table of locations, dates and sampling methods that are proposed and which, if undertaken in full, will deliver the published monitoring programme.

There are a number of commercial software packages which can assist with the implementation of the programme, monitor its progress and flag up inconsistencies or omissions but none of these can provide the key building block which is the programme itself.

Environmental monitoring data management systems

Given the multiple types and increasing volumes and importance of monitoring data, commercial software Environmental Data Management Systems (EDMS) or E-MDMS are increasingly in common use by regulated industries. They provide a means of managing all monitoring data in a single central place. Quality validation, compliance checking, verifying all data has been received, and sending alerts are generally automated. Typical interrogation functionality enables comparison of data sets both temporarily and spatially. They will also generate regulatory and other reports.

One formal certification scheme exists specifically for environmental data management software. This is provided by the Environment Agency in the U.K. under its Monitoring Certification Scheme (MCERTS).

Sampling methods

There are a wide range of sampling methods which depend on the type of environment, the material being sampled and the subsequent analysis of the sample.

At its simplest a sample can be filling a clean bottle with river water and submitting it for conventional chemical analysis. At the more complex end, sample data may be produced by complex electronic sensing devices taking sub-samples over fixed or variable time periods.

Judgmental sampling

In judgmental sampling, the selection of sampling units (i.e., the number and location and/or timing of collecting samples) is based on knowledge of the feature or condition under investigation and on professional judgment. Judgmental sampling is distinguished from probability-based sampling in that inferences are based on professional judgment, not statistical scientific theory. Therefore, conclusions about the target population are limited and depend entirely on the validity and accuracy of professional judgment; probabilistic statements about parameters are not possible. As described in subsequent chapters, expert judgment may also be used in conjunction with other sampling designs to produce effective sampling for defensible decisions.

Simple random sampling

In simple random sampling, particular sampling units (for example, locations and/or times) are selected using random numbers, and all possible selections of a given number of units are equally likely. For example, a simple random sample of a set of drums can be taken by numbering all the drums and randomly selecting numbers from that list or by sampling an area by using pairs of random coordinates. This method is easy to understand, and the equations for determining sample size are relatively straightforward. An example is shown in Figure 2-2. This figure illustrates a possible simple random sample for a square area of soil. Simple random sampling is most useful when the population of interest is relatively homogeneous; i.e., no major patterns of contamination or “hot spots” are expected. The main advantages of this design are:

1.  It provides statistically unbiased estimates of the mean, proportions, and variability.

2.  It is easy to understand and easy to implement.

3.  Sample size calculations and data analysis are very straightforward.

In some cases, implementation of a simple random sample can be more difficult than some other types of designs (for example, grid samples) because of the difficulty of precisely identifying random geographic locations. Additionally, simple random sampling can be more costly than other plans if difficulties in obtaining samples due to location causes an expenditure of extra effort.

Stratified sampling

In stratified sampling, the target population is separated into non-overlapping strata, or subpopulations that are known or thought to be more homogeneous (relative to the environmental medium or the contaminant), so that there tends to be less variation among sampling units in the same stratum than among sampling units in different strata. Strata may be chosen on the basis of spatial or temporal proximity of the units, or on the basis of preexisting information or professional judgment about the site or process. Advantages of this sampling design are that it has potential for achieving greater precision in estimates of the mean and variance, and that it allows computation of reliable estimates for population subgroups of special interest. Greater precision can be obtained if the measurement of interest is strongly correlated with the variable used to make the strata.

Systematic and grid sampling

In systematic and grid sampling, samples are taken at regularly spaced intervals over space or time. An initial location or time is chosen at random, and then the remaining sampling locations are defined so that all locations are at regular intervals over an area (grid) or time (systematic). Examples Systematic Grid Sampling - Square Grid Systematic Grid Sampling - Triangular Grids of systematic grids include square, rectangular, triangular, or radial grids. Cressie, 1993. In random systematic sampling, an initial sampling location (or time) is chosen at random and the remaining sampling sites are specified so that they are located according to a regular pattern. Random systematic sampling is used to search for hot spots and to infer means, percentiles, or other parameters and is also useful for estimating spatial patterns or trends over time. This design provides a practical and easy method for designating sample locations and ensures uniform coverage of a site, unit, or process.

