• aquaaair_surat@hotmail.com
  • + 91 (261) 2460854, 2461241
Thumb

EIA EC

Services of EIA Department

1. Preparation of Environment Impact Assessment Report (EIA Report) for obtaining Environmental Clearance from MoEFCC, New Delhi & SEIAA which includes Baseline Study for One Season of Ambient Air, Noise, Soil, Ground & Surface Water Monitoring.

2. Preparation of Risk Assessment & Disaster Management Plant Report (RA & DMP Report)

3. Public Consultation

4. Softwares used in EIA Report Preparation:

  • • ISCST3 Aermod View 9.1 (Lakes Environment) for Gas Dispersion Modelling
  • • Phast Micro 6.54, MARPLOT, HAMS-GPS (2D Risk Assessment)
  • • FLACS (3D Modelling Software FLACS in built Shepherd software for Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA))
  • • Plagiarism Checker X2021 (Professional Edition)

5. Environmental Clearance Presentations in front of EAC/SEAC.

Aqua-Air takes Projects for CRZ Clearance from concerned authorities if the project side falls under CRZ Boundary (within 500 m from highest high tide line towards land) or the activities like pipeline carrying effluent conveyed into coastal water.

CRZ

Coastal Regulation Zone, Norms

The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Act was formulated in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) and clause (v) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986), by the Central Government, with a view to ensure livelihood security to the fisher communities and other local communities, living in the coastal areas, to conserve and protect coastal stretches, its unique environment and its marine area and to promote development through sustainable manner based on scientific principles taking into account the dangers of natural hazards in the coastal areas, sea level rise due to global warming, does hereby, declare the coastal stretches of the country and the water area up to its territorial water limit, excluding the islands of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep and the marine areas surrounding these islands up to its territorial limit and restricts the setting up and expansion of any industry, operations or processes and manufacture or handling or storage or disposal of hazardous substances into nearshore water.

NOTIFICATION

1.0 G.S.R. 37(E). — whereas by notification of the Government of India in the erstwhile Ministry of Environment and Forests number S.O.19 (E), dated the 6th January, 2011 (hereinafter referred to as the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011), the Central Government declared certain coastal stretches as Coastal Regulation Zone (hereinafter referred to as the CRZ) under section 3of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 0f 1986). (i) The land area from High Tide Line (hereinafter referred to as the HTL(means the line on the land up to which the highest water line reaches during the spring tide) to 500 meters on the landward side along the sea front is under CRZ area. ii) CRZ shall apply to the land area between HTL to 50 meters or width of the creek, whichever less on the landward side along the tidal influenced water bodies that are connected to the sea and the distance upto which development along such tidal influenced water bodies is to be regulated shall be governed by the distance upto which the tidal effects are experienced which shall be determined based on salinity concentration of five parts per thousand (ppt)measured during the driest period of the year and distance up to which tidal effects are experienced shall be clearly identified and demarcated accordingly in the Coastal Zone Management Plan (hereinafter referred to as the CZMP). (iii) The “intertidal zone” means land area between the HTL and the Low Tide Line (hereinafterreferred to as the LTL). (iv) The water and the bed area between the LTL to the territorial water limit (12 Nm) in case of sea and the water and the bed area between LTL at the bank to the LTL on the opposite side of the bank, of tidal influenced water bodies.

