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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS IN PLANNING WATER AND RELATED LAND RESOURCES 1
Author(s) -
Black Peter E.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1975.tb01809.x
Subject(s) - environmental impact statement , statement (logic) , action (physics) , water resources , environmental impact assessment , environmental resource management , environmental planning , land use , environmental economics , computer science , risk analysis (engineering) , business , environmental science , ecology , economics , political science , physics , quantum mechanics , law , biology
The history of water and related land resources planning has yielded objectives in the areas of development and the environment. Although the two appear independent, attempts to evaluate “intangibles” in the benefit‐cost analysis and to include economics in environmental evaluations cloud the issue, and it is preferable to keep the objectives separate. The benefit‐cost analysis is represented by a simple ratio that is easy to comprehend, immediate as the pocketbook, and as tempting as a pocketful of cash. The attempt to balance it by an all‐too‐often verbose statement of complex ecological description and environmental interactions is just as bad. The environmental impact statement can be the instrument to achieve the Water Resources Council's environmental objective. It should not be an encyclopedia of the local ecology, but should accurately represent the environment which the action will impact, and thoroughly analyze only the potential impacts of the proposed action and its alternatives on that environment. The first step is to develop a “tiered“ approach to policy, programs, projects, and practices involving resources development, so that unnecessary duplication of analysis and reporting is eliminated, and so that each statement deals only with the action, environment, and impact at hand.