NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,

HAMIRPUR

Civil Engineering Department

Presentation on

Presented by:

Navsal Kumar

Roll: 15M150

M. Tech. 1st Year (WRE)

Civil Engineering Department

NIT Hamirpur (HP)

CONTENTS

i • Introduction

ii • Background Study

1 • Environmental Impact Assessment – Definition

2 • History of EIA

3 • Purpose & Objectives of EIA

4 • Process of EIA

5 • Concept of EIA in Water Resources Project

6 • Environmental Discourse on DAM construction

7 • Case study – THREE GORGES DAM

8 • Conclusion

• References9

PROJECT/

ACTIVITIES

ENVIRONMENT ECONOMIC

SOCIAL

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND STUDY

Environment is composed of Biotic & Abiotic

components. There exists a dynamic equilibrium

between these components.

Whenever a project is undertaken, it tends to disturb

these components.

To maintain natural environment, perspectives are

studied about the effects and remedial measures.

Example: Forest ecosystem disturbed due to

construction of roads or dams.

The impact of an activity is a deviation (a change) fromthe baseline situation that is caused by the activity.

Types of impact: Ecological, Physico-chemical & on

Human interests

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a decision-

making process that systematically evaluates the

possible significant (negative or positive) effects that a

proposed project action may exert on the natural, social

and human environment of a particular geographic area

(Lei and Hilton, 2013).

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

– DEFINITION

HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT OF EIA

EIA was first developed in the US as a result of the

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969(NEPA), for

considering possible impacts prior to a decision being

taken on whether or not a proposal should be given

approval to proceed.

Environmental Impact Assessment concept in India

came in the year 1994.

There have been 3 amendments in the notification.

Recognition of EIA consultant and organization through

“Quality Council of India“ is also one step ahead to stop

entry of unethical people mushrooming as EIA

consultant.

PURPOSE & OBJECTIVES OF EIA

Identification, estimation and assessment of

important effects that the planned project may have

on the environment.

Presentation of data on impacts in the report for the authorities responsible for approving the

realization of the project, as well as for the public

Encouragement of authorities

responsible for approving the

planned projects to include ecological

elements in their decision-making

process

PURPOSE OF EIA

OBJECTIVES OF EIA

To ensure that eventual effects on the environment are considered before the approval of project

To encourage implementation of relevant procedures before finalizing the project

To encourage the creation of procedures for information exchange, reporting and consultation amongst countries

PROCESS OF EIA

THE PROCESS INCLUDES FOLLOWING STEPS:

1. Screening

2. Scoping

3. Impact analysis

4. Impact mitigation

5. Reporting

6. Review

7. Decision making

8. Monitoring

The screening process determines whether a particular

project requires preparation of an EIA or not.

Scoping is a stage, usually involving the public and

other interested parties, that identifies the key

environmental issues that should be addressed in an

EIA.

The type, extent, duration, timing, severity and

significance of the impact is analyzed.

Ensuring that residual impacts are withinacceptable levels and to enhance environmental andsocial benefits.

It is the implementation of measures designed toreduce the undesirable effects of a proposed actionon the environment

Report of EIA is prepared and submitted to theconcerned authority.

A description of the project

An outline of the main alternatives studied by the developer, and an indication of the main reasons for this choice

A description of the aspects of the environment likely to be significantly affected by the proposed project

Measures to prevent, reduce and possibly offset adverse environmental effects

A non-technical summary

An indication of any difficulties (technical deficiencies or lack of know-how) encountered while compiling the required

information

In this step, the report is studied thoroughly for any

deficiencies and corrections are made. Public

participation is the important part of this step.

Involves deciding whether the project is acceptable

or not. The terms and conditions are finalized in this

step.

Involves ensuring the implementation of conditionsattached to a decision, verification of impacts are aspredicted or permitted, confirming the mitigationmeasures are working as expected, taking action tomanage any unforeseen changes.

CONCEPT OF EIA IN WATER RESOURCE

PROJECTS

What are these Projects?

