2. Screening and Scoping

Screening
Scoping
Statutory Position and Responsibilities
The Scoping Process
Overview
Information about the project
Stakeholders, consultees and key players
Legislation and policy requirements
Ecological resources affected - establishing the baseline
Selecting ecological resources and issues requiring detailed assessment
Detailed survey and research requirements

Screening

2.1 Screening is the determination of whether or not an EIA is required under the EIA Regulations; EIA is a mandatory requirement for projects listed in Schedule 1 of these Regulations. It is also required for types of projects that meet the criteria for Schedule 2 development and are likely to have significant environmental effects (i.e. as defined using the selection criteria in Schedule 3 of the Regulations). These might include, for example, effects on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI), Special Protection Area (SPA), Special Area of Conservation (SAC) or Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar site).

2.2 A proponent may seek a formal screening opinion from the competent authority concerning the need for an EIA or may decide to carry out an EIA in any case. When a competent authority receives an application for consent, without an accompanying Environmental Statement (ES), and there appears to be a possibility that it is for a Schedule 1 or 2 development, the authority must adopt a screening opinion (unless a pre-application screening opinion or a screening direction from the relevant Secretary of State has already been adopted).

2.3 Under the EIA Regulations, there is provision for a competent authority to request ecological or other environmental information if it considers that the ES that has been submitted is inadequate. When an EIA is not required, there may also be circumstances when a proponent can be required to provide further ecological information. For example, this applies to developments that are taken forward under town and country planning legislation, for which the planning authority determines that additional ecological information is needed to enable it to determine the planning application. An EcIA will often provide the competent authority with the information that it requires.

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Scoping

2.4 'Scoping is the process of determining the content and extent of matters that should be covered in the environmental information to be submitted to a competent authority or other decision making body'¹⁹.

2.5 The process of scoping is essential to all EcIAs. It helps to clarify key issues and promote dialogue with consultees and other stakeholders concerning key ecological issues and proposed methods for survey, evaluation and assessment.

2.6 Key benefits of scoping include:

early stakeholder input, so issues of concern are identified and dealt with at an early stage;
an assessment focused on likely significant impacts;
clear terms of reference for all ecologists involved in the EcIA, including an understanding of the criteria that will be used to evaluate the significance of their findings; and
early identification of the need for seasonally dependent surveys so that they can be accommodated in scheduling.

2.7 Trends in national, regional and local policies are also leading to a requirement for projects to achieve biodiversity benefits, not simply to avoid negative impacts. For example, Planning Policy Statement 9 (PPS9)²⁰ states that 'Planning policies and planning decisions should aim to maintain, and enhance, restore or add to biodiversity and geological conservation interests'. The scoping process can provide a good, early opportunity for ecologists to work together to achieve these objectives and lays the foundations for the whole consultation and assessment process.

2.8 It is widely accepted good practice for the results of scoping to be presented as a formal report or letter. Such a document is valuable for any project that requires detailed ecological survey, particularly where stakeholder-input is essential in defining terms of reference acceptable to all parties. For EIAs, a scoping report/letter is often used as the basis for applying for a formal scoping opinion (see paragraph. 2.9 below).

2.9 It is important to recognise that the proposed scope of an EcIA may change following the preparation of a scoping report/letter. This may be in response either to requirements or concerns identified by statutory or other consultees, or to changes in the project's design or available environmental information. It is good practice to report the final scope of the assessment within the EcIA report (or ES).

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Statutory Position and Responsibilities

2.10 Although there is no legal requirement for scoping, proponents are entitled, under the EIA Regulations, to seek a formal 'scoping opinion' from the competent authority. The 'scoping opinion' summarises the specific advice of the competent authority concerning the required coverage and content of the ES for a particular application. In preparing a scoping opinion, the competent authority is required to consult with the proponent and with relevant statutory consultees. Statutory consultees can play an important role in providing contextual information and advice on any legal/statutory requirements and good practice. The preparation of a 'scoping opinion' does not preclude the competent authority from asking for further information at a later stage in the EIA process.

2.11 In the absence of a formal 'scoping opinion' it will usually fall to the proponent's ecologist to advise the proponent on the scope of ecological information and investigations likely to be required, having also consulted with other stakeholders, if possible.
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The Scoping Process

Overview

2.12 Scoping should be seen as a flexible, adaptive and iterative process, usually based on preliminary consultations, literature searches, site-visits and preliminary ecological surveys.

