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Determine the Environmental Impact Assessment requirements and review the Environmental Statement for a project proposal

URN: LANEM25
Business Sectors (Suites): Planning and Development Impact Assessments
Developed by: Lantra
Approved on: 30 Mar 2021

Overview

This standard is about determining the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements for a project proposal. EIA is a systematic process to identify, predict, communicate, and evaluate the environmental effects of proposed actions and projects. 

The key stages of EIA are:

  1. Proposal identification
  2. Screening
  3. Scoping
  4. Positive and negative impact assessment
  5. Mitigation
  6. Preparation of Environmental Statement (ES)
  7. Review
  8. Decision-making
  9. Follow up (monitoring)

As a minimum, consultation with statutory bodies and interested parties should take place at the scoping and review stages of EIA. It should be stressed that whilst EIA is a statutory process for some developments, it is not strictly a linear process. EIA is a dynamic and iterative process requiring interaction between stages as the assessment progresses, with feedback loops enabling project proposals to be refined and adapted in response to the findings of the assessment.

This standard is suitable for:

  • Responsible for determining whether EIA is legally required
  • Responsible for advising project proponents on the environmental topics that should be included within an EIA
  • Responsible for reviewing an Environmental Statement submitted in support of a planning application.

Performance criteria

You must be able to:

1. Determine the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations which apply to the project proposal 2. Analyse environmental information and project details to determine whether EIA is required for a project proposal 3. Identify the statutory determination notification requirements and communicate the decision to relevant stakeholders, including those from protected characteristics 4. Document and formally notify following organisational procedures, a decision on the need for EIA to the relevant stakeholders 5. Analyse any scoping report and other relevant local information to determine the EIA requirements 6. Apply relevant legislative and regulatory requirements 7. Identify important or sensitive environmental characteristics to determine the requirement for an EIA 8. Recognise potential significant impacts likely to arise from a project proposal, both in isolation and cumulative with other project proposals 9. Engage with relevant statutory consultees to determine the scoping opinion for the EIA 10. Interpret and consolidate advice from relevant statutory consultees and other relevant stakeholders 11. Write a scoping opinion for an EIA 12. Communicate a scoping opinion for an EIA to the relevant stakeholders 13. Analyse the information provided within the Environmental Statement (ES) 14. Check compliance with relevant regulatory requirements 15. Identify any additional information requirements for reviewing the ES 16. Recognise where specialist technical input is required for the ES review 17. Communicate the findings of the ES review to the relevant stakeholders 

Knowledge and Understanding

You need to know and understand:

  1. The purpose of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and its relationship to the relevant regulatory process
  2. The stages of the EIA process and statutory procedures
  3. The location and content of relevant legislation, legal rulings, policy, and guidance documents
  4. The relevant legal requirements for the Environmental Statement (ES) content and best practice standards for ES format and structure
  5. The types of ES review methods
  6. The possible environmental impacts arising from the different types of projects
  7. The relevant assessment methods and potential cumulative interactions between EIA topics
  8. The importance of considering alternatives and mitigations
  9. The relevant statutory consultees, and when and how to communicate and engage with them
  10. How to advise project proponents, and their consultants, on your screening opinion, scoping opinion, and the findings of your review of the Environmental Statement

Scope/range

Scope Performance

Scope Knowledge

Values

Behaviours

Skills

Glossary

Links To Other NOS

External Links

Version Number

1

Indicative Review Date

30 Mar 2026

Validity

Current

Status

Original

Originating Organisation

Lantra

Original URN

LANEM26

Relevant Occupations

Environmental Consultant, Environmental Management Officer, Environmental Manager, Project Manager, Project/Implementation Manager

SOC Code

2152

Keywords

environmental statement; measures; pollution; climate;