Technical Helpline

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) review service is provided by IEMA's Technical Team. It involves reviewing an Environmental Statement (ES) against established IEMA EIA Review criteria. An objective report is produced which highlights the strengths and weaknesses of an ES.

The review is undertaken by two Technical Advisers who each read the ES and any relevant appendices and produce a report, the two advisers then combine the two reports. This final report is then quality checked by another Technical Team member. There is a turn around time of six to eight weeks for a review although if you have a tight deadline then wherever possible we will endeavour to meet it.

The EIA review criteria have been drawn up to reflect current best practice in the EIA field and are regularly updated as and when best practice changes.

Please visit EIA Services for more details or alternatively contact IEMA's Technical Team on tel: 01522 540069 or technical@iema.net.

The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA) review service is provided by the Technical Services team. It involves reviewing an Environmental Report (ER) against established IEMA SEA/SA Review criteria. An objective report is produced which highlights the strengths and weaknesses of an ER.

The review is undertaken by two Technical Advisers who each read the ER and any relevant appendices and produce a report, the two advisers then combine the two reports. This final report is then quality checked by another Technical Team member. There is a turn around time of six to eight weeks for a review although if you have a tight deadline then wherever possible we will endeavour to meet it.

The SEA/SA review criteria have been drawn up to reflect current best practice in the SEA/SA field and are regularly updated as and when best practice changes.

Please visit SEA Services for more details or contact IEMA's Technical Team on tel: 01522 540069 or technical@iema.net.

The Noise Impact Assessment Guidelines are currently undergoing a final review and edit before they can be published. It is hoped that they will be published by the end of 2008. Once they are published they will be available through IEMA's Publications Shop. To be kept informed on when these guidelines will be published please contact Communications Co-ordinator Katrina Pierce at 01522 540069 or k.pierce@iema.net.

IEMA have a library of environmental statements which Corporate Members of IEMA are able to loan. Individual IEMA members are able to access the library but only by visiting the office at Lincoln to use the documents for reference. To view IEMA's Library Catalogue please visit: http://members.iema.net/lookup/iemahomeajax.asp. Once environmental reports from Strategic Environmental Assessments and Sustainability Appraisals become available they will also be placed in the Library.

If you would like to borrow any ES’s from the library please use IEMA's online Library Catalogue system or contact a member of IEMA's Technical Team. If you would like to organise a visit to the library please contact IEMA's Technical Administrator Gloria Miller on tel: 01522 540069 or email technical@iema.net.

There are a number of different EIA regulations which apply to different parts of the UK and different development sectors. The regulations are listed below.

The following table, is taken from the Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment, which can be bought from IEMA Publications Shop.

Current EIA Regulations.pdf (1.23 MB)
Current EIA Regulations.doc (68.5 KB)

Registered Environmental Impact Assessor Membership of IEMA provides a clear indication of those organisations that are capable of producing Environmental Statements (ES) in accordance with current best practice standards. It is a status which reflects ability in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) work and is awarded on the basis of a measure of the quality of work produced by an organisation.

Registered Environmental Impact Assessor Membership is awarded for a period of three years, after which an organisation must apply for renewal. Registered status is therefore maintained on the basis of a company’s current ability in the field of EIA.

The benefits of Registered Environmental Impact Assessor Membership include:

• an independent measure of the organisation’s ability to produce good quality Environmental Statements;
• demonstration to potential clients of the organisation’s ability to produce good quality Environmental Statements;
• significant marketing prestige and a competitive advantage when bidding for EIA work;
• discounts on Professional Indemnity Insurance;
• use of the IEMA logo and declaration of Registered Membership status on your letterhead and other publicity material;
• identification of an organisation’s Registered Membership status on Institute referral lists

Please visit Become a Registered Assessor for more information.

Who can apply for Registered Membership?

Only Associate Assessor Members of the Institute can apply for Registered Environmental Impact Assessor Membership. The organisation must be able to submit:

• an environmental statement which it has wholly or mainly produced within an 18 month period preceding the date of the application, or within an 18 month period preceding the date of the application for renewal.

or where a company has not wholly or mainly produced an environmental statement but has provided specialist input to environmental assessments,

• a portfolio of work published as sections of environmental assessments. This should consist of at least four items from separate contracts and produced within an 18 month period preceding the date of the application, or within an 18 month period preceding the date of the application for renewal.

How does my company apply?

If you do not already have an application form, you should obtain one from IEMA. On this form you should provide details of your organisation and the work you are submitting as part of your application.

The fee for the application should also be enclosed. It is possible for the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment to invoice for the fee, but work on the application will not begin until the fee has been paid. All organisations are required to pay the basic application fee, regardless of whether the Institute has previously reviewed the ES, e.g. for a local authority. An additional fee may be charged for reviewing ESs’ which are excessively long.

The Institute considers that it is important that the registered status of an organisation reflects its current capability in the field of EIA. Registered membership must therefore be renewed every three years with the submission of a new example of work which has been undertaken in the 18 month period preceding the renewal application.

If you require any further information on becoming a Registered Environmental Impact Assessor, guidance can be found at Become a Registered Assessor or please contact IEMA's Technical Team on tel: 01522 540069 or email: technical@iema.net

Whilst there is no legal requirement for public participation to be undertaken in Environmental Impact Assessment, it is considered best practice for public participation to form a part of the EIA process.

For additional information on methods of public participation and case studies illustrating how successful it can be reference should be made to the IEMA Guidelines on Participation in Environmental Decision-Making which can be bought from IEMA Publications Shop.

Contrary to the ecohomes guidance, being a full member of IEMA does not automatically make an individual suitable to undertake an ecohomes assessment. Subsequently we are unable to refer individual ecohomes assessors. However we do have a list of IEMA corporate members who are registered ecohomes assessors and are happy to pass their details on. If you would like contact details for companies who are registered ecohomes assessors please contact a member of IEMA's Technical Team on tel: 01522 540069 or technical@iema.net