What is the relationship of HIA to Environmental Impact Assessment?
HIA is procedurally similar and complementary to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and equivalent State statutes, such as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). NEPA requires Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) to include consideration and analysis of health effects of specified federal agency actions. NEPA does not refer by name to “HIA” as a separate requirement per se, and the current practice of health analysis in environmental impact assessments has been limited. Given the legal mandate to consider health in environmental impact assessments, though, when conducted within the context of an inter-disciplinary Environmental Impact Assessment, HIA is an appropriate way to meet statutory requirements for health effects analysis. Click here for more specific questions and answers about how HIA can be integrated with EIA.
Related Questions
- I thought an environmental assessment had already been done for the proposed replacement airport. Why is an environmental impact statement now being done?
- How is an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) related to a Health Impact Assessment (HIA)?
- Does Environmental Impact Assessment of a construction project include the investigation stage?
