TABLE OF CONTENTS As indicated in previous chapters, environmental assessment encompasses varied disciplines, and consequently requires the expertise of personnel knowledgeable in various technical areas. It is superficially easy to lump together an admixture of elements under the heading problems. While many good assessments have been performed by persons and groups which have used little or no structure in planning or executing the task, the development of a more rigorous structure is highly recommended. At a minimum, a good structure will allow the separation of cause and effect surely critical to a good study. Therefore, when assessing the environmental impact of a given project, four major elements are involved:
Determine agency activities associated with implementing the action or the project.
Identify environmental attributes (elements) representing a categorization of the environment such that changes in the attributes reflect impacts.
Evaluate environmental impact [i.e., the effects of the activities (1, above) on the attributes (2, above)].
Report findings in a systematic manner.
A comprehensive list of activities associated with implementing the project or action throughout its life cycle should be developed. Necessary levels of detail would depend upon the size and type of project. As an illustration, an example of detailed activities for construction is included in the matrix in Appendix C. It is easy to trivialize this step isn t it obvious that an agency (or firm) knows exactly the activities which are required to complete an action? Well, this must be answered Yes and...
