What are the Environmental Impact Assessment and the Environmental Impact Report (EIA/RIMA)?
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the Environmental Impact Report (RIMA) are multidisciplinary technical documents in order to carry out a complete, comprehensive assessment of significant environmental impacts and mitigation measures.
The RIMA is a public document, which gives transparency to the EIA, is a summary in didactic language, clear and objective, so that any interested party may have access to information.
Who needs an EIA RIMA?
The article 225, paragraph 1, IV, of the 1988 Federal Constitution ensures the effectiveness of the right to an ecologically balanced environment, leaving to the Government: “require, in the form of law, for the installation of works or activity potentially environmental polluter, a prior environmental impact study, which will be publish in any media”
The EIA/RIMA is required at the stage of preliminary licensing of activities or business that might cause significant environmental degradation.
When is necessary to compensate environmental impacts?
The competent environmental agency may require compensation when the impacts were significant and irreversible and cannot be mitigated. In addition, the enterprises and licensed activities with an EIA/RIMA must apply at least 0.5% of the total costs for the business installation, in a conservation area, as environmental compensation.
What are the guidelines for an EIA/RIMA?
According to the resolution CONAMA nº 01/1986, the EIA/RIMA should comply with the general guidelines, in accordance with article 5º:
I – Cover all the technological alternatives and project location, confronting them with the possibility of non-implementation of the project;
II – Identify and evaluate systematically the environmental impacts generated during the installation and operation phases;
III – Define the boundaries of the geographic area to be affected directly or indirectly by impacts, as known as project influence area, whereas, in all cases, the watershed in which the area is located;
IV – Consider the government plans and programs, proposed and in deployment in the project influence area, and its compatibility.
What is the minimum content of an EIA/RIMA?
In summary, the EIA/RIMA must contain at least the following scope, in accordance with the CONAMA nº 01/1986, article .
I – Environmental assessment of the area of influence of the full project description and analysis of environmental resources and their interactions, such as there are in order to characterize the environmental situation of the area, before the implementation of the project, considering:
- The physical environment – the subsoil, water, air and climate, including mineral resources, topography, soil types, hydrological chain, marine and atmospheric currents;
- The biological environment and natural ecosystems – fauna and flora, highlighting the environmental quality indicator species, scientific and economic value, rare and endangered species and areas of permanent preservation;
- The socioeconomic – soil use and occupation, water uses and the social economy, highlighting the places and archaeological, historic and cultural monuments of the community, the relationships between the local society, the environmental resources and the potential future use of these resources
II – Analysis of the environmental impacts of the project and its alternatives, through identifying, predicting the magnitude and interpretation of the impacts significance, as: positive and negative impacts (adverse and beneficial), direct and indirect, immediate, medium and long term, permanent and temporary, degree of reversibility, their cumulative and synergistic properties, the distribution of the burden and social benefits.
III – Definition of the mitigating measure of negative impacts, including control equipment and waste treatment systems, evaluating the efficiency of each one of them.
IV – Development of a monitoring program (positive and negative impacts, indicating the factors and parameters to be considered).
How Master Ambiental can help?
The Master Ambiental has a multidisciplinary team able to elaborate an environmental assessment for your project, equating and minimizing possible environmental and socials impacts, in order to identify the best solutions for your business.
Contact us! We can answer your questions, ask for a quote!