Environmental impact assessment

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the statutory study that predicts and evaluates the effects of a port or marine-works project on the physical, biological, and human environment before consent is granted. For port construction it covers dredging plumes and turbidity, spoil disposal, hydrodynamic and sediment-transport change from breakwaters and reclamation, noise, air emissions, and habitat loss. In the EU it follows Directive 2011/92/EU as amended; in the UK the Marine Works (EIA) Regulations apply. The EIA produces an environmental statement and a monitoring and mitigation plan, and its findings shape layout, dredging method, and construction windows fixed in the master plan.