Eis Part 2

OVERVIEW OF THE PHILIPPINE EIS SYSTEM (PEISS)

Consistent with the principles of sustainable development, it is the policy of the DENR to implement a systems-oriented and integrated approach to the EIS system to ensure a rational balance between socio-economic development and environmental protection for the benefit of present and future generations.

Impact Assessment (EIA) is a “process that involves predicting and evaluating the likely impacts of a project (including cumulative impacts) on the environment during construction, commissioning, operation and abandonment. It also includes designing appropriate preventive, mitigating and enhancement measures addressing these consequences to protect the environment and the community’s welfare”.

As a basic principle, EIA is used to enhance planning and guide decision-making. In this Manual, EIA is primarily presented in the context of a requirement to integrate environmental concerns in the planning process of projects at the feasibility stage. Through the EIA Process, adverse environmental impacts of proposed actions are considerably reduced through a reiterative review process of project siting, design and other alternatives, and the subsequent formulation of environmental management and monitoring plans.

a) The EIA study shall determine the environmental impacts of the project and shall provide recommendations/guidance at various stages of the project cycle. It is during the Feasibility Study (FS) stage when a Proponent defines its range of actions and consider project alternatives, thus, it is the most ideal stage in the project cycle wherein the EIA study will have most added value. EIA documents are ideally prepared when prospective proposals are more concrete than mere concept and are preferably available before the project has reached a stage of investment or commitment towards implementation. Proponents are in fact directed under Malacanang Administrative Order No. 42 to conduct simultaneously the environmental impact study and the project planning or Feasibility Study (FS).

The PEISS is supplementary and complementary to other existing environmental laws. As early as the project’s Feasibility Study (FS) stage, the EIA process identifies the likely issues or impacts that may be covered later by regional environmental permits and other regulatory bodies’ permitting requirements. In addition, where there are yet no standards or where there is a lack of explicit definitions in existing laws, the EIA process fills in the gap and provides appropriate cover for environmental protection and enhancement-related actions. For example, the planting of greenbelts is not a requirement under any environmental law but is included in the ECC as a contractual obligation and commitment of the project Proponent to the DENR.

It is inherent upon the EIA Process to undertake a comprehensive and integrated approach in the review and evaluation of environment-related concerns of government agencies (GAs), local government units (LGUs) and the general public. The subsequent EIA findings shall provide guidance and recommendations to these entities as a basis for their decision making process.

There are seven (7) major EIA Report types for which preparation and application procedures have been provided in this Manual. Table 1-4 presents the report type per project sub-group.

A typical EIA Report has the following substantive contents:

including its location, scale and duration, rationale, alternatives, phases and components, resource requirements, manpower complement, estimate of waste generation from the most critical project activities and environmental aspects, project cost

(of the land, water, air and people), focused on the sectors and resources most significantly affected by the proposed action

focused on significant environmental impacts (in relation to pre-construction, construction/development,operation and decommissioning stages), taking into account cumulative, unavoidable and residual impacts;

specifying the impacts mitigation plan, areas of public information, education and communication, social development program proposal, environmental monitoring plans (with multi-sectoral public participation for EIS-based projects) and the corresponding institutional and financial requirements/ arrangements.

Section 3.0 of P.D. 1586 requires that all EIA Reports be submitted to the National Environmental Protection Council or NEPC (now DENR, through Executive Order No. 192) for review and evaluation. Furthermore, pursuant to Section 4.0 of P.D. 1586, ECCs are issued only by the President of the Philippines or his duly authorized representative, which is DENR.

The outcome of the EIA Process within the system administered by the DENR is the issuance of decision documents.

Decision documents may either be an___ described as follows:

is issued as a certificate of Environmental Compliance Commitment to which the Proponent conforms with, after DENR-EMB explains the ECC conditions.

Main Parts and Salient Features of the ECC: The ECC is composed of three (3) parts with the following features:

: The certificate of environmental compliance commitment, which defines the scope and limits of the project, in terms of capacity, area, technology or process. Both endorsing and issuing authorities sign-off this portion of the ECC. This part of the ECC comes with a covering letter transmitting the ECC to the Proponent, signed off by the deciding and signing authority (either the DENR Secretary, EMB Director or EMB Regional Director);

The decisions on applications shall be made within prescribed timelines within the control of DENR, otherwise, the application shall be deemed automatically approved, with the issuance of the approval document within five (5) working days from the time the prescribed period lapsed.

Once a project is implemented, the ECC remains valid and active for the lifetime of the project. ECC conditions and commitments are permanently relieved from compliance by the Proponent only upon validation by EMB of the successful implementation of the environmental aspects/component of the Proponent’s Abandonment/Rehabilitation/Decommissioning Plan.