EIA Processes in the Radioactive Waste Management in Slovakia: Eight Years of Experience

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Salzer ◽  
Eva Sencˇa´kova´
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Nuclear Facilities ◽  
Legal Provisions

Environmental Impact Assessment Act has been in force in the Slovak Republic since 1994. Evaluation of potential environmental impact of nuclear facilities/activities was enforced in the cases of newly sited constructions containing nuclear facilities much earlier: the civil construction legislation required the preparation of initial safety report with the same purposes. The cardinal change constituted by the EIA Act was the legal requirement of the public involvement in the assessment process, such as participation of municipalities, civil initiatives or public hearings. Another aspect was the most complex evaluation of impact, i.e. not only inside the nuclear safety framework but including, for instance, also non-nuclear, social, and economical aspects. All nuclear activities judged by the environmental impact assessment processes in the last eight years have been related to radioactive waste and spent fuel management facilities or activities and to the decommissioning of nuclear power plants. The particular cases are briefly described and the positive and negative implications from particular environmental impact assessment processes are discussed and generalized. Special attention is given to the use of EIA approaches in the strategy decision-making processes on various levels. There are the main difficulties and drawbacks in application of the EIA legal provisions in Slovakia at the present time.

Recent Trends in Environmental Impact Assessment

1981 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 591-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Rosenberg ◽  
Vincent H. Resh ◽  
Steven S. Balling ◽  
Mark A. Barnby ◽  
Joshua N. Collins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Water Diversion ◽  
Average Quality

The objectives of this paper are to characterize an "ideal" environmental impact assessment (e.i.a.); to review the contemporary status of e.i.a. for several major activities and areas of development; and to identify successes, failures, and future needs in e.i.a.The institutional procedures to be followed for e.i.a. have been formalized in a number of countries, but the scientific basis and methods are still developing. We propose that the following elements comprise an ideal e.i.a.: (1) definition of scientific objectives, (2) background preparation, (3) identification of main impacts, (4) prediction of effects, (5) formulation of usable recommendations, (6) monitoring and assessment, (7) sufficient lead time, (8) public participation, (9) adequate funding, and (10) evidence that recommendations were used.The "best available" predictive, preoperational e.i.a.'s involving aquatic resources (power plants, fossil fuels, recreation, reservoirs, wastewater treatment, forestry, and dredging and water diversion in estuaries) were reviewed and scored on a 0–5 scale for each of the elements identified above. Mean scores for the criteria which could be assessed (nos. 1–8) indicated that the quality of the best available e.i.a.'s does not exceed our defined average but improves when legally required documents are excluded from the calculations. The lowest means, for criteria within the scientist's control (nos. 1–5), were obtained for "Prediction of effects" and ' "Formulation of usable recommendations." Overall mean scores for each development area (criteria 1–5) indicated three broad groups which included studies of above average quality (wastewater treatment, recreation); studies of approximately average quality (estuarine impacts, power plants, reservoirs, and fossil fuels); and studies of below average quality (forestry practices).Environmental impact assessment has had the following successes: increased environmental awareness due to public involvement in e.i.a., some environmental protection, and elucidation of intriguing research problems. The list of failures of e.i.a. is, however, longer: "tokenism," unrealistic time constraints, uncertainty of program or development schedules, difficult access to e.i.a. literature, questionable ethics, lack of coordination among studies, and poor research design.Future organizational/administrative needs of e.i.a. include improved access to e.i.a. literature, increased accountability for e.i.a.'s and their authors, improved public input into project decisions and designs, and improved organization and presentation of e.i.a. reports. Future scientific/research needs include development of methods to define and quantify relationships between biological, esthetic, and economic impacts; support for independent biological inventory programs; adequate time frames; improved design of research; inclusion of monitoring and assessment in every e.i.a.; study of cumulative impacts on a regional or national scale; and improved communication between scientists and planners.Key words: environmental impact assessment, aquatic ecology, power plants, fossil fuels, recreation, reservoirs, wastewater treatment, forestry, dredging and water diversion (estuaries)

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Process of V1 NPP Decommissioning

