ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Posted: August 26th, 2021

ALTERNATIVE COURSEWORK ASSIGNMENT (ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING)

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Introduction: Scoping

According to Saunders (2018, p. 93), scoping refers to determining all the possible impacts that the implementation of a project might course. Besides, it includes highlighting the possible alternatives tocritical areas or issues that should be addressed. Without proper scoping of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) increases the risk of undertaking unnecessary work while rendering significantpractices that are inappropriately implemented (Dougherty and Hall, 1995, p. 109; Gilpin, 1995, p. 56). In this section, scoping exercise is performed for an EIA for a project. The exercise encompasses the demolition of the oil terminal and the construction and operation of a new wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The aim is to identify likely positive and negative impacts as well as suggesting possible mitigations where appropriate.

Part 1-Scoping Exercise

Methodology

The exercise involved assessing and qualifying of the possible impacts resulting from the implementation of the project. The necessary information acquired from the Study were utilized in analyzing potential effects (Goldman, 2000, p. 76). The EIA team used various methodologies. These included a literature review, direct field visit, and extensive consultation with stakeholders in the surrounding purposely to adequately generate the necessary information for the overall analysis of impacts and mitigations measures useful for the area. 

Site Assessment

The field visit was conducted to enable physical inspection with the aim of understanding site characteristics and the status of the surrounding area (Goldman, 2000, p. 83; Gilpin, 1995, p. 103). The reason for implementing this step was to obtain baseline conditions and ascertain expected impacts. Also, direct engagement with the public was necessary to ensure that the public views about the area and effects of related activities are addressed. 

The output of the Study

The Study required the production of the EIA project report besides recommending on potential mitigation measures where appropriate. As such, the following is a scoping exercise matrix, identifying both positive and negative impacts for demolition, construction, and operation of several facilities.

Table 1: Scoping Exercise Matrix

	Activities and Potential Impacts
Potential Receptors of the Impact	Demolition of Disused Oil Terminal	Construction of WWTP	Operation of WWTP
Land	Soils	Soil maybe disturbed due to movement of soil for leveling and other demolition activities and possible loss of soil from erosion of open field, Soil contamination with possible leakage of oil residues and chemical spills	Soil disturbance resulting from movement and leveling off of the ground	Altering soil structure due to chemical deposits from the treatment plant.
Landscape	Restructuring the area landscape	Disturbance of surface landscape, possible deformation	Disturbance of surface landscape, possible deformation
Geology	Geological disturbance, which could destabilize the ground	Geological upheaval, which could destabilize the ground	Geological disturbance, which could destabilize the ground
Human Environment	Nuisance	Noise and air pollution	Noise and air pollution	Traffic impacts congesting the area, creating noise and air pollution, Operational noise that could be experienced at sensitive areas
Amenity	Opening ground for social use	Opening ground for social use	Improved quality of life due to the enhanced drainage system
Health and Safety	Pollution of air that makes the local environment unclean, noise	Possible accidents due to the movement of construction vehicles	Reduced disease outbreaks due to poor drainage and water treatment
Architectural and archaeological heritage	Negligible unless unknown heritage resources are unearthed	Negligible unless undiscovered heritage resources are unearthed	Tourist attraction area once the facility of completed
Socio-economics	Employment for the local community in the demolition exercise	Investment into the local community, creation of employment opportunities, social tensions between locals and outsiders seeking job opportunities	Employment opportunities for locals
Air	Regional  or global air quality	Emissions from the demolition of oil pipes and tanks could affect the global and regional quality of air	Dust and particles from the construction site could affect the ambient quality of air	Improved air quality
Local air quality	Affect ambient quality of local air due to dust and fine particles from the demolition site, Loss of job opportunities due to decommissioning the oil terminal activities, Risk of accidents due to activities of demolition vehicles	Dust and particles from the construction site could affect the ambient quality of air	Improved air quality
Flora and Fauna	Terrestrial ecology	Destruction of the habitat	Possible loss of habitats from clearing of vegetation and increase earthworks when preparing the site	Spread of invasive plant types as a result of different ongoing forms of disturbance
Aquatic ecology	Contamination of aquatic environment due to leakages of oil residues	Disturbance of the aquatic environment due to the diversion of large water quantities,	Interference of the aquatic environment due to diversion of large water quantities, contamination of the aquatic environment due to chemical discharges
Water	Quality of groundwater	Oil spills from storage tanks and pipes during demolition, thereby contaminating the soil and water	Chemical spills and leaks causing the contamination of water and soil resources due to the use of construction vehicles, machinery, hazardous construction materials, and substances, Possible change in the topography of the area thereby diverting the course of water flow,	Chemical spills and leaks causing the contamination of water and soil resources during plan operation
Groundwater hydrology	Diversion of water hydrology due to leveling and restructuring of the ground	Once vegetation’s are removed, the ground surface maybe left bare thus increasing possible pathways for contaminating groundwater,	Chemical spills and leaks causing the contamination of water and soil resources during plan operation
Quality of surface water	Contamination of surface water from spills and leakages from oil residues in storage tanks and pipes	Once vegetation’s are removed, the ground surface maybe left bare thus increasing possible pathways for contaminating groundwater,	Chemical spills and leaks causing the contamination of water and soil resources during plan operation
Surface Water channel morphology and hydrology	Diversion of surface water flow channels	Once vegetation’s are removed, the ground surface maybe left bare thus increasing possible pathways for contaminating groundwater,	Possible alteration of water channels due to constructed facility along watercourse line

