Annex 7. Model terms of reference for an Environmental Impact Assessment

Terms of Reference for the Environmental Impact Assessment of (name of the project) in (country/region)

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1.  Background

(Reference to national EIA legislation and) the European Commission require(s) an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for (add title of the proposed project).

The EIA must analyse the potential impacts of the project on the environment and the climate, as well as the risks of climate change on the project, and propose measures to avoid, mitigate and/or compensate the likely adverse impacts, maximise positive impacts and build climate resilience. It may be decided to include social impacts as part of the scope of the EIA. 

The main project features are as follows: (provide a short description of the project, including the rationale for the project, type of project, location, expected duration of all project phases – construction, operation, and decommissioning, technologies to be employed, life-cycle of the project, etc. Please note that for the analysis of the likely impacts and other analyses, information at least at the level of the feasibility study or at the level of the documentation for the zoning or construction permit will be needed.)

The following alternatives of the project will be considered in the EIA (describe all alternatives that have been identified so far and should be considered in the EIA; alternatives may include alternative routes for linear infrastructure, alternative technologies or locations or timing of activities, etc. All alternatives must be technically feasible).

Existing information on the project and the relevant environmental and social aspects can be found in (mention available studies and information, including the results of the identification phase, and indicate where/how these documents may be obtained/consulted). In addition to this EIA, the following studies will also be prepared (mention any other studies planned in the formulation phase, including feasibility, economic and financial analyses or social impact assessments).

(Mention also other important background information, such as potential or known projects planned in the same area, key stakeholders, legal requirements and existing SEAs in the sector and/or region).

2.  Objective

The EIA will provide decision makers in the partner country and the European Commission with sufficient information to justify, on environmental grounds, the acceptance, modification or rejection of the project (add name) for financing and implementation. It will also provide the basis for guiding subsequent actions, which will ensure that the project is carried out taking into account the environmental issues identified.

3.  Main activities and deliverables

The EIA Consultants will carry out following main activities:

3.1. General activities

• Overall coordination of the EIA, including communication with the project developer, the EIA Competent Authority and the EU Delegation (to be specified according to the national EIA legislation or system).
• Provide cooperation and inputs regarding stakeholders’ participation and consultations with relevant authorities as required by the national EIA legislative framework and in accordance with the requirements of these ToR, i.e. to identify relevant stakeholders, deliver presentations at public meetings, consider comments and suggestions in the scoping/EIA reports.

3.2. Specific activities

• Preparation of the EIA workplan and stakeholders’ engagement plan.
• Preparation of the draft scoping report.
• Scoping consultations.
• Preparation of the final scoping report.
• Preparation of the draft EIA report.
• Providing support to the consultations on the draft EIA report.
• Preparation of the final EIA report (integrating feedback from the consultations and the quality control by the EIA competent authority, if applicable).

3.3. Reports

• EIA workplan and stakeholders’ engagement plan.
• Draft scoping report (see the details below).
• Final scoping report.
• Draft EIA report (see the details below).
• Final EIA report, including an Environmental Management Plan (EMP).

3.4. Other deliverables

• Presentations for the consultation meetings.
• Minutes of the consultation meetings.

4.  Requirements of the EIA workplan and stakeholders’ engagement plan

The EIA workplan will provide the detailed timing of the activities specified under points 3.1 and 3.2 above. This will also include the detailed steps in preparation of the draft and final scoping and EIA reports, i.e., preparation of the environmental baseline (considering also necessary field surveys and measurements), analyses of likely impacts, and preparation of the Environmental Management Plan.

The methodologies that will be used during scoping to identify the key potential significant impacts on the environment should be described.^[40]

The stakeholders’ engagement plan will:

• Identify relevant stakeholders to be involved in the EIA, including environmental and health authorities, other relevant governmental agencies and institutions, the public and public concerned, non-governmental organisations and civil society organisations.
• Propose the means of stakeholders’ engagement following the requirements of the national EIA legislation as well as reflecting an international good EIA practice and the provisions of the Aarhus Convention^[41]; it should indicate the use of different stakeholder engagement mechanisms^[42] in the different stages of the EIA process.

