• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.226-240
• /
• 2022

Local governments over a certain size in Republic of Korea may conduct Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) considering regional characteristics if it is necessary, in accordance with Article 42 of the 「Environmental Impact Assessment Act」. However, it was investigated that the number of local government EIA operation in many local governments was less than initial expectations. In order to improve it, the status of ordinances and consultation guidelines which are different for each local government need to be compared, and the institutional issues forthe relevant local governments must be found considering regional characteristics. Furthermore, detailed regulation and guidance on the local government EIA procedure should be included in the consultation guidelines and related information need to be provided. In this study, focusing on the case of Incheon Metropolitan City, the status of local government EIA ordinances in metropolitan cities and provinces with a similar condition was investigated, and the types and scope of target projects were compared and analyzed. In addition, consultation guidelines forIncheon Metropolitan City were written, and improvements on the procedure flow and overall schedule designation derived from the process were presented. In the case of Incheon Metropolitan City, there were no detailed information officially announced regarding the regulations of the local government EIA ordinance and follow-up management, so the administrative system of the local government needed to be reinforced in this field. Meanwhile, considering the status of local environment and geography, some target project types were deemed necessary to be added: port construction projects, water resource development projects, railroad construction projects, and military facilities installation projects. The results of this study will provide useful information to local governments which want to improve their operation effectiveness by reorganizing the local government EIA system and preparing specific guidelines.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.449-464
• /
• 2022

This study reviewed the development process of the consultation guideline for the environmental assessment of offshore wind power. Based on this, implications and improvement plans for a future revision of the guidelines. Domestic and foreign case studies reviewed the consulting cases on domestic offshore wind power development projects, environmental location consulting cases, and guidelines related to overseas offshore wind power and analyzed location characteristics and significant environmental issues by project. Major environmental issues related to offshore wind power include birds, noise and vibration, marine animals and plants, marine physics, marine water quality and sediments, marine landscapes, and other auxiliary facilities installed on land. Implications and improvements for revising the consultation guidelines for evaluating offshore wind environments require data and clear guidelines at the central government level to determine areas where offshore wind projects can be located. In a situation where the importance of cumulative impact assessment is emphasized, guidelines for cumulative impact assessment methodologies for each item that reflect the domestic situation should be prepared for a cumulative impact assessment on offshore wind power environmental issues. In addition, when revising the consultation guidelines, empirical research cases should be reflected through the accumulation of environmental surveys and monitoring data of offshore wind farms by sea area.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.312-331
• /
• 2019

An offshore waste disposal facility refers to a landfill site for final landfilling of stabilized inorganic solid waste such as land and marine waste incineration materials, and the aim of such a facility is to solve the problem of insufficient waste disposal space on land and create and develop environmentally friendly marine spaces. The purpose of this study is to prepare guidelines for the construction of offshore waste disposal facilities, which reflect the need and importance of paying sufficient heed to environmental considerations from the initial stage of the project, in order to investigate, predict, and assess how such guidelines will affect the marine environment in relation to the construction of offshore waste disposal facilities, with the goal of minimizing the impact on and damage to the environment. For the purpose of this research, guidelines focusing on the construction of offshore waste disposal facilities were derived through an analysis of domestic cases and similar foreign cases and an assessment of their level of compliance with existing EIA guidelines through the operation of a discussion forum. In order to review the EIA report on similar cases in Korea, 17 EIA documents (2005~2016) for dredged soil dumping areas and ash ponds of thermal power plants were analyzed to investigate the status of marine organisms, marine physics, marine water quality, and marine sediment and to understand what types of problems can occur and what improvement measures can be taken. The purpose of these guidelines were to minimize damage to the marine environment by promoting EIA protocols in accordance with scientific and systematic procedures, to reduce the consultation period related to projects, to resolve social conflicts, and to reduce economic costs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.145-155
• /
• 2018

Problems and improvement plan in ecological pathways created by Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) were found based on 504 expost environmental impact survey reports submitted to the National Institute of Ecology in 2016. A total of five improvement plans have been proposed. First, the concept and composition principle of ecological pathways should be unified. Second, Guidelines for consultation on the EIA should be provided for each stage to be applied on-site. Third, if ecological pathway is constructed differently than the consultation, the punishment clauses should be applied to prevent formal composition of ecological pathways. Fourth, We need to prepare measures to strengthen basic research for the installation of ecological pathways. Fifth, We need to strengthen the expost inspection function to compensate for the poorly created of ecological pathways. It is believed that the problems of ecological pathways created by consultation on environmental impact assessment could be corrected in the future. And it is deemed possible to systematically manage ecological pathways.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.297-304
• /
• 2021