Potential Mitigation Measures

The mitigation measures are intended to help minimize and facilitate control of generating negative impacts during the implementation of the project following the environmental management and legislation standards (Water Environment Federation, 2018, p. 876-1088). In this case, these measures include;

1. The construction activities should employ well-designed concrete drainage channels that can harmonize appropriate management of stormwater within the proposed site to help reduce impacts on surface drainage and water quality.
2. Demolition and construction activities should employ limited earthworks. As such, proper soil compaction and watering of the loose soils when executing these activities to help reduce impacts of air pollution.
3. Noise pollution coming from demolition, construction, and operation areas would be minimized using portable barriers to shield the machines.
4. Proper designing of sewerage systems by using approved materials, besides regular maintenance of the effluents
5. Training of personnel to manage the water treatment plant operation activities

Part 2-Environmental Risk Assessment

The ecological risk assessment aim at assessing the risks for the demolition of the oil terminal and construction and operation of the WWTP. As such, the sources and pathways for the risks are identified as well, receptors for the hazards through the following chart.

Table 2: Environmental risk assessment

Risk receptors	Hazard	Sources
Environmental Ground or surface water	Contaminants could be released into the receiving environment causing environmental degradation	Surface runoffWater table Flooding Discharge of groundwaterDemolition debris
Surrounding soil	Being unable to prevent the contaminants sipping into groundwater and surface water	Chemicals characteristics Soil type The depth of soil horizons Depth of water table
Public health	Contamination of the surrounding environment and water hence release of pathogens is possible from the treatment plant thus affect human health	Aerosols Water supply (surface or ground)
Contamination of ground and surface water with chemical pollutants	Increasing nitrate levels in the drinking water close to the subsurface systems, blockage of sewerage pipes, toxic substances in water sources	Oil residue spills, careless handling of chemicals, inadequate piping systems

Reference List

Dougherty, T. C., and A. W. Hall. 1995. Environmental impact assessment of irrigation and drainage projects. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Gilpin, A. 1995. Environmental impact assessment (EIA): cutting edge for the twenty-first century. Cambridge New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print.

Goldman, L. 2000. Social impact analysis: an applied anthropology manual. Oxford: Berg.

Saunders, A. 2018. Advanced introduction to environmental impact assessment. Cheltenham, Glos: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.

Water Environment Federation2008. Operation of municipal wastewater treatment plants. New York: WEF Press McGraw Hill.