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Anchored in law, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) deals with the foreseeable environmental effects of a projected facility and is a partial examination of the project from the perspective of environmental law. The result is a factor in decisions concerning a construction project.
In accordance with the federal guidelines for environmental impact assessment and in close cooperation with all project participants, the first step is to carry out a preliminary investigation. After initial consultations and analyses, this shows which environmental areas will be affected by the project and how relevant they will be. The environmental factors are:
On the basis of a relevance matrix and a specification sheet, we reveal which environmental areas require in-depth clarifications and what the contents of these clarifications should be. In the resulting main investigation, we check whether the relevant federal, local and standard environmental legislation is complied with during the construction and operation of the planned plant, inform the planning team of any deviations, initiate project adjustments and formulate the necessary measures for subsequent project phases. The main investigation is documented in an environmental impact report.
The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is the main source of information on the considerations and analyses, the evidence used, and the derived results, interpretations, and conclusions of the main investigation. It serves as an important tool for coordination between all project participants.
In the EIR, we describe the construction project and the subsequent operation of the planned plant, as well as the initial and actual state of the project area and the construction plot with regard to the environmental issues under investigation. For the construction and operation phases of the project, we also document the legal and normative requirements applicable to the individual environmental areas and compare these with the current status of the plan. The resulting overview enables corrective project adjustments to be made in constant coordination with all parties involved. The EIA, which is continuously adapted as a result, finally records the measures taken as well as the remaining environmental impacts per environmental area and formulates necessary measures for the subsequent project phases. The EIA and the accompanying EIR ensure that the building permit for the projected project can be approved.
Due to the above advantages, the implementation of an EIA with EIR is also beneficial for construction projects that are not subject to EIA. Project and work overview, close cooperation and coordination also contribute to the timely execution of projects.