Opportunities for public participation must be meaningful and transparent; all relevant information (including draft scoping and EIA reports) must be publicly available and accessible through an online platform; sufficient time should be allowed for the public to review the relevant reports and prepare their views and positions; public participation should be envisaged as a two-way communication process, and not be limited to informing and/or consulting.

Particular attention should be paid to typically less represented groups such as women, indigenous peoples and minorities. Stakeholders will be engaged in EIA to identify their concerns and values with respect to the project under consideration. This will contribute to the identification of key environmental aspects likely to be affected by the project and will help to confirm the proposed measures to avoid, mitigate or compensate the likely adverse impacts and their effectivity and acceptability.

5.  Scoping report

 5.1. General requirements

The scoping report will include the information specified below. The draft scoping report will be a submitted for comments to the relevant competent authorities and the EC, and will be subject to stakeholder consultations according to the stakeholders’ engagement plan. The comments to the draft scoping report will be taken into account in the EIA report (it may also be indicated that they should be reflected already in the final scoping report).

The following text will be inserted on the inside front cover of the scoping report: This report is financed by the European Commission and is presented by the (name of consultant) for (relevant national institution) and the European Commission. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of (relevant national institution) or the European Commission.

5.2. Information to be provided in the scoping report

The scoping report should cover following information: 

Executive summary

Description of the project

The EIA Consultant will – based on the information provided by the project developer – describe the project i.e.:

• Type, scale, location and physical characteristics of the project and, where relevant, of demolition works, including:
  • Capacity, production process, scale, output, etc.
  • Phases of the project – preparation, construction, operation, decommissioning – and their expected duration.
  • A description of the project components, including any associated developments (e.g. transmission lines).
  • Location and surface area of the real estate and the built structure occupied and the existing manner of their use.
  • Land-use requirements during the construction and operational phases.
  • Technology to be used.
  • Organisation of construction works including workers camps, access roads, etc.
  • Estimated quantities of water, raw materials, intermediate materials, fuels and energy to be used during all project phases.
  • An estimate, by type and quantity, of expected residues and emissions (such as water, air, and soil and subsoil pollution, noise, vibration, light, heat, radiation, etc.) and quantities and types of waste produced during all project phases.
• Classification of the project according to the national EIA legislation and the EU EIA Directive.
• A description of the reasonable alternatives (for example in terms of project design, route (for linear infrastructure), technology, location, size and scale) studied by the project developer, which are relevant to the proposed project and its specific characteristics, and an indication of the main reasons for this choice, indicating the preferred option or options. It has to be clearly explained which – if any – existing project alternatives will be considered in the EIA.
• A description of other developments foreseen in the project area that are likely to produce environmental impacts cumulative to those of the project under consideration.

Legislative and institutional framework

A description of the relevant legislative framework including EIA legislation, legislation related to environmental and social aspects, and applicable planning and permitting legislation (typically e.g. spatial planning law, construction code, etc.), standards and norms, including:

• Information on steps in the EIA process as required by the national EIA legislation including information on the EIA competent authority.
• Information on the permitting process and how it should take into account the conclusions of EIA process.

Environmental aspects likely to be significantly affected by the project

An initial identification and description of the environmental aspects that may be affected by the project – the likely impacts will be furthered analysed in the EIA report. Particular attention should be paid to the potential impacts – both direct and indirect – that are likely to be the significant, considering the sensitivity of the environment, the expected residues, emissions and wastes to be produced by the project, the expected use of natural resources and land (and water) take (with particular attention to areas with protected status), and the expected impacts of climate change. Also, it should be indicated if there is a possibility of transboundary impacts, i.e., the impacts which would affect the territory of other countries.

The environmental aspects to be considered include:

• Physical environment, including (micro-) climate, climate change and related risks, emissions of greenhouse gases^[43], air quality, quantity and quality of water resources (surface and groundwater), geology, geomorphology, soil and subsoil quality, landscape, and risk of disasters related to natural hazards.
• Biological conditions: biodiversity (including rare, endangered and endemic biodiversity components), and biological resources of cultural, social, or economic importance, including ecosystem services.
• Socio-economic conditions: in particular those which may be affected by the changes of the environment (e.g. public health), vulnerability to natural hazards; vulnerability to increasing climate variability and the expected effects of climate change, access to natural resources and associated conflicts, poverty, livelihood, material assets, cultural heritage including architectural and archaeological heritage aspects, etc. Special attention must be given to vulnerable and potentially underrepresented groups such as women, indigenous peoples and minority groups.

