[3] Environmental assessments may be governed by rules of administrative procedure regarding public participation and documentation of decision making, and may be subject to judicial review.
"[8][9] General and industry specific assessment methods are available including: At the end of the project, an audit evaluates the accuracy of the EIA by comparing actual to predicted impacts.
Two primary considerations are: 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.
[15] 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.
[citation needed] The history of EIA in Australia could be linked to the enactment of the U.S. National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) in 1970, which made the preparation of environmental impact statements a requirement.
An important point to note is that this federal legislation does not override the validity of the States or Territories environmental and development assessments and approvals; rather the EPBC Act runs as a parallel to the State/Territory Systems.
[citation needed] The EPBC Act provides a legal framework to protect and manage nationally and internationally important flora, fauna, ecological communities and heritage places.
The final discretion on the decision remains of the minister, which is not solely based on matters of national environmental significance but also on the consideration of social and economic impact of the project.
In Friends of the Oldman River Society v. Canada (Minister of Transportation),(SCC 1992) La Forest J of the Supreme Court of Canada described environmental impact assessment in terms of the proper scope of federal jurisdiction with respect to environments matters,"Environmental impact assessment is, in its simplest form, a planning tool that is now generally regarded as an integral component of sound decision-making.
"[23] La Forest referred to (Jeffery 1989, 1.2,1.4) and (Emond 1978, p. 5) who described "...environmental assessments as a planning tool with both an information-gathering and a decision-making component" that provide "...an objective basis for granting or denying approval for a proposed development.
"[24][25] Justice La Forest addressed his concerns about the implications of Bill C-45 regarding public navigation rights on lakes and rivers that would contradict previous cases.
"[31] Environmental Lawyer Dianne Saxe argued that the CEAA 2012 "allows the federal government to create mandatory timelines for assessments of even the largest and most important projects, regardless of public opposition.
[38] On 22 April 2013, NDP MP Megan Leslie issued a statement claiming that the Harper government's recent changes to "fish habitat protection, the Navigable Waters Protection Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act", along with gutting existing laws and making cuts to science and research, "will be disastrous, not only for the environment but also for Canadians' health and economic prosperity.
[40] Mr. Peter Kent (Minister of the Environment) explained that the CEAA 2012 "provides for the Government of Canada and the Environmental Assessment Agency to focus on the large and most significant projects that are being proposed across the country."
The lack of more stringent enforcement mechanisms has resulted in a significant percentage of projects not completing legally required environmental impact assessments prior to construction.
[citation needed] A joint investigation by SEPA and the Ministry of Land and Resources in 2004 showed that 30–40% of the mining construction projects went through the procedure of environment impact assessment as required, while in some areas only 6–7% did so.
[44] According to the Law 4/1994 for the Protection of the Environment, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) was restructured with the new mandate to substitute the institution initially established in 1982.
However, it was estimated that this EIA court case had increased the construction cost of the Hong Kong section of the bridge by HK$6.5 billion in money-of-the-day prices.
[62] The board is responsible of issuing such certificate for all projects and activities except of petroleum operation which EIA process is organized and implemented by the Ministry of Natural Resources of Kurdistan Regional government.
[citation needed] EIC stores data in GIS format and makes it available to all environmental impact assessment studies and to EIA stakeholders.
There has been some success in this area, as evidenced from abandonment of plans to construct a gas pipe-line through the only remaining habitat of the critically endangered Amur leopard in the Russian Far East.
Contrary to a widespread misconception, NEPA does not prohibit the federal government or its licensees/permittees from harming the environment, nor does it specify any penalty if an environmental impact assessment turns out to be inaccurate, intentionally or otherwise.
This is because the EA was originally intended to be a simple document used in relatively rare instances where an agency was not sure if the potential significance of an action would be sufficient to trigger preparation of an EIS.
[citation needed] The structure of a generic Environmental Assessment is as follows: The EA becomes a draft public document when notice of it is published, usually in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected by the proposal.
There is a 15-day review period required for an Environmental Assessment (30 days if exceptional circumstances) while the document is made available for public commentary, and a similar time for any objection to improper process.
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.
Specific pollution threats include acid rain, radioactive contamination, debris in outer space, stratospheric ozone depletion and toxic oil spills.
[87] 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.
[90] Pope Francis notes in his 2015 encyclical letter, Laudato si', that environmental impact assessments "should be part of [a project] process from the beginning", as there are dangers if they are only addressed "after the drawing up of a business proposition or the proposal of a particular policy, plan or programme".
Yakuba writes "However, environmental history provides evidence that political process and special interests govern the attainment of the EJ goal by way of inadequate adherence to the NEPA provisions.