Environmental Impact Assessments

An Environmental Impact Assessment is used to provide regulatory authorities with the information needed to evaluate a project’s potential environmental and ecological impacts.  An Environmental Impact Assessment considers the existing environmental values of the project site, the potential impacts on those values, and prescribes avoidance, mitigation, or offset measures.  The environmental impact assessment report is used as part of the complete approvals process to assess your mining or development project.

The general outline of the process required for an Environmental Impact Assessment is as follows:

• Desktop assessment of existing environmental values
• Field work to conduct flora and fauna surveys, or other relevant surveys including soil surveys
• Assessment of the potential impacts of the project
• Propose measures, to avoid, mitigate, and offset
• Development of monitoring and reporting requirements
• Management and monitoring
• Environmental Compliance Auditing

You’ll find that if your project has an impact on any of the below you’ll need an EIA:

• Threatened flora and fauna
• Listed threatened ecological communities
• Wetlands of importance
• Marine plant or fish communities
• Waterways which provide fish passage
• Remnant vegetation or endangered or of concern regional ecosystems
• Essential habitats
• High risk areas for protected plants
• World Heritage properties
• Ramsar listed wetlands
• Heritage places of national significance
• Migratory species and cetaceans
• Management and protection of the marine and coastal environment