2.13 Scoping may be considered more effective when results are already available from preliminary ecological surveys, or it may be seen as a mechanism for stakeholders to guide the design and implementation of such surveys. There is no set formula, but it should include the elements identified in Box 3. If scoping commences at an early stage in the assessment, it may be necessary to delay the completion of some of these elements, until adequate information has become available. More information on each of the stages described in Box 3 is provided in subsequent sections.

Box 3: Stages in Scoping

Proponent's ecologist to:

obtain information about the project from the proponent or their engineers/designers;
identify project activities likely to cause ecological damage, stress or disturbance. Obtain any available information about their spatial extent, timing, frequency and duration;
concurrently, identify opportunities for enhancing biodiversity and delivering biodiversity objectives;
identify stakeholders, consultees and all ecologists who should be involved and establish a consultation strategy;
produce a scoping report as a basis for further consultation with the competent authority, statutory consultees and others involved in the consultation strategy; and
refine the scope of the assessment based on feedback on the scoping report. Continue to refine the scope - scoping out potential impacts that are no longer considered likely to be significant and addressing newly identified impacts that are likely to be significant. The final scope provides the terms of reference for the remainder of the EcIA.

The competent authority's ecologist may produce a scoping opinion.

All stakeholders to:
identify relevant legislation, regulations and policies and review their requirements. This may include the need for a licence before some activities can go ahead;
develop an understanding of the ecological context based on existing ecological information, data gathering, literature searches, site visits and any baseline studies already carried out;
determine a threshold for selecting ecological features to be included in the assessment, based on their value, using measures explained in Chapter 3;
identify those ecological resources reaching the threshold value which could be affected by the project;
identify the factors affecting the integrity of the relevant ecosystems and the conservation status of relevant habitats and species;
identify ecological features likely to be significantly affected and therefore requiring further study and explain the selection criteria used;
consider potential sources of cumulative effects;
consider alternatives including the best environmental option;
agree details of proposed survey/research methodologies. Confirm the study area and the criteria that will be used to assess its nature conservation value; and
consider potential mitigation/enhancement or compensation opportunities.

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Information about the project

2.14 The first step is to review proposed activities and identify those likely to cause ecological impacts or deliver biodiversity enhancements: what are the proposed activities; where and when will they take place; are they permanent and if not, how long will they last; and what biophysical changes are they likely to cause? Activities may differ throughout the lifetime of a project, so identify activities associated with construction, operation (best and worst-case operating conditions), decommissioning and restoration as appropriate. If possible map the location of infrastructure and the distribution of the related activities. Identify areas and resources that may be affected by the biophysical changes caused by the identified activities, however remote from the project site, to identify the zone of influence (see Box 4). The zone of influence should be continually reviewed and, if appropriate, amended as the scheme evolves. If inadequate information is available to properly define the zone of influence, this should be acknowledged.

Box 4: Example illustrating factors to consider when defining the zone of influence of a proposed quarry.

All ecological features or resources occurring within the area to be worked will be affected by changes in land cover caused by topsoil stripping and excavation.
Noise, dust and changes in human activity will also affect species in adjacent habitats.
If the quarry involves major, long-term dewatering operations, there could be consequences for water-dependent habitats that are many miles from the quarry. It may not be possible to determine the zone of influence of dewatering without undertaking hydrological/hydrogeological modelling. The zone of influence should include all water-dependent receptors that could be significantly affected by the predicted draw-down, providing they are of sufficient value to be considered in the assessment (i.e. they are above the defined threshold value).
If the quarry requires new infrastructure (e.g. roads, power supply or waste water disposal) there could be significant consequences for ecological features beyond the boundaries of the site in addition to those affected by dewatering. The zone of influence should include all such features that are of sufficient value to be included in the assessment.

2.15 It can be difficult at the scoping stage to establish the full extent of changes caused by a project, in which case it is better to err on the side of caution to ensure that the study area incorporates all areas where impacts could occur.

2.16 The information likely to be required about a project is summarised in Box 5. For projects that require EIA, reference should be made to the relevant schedules in the EIA Regulations, which specify information about the project that should be included in an ES. Examples of activities that may generate ecological impacts are given in Box 6.

