What is the function of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)?

Question

What is the function of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)?

Answer 1

it means exactly what it says.  Whatever construction works you are carrying out (or any other works), an EIA is carried out to ensure an adverse effect to the surrounding environment does not occur i.e. the ecology of land and water, fauna and flora of waterways etc...  If there are negative impacts, before any work begins, the company has to suggest ways to either mitigate or remove these problems, otherwise the work cannot go ahead.  

There is lots of information on the environment agencies website about this.

Answer 2

An EIA is a less-formal form of an EIS (environmental impact statement). The EIS is usually required for a project that gets government funding. Something  like privately-funded construction can get away with an EIA. While an EIS covers all aspects of the environment and what the proposed project will do to them, an EIA may cover only one subject.

For example, if an endangered turtle has been found within three miles of the site, I might get hired to determine whether the habitat on the site is suitable for that turtle. If not, the project might be allowed to procede without further study. If the habitat is suitable, I might be asked to survey to see whether the turtle occurs there. If it doesn't, the state may or may not approve the construction. If I have found one and the owner still wants to procede with construction, I might have to do a population survey.

The same sort of study might be required for an imperilled plant, insect, mammal ....