The environmental impact statement (EIS)

The EIS, sometimes known as the environmental effects statement (EES), the environmental statement (ES), or as the environmental impact assessment (EIA), depending upon country, is a document, prepared by a proponent, describing a proposed development, or activity (or a plan, or program) and disclosing the possible, probable, or certain effects of that proposal on the environment. An EIS should be comprehensive in its treatment of the subject matter, objective in its approach, and should be sufficiently specific for a reasonably intelligent mind to examine the potential environmental consequences, good and bad, of carrying out, or not carrying out, that proposal.

An EIS should meet the requirement that it alerts the decision-maker, the proponent, members of the public, and the government, to the consequences for the community; it should also explore possible alternatives to the project that might maximise the benefits while minimising the disbenefits (disadvantages). The primary purpose of an EIS, however, is to assist the decision-maker (usually government at some level, or a government agency) to arrive at a better informed decision than would otherwise have been the case. A decision might involve the outright rejection of the proposal or its deferment for further studies or revision, though more usually the project is approved, subject to a range of legal conditions and requirements that are attached to the development consent, approval, or permit.