Public consultation in EIA procedures Geert P.J. Draaijers Netherlands Commission for Environmental Impact Assessment (

2 Content of presentation Dutch EIA procedure Commission for EIA Principles of good governance Public consultation / participation

3 EIA procedure Goal To provide the information needed to allow full consideration of environmental interests in decisions on plans and projects which have a significant environmental impact.

4 Content of EIA report Objectives of the planned activity Overview of relevant governmental decisions Description of proposed activity and alternatives Existing state of the environment Environmetal impact of proposed activity and alternatives Comparison of environmental impacts Summary

5 Main environmental issues dealed with in EIA report for wind energy projects Off-shore nature (birds, fish, sea mammels) landscape (visibility) safety (ship collisions, radar) energy yield On-shore nature (birds, bats) landscape (visibility) noise and shade nuisance safety (highways, radar) energy yield

6 Commission for EIA Advises competent authority, usually twice during EIA procedure: Advice on scoping guidelines: which topics should be dealed with in de EIA report? Advisory review: has the essential environmental information for decision making been presented? If requested, the Commission issues advice at other times in the process and on projects for which EIA is not compulsory

7 Commission for EIA Annual budget: € 4.5 million 35 staff personnel more than 400 experts covering all environmental fields Independent expertise No interference with political judgements Monitors the quality of the environmental information

8 Principles of good governance Transparancy Participation Quality of information

9 Interest in public consultation Generally lot of comments in case of: controversial projects (e.g. nuclear power plants) NIMBY projects (e.g. on-shore wind energy projects) Generally fewer comments in case of: more strategic plans and projects

10 Improving public consultation / participation Timing of public consultation / participation (earlier) Quality of written comments (develop guidelines)

11 Moments of public consultation in decision making process Now two formal moments with opportunity for (public) comment (scoping and review) Early consultation is found to affect (the quality of) decision making most Experienced proponents also consult stakeholders and interested parties earlier in decision making process

12 Public comments are taken into account when……. containing information which should be addressed when drafting the EIA report, e.g. local environmental conditions raising important questions or subjects for debate, e.g. on alternatives or environmental impacts (to be) investigated containing false representations of things which might give rise to misunderstanding (quality of information).