CRZ Classification as per latest notification of New Delhi, the 18th January, 2019

2.0 Classification of CRZ. – For the purpose of conserving and protecting the coastal areas and marine waters, the CRZ area shall be classified as follows, namely: -

2.1 CRZ-I areas are environmentally most critical and are further classified as under:

2.1.1 CRZ-I A:

(a) CRZ-I A shall constitute the following ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) and the geomorphological features which play a role in maintaining the integrity of the coast viz.:

(i) Mangroves (in case mangrove area is more than 1000 square meters, a buffer of 50 meters along the mangroves shall be provided and such area shall also constitute CRZ–I A);

(ii) Corals and coral reefs;

(iii) Sand dunes;

(iv) Biologically active mudflats;

(v) National parks, marine parks, sanctuaries, reserve forests, wildlife habitats and other protected areas under the provisions of Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (53 of 1972), Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (69 of 1980) or Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 0f 1986), including Biosphere Reserves;

(vi) Salt marshes;

(vii) Turtle nesting grounds;

(viii) Horse shoe crabs’ habitats;

(ix) Sea grass beds;

(x) Nesting grounds of birds;

(xi) Areas or structures of archaeological importance and heritage sites.

(b) A detailed environment management plan shall be formulated by the states and Union territories for such ecologically sensitive areas in respective territories, as mapped out by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai based on guidelines as contained in Annexure-I to this notification and integrated with the CZMP.

2.1.2 CRZ-I B:

The intertidal zone i.e. the area between Low Tide Line and High Tide Line shall constitute the CRZ-I B.

32 THE GAZETTE OF INDIA : EXTRAORDINARY [PART II—SEC. 3(i)]

2.2 CRZ-II:

CRZ-II shall constitute the developed land areas up to or close to the shoreline, within the existingmunicipal limits or in other existing legally designated urban areas, which are substantially built-upwith a ratio of built-up plots to that of total plots being more than 50 per cent and have beenprovided with drainage and approach roads and other infrastructural facilities, such as water supply,sewerage mains, etc.

2.3 CRZ-III:

Land areas that are relatively undisturbed (viz. rural areas, etc.) and those which do not fall underCRZ-II, shall constitute CRZ–III, and CRZ-III shall be further classified into following categories: -

2.3.1 CRZ-III A:

Such densely populated CRZ-III areas, where the population density is more than 2161 per squarekilometre as per 2011 census base, shall be designated as CRZ–III A and in CRZ-III A, area up to50 meters from the HTL on the landward side shall be earmarked as the ‘No Development Zone(NDZ)’, provided the CZMP as per this notification, framed with due consultative process, have beenapproved, failing which, a NDZ of 200 meters shall continue to apply.

2.3.2 CRZ-III B:

All other CRZ-III areas with population density of less than 2161 per square kilometre, as per 2011census base, shall be designated as CRZ-III B and in CRZ-III B, the area up to 200 meters from theHTL on the landward side shall be earmarked as the ‘No Development Zone (NDZ)’.2.3.3:Land area up to 50 meters from the HTL, or width of the creek whichever is less, along the tidalinfluenced water bodies in the CRZ III, shall also be earmarked as the NDZ in CRZ III. Note: The NDZ shall not be applicable in the areas falling within notified Port limits.

2.4 CRZ- IV:

The CRZ- IV shall constitute the water area and shall be further classified as under:-

2.4.1 CRZ- IVA:

The water area and the sea bed area between the Low Tide Line up to twelve nautical miles on theseaward side shall constitute CRZ-IV A.

2.4.2 CRZ- IVB:

CRZ-IV B areas shall include the water area and the bed area between LTL at the bank of the tidalinfluenced water body to the LTL on the opposite side of the bank, extending from the mouth of thewater body at the sea up to the influence of tide, i.e., salinity of five parts per thousand (ppt) duringthe driest season of the year.

3.0 Areas requiring special consideration in the CRZ.

Following coastal areas shall be accorded special consideration for the purpose of protecting the critical coastal environment anddifficulties faced by local communities: -

3.1 Critically Vulnerable Coastal Areas (CVCA):

Sundarban region of West Bengal and other ecologically sensitive areas identified as under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 such as Gulf of Khambat and Gulf of Kutchh in Gujarat, Malvan, Achra-Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Karwar and Coondapur in Karnataka, Vembanad in Kerala, Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu, Bhaitarkanika in Odisha, Coringa, East Godavari and Krishna in Andhra Pradesh shall be treated as Critical Vulnerable Coastal Areas (CVCA) and managed with the involvement of coastal communities including fisher folk who depend on coastal resources for their sustainable livelihood.

