Environmental Impact Assessment
An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) involves the study and evaluation of the potential effects of project activities on the environment, in order to determine project feasibility. Under the terms of Legal Regime applicable to these matters, an environmental impact assessment must be conducted for each and every project likely to cause significant impact on the environment before any permits can be issued and an authorisation granted. Construction projects requiring an EIA may only be carried out after a favourable opinion is issued by the responsible authorities.
An Environmental Impact Assessment represents a preventive measure based on the conduction of several studies and consultations. The process involves the participation of public entities and the analysis of possible alternatives. An EIA serves several purposes, namely the collection of relevant data; the identification and prediction of the effects of project activities on the environment; and the subsequent identification of measures aimed at preventing, minimising or remediating the effects in question.
Moreover, an Environmental Impact Assessment includes Environmental Impact Studies, which apply to certain project types, as specified in EIA regulations, and Environmental Incident Studies, which apply to projects involving protected and conservation areas; renewable energy sources; power generation, storage, transport, distribution and marketing; and changes to the delimitation of National Ecological Network (NER) areas.
The aforementioned studies essentially consist of the following four stages:
Stage I – Characterisation of environmental and social benchmarks pertaining to the project under evaluation;
Stage II – Identification and assessment of environmental impacts/incidents;
Stage III – Identification of mitigation and/or remediation measures;
Stage IV – Identification and definition of monitoring programmes (if applicable).
Our multidisciplinary teams possess the skills and qualifications required to conduct rigorous studies, in compliance with the requirements set by the responsible authorities. The aforementioned studies seek to assess impact on ecosystems (flora and fauna), physical factors (geology, hydrogeology, water resources, soils and climate), environmental quality (air quality, noise and waste management), and social and human factors (soil use, urban planning, social and economic factors, landscape, and cultural, architectural and archaeological heritage), such as to allow the subsequent recommendation of mitigation and/or remediation measures, both in the project design and the construction and exploitation stages.
Engexpor provides support to its clients over the entire Environmental Impact Assessment process, from the identification of environmental impacts, environmental incidents and adequate minimisation measures to the production of the final report and the respective submission to the entity responsible for coordinating activities and issuing a final decision (Environmental Impact Statement – EIS).