Environmental Assessment

Environmental Assessment (EA), which is a term frequently used interchangeably with the terms Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), refers to the process of assessing the environmental effects of proposed initiatives prior to implementation. The purpose of an EA is to prevent or minimize harm to the environment by evaluating the impact of new initiatives on the environment and ensuring that environmental implications are explicitly expressed and incorporated into decision making prior to the approval process. In principle, environmental assessment can be undertaken (1) for individual projects such as power plants, highways, or dams (EIA), which may require national, state, and sometimes even local assessment reports and often has consequences on regulations and requirements for the businesses involved in building the project; ...