Book review: Environmental impact assessment (second edition)

13th June 2012


Related tags

  • Reviews

Author

IEMA

Environmental impact assessment (second edition)

Stephen Tromans / Bloomsbury Professional / Paperback £85 /
ISBN 978–1–84766–675–8

The name Stephen Tromans will be familiar to many readers of the environmentalist owing to his regular “Laying down the law” column. What they may not know is that in 2003 he co-authored a book, entitled Environmental impact assessment – law and practice.

The first edition was a tour de force of the legal framework and case law related to EIA, with the latter part of the book dedicated to good practice in assessment.

This second edition has dropped the good-practice advice, which is increasingly available elsewhere, and instead focuses on the regulatory and legal aspects of EIA.

This may sound like a rather dry subject, but for the practising professional the singular focus enhances the book and provides an essential counterpart to knowledge gained from the practical application of EIA.

Tromans introduces the legislative context of EIA before moving through the screening process, assessment procedures and subsequent environmental statement. He then covers special cases of impact assessment in the planning system and where EIA is applied to non-planning developments.

New to this edition are sections on strategic environmental assessment and the application of conservation and habitats legislation (eg the Habitats Directive) in an EIA context – both of which are welcome additions.

The new version is nearly one-third longer than the first edition and provides comprehensive coverage of the increasingly complex and overlapping legal cases.

It takes full account of the 2011 changes to planning-related EIA Regulations in England – the regulatory focus of the book is on the English planning regime. This book will be of great value to EIA practitioners, planners, statutory consultees and academics alike.

In the few months it has been sitting on my desk I have found it a useful reference guide. This is not a book for the general environment professional, but if you are directly involved in EIA you should definitely have ready access to a copy.


Review by Josh Fothergill, IEMA policy and practice lead on EIA

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

Facing the climate emergency challenge in local government

It’s well recognised that the public sector has the opportunity to work towards a national net-zero landscape that goes well beyond improving on its own performance; it can also influence through procurement and can direct through policy.

19th March 2024

Read more

Dr Julie Riggs issues a call to arms to tackle a modern-day human tragedy

15th March 2024

Read more

Disgraced environmental consultant Peter Lovebrother is another month nearer retirement…

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) strategy is based on optimistic techno-economic assumptions that are now outdated, Carbon Tracker has warned.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK’s new biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements could create 15,000 hectares of woodlands, heath, grasslands, and wetlands and absorb 650,000 tonnes of carbon each year.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s latest Public Attitudes Tracker has found broad support for efforts to tackle climate change, although there are significant concerns that bills will rise.

13th March 2024

Read more

Multinational corporations are undermining their net-zero commitments with excessive air travel and no plans to reduce ‘the low hanging fruit’ of carbon footprints, a study by Transport & Environment has found.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s climate adaptation plans are ‘inadequate’ and falling ‘far short’ of what is required, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned today.

13th March 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close