For the identified key environmental aspects, a general description will be provided on how these aspects may be affected by the project – by which parts or components of the project, during which stages of the project, etc.

Scope of the environmental baseline

Following the information provided above, the EIA Consultants will describe the scope of the environmental baseline needed for further analyses to be elaborated in the EIA report. It will also include an indication of the likely affected territory (both directly and indirectly) for each key issue, and specification of the likely affected administrative territorial/geographical units (according to the relevant national legislation). The geographical area of analysis will depend on each aspect, e.g. impacts related to water would normally need to take into account the catchment area, whereas impacts related to noise would be circumscribed to an area around the project site following noise contours. Take into account existing and/or planned developments potentially interfering with the proposed project or creating impacts of a cumulative nature.

Methods and tools to be applied

The Consultants will describe the methods and tools that will be used during the EIA to further analyse the potential impacts, including the analysis of potential cumulative impacts. It will be explained and justified for which impacts quantitative analyses will be applied and which issues will be evaluated through qualitative analyses. Also, limitations (e.g. data availability) and uncertainties related to the methods and tools selected will be described.

The climate scenarios that will be used for the assessment of the project’s climate vulnerability will be indicated, and any limitations with regards to data availability will be described. The most relevant cli- mate scenarios should be selected taking into account the whole lifespan of the project.

Update of the stakeholders’ engagement plan

The stakeholders’ engagement plan (see section 4 above) will be updated based on the results of the scoping phase.

Updated EIA workplan

The EIA workplan (see section 4 above) will be updated based on the results of the scoping phase. Based on the key environmental issues that will be subject to a detailed assessment, changes in the profile of experts and in the time allocated per task should be proposed.

Annexes

Sources of information used.

Records of any consultations carried out in the scoping stage including explanation how the comments received will be considered in further EIA analyses.

6.  Requirements of the EIA report

6.1. General requirements

The EIA report will include the information specified below. The draft EIA report will be a submitted for comments to the relevant authorities and the EC and will be subject to stakeholder consultations according to the stakeholders’ engagement plan. The final EIA report will reflect comments and feedback received on the draft EIA report.

The following text will be inserted on the inside front cover of the scoping report: This report is financed by the European Commission and is presented by the (name of consultant) for (relevant national institution) and the European Commission. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of (relevant national institution) or the European Commission.

6.2. Information to be provided in the EIA report

The EIA report should cover following information: 

Executive summary

Description of the project

To be taken from the scoping report (see above), however it must be updated if new or revised information is available.

Legislative and institutional framework

To be taken from the scoping report (see above), however it must be updated if new or revised information is available.

Environmental baseline

A description of the relevant aspects of the current state of the environment (baseline scenario) and an outline of the likely evolution thereof without implementation of the project as far as changes from the baseline scenario can be assessed with reasonable effort on the basis of the availability of environmental information and scientific knowledge.

The baseline scenario will include a description of the current state of the environment in the likely affected territory (as determined in the scoping), focusing on those aspects that can be influenced by the project. The consultants should also consider those environmental conditions that could influence the efficiency or sustainability of the project, in particular climate variability, climate change and natural hazards. As far as possible, indicators should be identified for all key environmental variables to be analysed, and their current state established as a baseline for impact assessment and future monitoring. All indicators must be adequately explained and justified. If location alternatives are considered, the study should focus on the differences in the appropriateness and sensitivity of the environment aspects to the pressures resulting from the project.

The likely evolution of the baseline without the project should include the description of the expected trends and situation of environmental variables on the short- medium- and long-term, assuming that the project will not be implemented, and taking into account climate change and any developments reasonably foreseen in the project area. This ‘no project’ scenario will be considered as a benchmark for predicting the project’s environmental impacts. If the situation without project seems unrealistic, the most probable alternative should be used as a reference. Assumptions used to predict the future situation and trends should be clearly explained.