Ranked set sampling is an innovative design that can be highly useful and cost efficient in obtaining better estimates of mean concentration levels in soil and other environmental media by explicitly incorporating the professional judgment of a field investigator or a field screening measurement method to pick specific sampling locations in the field. Ranked set sampling uses a two-phase sampling design that identifies sets of field locations, utilizes inexpensive measurements to rank locations within each set, and then selects one location from each set for sampling. In ranked set sampling, m sets (each of size r) of field locations are identified using simple random sampling. The locations are ranked independently within each set using professional judgment or inexpensive, fast, or surrogate measurements. One sampling unit from each set is then selected (based on the observed ranks) for subsequent measurement using a more accurate and reliable (hence, more expensive) method for the contaminant of interest. Relative to simple random sampling, this design results in more representative samples and so leads to more precise estimates of the population parameters. Ranked set sampling is useful when the cost of locating and ranking locations in the field is low compared to laboratory measurements. It is also appropriate when an inexpensive auxiliary variable (based on expert knowledge or measurement) is available to rank population units with respect to the variable of interest. To use this design effectively, it is important that the ranking method and analytical method are strongly correlated.

Adaptive cluster sampling

In adaptive cluster sampling, samples are taken using simple random sampling, and additional samples are taken at locations where measurements exceed some threshold value. Several additional rounds of sampling and analysis may be needed. Adaptive cluster sampling tracks the selection probabilities for later phases of sampling so that an unbiased estimate of the population mean can be calculated despite oversampling of certain areas. An example application of adaptive cluster sampling is delineating the borders of a plume of contamination. Adaptive sampling is useful for estimating or searching for rare characteristics in a population and is appropriate for inexpensive, rapid measurements. It enables delineating the boundaries of hot spots, while also using all data collected with appropriate weighting to give unbiased estimates of the population mean.

Grab samples

Collecting a grab sample on a stream

Grab samples are samples taken of a homogeneous material, usually water, in a single vessel. Filling a clean bottle with river water is a very common example. Grab samples provide a good snap-shot view of the quality of the sampled environment at the point of sampling and at the time of sampling. Without additional monitoring, the results cannot be extrapolated to other times or to other parts of the river, lake or ground-water.

In order to enable grab samples or rivers to be treated as representative, repeat transverse and longitudinal transect surveys taken at different times of day and times of year are required to establish that the grab-sample location is as representative as is reasonably possible. For large rivers such surveys should also have regard to the depth of the sample and how to best manage the sampling locations at times of flood and drought.

In lakes grab samples are relatively simple to take using depth samplers which can be lowered to a pre-determined depth and then closed trapping a fixed volume of water from the required depth. In all but the shallowest lakes, there are major changes in the chemical composition of lake water at different depths, especially during the summer months when many lakes stratify into a warm, well oxygenated upper layer (epilimnion) and a cool de-oxygenated lower layer (hypolimnion).

In the open seas marine environment grab samples can establish a wide range of base-line parameters such as salinity and a range of cation and anion concentrations. However, where changing conditions are an issue such as near river or sewage discharges, close to the effects of volcanism or close to areas of freshwater input from melting ice, a grab sample can only give a very partial answer when taken on its own.

Semi-continuous monitoring and continuous

There is a wide range of specialized sampling equipment available that can be programmed to take samples at fixed or variable time intervals or in response to an external trigger. For example, a sampler can be programmed to start taking samples of a river at 8 minute intervals when the rainfall intensity rises above 1 mm / hour. The trigger in this case may be a remote rain gauge communicating with the sampler by using cell phone or meteor burst technology. Samplers can also take individual discrete samples at each sampling occasion or bulk up samples into composite so that in the course of one day, such a sampler might produce 12 composite samples each composed of 6 sub-samples taken at 20 minute intervals.

Continuous or quasi-continuous monitoring involves having an automated analytical facility close to the environment being monitored so that results can, if required, be viewed in real time. Such systems are often established to protect important water supplies such as in the River Dee regulation system but may also be part of an overall monitoring strategy on large strategic rivers where early warning of potential problems is essential. Such systems routinely provide data on parameters such as pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity and colour but it is also possible to operate gas liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry technologies (GLC/MS) to examine a wide range of potential organic pollutants. In all examples of automated bank-side analysis there is a requirement for water to be pumped from the river into the monitoring station. Choosing a location for the pump inlet is equally as critical as deciding on the location for a river grab sample. The design of the pump and pipework also requires careful design to avoid artefacts being introduced through the action of pumping the water. Dissolved oxygen concentration is difficult to sustain through a pumped system and GLC/MS facilities can detect micro-organic contaminants from the pipework and glands.

Passive sampling

The use of passive samplers greatly reduces the cost and the need of infrastructure on the sampling location. Passive samplers are semi-disposable and can be produced at a relatively low cost, thus they can be employed in great numbers, allowing for a better cover and more data being collected. Due to being small the passive sampler can also be hidden, and thereby lower the risk of vandalism. Examples of passive sampling devices are the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) sampler, Chemcatcher, Polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS), semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs), stabilized liquid membrane devices (SLMDs), and an air sampling pump.

