92
T.Hopner
ing on the type and size of the plant and on the character and conditions of the environment.
Facing a worldwide incomparable accumulation of seawater desalination plants along
the west and south coast of the Persian Gulf, the governments and rulers of the Gulf
countries are starting to reflect past opinion (Al-Gobaishi 1995) and to start the fIrst,
still general, environmental impact pilot studies. One of the very first was conducted by
the author's group (Hoepner and Windelberg 1996).
9.2
The Legal Context
In the European industrialised countries and many other countries worldwide, new
projects likely to have significant effects on the environment are subject to an assessment procedure. The EC directive of 27 June, 1985
'~ .. shall apply to the assessment of the environmental effects of those public and private projects
which are likely to have significant effects on the environment ... project means (also) the execution
of constructive works. The EIA will identify, describe and assess in an appropriate manner the
direct and indirect effects of a project on the following factors: - human beings, fauna and flora;
- soil, water, air, climate and the landscape; - material assets and cultural heritage".
An annex specifies: "Thermal power stations and other combustion installations
with a heat output of 300 megawatts and more ... " (EC 1985). This means that in Europe
thermal desalination plants are duly subject to EIA. Experience is lacking, but since in
Mediterranean Europe a powerful desalination development must be expected, examples of EIA are needed.
In the USA, in 1969, the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) laid the
groundwork for the establishment of several government institutions such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The EPA and CEQ are
relevant because they have specified EIA procedures and issued several guidelines and
recommendations. US environmental policy with special attention to EIA procedures
is described in detail in the NEPA, Section 101 and 102. Among other things, it is stated
there that "it is the continuing responsibility of the Federal Government to use all practicable means to preserve historic, cultural, and natural aspects of our national heritage, to achieve a balance between population and resource use and enhance the quality
of renewable resources and approach the maximum attainable recycling of exhaustable
resources" (US Government 1970).
Section 102 of the NEPA is the basis of the obligatory application of EIA procedures.
In particular, it requires all agencies of the Federal Government to
" ... include in every recommendation or report on major Federal actions significantly affecting the
quality of the environment, a detailed statement by the responsible official on (1) the environmental
impact, (2) any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided, (3) alternatives to the proposed action ... The Federal actions obligatory to be analysed under NEPA comprise: projects such as
power plants, programs such as coastal zone management programs .. ;'
This means that in the USA EIA is obligatory for (thermal coastal) desalination plants.
At present, there is no publication listing the countries with environmental legislation
and EIA application worldwide. However, in the Middle East nearly all Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) are in the process of adopting or have already adopted corre-
T.Hopner
ing on the type and size of the plant and on the character and conditions of the environment.
Facing a worldwide incomparable accumulation of seawater desalination plants along
the west and south coast of the Persian Gulf, the governments and rulers of the Gulf
countries are starting to reflect past opinion (Al-Gobaishi 1995) and to start the fIrst,
still general, environmental impact pilot studies. One of the very first was conducted by
the author's group (Hoepner and Windelberg 1996).
9.2
The Legal Context
In the European industrialised countries and many other countries worldwide, new
projects likely to have significant effects on the environment are subject to an assessment procedure. The EC directive of 27 June, 1985
'~ .. shall apply to the assessment of the environmental effects of those public and private projects
which are likely to have significant effects on the environment ... project means (also) the execution
of constructive works. The EIA will identify, describe and assess in an appropriate manner the
direct and indirect effects of a project on the following factors: - human beings, fauna and flora;
- soil, water, air, climate and the landscape; - material assets and cultural heritage".
An annex specifies: "Thermal power stations and other combustion installations
with a heat output of 300 megawatts and more ... " (EC 1985). This means that in Europe
thermal desalination plants are duly subject to EIA. Experience is lacking, but since in
Mediterranean Europe a powerful desalination development must be expected, examples of EIA are needed.
In the USA, in 1969, the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) laid the
groundwork for the establishment of several government institutions such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The EPA and CEQ are
relevant because they have specified EIA procedures and issued several guidelines and
recommendations. US environmental policy with special attention to EIA procedures
is described in detail in the NEPA, Section 101 and 102. Among other things, it is stated
there that "it is the continuing responsibility of the Federal Government to use all practicable means to preserve historic, cultural, and natural aspects of our national heritage, to achieve a balance between population and resource use and enhance the quality
of renewable resources and approach the maximum attainable recycling of exhaustable
resources" (US Government 1970).
Section 102 of the NEPA is the basis of the obligatory application of EIA procedures.
In particular, it requires all agencies of the Federal Government to
" ... include in every recommendation or report on major Federal actions significantly affecting the
quality of the environment, a detailed statement by the responsible official on (1) the environmental
impact, (2) any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided, (3) alternatives to the proposed action ... The Federal actions obligatory to be analysed under NEPA comprise: projects such as
power plants, programs such as coastal zone management programs .. ;'
This means that in the USA EIA is obligatory for (thermal coastal) desalination plants.
At present, there is no publication listing the countries with environmental legislation
and EIA application worldwide. However, in the Middle East nearly all Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) are in the process of adopting or have already adopted corre-