What is an Environmental Impact Assessment?
Nowadays, for most dredging projects some sort of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is normally prepared, often specified and required by law or regulation, sometimes just as a part of good, modern project management. Although no uniform standard for such an assessment is universally accepted, an EIA regularly contains: an explanation of environmental objectives and policy; a description of the existing environmental situation (the baseline conditions); a description of the project; an assessment of the potential effects of the project; a summary of recommendations; and an Environmental Management (or action) Plan (EMP). What is the purpose of an EIA? The purpose of an EIA is to ensure that dredging activities are performed in an environmentally acceptable manner, use sound engineering techniques, that they are economically warranted and take sufficient consideration of longterm effects. The scope of an EIA usually includes a survey and review of prior studies done by others to des
