Wednesday 30 September 2015

Technical Information On Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAS)

By Della Monroe


A proposed development, whether it is a factory or other industrial facility, is always the focus of great interest. People are prepared to sink massive sums of money into it and work hard on establishing it. This necessitates large-scale planning and examination of the relevant factors before a sod can be turned. One of the main areas of assessment is Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAS), which examines the natural environmental in order to understand whether the site is acceptable for the development, or if not, why not.

The consistent attitude of the developer should be that the environment matters and that pollution is not acceptable. The old-fashioned view that the environment should be taken for granted is not popular these days, and neither is a lax approach to pollution. The public and government are not going to appreciate that approach and where there is enough opposition, government can sometimes restrict or even curtail the entire project. An environmental assessment is part of a more responsible attitude.

As a rule, then, developers should always take cognisance of the environment. They should maintain the approach that the latter needs to be preserved, not damaged or polluted. This is in keeping with the modern philosophy of conservation and respect.

An ESAS examines a variety of environmental aspects in order to determine if the natural environment in the area demarcated for development is safe, and if not, what risks it presents to the developers. These aspects are all part of the natural environment and they relate to health, hygiene and the capacity of the site to support what the developers plan to do there.

The vegetation in the site area is one of these aspects. Plants are of interest to the assessors for two reasons. Firstly, they may be an alien species. Secondly, they may be vectors of environmental toxins or infections.

Another aspect to be examined is the plant matter. This examination may revolve around two factors - whether the plants are desirable, and secondly whether they are healthy.

The plants themselves pose another examination entirely. They need to be assessed on the basis of two properties - their species and their health.

Then there is the soil. The soil may seem uninvolved in trouble such as toxins or diseases, but it is equally pollutable. Soil is polluted by toxins in water (such as rain) and the dead bodies of animals and decaying plants. Once soil is poisoned, it has the potential to poison anything else. Farming is not possible in such areas.

These are all significant aspects in the environmental assessment. In general, developers should not try to skimp on the assessment or eliminate it from their planning.




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