Assessment of environmental impacts

The potential significant impacts of the project and its alternatives on the relevant environmental aspects identified in scoping and described in the section above will be described.

Significant potential environmental impacts (direct and indirect) must be identified, making use of impact identification methodologies proposed by the scoping study. Impact identification should take into consideration factors such as the sensitivity of the environment, the legislative framework, relevant environmental and climate change objectives, the pressures resulting from the project and the expectations of stakeholders.

The assessment of the likely impacts has to consider – but not necessarily be limited to – the following aspects of the project:

• Project activities during construction, operation and, as relevant, decommissioning.
• The technologies and substances used.
• Associated activities and structures (e.g. base camps during construction, access road and transport, associated power lines, extraction of construction materials, dumping sites of excavated materials, etc.)
• Location, general layout, size, and time span of the project.
• Geographical extent of the area influenced by (aspects of) the project (differentiated by the type of impact, such as downstream river basin, noise contour, extent of the affected groundwater aquifer, etc.)
• Presence within the area of influence of the proposed project of sensitive areas, areas with protected status (nature protection, water conservation, indigenous territories, etc.) or areas providing essential ecosystem services.
• Use of natural resources, in particular land, soil, water and biodiversity, considering as far as possible the sustainable availability of these resources.
• Materials and energy consumption, waste and wastewater production.
• Emission of pollutants, noise, vibration, odours, light, heat and radiation, the creation of nuisances, and the disposal and recovery of waste.
• Risks to human health and environment related to the accidents or natural disasters.
• Impact of the project on climate (including the nature and magnitude of greenhouse gases emissions).
• Vulnerability of the project to climate change, including the risk of maladaptation.
• The implications of the potential environmental impacts on conflict dynamics, particularly in the case of fragile contexts.

 The assessment of the likely impacts must consider also the cumulation of impacts with other existing and/or approved projects, considering any existing environmental issues relating to areas of particular environmental importance likely to be affected or the use of natural resources.

The likely impacts will be assessed in comparison with the expected state of the environment under the no-project scenario.

The impacts should be described according to their nature and characteristics, i.e., positive or negative, direct or indirect, short-term, medium- term and long-term, temporary or permanent, reversible or irreversible, their magnitude, their transboundary nature, and accumulation and synergies with other impacts. Where appropriate, impacts on the population should be disaggregated by sex, age and other relevant social criteria.

The impact assessment can be supported by reference to the technical screening criteria of the EU Taxonomy for sustainable activities, which can be found in the Environmental and Climate Delegated Acts^[44], and which are used to determine compliance with the Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) principle and positive contributions. These delegated acts cover the six areas of the EU Taxonomy:

1. climate change mitigation,
2. climate change adaptation,
3. circular economy,
4. water and marine resources,
5. pollution prevention and control, and
6. biodiversity and ecosystems.

Note that not all impacts need to be quantified. In some circumstances the attempts at quantification may result in meaningless numbers that are of no value to the decision-making process. In some cases a semi-quantified approach, allowing for comparison of alternative options may be sufficient to inform decision making (for example: alternative 1 scores (much) better, equal  or (much) worse on impact x, y or z, compared to alternative 2, etc.) It is thus important to recognise when a qualitative assessment will be more useful (e.g. to propose mitigation measures and base a decision).

Measures to avoid, reduce, and/or compensate the potential impacts

For the significant impacts identified, measures must be proposed to avoid, reduce and/or or compensate these impacts. Such measures must be technically feasible, economically sound and socially acceptable (i.e., they must take into account the views of the relevant stakeholders).

The identification of measures must follow the ‘mitigation hierarchy’, with the following priority:

1. Measures to avoid adverse impacts.
2. Measures to minimise adverse impacts.
3. Measures to restore the damaged environment.
4. Measures to offset any residual impacts.