Why do we need these projects?

Why is there a need of EIA in these projects?

WATER RESOURCE PROJECTS

Multipurpose river valley projects

Major irrigation projects / canals

Inter-linking of rivers

WHY DO WE NEED THESE PROJECTS?

Our population is growing

The country’s population which was over 1028 million in 2001

is expected to reach a level of around 1400 million by 2025.

Our water demand is growing.

Agriculture

Production of food grains has increased from around 50

million tons in the fifties to about 208 million tons in 1999-

2000. This will have to be raised to around 350 million tons

by the year 2025.

Domestic & Industry

Domestic and industrial water needs have largely been

concentrated in or near major cities. However, the demand in

rural areas is expected to increase sharply as the

development programmes improve economic conditions of

the rural masses.

Power generation

Demand for water for hydro and thermal power generation is

also increasing substantially.

WHAT IS THE NEED OF E.I.A. IN THESE PROJECTS?

As a result, water, which is already a scarce

resource, will become even scarcer in future.

These water resource projects have both beneficial

and adverse effects on environment as well as

socio-economic factors.

To attain sustainability in water resource

developments.

Although there is no global water scarcity as such,

an increasing number of regions are chronically

short of water.

WATER RESOURCE PROJECTS

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

CONSTRUCTION PHASE

BENEFICIAL IMPACTS

ADVERSE IMPACTS

OPERATIONAL PHASE

BENEFICIAL IMPACTS

ADVERSE

IMPACTS

CONSTRUCTION PHASE

SOCIO-ECONOMIC

Employment generated

Lesser migration to cities

Development of infrastructure

Compensation given to peoplewho lose their lands

BIOTIC

Compensatory afforestation(green belt created on theperiphery of reservoir in the caseof multi-purpose river valleyprojects)

SOCIO-ECONOMIC

Displacement of people

Loss of livelihood that theyhave been used to

Loss of monuments (somecases)

BIOTIC

Submergence of forest land (inthe case of multi-purpose rivervalley projects)

Effects on flora and fauna dueto construction activity

OPERATIONAL PHASE

SOCIO-ECONOMIC

Irrigation allows for improvedcrop production

Increased power generation

Improved water supplythroughout the year

Flood moderation

Improved groundwaterrecharge

Tourism

BIOTIC

Increased aquatic life inreservoir

Increase in migratory birds

SOCIO-ECONOMIC

Water logging and salinity

Greenhouse gas emissions(methane emissions fromsubmerged forests)

Increase in production of waterintensive crops

Change in sediment loadsthrough the course of the riverand at the delta

BIOTIC

Aquatic life affected due todifferential temperature and flowrates

Change in natural ecosystem

MAJOR CHALLENGES IN EIA AND ENVIRONMENTAL

PLANNING IN WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

Increase in Population

Climate change

Ill conceived planning

Policies and institutions

TOOLS FOR ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT

Environmental flows assessment.

Allocation of water for ecological water demand

Dam breach analysis

GIS & RS with Simulation models

IWRM integrated with EIA

ENVIRONMENTAL DISCOURSE ON

DAM CONSTRUCTION

In 1947, there were 300 dams.

In 2000, there were 4000 dams.

Currently, there are more than 4500 dams in India.

Large dams in India are estimated to have submerged

around 37500 km2 land area.

About 10 million people have been displaced or affected.

Adverse impacts of dams have spawned resistance

movements, especially after 1980’s.

Negative impacts of river valley projects

CASE STUDY – THREE GORGES DAM

The three gorges dam is built on the Yangtze river which is the

world’s 3rd longest river.

It is the biggest reinforced concrete structure in the world.

It is the world’s largest power station in terms of installed

capacity(22500 MW).

Affected the rotation of earth by 1 sec.

Height – 181 m

Length – 2335 m

Reservoir capacity- 39.3 km2

Sr.

no.

Environmental issues Evidence

1 Displacement 120,000 more resettlers were displaced than the

estimated number in the EIS Report.