Box 5: Information about the project

A wide variety of information is required to carry out EcIA effectively:

location, size, extent and spatial organisation of infrastructure and activities;
lifetime of project including decommissioning;
activities likely to cause ecological impacts during construction, operation and decommissioning, their timing, duration, location, extent and magnitude, e.g. emissions (type, volume, range), construction activities, etc.(see Box 6);
activities designed to deliver biodiversity enhancements;
'impact zones' or 'effect areas' for main activities;
receiving environment or 'pathway' for emissions (e.g. water, soil or air); and
best and worst case operating conditions.

To define the baseline conditions that are expected to occur at the time that the development takes place and to address cumulative effects, it is necessary to consider:

environmental trends;
completed developments; and
other developments for which consent has been granted.

Further information about the definition of baseline conditions and cumulative impact assessment is included in Chapter 4.

To assess the impacts of alternatives the following information will be needed:

alternative sites;
alternative designs;
alternative processes; and
alternative means of meeting objectives of the project.

Box 6: Examples of activities likely to generate impacts

Preliminary activities prior to the main construction contract (e.g. ground investigations)

Construction phase

Access and travel on/off-site.
Assembly areas for components of construction.
Blasting, e.g. for minerals operations.
Construction of structures and hard surfaces.
Demolition operations.
Environmental incidents and accidents (e.g. spillages, noise and emissions).
Fires.
Ground and excavation works.
Lighting.
Siting and subsequent removal of site offices/compounds and final site clear away after construction.
Removal or disruption of top-soil/sub-soil etc.
Provision of services and utilities (e.g. underground power lines, water supply and drainage).
Storage areas for construction materials.
Structural works for building and engineering.
Structural works to existing buildings, including conversions.
Temporary access routes for construction vehicles - both on and offsite.
Vegetation clearance.

Occupation/Operational phase

Access (both route and means).
Drainage.
Damage to mitigation work through accident or vandalism.
Implementation of landscape design and habitat management (type and location).
Presence of people, vehicles and typical uses and activities (including factors likely to cause disturbance, e.g. increased public access and recreational pressure, risk of fires, lighting, noise, regular emissions).
Presence of pets.
Site operation and management (e.g. maintenance operations, industrial processes generating emissions etc.).

Decommissioning phase

Removal of contaminated water or soil.
Removal or demolition of disused structures that may have been colonised by, e.g. roosting bats, barn owls.
Removal of ancillary developments including culverts.
Removal or neglect of structures which might cause pollution if they fail.

Restoration phase (where operations/phases have finished, e.g. for mineral extractions).

Potential non-standard operations (e.g. one-off incidents and accidents).

(Based on Oxford 2001)¹¹

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Stakeholders, consultees and key players

2.17 At an early stage, the competent authority and the proponent's ecologist must review the requirements for ecological input and any other specialist skills that are needed to undertake the EcIA. In undertaking this review, consideration should be given as to who will finally advise the competent authority on the ecological consequences and possible environmental liability resulting from the project. Consideration should also be given to the important role of statutory and non-statutory ecological consultees in providing not only site-specific data but also contextual information and local expertise.

2.18 At an early stage in the EcIA, it is also advisable to engage ecological consultees in discussions over possible project alternatives, in order to help in identifying the alternative(s) that are likely to cause the least ecological damage or greatest benefits. Consultation will allow discussion about the scope and methods of any investigations that may be needed to investigate alternatives. Involvement of the public is good practice in situations where significant impacts are likely on wildlife resources and landscapes known to provide benefits to local communities.

2.19 It is desirable for the scoping report (or letter), which summarises the findings of the scoping work undertaken up to that point, to be circulated for discussion amongst consultees. Scoping workshops may be considered, to provide all major stakeholders with an opportunity to discuss a project and reach consensus on the scope of the assessment. This can significantly reduce consultation time and avoid delays caused by stakeholders requesting additional survey or other work at a later stage. All agreements on the scope of ecological survey work should be confirmed by the parties concerned in writing, at as early a stage as possible, ideally before initiating the survey and assessment work that has been proposed.

2.20 There should be some preliminary discussions about potential strategies to provide biodiversity benefits and avoid, minimise or compensate for any negative impacts. This will enable the preparation of such strategies to concentrate on those approaches most likely to meet with stakeholders' approval.