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Matejovicˇ ◽  
Vincent Pola´k
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Suitable Alternative ◽  
Assessment Report ◽  
The Status ◽  
Reactor Type

Through the adoption of Governmental Resolution No. 801/99 the Slovak Republic undertook a commitment to shutdown units 1 and 2 of Jaslovske´ Bohunice V1 NPP (WWER 230 reactor type) in 2006 and 2008 respectively. Therefore the more intensive preparation of a decommissioning documentation has been commenced. Namely, the V1 NPP Conceptual Decommissioning Plan and subsequently the Environmental Impact Assessment Report of V1 NPP Decommissioning were developed. Thus, the standard environmental impact assessment process was performed and the most suitable alternative of V1 NPP decommissioning was selected as a basis for development of further decommissioning documents. The status and main results of the environmental impact assessment process and EIA report are discussed in more detail in this paper.

AMBEMAR-DSS: A Decision Support System for the Environmental Impact Assessment of Marine Renewable Energies

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xabier Guinda ◽  
Araceli Puente ◽  
José A. Juanes ◽  
Francisco Royano ◽  
Felipe Fernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Renewable Energies ◽  
Environmental Cost ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Modeling Tools

The high energy demand and the threat of climate change have led to a remarkable development of renewable energies, initially through technologies applied to the terrestrial environment and, recently, through the awakening of marine renewable energies. However, the development of these types of projects is often hampered by failure to pass the corresponding environmental impact assessment process. The complexity of working in the marine environment and the uncertainties associated with assessing the impacts of such projects make it difficult to carry out objective and precise environmental impact assessments. AMBEMAR-DSS seeks to establish a basis for understanding and agreement between the different stakeholders (project developers, public administrations, environmental organizations and the public in general), in order to find solutions that allow the development of marine renewable energies, minimizing their environmental cost. For this purpose, a DSS is proposed which, based on cartographic information and using objective and quantifiable criteria, allows comparative assessments and analyses between different project alternatives. The analytical procedures used by the system include, among others, hydrodynamic modeling tools and visual impact simulators. In addition, impacts on marine species are assessed taking into account intrinsic ecological and biological aspects. The magnitude of the impacts is quantified by means of fuzzy logic operations and the integration of all the elements is carried out by an interactive multi-criteria analysis. The results are shown in tables, graphs and figures of easy interpretation and can be also visualized geographically by means of a cartographic viewer. The system identifies the main impacts generated in the different phases of the project and allows establishing adequate mitigation measures in search of optimized solutions. The establishment of the assessment criteria has been based on the abundant, but dispersed, scientific literature on the various elements of the system and having the opinion of experts in the various fields. Nevertheless, the DSS developed constitutes a preliminary basis on which to build and improve a system with the input of researchers, promoters and experts from different disciplines.

scholarly journals Beyond Public Particpation: The disjuncture between South Africa's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Law and Sustainable Development

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
T Murombo
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legal Provisions

One of the key strategies for achieving sustainable development is the use of the process of evaluating the potential environmental impacts of development activities. The procedure of environmental impact assessment (EIA) implements the principle of integration which lies at the core of the concept of sustainable development by providing a process through which potential social, economic and environmental impacts of activities are scrutinised and planned for. Sustainable development may not be achieved without sustained and legally mandated efforts to ensure that development planning is participatory. The processes of public participation play a crucial role in ensuring the integration of the socio-economic impacts of a project into the environmental decision-making processes. Public participation is not the only process, nor does the process always ensure the achievement of sustainable development. Nevertheless, decisions that engage the public have the propensity to lead to sustainable development. The public participation provisions in South Africa’s EIA regulations promulgated under the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 show a disjuncture between the idea of public participation and the notion of sustainable development. The provisions do not create a framework for informed participation and leave a wide discretion to environmental assessment practitioners (EAPs) regarding the form which participation should assume. In order for environmental law, specifically EIA laws, to be effective as tools to promote sustainable development the laws must, among other things, provide for effective public participation. The judiciary must also aid in the process by giving content to the legal provisions on public participation in the EIA process.

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