The measures can have several distinct aims:

• Reducing the extent, scale or timescale of activities that produce negative impacts in favour of less damaging activities or activities producing positive effects.
• Changes in the effects of an activity, without changing the activity itself (for example, adding anti-pollution filters).
• Strengthening the protection of the receiving environment with respect to project impacts or other hazards.
• Rehabilitating or restoring damaged resources.
• Compensating for damage, e.g. by achieving improvements to resources similar to those affected.

The residual impacts (i.e., the impacts after implementing the proposed measures) must be described.

Wherever possible, the EIA should also propose measure to enhance the potential positive environmental impacts of the project and produce a net gain to the state of the environment. This can include a “more than minimally required” approach to mitigation, compensation and offset (for example creating and/or restoring a larger protected areas to compensate loss of biodiversity).

Measures to build resilience of the project to climate change (climate-proofing) should also be proposed and explained.

Environmental Management Plan

The Environmental Management Plan (EMP) will identify the actions needed to implement the measures proposed by the EIA (see above), including environmental monitoring required during construction, operation and decommissioning, and thus will represent an operational plan for ensuring proper environmental management and monitoring. Climate change risk management measures must be part of the EMP.

The EMP – usually to be prepared in a tabular format – will include:

• A table (logical framework type) showing the objectives, expected results, objectively verifiable indicators, activities (mitigation/optimisation measures), and responsibilities for the implementation of those activities.
• Institutional arrangements for its implementation and for environmental monitoring: responsibilities, role of the environmental authorities, role and participation of stakeholders.
• Suggestions for contracts (environmental clauses: standards, potential requirement to prepare an Environmental Management Plan of the company) and contracting modalities (such as payments linked to results).
• A monitoring and supervision plan (including appropriate indicators, frequency of monitoring, means to gather and analyse the data, reporting system).
• A response plan in case of accidents or unexpected results from the environmental monitoring.
• A proposed schedule for activities (monitoring and mitigation/optimisation measures).
• An indication of means (including personnel, vehicles) and costs of implementing the EMP.

Consultations and public participation

Description of the consultations and broader opportunities for public participation carried out during the EIA, including a summary of the comments received together with explanation how these comments have been considered in the EIA report and/or the project design.

EIA methodology

The methods and tools applied in the EIA as well as any fields surveys and measurements will be described. All the major limitations and uncertainties of the study will be clearly explained, and the assumptions made in the assessment of the likely impacts will be described, as well as any gaps in the data and information.

Conclusions

This section must present a clear statement of the conclusions of the EIA regarding the likely impacts and recommendations on actions to be taken to ensure that environmental issues are adequately addressed in subsequent project phases. Should any alternatives be considered in the EIA, these must be compared from the likely impacts point of view and recommendations made on the most acceptable alternative.

7.  EIA workplan

The expected timing for the implementation of the activities is as follows:

• EIA workplan and stakeholders’ engagement plan: within 1 month after initiating the work on EIA;
• Draft scoping report: within 4 months after kick-off of the EIA;
• Final scoping report: within 6 months after initiating the work on the EIA;
• Draft EIA report: within 6 months after finalizing the scoping report;
• Final SEA report: within 2 months after the consultations on the draft EIA report.

The timing above must be taken as tentative and should be adjusted following the requirements of the national EIA legislation, the project preparation process, the type of project, the magnitude of the project, and the availability of data and information.

8.  Expertise required

The EIA will be carried out by an inter-disciplinary team of experts – the EIA Consultant. The EIA Consultant should include experts with local or regional knowledge and expertise.

The team will consist of (number) experts: a Team Leader (Senior expert), environmental and social experts (Senior) and (complete as necessary, e.g. experts on specific environmental aspects, and/or an expert on public consultations).

The Team Leader must have, at least, a master’s degree in a relevant area, such as environment, climate change or natural resources management with at least 10 years of relevant professional experience. (S)he will have proven experience in the preparation of EIAs, preferably in the context of EU development cooperation. (S)he must have experience as team leader in at least 3 assignments, preferably one of which for an EIA. (S)he must have good knowledge of the EU intervention cycle. Experience in the sector, country and region will be an asset.