Remote surveillance

Although on-site data collection using electronic measuring equipment is common-place, many monitoring programmes also use remote surveillance and remote access to data in real time. This requires the on-site monitoring equipment to be connected to a base station via either a telemetry network, land-line, cell phone network or other telemetry system such as Meteor burst. The advantage of remote surveillance is that many data feeds can come into a single base station for storing and analysis. It also enable trigger levels or alert levels to be set for individual monitoring sites and/or parameters so that immediate action can be initiated if a trigger level is exceeded. The use of remote surveillance also allows for the installation of very discrete monitoring equipment which can often be buried, camouflaged or tethered at depth in a lake or river with only a short whip aerial protruding. Use of such equipment tends to reduce vandalism and theft when monitoring in locations easily accessible by the public.

Remote sensing

Environmental remote sensing uses aircraft or satellites to monitor the environment using multi-channel sensors.

There are two kinds of remote sensing. Passive sensors detect natural radiation that is emitted or reflected by the object or surrounding area being observed. Reflected sunlight is the most common source of radiation measured by passive sensors and in environmental remote sensing, the sensors used are tuned to specific wavelengths from far infrared through visible light frequencies to the far ultraviolet. The volumes of data that can be collected are very large and require dedicated computational support . The output of data analysis from remote sensing are false colour images which differentiate small differences in the radiation characteristics of the environment being monitored. With a skilful operator choosing specific channels it is possible to amplify differences which are imperceptible to the human eye. In particular it is possible to discriminate subtle changes in chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b concentrations in plants and show areas of an environment with slightly different nutrient regimes.

Active remote sensing emits energy and uses a passive sensor to detect and measure the radiation that is reflected or backscattered from the target. LIDAR is often used to acquire information about the topography of an area, especially when the area is large and manual surveying would be prohibitively expensive or difficult.

Remote sensing makes it possible to collect data on dangerous or inaccessible areas. Remote sensing applications include monitoring deforestation in areas such as the Amazon Basin, the effects of climate change on glaciers and Arctic and Antarctic regions, and depth sounding of coastal and ocean depths.

Orbital platforms collect and transmit data from different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, which in conjunction with larger scale aerial or ground-based sensing and analysis, provides information to monitor trends such as El Niño and other natural long and short term phenomena. Other uses include different areas of the earth sciences such as natural resource management, land use planning and conservation.

Bio-monitoring

The use of living organisms as monitoring tools has many advantages. Organisms living in the environment under study are constantly exposed to the physical, biological and chemical influences of that environment. Organisms that have a tendency to accumulate chemical species can often accumulate significant quantities of material from very low concentrations in the environment. Mosses have been used by many investigators to monitor heavy metal concentrations because of their tendency to selectively adsorb heavy metals.

Similarly, eels have been used to study halogenated organic chemicals, as these are adsorbed into the fatty deposits within the eel.

Other sampling methods

Ecological sampling requires careful planning to be representative and as noninvasive as possible. For grasslands and other low growing habitats the use of a quadrat – a 1-metre square frame – is often used with the numbers and types of organisms growing within each quadrat area counted

Sediments and soils require specialist sampling tools to ensure that the material recovered is representative. Such samplers are frequently designed to recover a specified volume of material and may also be designed to recover the sediment or soil living biota as well such as the Ekman grab sampler.

Data interpretations

The interpretation of environmental data produced from a well designed monitoring programme is a large and complex topic addressed by many publications. Regrettably it is sometimes the case that scientists approach the analysis of results with a pre-conceived outcome in mind and use or misuse statistics to demonstrate that their own particular point of view is correct.

Statistics remains a tool that is equally easy to use or to misuse to demonstrate the lessons learnt from environmental monitoring.

Environmental quality indices

Since the start of science-based environmental monitoring, a number of quality indices have been devised to help classify and clarify the meaning of the considerable volumes of data involved. Stating that a river stretch is in "Class B" is likely to be much more informative than stating that this river stretch has a mean BOD of 4.2, a mean dissolved oxygen of 85%, etc. In the UK the Environment Agency formally employed a system called General Quality Assessment (GQA) which classified rivers into six quality letter bands from A to F based on chemical criteria and on biological criteria.^[49] The Environment Agency and its devolved partners in Wales (Countryside Council for Wales, CCW) and Scotland (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, SEPA) now employ a system of biological, chemical and physical classification for rivers and lakes that corresponds with the EU Water Framework Directive

What is environmental auditing?

Environmental auditing is essentially an environmental management tool for measuring the effects of certain activities on the environment against set criteria or standards. Depending on the types of standards and the focus of the audit, there are different types of environmental audit. Organisations of all kinds now recognise the importance of environmental matters and accept that their environmental performance will be scrutinised by a wide range of interested parties. Environmental auditing is used to

• investigate
• understand
• identify

These are used to help improve existing human activities, with the aim of reducing the adverse effects of these activities on the environment. An environmental auditor will study an organisation's environmental effects in a systematic and documented manner and will produce an environmental audit report. There are many reasons for undertaking an environmental audit, which include issues such as environmental legislation and pressure from customers.