2 Sedimentation The volume of sediments averaged 142 million tons (Mt)

per year, being equivalent to 40% of the estimated 355 Mt

per year in the EIS Report.

3 Soil erosion in reservoir

area

Both the extent and severity of soil erosion in the TGRA

are smaller than the estimates of the EIA Report.

4 Water quality

(Eutrophication)

Eutrophication and algal bloom in many bays of the

reservoir has become a prominent issue

5 Downstream river bed

erosion

The annual erosion rate from October 2002 to October

2010 averaged at 108.8 million m³, which was much

greater than the average 6.25 million m³ per annum in

1975-2002.

6 4 major domestic fish

species

The stock of four major domestic fish species dropped

dramatically between 2005 and 2010, reducing by 78.2%

on the 1981 level, compared to the estimated reduction of

50-60% in the EIS Report.

7 Reservoir bank stability On average, 31 bank collapses occurred per year in the

reservoir in 2003-2007, compared to 19 bank collapses in

the Jing jiang section of the middle Yangzi in 2001-2003.

Sr.

No.

Environmental issues Evidence

9 Air Temperature Annual mean temperature in the TGRA increased by 0.2-

1.0℃ over the 2003-2009 period, compared to the average

level in 1996-2002.

10 Precipitation Annual mean precipitation in the TGRA increased by 2-9%

over the 2003-2009 period, compared to the average level

in 1996-2002.

11 Fog The number of foggy days per annum in the TGRA in

2003-2009 decreased slightly, compared to incidences in

1980-2002.

12 Downstream Flooding

Risk

The TGP has substantially improved flooding control

capacity in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangzi

River. The Three Gorges Dam withstood catastrophic

floods in July, 2010 and 2012.

13 Lake in middle reaches The impact of the TGP on Lake Boyang was little

addressed in the EIS Report.

The effect of the TGP on water and sediment exchanges

between the Yangzi and the lake Dongting is close to the

estimate from the EIS Report.

14 Wildlife Forest cover reduced from 20 to 10%. Near extinction of

Yangtze river dolphin. Destruction of wetlands for Siberian

crane. More than 3000 species critically endangered.

15 Reservoir induced

seismicity

Reservoir-induced seismicity shows a high frequency and

low intensity pattern, lying within the range as indicated by

the EIS Report.

CONCLUSION

Environmental impact assessment must be made

mandatory for all water resources projects so as to

ensure sustainability in development.

EIA should be incorporated in Integrated water resource

management.

Public Participation must be encouraged at all levels in

the implementation of EIA for a project.

Use of advanced techniques like GIS & RS and

Simulation Models as a component of EIA for effective

and efficient data collection

Proper policies and institutions must be drafted and

formed for quick and firm decision making.

REFERENCES Lei, L., and Hilton, B. (2013). A Spatially Intelligent Public Participation System for the

Environmental Impact Assessment Process. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-

Information 2: 480-506

NA. Siddiqui, R.N. Shukla and Akbar Ziauddin(2008). Environmental Impact Assessment

(EIA) for a Water Resource Project. Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper,

Vol.14, Issue 04, Page No.(707-711).

Presentation by Mr. Pradeep Kumar, ex-Director, National Water Academy, Pune

Water Supply Engineering; Prof. S.K. Garg; Khanna Publishers.

S.K. Sharma, A. Kaushik (2007). Impacts of Water Resources Development Project with

Special Reference to Dams and Reservoirs. International Conference on Small

Hydropower - Hydro Sri Lanka

Tena Bekele Adgolign and Srinivasa Rao GVR(2014). Environmental Impact Assessment

in Sustainable Water Resources Development: Major Issues of Consideration. Science,

Technology and Arts Research Journal, April-June 2014, 3(2): 180-189

Xu, Xibao; Tan, Yan; Yang, Guishan(2013). Environmental impact assessments of the

Three Gorges Project in China: issues and interventions, Earth-Science Reviews, 2013;

124:115-125

Three gorges dam (Wikipedia Article)