Environmental Impact Assessment
Code
7176
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia
Department
Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente
Credits
5.5
Teacher in charge
João Miguel Dias Joanaz de Melo
Weekly hours
4
Teaching language
Português
Objectives
1. Understanding of environmental impact assessment (EIA), on different aspects: ethics, law, metodology, science, administration and decision-making.
2. Training of specific EIA techniques, with emphasis on those that invoke different domains of knowledge.
3. Understanding and resolution of practical EIA problems by simulating professional practice.
Prerequisites
The students should be well acquainted with basic science plus specialised themes in the previous curriculum, such as engineering sciences, life sciences, social sciences, planning, pollution control and natural resource management.
Subject matter
1. Introduction to EIA: definitions, principles, goals, roles. 2. Impacts by activity. 3. Professional ethics in Environmental Engineering. 4. EIA processes: phasing and methodology; case-studies. 5. Public participation modes and techniques. 6. Legal framework: international, European and Portuguese EIA law. 7. Methods in EIA: scoping; cumulative impacts; selection of methods to predict, mitigate or compensate impacts; data aggregation; evaluation. 8. Risk analysis: concepts and applications in EIA; techniques for risk assessment; industrial safety; accident modelling. 9. Organisation issues: evaluation of impact statements; EIA teams and proposals; process documentation. 10. Future developments.
Bibliography
Reference manual:
MELO, J.JOANAZ & RAMOS, T.B. (2002). Notas metodológicas sobre avaliação de impactes ambientais. 43 p. FCT-UNL.
Books:
DAVIS, M.L. Davis & CORNWELL, D.A. (1998), Introduction to Environmental Engineering, 3rd Ed, McGraw-Hill. GILPIN, A. (1995), Environmental Impact Assessment, Cambridge University Press. JOANAZ DE MELO, J. & FERRAZ DE ABREU, P. (ED) (2000), Public Participation and Information Technologies, CITIDEP/DCEA-FCT-UNL, Lisboa. PETTS, J. (ed) (1999). Handbook of environmental impact assessment. Volumes 1 and 2. Blackwell, Oxford. LEE, C.C. Lee & LIN, Shun Dar (2000), Handbook of Environmental Enginering Calculations, McGraw-Hill Suter II, G.W. et.al. (1993), Ecological Risk Assessment, Lewis Publishers, USA. VANCLAY, F. & BRONSTEIN, D.A. (ED) (1995), Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, John Wiley & Sons.
Periodics: IAIA annual Conference Proceedings; Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal (journal).
Real environmental impact statements (on public record)
Teaching method
Lectures, debates, practical exercises and seminars for paper presentation.
Evaluation method
Evaluation is based on four papers, two individual and two in groups of 2-3 students. Themes: 1) Essay on the role of environmental engineers in society; 2) essay on the public participation in a real case-study; 3) valuation report on a real environmental impact statement (EIS); 4) formal proposal for a EIS, including terms of reference, in answer to a call for proposals.