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The Necessity of Environmental
Impact Assessment for Mining Projects in
Katayoun Nematpour* Mohammad Reza Afshoun**
An environmental assessment is a systematic analysis that uses the best methods and available data resources of the environmental impacts. Although , the environmental impact assessment for large- scale projects has been an ordinary part of the project plan for a few years, but the necessary laws have been enforced since 1988. Of these laws , one can refer to the directive no. 85/337 of EC that divide the projects into two groups : first , the projects that should definitely be included in the environmental impact assessment ; and second , those ones whose necessity of assessment is identified by the competent authorities. Paying deep attention to
the environmental issues of any plan, and predicting any impact will
prevent the possible waste of time and money, regardless of the project
categorization in the above-mentioned groups. It
is clear-cut , however, that the project
implementing body wants the possible necessity of the project assessment
to be determined at the early stages of project planning. The nature of
plans and the location of projects are both determinant factors
of whether an environmental assessment is necessary or not. Despite the
importance of this issue in
In fact, the people have turned to achieve the proper living standards at the lowest cost and regardless of the environment, on the one hand, and the development of industries for producing new goods, on the other, have led to a serious crisis that was not tangible before but is now considered very dangerous. It is apparent that today the industrial and technical issues are not separable from the environment at all, and it is necessary that the environmental issues be included in the technical and environmental plans. The environmental impact assessment in mining has been attracting the experts and specialists’ attention in developing countries for several years . but because of the nature of mining operations, little has been done hitherto , while overall studies in this case have been doing in developed countries ,and the environmental assessment of mining operations is carried out as a routine task by the implementing bodies of the mining projects. Regarding the location of the mines ,which has been identified many years ago, and the land use for the mines, which requires land transforming, special environmental measures proportionate to the type of activity should be taken. This article, while presenting a brief summary of the Laws pertaining to the environmental assessment, tries to discuss such environmental impacts resulted from mining activities as land impact, hydrology impacts, biological impacts, air quality impact, and impacts on the society.
*Senior Expert of
Public Health **Senior Expert of Mine Engineering
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