The environmental and social experts (specify sector, or theme) must have, at least, a master’s degree in a relevant area (specify) with at least 10 years of relevant professional experience in (specify subject areas). (S)he must have proven experience in (specify country or region). Participation in the EIA and knowledge of the EU cycle of operations will be an asset.

All experts must be fluent in (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese) and at least one expert must be fluent in (specify local language, if relevant).

(This section is to be adapted and completed based on the required expertise. Junior experts are likely to be also required, e.g. for the collection and treatment of information and data, production of maps and GIS analyses, etc.)

For each expert proposed, a curriculum vitae must be provided or no more than (four) pages, setting out the relevant qualifications and experience.

9.  Reporting

All reports should be submitted in electronic format (Microsoft Word).

The EU will provide compiled feedback to the consultants on the different deliverables no later than two weeks (one week for the SEA approach, methodology and stakeholders engagement plan) after their delivery.

Requirements for hard copies should be avoided, otherwise they should be kept to a minumum, in which case they are to be printed double-sided on recycled or certified paper (for sustainable forestry).

10. Technical proposal

The technical proposal must include an understanding of the Terms of Reference and a description of the following:

• Proposed general approach to the EIA including:
  • An outline of the proposed EIA approach and methodology to be applied, specification of models and analytical methods proposed to be used, etc.)
  • Project management, including communication and coordination mechanisms with the planning authority and the EU delegation.
  • Consultations with relevant stakeholders.
• The proposed work plan with a detail of the activities and tasks outlined above as well as with any additional activities as considered relevant for the EIA.
• Description of the team following the specifications stipulated above.
• CVs of proposed experts clearly showing that the experts meet the required qualification criteria.

11. Financial proposal

The financial proposal will not exceed maximum budget i.e. XXX EUR. It will be structured as follows:

• Expert costs: Following the expertise required, the financial proposal will (i) allocate necessary number of working days for each expert position, (ii) define daily rate for each expert position, and (iii) provide summary of the overall expert costs.
• Direct costs: The direct costs may include the travel costs, administrative support, printing, refreshments for the consultation meetings, interpreting, translations, etc. A provision must be included for the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions for all air travel. For each item included in the budget, a short explanation will be provided why this item is needed for the EIA, the costs that will be allocated, and the overall direct cost will be summarised. Travel by railways or waterways should be prioritised over air and road travel, whenever feasible.
• Total costs: A sum of the expert and direct costs.

12. Evaluation of the proposal

The proposals will be evaluated using the principle of quality and cost-based selection with a weight of 80 % given to the technical proposal and a weight of 20 % given to the financial proposal.

The following criteria shall be used as a basis for evaluation of technical proposals:

Criteria                               Weight 

Proposed approach             40%

Proposed work plan            20%

Team composition              40%

The level of responsiveness for each criterion shall be rated on a scale using the following discrete grades:

• poor: 40 points
• satisfactory: 70 points
• good: 90 points
• very good: 100 points

The rating of each criterion shall then be weighted and added to give to total score.

The technical proposal shall be considered unsuitable if it fails to achieve a minimum score of 75 out of 100 points and the entire proposal rejected.

References

^[40] These are likely to include tools such as: checklists, cause-effect diagrams, Leopold-type matrices, GIS overlays, stakeholder consultations, and site visits.

^[41] UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters.

^[42] There are a number of potential constraints to effective public participation which may require adapted consultation mechanisms: (i) poverty and remoteness (provide transport or financial compensation); (ii) illiteracy or local language (adapt means of communication); (iii) behavioural norms or cultural practise may inhibit effective participation (e.g. organise separate sessions for women of religious minorities); (iv) confidentiality (can be important for proponent); (v) conflicts between legal system and traditional system creating confusion about rights and responsibilities.

^[43] Note that project-related emissions of greenhouse gases are unlikely to be considered ‘significant’ at the global scale. Nevertheless, at the project scale a project or some project alternatives may offer significant opportunities to reduce emissions, store carbon or implement the principle of a ‘climate-neutral development path’. If this is the case, the assessment of such opportunities should be included in the scope of the EIA.

^[44] Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2486 in the case of the environmental delegated act, and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139 as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2485 in the case of the climate delegated act.