Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA)
In the U.S., environmental impact assessment is formally undertaken
under both federal and state laws or statutes, and has been since the passage
of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (the act was actually
signed on January 1, 1970). Internationally, EIA directives are far
more diverse, though many have been designed around the NEPA framework,
although full public disclosure and review as directed under NEPA is the
most omitted element.
United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Office of Federal Activities
EPA's EIS Rating System
EPA's EIS Review
Manual
EPA's EIS Filing
System Guidance
NEPA - Selected Implementing Regulations
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. Army
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Army Regulation (AR) 200-2
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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Engineering Regulation (ER) 200-2-2
U.S. Air Force
U.S. Marine Corps
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MCO
P5090.2A - Environmental Compliance and Protection Manual
U.S. Navy
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
NEPA - Miscellaneous
International
Country-Specific Guidance
Australia
Thailand
The framework for managing the urban environment in Thailand can be traced
back to the early 70's with the concerns for adverse effects of industrialization.
Industrial pollution control was addressed with the Factory Act of 1969.
Later, with the enactment of the Improvement and Conservation of National
Environmental Quality Act (NEQA) in 1975, the National Environment
Board was established as the main policy planning and coordination body
with the office of the National Environment Board (ONEB) as its secretariat.
Under this Act, ambient quality standards as well as guidelines for the
use of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) were also established. In
the 80's there was a growing perception that NEQA, though revised in 1978,
lacked certain provisions to address Thailand's increasing complex environmental
problems. Hence, NEQA was further revised in 1992 with the following
key features: broadened scope of environmental and pollution control, upgrading
of the National Environment Board to become an active policy making center,
creation of a more restrictive environmental standard-setting system, creation
of incentives for polluters to clean up their activities, criminal sanctions
for violating the Act, and establishing the Environment Fund to assist
polluters in controlling the eliminating their pollutants.
Taiwan
Hong Kong
Japan
Rapid Ecological Assessment Techniques
Training via Physalia OS
HEP - Habitat Evaluation Methods and Application: The
Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) technique is a commonly used method
to evaluate the impacts of water resources and other projects on fish and
wildlife species and their habitats. HEP has been successfully used
determining mitigation requirements and planning restoration projects,
including monitoring progress over time. Its basic, flexible framework
forms a universal basis for more specialized analytic procedures.
This course will provide the ecological basis behind HEP and introduce
Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) models as the focus of the HEP process.
Emphasis will be placed on planning and conducting evaluations using HEP,
with special attention given to data management; constructing, modifying,
and testing HSI models; and computer training in newly developed HEP software.
Field exercises will be conducted to demonstrate sampling protocol and
techniques.
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Wetland Mitigation Bank Development and Managment: This course
presents the principles of planning, design, implementation, and management
of mitigation banks as a mechanism in compensating for wetland losses.
It was developed cooperatively between the USACE Waterways Experiment Station
and the Institute for Water Resources to bring together their expertise
in mitigation banking issues. Topics include setting bank goals,
Federal agency perspectives on banking, financial assurances, calculation
and management of credits and debits, use of the Hydrogeomorphic Assessment
Method (HGM), siting and planning, and success criteria.
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EXHGM: EXpert Hydrogeomorphic Analysis: Wetlands-based project design
is strengthened and enhanced by techniques that rapidly assess changing
conditions at a functional level. The Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach
for Assessing Wetland Functions was designed to evaluate and predict the
capacity of a wetland to perform selected hydrological, bio-geochemical,
and habitat functions. This workshop will provide hands-on training
for the recently developed EXpert HydrGeoMorphic Approach (EXHGM) software,
an automated system designed to calculate HGM and directly link the results
to spatial modules and cost-analysis modules. This allows users to
design, compare, and revisit project alernatives during the regulatory
project evaluation process. Emphasis will be placed on planning and
conducting evaluations using EXHGM, with special attention given to data
management, and constructing/modifying/testing of Functional Capacity Index
(FCI) models in the EXHGM package.
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Wetland Functions and Values: This course is designed for wetland
scientists involved in the evaluation of wetland functions. It focuses
on applications of the Hydrogeomorphic Approach (HGM) for assessment of
wetland functions. Topics include general wetland ecology, functions,
values, the use of models, and wetland evaluation techniques. Classroom
and field exercises are used to illustrate applications of the HGM.
Students work in small teams to conduct field exercises and present a class
project requiring assessment of pre- and post-project conditions and design
of a mitigation plan to offset project impacts.
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Comments, suggestions and constructive criticisms are always welcome.
If you know of a NEPA-related site that you think others should be aware
of, please send us the URL and we'll review it. If it fits with the intent
of this page, we'll immediately add it to our page. Likewise, if you note
any errors or lost links, let us know that too, and we'll either fix or
delete them as well.
You
can reach the Physalia Ocean Sciences' WebMaster at: Webmaster@PhysaliaOS.com
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