What is Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM)?
Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) is a way to try to determine whether or not a discharge to a water body creates changes in the aquatic environment. In EEM, a potentially impacted area is compared against a reference area not affected by the discharge at the same time as areas downstream of the discharge in question, with the results compared. Items that are studied include the fish community, habitat available for creatures living in the water, and communities of smaller organisms living in the bottom of water bodies. Samples of the discharge, river water, and sediment from the bottom of the river are also considered. If differences are noted, work then focuses on determining the extent and cause of the effect. This helps to determine if the quality of the discharge needs to be improved. Environmental Effects Monitoring grew out of environmental concerns associated with pulp and paper discharges. This type of assessment is not currently required of Municipal wastewater effluents
Related Questions
- Why does the ERCB require submission of decommissioning reports or environmental reports (e.g. soils and groundwater monitoring) in addition to the estimate of liability?
- Where, and how, do monitoring and sustainability indicators fit into environmental management systems?
- What is Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM)?
