User Guides Subject Guides > Government, Law & Politics — Environmental Impact Assessment

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was instituted in 1969 and required that federal agencies must report on any significant environmental impact that may result from an agency action or policy.  The process for determining this impact is called an Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA).  The result of one of these analyses is often a published report called an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).  A more complete explanation of this process can be found at http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/faqs/nepa/index.html.  This process has been replicated by many state governments, and similar processes were instituted by many international governments and organizations. 

For more resources on this topic, or to find actual EISs, search in the HELIN Catalog by Library of Congress Subject Headings:  ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS; ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS; CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ASSESSMENT (ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT); ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT (BIOLOGY); ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT; and ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING.  In the University Library, many EISs can be found in the Government Publications area at SuDoc numbers beginning with EP1.57 (for the EPA) and I1.98 (for the Dept. of the Interior).  Listed below are a selection of resources that provide various types of information on the EIA process.

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Overviews | Glossaries & Handbooks
NEPA | Journals | International | Web Sources

URI TD194.6 .C36 1996

Cantor, Larry W. Environmental Impact Assessment.

Provides detailed overview of many aspects of EIA.  Contains many pertinent diagrams charts, and tables of information.  Chapters include bibliographic references.  Indexed by subject.

 

URI Ref TD193 .E56533 2005

Environmental Instrumentation and Analysis Handbook, edited by Randy D. Down and Jay H. Lehr.

Collection of illustrated articles containing theory and practice regarding tools and techniques used in EIA.  Articles included bibliographic references.  Indexed by subject.

URI Ref TD194.6 .C37

Cantor, Larry W. Handbook of Variables for Environmental Impact Assessment.

Compilation of standard variables for EIA, with associated forumulae, diagrams, and descriptions.  Includes subject/author index and bibliographic references.

URI TD194.6 E63

Environmental Impact Statement Glossary:  A Reference Source for EIS Writers, Reviewers, and Citizens, edited by Marc Landy.

Subject-organized list of terms commonly used in the creation of EISs.  Includes subject index and bibliographic references.  Also includes the "Census Users' Dictionary" from the 1970 Census Users' Guide, which contains terms related to geography, population, and housing.

URI Ref HC110 .E5 B37 1993

Bass, Ronald E. and Albert I. Henson. Mastering NEPA:  A Step-by-Step Approach.

Overview guide to NEPA and associated practices.  Includes text of the act, related regulations from the President's Council on Environmental Equality, a list of frequently asked questions, various agency guidance memos, directory of agencies' NEPA liasons, glossary, subject index.

URI Ref  KF3775 .N47 1989

NEPA Deskbook/Environmental Law Reporter.

Compilation of legal information relating to NEPA.  Contains text of NEPA, related regulations, legal commentaries, Supreme Court case summaries, and samples of NEPA documents.

URI Serial Stacks TD194.6 .E593  v.19 - 22: 1999 - 2002.

Environmental Impact Assessment Review. Online.  1995 -.

http://www.uri.edu/library/reference_databases/title.html

Contains articles on conducting assessments, analyzing specific environments, EISs.  Selectively indexed in ASFA 3: Aquatic Pollution and Environmental Quality.

URI Electronic Journal

Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal:  Journal of the International Association for Impact Assessment. 2003 -.

http://www.uri.edu/library/reference_databases/title.html

Covers a broad spectrum of content concerning EIA theory and practice, recent developments, editorials, and specific assessement studies.  Indexed in Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost).

URI TD194.68 .D44 C66 1999

Conducting Environmental Impact Assessment in Developing Countries, edited by Prasad Modak and Asit K. Biswas.

Breaks down the EIA process as is related specifically to developing countries.  Includes several case studies of EIAs performed in developing countries in response to various projects and programs.  Indexed by subject.

http://eia.unu.edu

Environmental Impact Assessment Open Educational Resource.

Comprised of an extensive online course module for EIA in international settings, an EIA wiki, and a guide on incorporating the site's resources into EIA instruction.

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/index.html

Environmental Protection Agency's National Environmental Policy Act Page.

Information on finding citations for, submitting, and obtaining EISs.  Users can search or browse list of all EISs filed through EPA since 2004.  The EPA Repository library's online catalog also contains EISs (search by "Environmental Impact Statements" or "EIS"), some of which are available online.

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eia/home.htm

European Commission's Environmental Impact Assessment page.

Contains articles, studies, and policy statements on both Environmental Impact (single projects) and Strategic Environmental (long-term policies and programs) Assessment from the European Commission's Environment Directorate General.

For assistance
If you need further assistance, please contact the Government Publications Office, University Library, (401) 874-2606. If the office is closed, please consult the Reference Desk, which may be reached at (401) 874-2653. You may also contact the government publications subject specialist, Deborah Mongeau, at (401) 874-4610 or dmongeau@uri.edu.

S. Anderson 5/07.