SH July 20 Newsletter final - Flipbook - Page 11
The success of the EIA process very much depends upon the abilities of the EIA manager/
coordinator.
At Stephenson Halliday we have a number of highly experienced EIA managers who have worked on some
of the Country’s largest infrastructure projects. The EIA process reveals the likely environmental impacts
of proposals. Where proposals are assessed as having the potential to lead to significant environmental
impacts, proponents of a scheme have the opportunity to revise and adjust their development and / or
develop other forms of mitigation to reduce the level of impact. It is in the interests of the client to do so
as a means of increasing the acceptability of their project at the planning stage. The re-assessment of
revised proposals and the application of other mitigation would reveal whether or not any significant
environmental impacts remain. It is this circular process of design change and reassessment which drives
the improvement of schemes in terms of minimising negative environmental harm and maximising positive
effects.
It is not uncommon for the EIA process to identify a number of likely significant effects.
This can create tensions where the changes to design or implementation of other mitigation proposals to
address one effect conflicts with or amplifies other effects. Additionally, each successive change to the
proposal can take it further away from the original development and the role it was designed to fulfil.
What a good EIA manager brings is the interpretation of assessment data to balance the different
environmental perspectives to get the best project outcome. That is optimising the scheme to appropriately
mitigate likely environmental effects whilst ensuring that the proposal continues to fulfil its role.
The success of EIA also relies upon the experience and expertise of those undertaking the
technical topic assessments.
Compromising on expertise on one topic can have knock on effects through the design, consent,
implementation and delivery of the project. At Stephenson Halliday we have an established network of
highly experienced subconsultants. From this network we can select the most appropriate consultants
to form a bespoke team for each EIA. The advantage of this over a ‘one stop shop’ is that we use highly
experienced specialists and we can be assured of the very highest standards of input for each and every
subject of assessment. Our ‘boutique’ approach or the multidisciplinary ‘supermarket? The choice is yours.
www.stephenson-halliday.com
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