Definitions

The term 'audit' has its origins in the financial sector. Auditing, in general, is a methodical examination - involving analyses, tests, and confirmations - of procedures and practices whose goal is to verify whether they comply with legal requirements, internal policies and accepted practices.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) produced a definition in 1989 which is along the same lines

A management tool comprising systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of how well environmental organisation, management and equipment are performing with the aim of helping to safeguard the environment by facilitating management control of practices and assessing compliance with company policies, which would include regulatory requirements and standards applicable.

Source: after International Chamber of Commerce (1989)

There are other definitions available, although the above definition is still seen as the industry standard. The key concepts, which occur in all the definitions, are as follows.

• Verification: audits evaluate compliance to regulations or other set criteria.
• Systematic: audits are carried out in a planned and methodical manner.
• Periodic: audits are conducted to an established schedule.
• Objective: information gained from the audit is reported free of opinions.
• Documented: notes are taken during the audit and the findings recorded.
• Management tool: audits can be integrated into the management system (such as a quality management system or environmental management system).

Terminology

Environmental auditing should not be confused with environmental impact assessment (EIA). Both environmental auditing and EIA are environmental management tools, and both share some terminology, for example, 'impact', 'effect', and 'significant', but there are some important differences between the two.

Environmental impact assessment is an anticipatory tool, that is, it takes place before an action is carried out (ex ante). EIA therefore attempts to predict the impact on the environment of a future action, and to provide this information to those who make the decision on whether the project should be authorised. EIA is also a legally mandated tool for many projects in most countries.

Environmental auditing is carried out when a development is already in place, and is used to check on existing practices, assessing the environmental effects of current activities (ex post). Environmental auditing therefore provides a 'snap-shot' of looking at what is happening at that point in time in an organisation.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has produced a series of standards in the field of environmental auditing. These standards are basically intended to guide organisations and auditors on the general principles common to the execution of environmental audits. These are addressed elsewhere in this module.

Environmental auditing means different things to different people. Environmental auditing is often used as a generic term covering a variety of management practices used to evaluate a company's environmental performance. Strictly, it refers to checking systems and procedures against standards or regulations, but it is often used to cover the gathering and evaluation of any data with environmental relevance - this should actually be termed an environmental review. The distinction between an environmental audit and an environmental review has become blurred, but the table in 2.1.1 should enable you to understand the differences between the two.

Distinctions between an environmental review and an environmental audit

	Review	Audit
What is the objective?	Determine which performance standards should be met (eg company decides to reduce total organic compound emissions from 100 tonnes to 10 tonnes/ year)	Verify performance against these standards (eg company checks that it really has reduced emission to 10 tonnes/year)
Which environmental issues are covered?	All known environmental issues with or without explicit standards to measure performance	Only issues for which standards exist (eg regulatory requirements, internal company standards, or good management practice)
How often are they required?	Before developing environmental management systems or before and after any significant changes in operations or practices	Regularly and on a pre-planned cyclical basis
What are the geographic boundaries?	Wherever the business could have an environmental impact in the life of the product (ie raw material selection, transportation, manufacturing, product use and disposal)	Usually well-defined geographic boundaries, (eg limited to site, distribution companies or local planning authority)

 

Irrespective of the process that is actually being undertaken, some organisations prefer not to use the term 'audit'. In some cases, therefore, an organisation may call the procedure of measuring environmental performance against set criteria an environmental review, an environmental assessment, or another term used specifically for their own purposes (by now, you should be able to distinguish between these terms, and be able to determine which is which).

In addition, the term 'audit', coming from the financial sector, may suggest that financial audits (whose result typically is the Annual Report) and environmental audits are very similar. Some areas where they differ are highlighted in the table in 2.1.2.

2.1.2 Distinctions between financial audits and environmental audits

	Financial audits	Environmental audits
Legal basis of audit	Part of regulatory (legal) process, organisations have to perform it	With few exceptions, environmental audits are voluntary affairs. Even the preparatory environmental review which is mandatory under ISO 14001 is voluntary as the standard is voluntary
Frequency	Annual affairs	Whenever the organisation decides to perform one
Who does it?	Performed by external staff, certified to do so	Performed by external and/or internal staff. Professional indemnity considerations, there are no legal requirements of auditors to be competent or trained, although professional bodies in many countries try to stop this
Methodology	Financial audits are based on comparative standards which are publicly available - General Principles of Accounting etc	Varies very much between auditors and companies
Access to audit	The results are public documents in the form of annual reports	Very few audits are public, although some results are often published in the Environmental Reports
Liability	Auditors are partially liable for their reports. They have to provide a 'true and fair' view of the organisation	With few exceptions that are negotiated between auditor and auditee, there is no external liability implication in environmental audits