Environmental impact assessment

This guide explains how EC requirements for environmental impact assessment have been incorporated into procedures in the UK. It revises the booklet Environmental Assessment: A guide to the procedures, published in 1989, to take account of the requirements of the Directive 97/11/EC, which was adopted on 3 March 1997 and came into force on 14 March 1999.
Parts 1 and 2 of the guide explain the procedures that apply to projects that fall within the scope of the Directive and require planning permission in England and Wales. They also give general advice and guidance, applicable to all types of project, on the nature of environmental impact assessment and on the practical aspects of preparing an environmental statement.
Part 3 of the guide gives a brief account of the procedures that apply to other projects within the scope of the Directive but are not approved under planning procedures, for example, motorways, harbour works and long distance pipelines.
An extensive Appendix section includes the text of Directive 85/337/EEC as amended by Directive 97/11/EC; a list of the requirements of the Regulations as to the content of environmental statements; a checklist of matters to be considered for inclusion in an environmental statement; flowcharts illustrating the main procedural stages; and UK statutory instruments and other official publications on environmental impact assessment.

Contents

• Introduction
• Environmental impact asessment and projects which require planning permission
• Preparing an environmental statement: The planning procedures
• Arrangements for other projects
• Appendices