2.21 In judging whether the effects of a development are likely to be significant, competent authorities should always have regard to the possible cumulative effects with any existing or approved development. Cumulative impact assessment is discussed in Chapter 4. The detailed approach to be taken should be agreed between all parties concerned during scoping.

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Legislation and policy requirements

2.22 It is important to consider relevant legislation, regulations and policies (for EIAs see Environmental Impact Assessment: guide to procedures, Appendix 8⁵) at an early stage, as they may have a bearing on the required scope of investigations, how impacts should be interpreted, or the criteria that need to be used for determining significance.

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Ecological resources affected - establishing the baseline

2.23 Having defined the zone of influence (paragraph 2.14), there is a need to investigate the ecological resources that could be affected by the project.

2.24 Direct impacts on part of a habitat or population/assemblage may have implications for the whole habitat or population and the study limits should be adjusted accordingly. Furthermore, species may have different vulnerability distances and periods, so the spatial scope of studies must also vary.

2.25 For example, if the zone of influence impinged on the breeding territory of a sub-population of Cetti's warblers, it would be necessary to consider the implications of localised impacts in relation to the birds' wider population. If there were a number of sub-populations in the area, then it might be appropriate to restrict the study to the specific sub-population of birds affected. However, if the birds were at the edge of their range, or the sub-population affected was an important link in the distribution pattern, then it might be necessary to consider implications for the regional, or even the national population.

2.26 Consideration needs to be given to what constitutes the baseline, as it may not be the same as the conditions at the time of the assessment. In order to determine this, it is necessary to try to predict any changes that will alter conditions prior to the start of the proposed construction and subsequent to it (see Box 7). There may be overlap between establishing the baseline in this situation and considering cumulative impacts that might be expected (see Chapter 4). This should be determined through discussion between relevant stakeholders in the EcIA process.

2.27 Additionally, it may be appropriate to consider the variation in a population over time, rather than take a single year's data as an accurate reflection of the situation.

Box 7: Example illustrating setting the baseline

A power station drawing cooling water from a river is to close down, due to a rationalisation of the power supply network. During the century in which the power station has been in use, the riverine invertebrate, fish and bird assemblages in the immediate vicinity of the power station have adapted to reflect local, increased temperatures caused by the regular discharge of heated river water. Closure of the power station will mean that this discharge will stop.

Once closed, it is proposed to convert the power station building to residential units. For reasons of timing, the EcIA for the residential development must be undertaken prior to closing down the power station.

In this instance, the baseline for the EcIA of the conversion to residential use is the predicted post-closure situation, rather than that evident at the time of undertaking the EcIA. The surveys and investigations to describe the baseline must be designed to enable the likely post-closure situation to be predicted as accurately as possible.

2.28 The results of professionally accredited or published scientific studies should be used, where available, to establish the likely spatial and temporal limits of ecological impacts for specific activities and to justify decisions made at the scoping stage. For example, the Somerset 'Econet' project²¹ has defined 'effect distances' for use in EcIA based on published literature about home ranges and vulnerability to different activities (e.g. for disturbance to breeding birds caused by road traffic²²).

2.29 Study boundaries should be drawn to include any areas that are affected, both directly or indirectly. For example, with major roads, the zone of direct disturbance could extend up to 1 km on either side of the carriageway. If indirect effects are also taken into account (e.g. the effects of displaced individuals on the occupancy of alternative habitat), then the 'effect zone' could be considerably larger. Box 8 provides a summary of the information required to establish the spatial scope of baseline studies.

Box 8: Considerations relevant to establishing baseline conditions for ecological resources within the zone of influence

Designated sites

Are there any sites designated for nature conservation that fall within the zone of influence?
Does the project affect any sites likely to be designated in the foreseeable future?
Is there any policy presumption in favour of habitat protection/creation/restoration in the area?

General ecological considerations

What ecological features at or above the defined threshold level of value that may occur within the zone of influence?
What are their distribution and status elsewhere for comparison?
What were their historical distributions, status and management compared with the present?
What are their scales of variation, vulnerability and likely exposure to the project?
What are the key ecological processes or species activity periods; are there seasonal variations in distribution, abundance and activity?
Are there any species, the disappearance of which would have significant consequences for others?
Are there any other projects planned within the same area or time-frame that may contribute to cumulative effects?