3.2 CRZ for inland Backwater islands and islands along the mainland coast.

3.3 CRZ falling within municipal limits of Greater Mumbai.

4. Prohibited activities within CRZ.-

The following activities shall be prohibited, in general, withinthe entire CRZ and exceptions to these and other permissible and regulated activities in specificCRZ categories viz. CRZ-I, II, III and IV, shall be governed by the provisions of paragraph 5:-(i) Setting up of new industries and expansion of existing industries, operations or processes.

(ii) Manufacture or handling of oil, storage or disposal of hazardous substances as specified inthe notification of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change number G.S.R.395 (E), dated the 4th April, 2016.

(iii) Setting up of new fish processing units.

(iv) Land reclamation, bunding or disturbing the natural course of seawater except for the activities permissible under this notification and executed with prior permission from the competent authority.

(v) Discharge of untreated waste and effluents from industries, cities or towns and other humansettlements.

(vi) Dumping of city or town wastes including construction debris, industrial solid wastes, fly ashfor the purpose of land filling.

(vii) Port and harbour projects in high eroding stretches of the coast.

(viii) Mining of sand, rocks and other sub-strata materials.

(ix) Dressing or altering of active sand dunes.

(x) In order to safeguard the aquatic system and marine life, disposal of plastic into the coastalwaters shall be prohibited and adequate measures for management and disposal of plasticmaterials shall be undertaken in the CRZ.

(xi) Drawal of ground water.

EIA

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process of identification, prediction, evaluation and mitigation of impacts, on environment including air, water, land,socioeconomic, marine environment and other relevant aspects due to proposed development, at early stage of project planning.

It is inevitable that the proposed development would cause some environmental impact, the intensity of which would vary depending on several factors such as quality and quantity of pollutants, the assimilative capacity of receiving environment and degree of ecological sensitivity of that environment over the natural background.Hence, EIA studies would predict impacts that might happen due to proposed development altering the natural background of physical, chemical, biological, geological, social, economic, and aesthetic dimensions.These studies integrate the environmental concerns of proposed developmental activities into the process of decision making.

Hence, the EIA study is a tool for sustainable development and also a basic requirement for any project to provide the guidelines right from site selection-feasibility to construction and operational phase.

Thus EIA has emerged as one of the successful policy innovations of the 20th Century in the process of ensuring sustainable development. Today, EIA is formalized as a regulatory tool for effective integration of environmental concerns in theeconomic development process. The EIA process is made mandatory and also given a legislative status through a Notification issued by the Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests (MoEF) in January 1994. The Notification, however, coveredonly a few selected industrial developmental activities. There are subsequentamendments and the Notification issued on September 14, 2006, supersedes all the earlierNotifications, and has brought out structural changes in the clearance mechanism.

The basic tenets of this EIA Notification could be summarized into the following:

• Pollution potential as the basis for prior environmental clearance instead of investment criteria.

• Decentralization of clearing powers to the State/Union Territory (UT) level Authorities for certain developmental activities to make the prior environmental clearance process quicker, transparent and effective.

It is essential to define the baseline environmental quality against which the monitoring results can be compared in future to maintain a healthy environment.

Objectives of EIA

  • • To ensure environmental considerations which are addressed and incorporated into the development decision-making process.
  • • To anticipate and avoid or minimize the adverse significant biophysical, social and other relevant impacts due to proposed development.
  • • To protect environment and ecological balance that maintains the natural system.
  • • To promote sustainable development and optimize opportunities.

An EIA should meet at least three core value shown as below:

  • Integrity: The EIA process should be with fair objective, unbiased and balanced.
  • Utility: The EIA process should provide balanced and credible information for decision making.
  • Sustainability: The EIA process should result in environmental safeguards.

