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% background 1000
% - EIA & SEA 400
% - sustainable development 200
% - RMA 400
\section{Background}
\subsection{Environmental Impact Assessment}
The term ``Environmental Impact Assessment'' (EIA) is used to refer to
a set of standardised procedures that are designed to inform the
decision-making processes surrounding development proposals. According
to the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA), a major
objective of EIA is to ``anticipate and avoid, minimize or offset the
adverse significant biophysical, social and other relevant effects''
of such proposals ``prior to major decisions being taken and
commitments made'' \parencite{principles}.
In order to provide decision-makers with sufficiently detailed insight
into the potential positive and negative effects of a project on the
environment, the participation of all parties that would be affected
by the project, as well as the participation of the general public is
explicitly encouraged \parencite{principles}. The involvment of the
public in the decision-finding process is a crucial component of EIA
as those responsible for the project proposal and the prediction of
its impacts on the social and natural environment do not necessarily
share the values of affected communities. Hence, public participation
can provide balance to the biases of developers and the assessors they
hire \parencite{wilkins}.
\subsubsection{EIA activities and procedures}
The EIA process generally involves the following
activities \parencite{principles}:
\begin{enumerate}
\item[Screening \& Scoping]
The goal of the \emph{screening} step is to limit the application
of EIA procedures to those projects that are expected to have
significant effects on the environment. What kind of projects require
an impact assessment varies from country to country. When a proposal
is subject to EIA, the \emph{scope} of the assessment is determined by
identifying the key impacts that are associated with the project.
\item[Consideration of alternatives]
TODO
\item[Impact analysis, mitigation, and evaluation of residual impacts]
(TODO: Evaluation of the significance of residual impacts)
\item[Reporting \& independent review]
TODO
\item[Decision-making]
TODO
\item[Monitoring and other follow-up activities]
TODO
\end{enumerate}
\subsubsection{The role of sustainable development}
TODO:
- EIA --> SEA
- broad definition of ``environment'' is adopted
\subsection{The Resource Management Act 1991}
The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) is the overarching
environmental management framework which governs the allocation and
utilisation of New Zealand's natural resources and controls adverse
effects on the environment. The RMA is the result of efforts to unify
and simplify previous legislation relating to environmental management
which had lead to what was perceived as an uncoordinated, complex
network of confusing environmental management
strategies \parencite{twp98}
Unlike the aproach taken by other
countries implementing EIA, the RMA is a
TODO
- requirement: policy environmental assessment (SEA)
\textcite{miller2010implementing}
- three layers of plans
NATIONAL LEVEL
- Ministry for the Environment responsible for RMA
- should prepare national policy statements (NPS)
- broad scope
- issues affecting more than a region or the whole country
- global agreements/commitments
national environmental standards (NES)
- very specific and technical
- addressing standards of air quality, water quality/levels/flows, discharges, etc
when deemed appropriate by minister
- very slow publication of NPS and NES
- 2009 establishment of the EPA (due to RMA amendments)
- 2010 extended functions of the EPA as Crown Agent, taking over
all regulatory functions of the MfE;
MfE focusses on policy + regulation not under RMA (Hazardous substances Act, Ozone Protection Act, Climate Change Response Act)
REGIONAL LEVEL
- regional councils need to produce regional policy statement (RPS)
- may produce regional plans
- concentrate on water, air, and land (as its use relates to water and air quality)
DISTRICT / city councils
- devolved mandate, i.e. decision making is undertaken at the closest level to which it was given effect, e.g. land is a locally used resource and thus decisions are to be made by district and city councils.
``effects-based approach'' without specific reference to EA procedure
``Environmental Assessment in a Changing World'' (EAE_10E.PDF, Sadler)
\begin{quote} (page 49)
The New Zealand Resource Management Act (RMA, 1991) is possibly the
most far reaching piece of sustainability legislation enacted by any
country. EA is incorporated as an integral part of an effects-based
approach to sustainability. It operates within the statutory planning
and consent system rather than as a separate procedure, applies
explicitly to projects and is indirectly specified for policy
statements and strategic plans which local authorities are required to
prepare to guide and implement sustainable resource
management. Application at this level is variable and, overall, it is
concluded that the unique way that EA is integrated into the Act makes
evaluation of the effectiveness of implementation difficult
\end{quote}
(page 164[pdf], 146[published])
\begin{quote}
The Resource Management Act (1991) consolidates policy planning,
assessment, and regulatory functions previously exercised
separately. It provides a comprehensive framework with a single
purpose of promoting “the sustainable management of natural and
physical resources” (Section 5). A hierarchy of national and regional
policy statements and regional and district plans form the cornerstone
for implementing the Act.
SEA is intended to be an integral part of
policy and plan-setting, rather than being applied to them as a
separate procedure. The resulting framework, in turn, establishes a
context and parameters for subsidiary EIAs, which are required for all
resource use consents and where the presumption is for protection via
rigorous limits on discharges etc. However, in practice,
implementation of the Act is occurring slowly. Experience to date
indicates that local governments still rely on project EIA rather than
undertaking policy and pian-level assessments,
\end{quote}
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