How to conduct impact analyses for specific energy projects, including how to identify data needs, collect needed data, and develop project-specific mitigations.
Objectives
Determine the anticipated impacts of project implementation, including site evaluation, exploration, and other preconstruction activities; construction; operation; and decommissioning
Develop mitigation strategies to avoid or reduce impacts to important resources
Developing an understanding of how the proposed project interacts with and affects the environment is essential to conducting project-specific impact analyses. Follow the links below for guidance on how to describe a proposed project; identify impacting factors, area of influence, and resources affected; and determining the magnitude and significance of impacts.
Describing the Proposed Project
This section provides guidance on identifying and describing those aspects of the project that could result in impacts.
Identifying Impacting Factors, Area of Influence, and Resources Affected
This section provides guidance on identifying factors associated with project elements that result in impacts (including direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts), the area that would be affected by these impacting factors, and those resources that occur in that area and are most likely to be affected by the project during its lifetime. Guidance is also provided on data collection for characterizing the existing environment and on dealing with data uncertainty or gaps.
Determining the magnitude and significance of impacts
This section provides guidance on determining the anticipated magnitude and significance of direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts. Guidance is also provided on identifying mitigation strategies to reduce these impacts.
