Environmental and Social Impact Assessment is a procedure ensuring that impacts of project performance on environment and social community are taken into account before the decisions on these projects are made.
EIA is a procedure required under the terms of European Union Directives 85/337/EEC and 97/11/EC on environmental assessment, and undert the terms of local regulation – Law on Environmental Impact Assessment, Republic of Serbia Official Gazette No135/04. EIA approval is a legal prerequisite for obtaining the construction permit and thereby accompanies preparation of Feasibility Studies and Preliminary Design of the particular plant.
As required by applicable regulations, scoping and screening are performed at early EIA preparation process, ensuring that all the relevant information are made available to the stakeholders.
Upon completion of scoping and screening phase, technical sections of EIA Study are elaborated, including:
Baseline Environmental and Social Assessment.
We perform baseline assessment through field investigations, interviews, documentation review and data collection regarding environmental indicators. As the reference point for impact prediction and evaluation, baseline information has a critical role in the technical quality of EIA work. Through the Environmental and Social Baseline assessment we document the present environmental and social status within the project area before initiating any further steps in implementation of a new project.
Assessment of Environmental and Social Impact.
The main objective of EIA is to determine the actual risks to the immediate and wider surroundings of the site, to establish direct and indirect connections between contamination sources and their impacts on the media and receptors, i.e. to form a model of pollutant transport, as well as to optimize the monitoring network. The approach we have adopted to assess the significant impacts of the project is based on the premise that potential impact can be avoided through the careful choice of technology. Extensive mitigation measures need to be incorporated into project design in order to minimize impact and to fulfill given criteria regarding waste disposal, waste water discharge, noise, air emissions and other impacts.
Public Consultation.
As a Consultant we carry out public consultation process on behalf of our Client throughout the EIA process in accordance with the requirements of national law. We assist our Client in organizing public consultations and undertake an initial scoping meeting and a final public consultation meeting for presenting and discussing of the draft ESIA document. Success of overall public consultation depends not only on Consultant’s experience regarding technical issues but also on our deep knowledge of local social and cultural environment.
Environmental and Social Management Plan.
The Environmental and Social Management Plan is the mechanism by which we help the Client to manage the environmental and social impacts associated with the plant operation. The goal of the management effort is to avoid or minimize adverse impacts and maximize beneficial impacts upon the local communities and environment. The goals of each monitoring report are:
- To track and report on the effectiveness of the measures and responsibilities identified in the ESMP,
- Inform on the augmentation or adjustment of mitigation measures,
- Identify any potential new areas of exposure, and
- Ensure findings are integrated into HSE and other appropriate management systems for the operational phase.
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