The environmental impact assessment(EIA) project in Korea has undergone changes and revisions in various evaluation items for about 30 years after the introduction of the Environmental Conservation Act (1997). However, despite the importance of land use evaluation items under the current EIA Act, there are insufficient studies to consider. Therefore, this study focused on the land-use evaluation items based on the EIA guidelines, reviewed 90 of the evaluation documents and consultation documents, and tried to suggest implications and supplementary points forthe domestic EIA land-use evaluation items. As a result, the paradigm was changing from land efficiency centered on development in the past to land efficiency centered on the natural environment and resource conservation. However, in spite of the manual for fitting the paradigm change, opinions on the conservation of the natural environment are still being drawn in the consultation document, so it needs improvement. Two improvements in the impact assessment process suggested in this study are the establishment of standardized spatial data and a quantitative impact and reduction method evaluation tool based on it. In particular, there is a need for a plan evaluation tool for land use arrangement and distribution that can solve the needs of minimizing damage to the natural environment and securing green space and a green network.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.287-298
• /
• 2019

This study found that wildlife crossing created through environmental impact assessments didn't reduce the number of wildlife accidents on the road by review of "A Study on the Legal and Institutional Review for Reproving Bio-Mobile in Environmental Impact Assessment(2018)". Specific considerations to be reviewed at each stage of the environmental impact assessment consultation were presented for practical site application. Therefore, in this study, the consultation steps for environmental impact assessment were presented in five stages, including planning, design, construction, monitoring, maintenance and management, and detail of the items to be reviewed by public officer. It will be able to prevent loss of habitats and improve biodiversity by improving the practice and institutional problems that were planned and designed at the time of construction.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.658-673
• /
• 2018

Social conflicts with extremely low frequency magnetic field(ELF-MF) exposures are expected to exacerbate due to continued increase in electric power demand and construction of high voltage transmission lines(HVTL). However, in current environmental impact assessment(EIA) act, specific guidelines have not been included concretely about EIA of ELF-MF. Therefore, this study conducted a standardization study on EIA method through case analysis, field measurement, and expert consultation of the EIA for the ELF-MF near HVTL which is the main cause of exposures. The status of the EIA of the ELF-MF and the problem to be improved are derived and the EIA method which can solve it is suggested. The main contents of the study is that the physical characteristics of the ELF-MF affected by distance and powerload should be considered at all stages of EIA(survey of the current situation - Prediction of the impacts - preparation of mitigation plan ? post EIA planning). Based on this study, we also suggested the 'Measurement method for extremely low frequency magnetic field on transmission line' and 'Table for extremely low frequency magnetic field measurement record on transmission line'. The results of this study can be applied to the EIA that minimizes the damage and conflict to the construction of transmission line and derives rational measures at the present time when the human hazard to long term exposure of the ELF-MF is unclear.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.129-140
• /
• 2022

Environmental impact assessment on development projects is a process in which various stakeholders derive consultations by reflecting project characteristics and regional environmental status, and implementation of consultations is a prerequisite for securing sustainability of the local environment. The business plan can be changed to respond to changes in social and environmental conditions. And the business plan for which the environmental impact assessment consultation has been completed, it can be changed as a systematically prepared procedure (called Consultations on Amendment). As a result of investigating and analyzing the current status and major changes in the development project, Consultations on Amendment in industrial complexes were the most common, and the environmental impact is increasing accordingly. As the results of the analysis of operational status and the case studies, the main causes of Consultations on Amendment in industrial complex can be summarized into three categories: (1) formal demand forecasting for tenant industries, (2) excessive omission and simplification of administrative procedures under the Special Act, and (3) the use of an expedient change consultation system to facilitate environmental impact assessment consultation and shorten the period. This study proposes the following three measures to prevent the deterioration of the environmental impact assessment function due to frequent consultations on industrial complex changes; (1) Ensuring residents' participation procedures for Consultations on Amendment that changes important matters, (2) Reasonable revision of the "Simplification of Industrial Complex Procedures Act" to enhance the feasibility of industrial complex development plans and locations, (3) Development of evaluation criteria and methods for verification of real demand for objective demand management for industrial complexes, and (4) Preparation of a review guideline for Consultations on Amendment.