2.30 Contextual information is essential to confirm spatial and temporal scope. Such information may be available from the ecological consultees and in local and national Biodiversity Action Plans (see Box 9). Adequate time and resources should be allowed to undertake such vital contextual research. These references will also provide the information required in order to value ecological receptors (see Chapter 3).

Box 9: Sources of contextual information

English Nature's Natural Area Profiles www.english-nature.org.uk/templates/naturalareas)²³
For specific locations, it is usually possible to obtain information from local biological records centres, Wildlife Trusts and local naturalists' societies, e.g. badger, bat, amphibian and reptile groups, but bear in mind the limited resources available to some data providers (especially small voluntary organisations).
Land Cover Map 2000 (LCM2000) Centre for Ecology and Hydrology²⁴
LANDMAP Wales (under construction) also www.ccw.gov.uk/lead_map²⁵
Local Biodiversity Action Plan - available locally or see: www.ukbap.org.uk²⁶
Multi-Agency Geographical Information for the Countryside web site (mainly England but includes coastal and estuary data for Scotland and Wales) www.magic.gov.uk
National Biodiversity Network http://www.nbn.org.uk
Nature conservation and biodiversity strategies (e.g. for urban areas)²⁷
Northern Ireland Landscape Character Areas²⁸
Scottish Natural Heritage's 'Natural Heritage Futures' initiative²⁹

2.31 A habitat survey of the zone of influence should be undertaken. The survey should use established methodologies such as extended Phase 1 or Integrated Habitat System³¹. The habitat survey will identify the main plant communities and habitat types that may be affected by the project and provide a documented basis for determining the scope of more detailed surveys.

2.32 If it is not feasible within the context of a given project to gain access to land beyond the project site, it should be possible to undertake a simple Phase 1 survey from public highways or other accessible public spaces in the zone of influence. The survey limitations should be described and their effects on the confidence in the conclusions should be assessed.

2.33 For assessments with a wide geographic coverage (e.g. for proposed roads or pipelines), it may be worth buying aerial photographs or satellite images or even commissioning new ones. These can provide insights into spatial relationships, so that the impact assessment can be designed to 'capture' ecological distributions, processes and interactions at an appropriate scale.

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Selecting ecological resources and issues requiring detailed assessment

2.34 As it is impossible to investigate all issues in detail, it is necessary to focus further study on those likely to generate significant ecological impacts (negative or positive). This is consistent with the EIA Regulations, which only require investigation of likely significant effects. The rationale and criteria used to select certain aspects for more detailed study (and others excluded from further investigation) should be agreed and documented during scoping.

2.35 Issues to consider when selecting ecological resources for further investigation include the following:

Whether the feature or resource is sufficiently valuable for an impact to be significant in terms of biodiversity, social/community value and/or economic value; legal protection needs to be considered separately. A clear rationale should be developed for deciding the threshold above which features and resources should be subject to more detailed consideration.This should be based on the value of features, measured as described in Chapter 3. This will enable all those involved in the assessment to understand the reasoning behind the scope of the investigations. Policy considerations will influence the criteria that will be appropriate for determining the threshold in any particular case.
Whether the feature or resource is likely to receive a significant negative impact.

2.36 These issues are discussed in more detail in Chapters 3 and 4 respectively, where guidance is provided on methods for identifying important sites, habitats or species and determining whether impacts are significant.

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Detailed survey and research requirements

2.37 Having completed the initial scoping work, which is normally based on existing data sources and a habitat survey of the zone of influence, it should be possible to identify any additional data required to predict impacts more fully. This may involve updating existing data. The geographic coverage and timing of further ecological studies should be agreed at the scoping stage. These can be revised later if necessary, as progressively more information becomes available through the assessment process.

2.38 Terms of reference for additional studies are based on:

information on ecological resources within the zone of influence;
the timeframe for all phases of the project; and
information gaps/survey needs that should be addressed in order to assess impacts and their significance.

2.39 Standard survey methods³¹ should be used wherever appropriate, so that results can be compared with those arising from other investigations. Details of how methods have been tailored to meet the needs of the study should be included. If the method used varies from accepted good practice this should be noted and the effect on the reliability of the results discussed.

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