The EIA study delivers the following aspects:

  • • Feasibility of site
  • • Probable impacts due to proposed developmental activities.
  • • Baseline data creation based on available information and fresh data collection.
  • • Mitigation Measures.
  • Environment Management Plan (EMP).

Pollution Control Strategies

Pollution control strategies can be broadly categorized in to preventive and reactive. The reactive strategy refers to the steps that may be applied once the wastes are generated or contamination of the receiving environment takes place. The control technology is to minimize the impact due to the process rejects/wastes which varies with quantity and characteristics. This preventive approach refers to a hierarchy that involves i) prevention & reduction; ii) recycling and re-use; iii) treatment; and iv) disposal

COMPONENT OF EIA

The EIA study basically consists two major segments:

  • • Terrestrial EIA
  • • Marine EIA

Terrestrial EIA:
Any proposed development on land is expected to have adverse effect on land environment in terms of land use pattern, vegetation, air, water ( surface water and ground water), soil, noise, meteorological, socioeconomic, and many other related aspects. It is a requirement as per the guideline of MoEFCC to conduct an EIA study prior to project begins. The study of terrestrial EIA is conducted in radius of 10 km from proposed project site. Feasibility study of site is an essential requisite in the process of EIA study.
All above parameters would be studied and if any ecological sensitive aspect like National Park or bird sanctuary etc is identified in the radius of 10 km, the same has to be described well in EIA report. The probable adverse impact due to proposed activities on surrounding terrestrial environment should be identified and degree of impact should be evaluated. Mitigation measures and EMP should be discussed well in EIA report. Recommendation of project to concerned department (MoEFCC and CPCB or State Level Authority) should be based on negligible or temporary or reversible impact on terrestrial environment.

Marine EIA
Developments at the coast or in sea will have an impact on marine environment. The marine environment is complex. New developments can influence coastal processes, coastal erosion, marine sediments, marine ecology, marine biodiversity, and marine water quality. They can alter the marine ecosystem, coastal biodiversity and sea users interact. Some developments, like a few industrial complexes or CETPs,though they away from the shore line, discharge their treated effluents into sea through pipeline and hence require marine EIA studies for suggesting impact if any, mitigation and EMP. The developments like jetties, ports, harbors, petroleum complexes, refineries, desalination plants, thermal power plants, etc are major projects concerned with marine EIA studies.
The marine EIA study includes site selection, baseline environmental criteria, Impact Prediction due to proposed activities, Potential EnvironmentalImpact Assessment, Mitigation, and EMP.

MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Physical processes
Physical parameters: Tides, Currents, Circulation pattern, thermal dispersal area,dilution, assimilation capacity etc . Water quality
Parameters: Salinity, pH, DO, BOD3, COD,chloride, sulphide, sulphate, floride, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, Total Nitrogen, PHc, Phenol etc. Sediment Quality
Parameters: Sub tidal and inter tidal sediments are collected and analyzed for selected mantels like Chromium, Iron, Cobalt, Nickel, Copper, Zinc, Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Organic Carbon, Phosphorus and PHc etc. Flora and Fauna
Parameters: Phytoplankton pigments, population and species diversity, Zooplankton biomass, population and group diversity, macrobenthic biomass, population and group diversity, fishery, breeding grounds, corals, oysters, turtles,sandunes, sea grass, active mud flats, mangroves, sea birds nesting grounds etc. ASSESSMENT
The results of above studies would be useful to assess the potential environmental impacts, during operational phase. MITIGATION
Suitable mitigation measures are suggested to minimize the adverse impact, if identified and predicted due to proposed activities. ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN
To maintain a healthy environment, it is essential to suggest an EMP under which periodic monitoring has to be carried out for evaluating adverse impact, if any, taking place due that activities. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation of project to concerned department (MoEFCC and CPCB or State Level Authorities) is made based on negligible or temporary or reversible impact on marine environment.