Utility of Environmental Impact Assessment Processes in Western Australia: submission to inquiry into the environmental effects statement process in Victoria, Environment and Natural Resources Committee of the Parliament of Victoria

I have been asked to discuss a number of issues relating to the inquiry, including: •the key strengths of environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes in Western Australia (WA), including objectives, project referrals, levels of assessment, appeal rights for third parties, and the role of the Environment Protection Authority; •proposed reforms to the WA EIA Framework; •your experiences in environmental impact assessment processes in other jurisdictions, including examples of EIA best practice in Australia and overseas; •the role of strategic environmental assessment; •the most suitable body/agency to carry out EIA; and •post-EIA monitoring and enforcement. A brief report addressing these points is provided following an account of the EIA context in WA

Libatsama awam terhadap prosedur EIA terperinci berhubung projek petrokimia di Pengerang Johor

EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) ialah suatu kajian bagi mengenalpasti, meramal dan menghuraikan kebaikan serta keburukan sesuatu cadangan projek pembangunan. Libatsama awam dalam prosedur EIA Terperinci sewajarnya perlu lebih menyeluruh dan berkesan, ini bermaksud persetujuan majoriti daripada pihak awam berhubung sesuatu projek adalah sangat penting sebelum Laporan EIA Terperinci berkenaan diluluskan. Walau bagaimanapun, masih terdapat kurang penglibatasama awam terhadap prosedur EIA Terperinci yang dijalankan oleh JAS dan memberi kesan dalam perlaksanaannya. Oleh itu, objektif pertama kajian ialah, mengkaji permasalahan komuniti di Pengerang berhubung prosedur EIA Terperinci yang dijalankan oleh JAS. Objektif kedua ialah mengenalpasti pandangan JAS terhadap prosedur dan isu penyertaan orang awam berhubung EIA Terperinci. Objektif ketiga ialah menilai pandangan persatuan bukan kerajaan yang terlibat iaitu ahli FOMCA (Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations) dan MNS (Malaysian Nature Society) berhubung sesi dialog dalam prosedur EIA Terperinci. Objektif keempat ialah membangunkan rangka kerja libatsama awam untuk projek pembangunan di Malaysia. Seramai 379 orang komuniti di Pengerang telah terpilih sebagai responden untuk menjawab borang soal selidik. Manakala seramai 70 orang responden ahli FOMCA dan 73 orang responden MNS terpilih untuk menjawab borang soal selidik. Dan borang temubual diedarkan kepada 10 orang pegawai JAS Putrajaya dan JAS Johor Bahru. Data kualitatif dianalisis menggunakan perisian QSR Nvivo11 manakala data kuantitatif dianalisis menggunakan kaedah SPSS. Hasil kajian membuktikan prosedur EIA Terperinci khusus diperingkat penglibatasama awam akan lebih berkesan sekiranya kelima-lima elemen diadaptasi melalui rangka kerja prosedur EIA Terperinci sedia ada. Lima elemen yang mendasari rangka kerja tersebut ialah penglibatan berkesan daripada pihak awam, komunikasi berkesan daripada pihak JAS, tindakan penguatkuasaan berkesan oleh JAS, kerjasama dan sokongan padu semua pihak dan pemantauan berkesan dalam tiga fasa projek EIA Terperinci. Rangka kerja ini membantu pihak JAS menyelesaikan segala permasalahan serta konflik pihak awam dan NGO yang terlibat dalam prosedur EIA Terperinci

Transparency in environment impact assessment decision-making: Recent developments in Western Australia

Transparency in decision-making, involving the establishment of explicit goals and objectives combined with open, facilitative procedures, has recently been advocated as an important principle for effective environmental impact assessment (EIA). This paper examines recent changes to EIA practice in Western Australia that emphasise clear procedures for decision-making. Current practices focus on objectives established for relevant environmental factors identified during the screening and scoping stages of EIA. These objectives are then used as decision criteria for project decision-making following public review. An example from a recent assessment is provided. Some strengths and weaknesses of this approach to transparent EIA decision-making are also examined

Assessment of the utility of repeat stool testing for Clostridium difficile stool toxin using enzyme immunoassay

The poor performance of toxin enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for laboratory testing for Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection (CDI) is well acknowledged. Guidelines published in recent years state that testing solely with EIA for detecting toxins A and B is sub-optimal. As a consequence, clinicians may lose confidence in the test and submit multiple samples to offset the poor sensitivity of the toxin EIA. This leads to waste of laboratory resources and is discouraged by recent guidelines. 2,489 requests for toxin EIA submitted during one year at a state general hospital in Malta were reviewed to assess the utility of repeat stool testing for C. difficile toxin detection using toxin EIA and also to gather data on the extent of repeat samples within 28 days of a positive test. There were a total of 1,970 diarrhoeal episodes, from which a total of 302 cases (15.3%) submitted more than one sample for repeated testing. Only 2% of these repeats tested positive after having an initial negative result for the C. difficile toxin EIA test. Most recent published practice guidelines recommend a two-step or three-step testing algorithm in the diagnosis of C. difficile-associated diarrhoea, which offers a marked increase in sensitivity when compared to that of toxin A and B EIA alone. A three-step protocol is proposed which should enable the discernment of the role of C. difficile in a diarrhoeal patient.peer-reviewe

The trade-off between accuracy and accessibility of syphilis screening assays.

The availability of rapid and sensitive methods to diagnose syphilis facilitates screening of pregnant women, which is one of the most cost-effective health interventions available. We have evaluated two screening methods in Tanzania: an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and a point-of-care test (POCT). We evaluated the performance of each test against the Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay (TPPA) as the reference method, and the accessibility of testing in a rural district of Tanzania. The POCT was performed in the clinic on whole blood, while the other assays were performed on plasma in the laboratory. Samples were also tested by the rapid plasma Reagin (RPR) test. With TPPA as reference assay, the sensitivity and specificity of EIA were 95.3% and 97.8%, and of the POCT were 59.6% and 99.4% respectively. The sensitivity of the POCT and EIA for active syphilis cases (TPPA positive and RPR titer ≥ 1/8) were 82% and 100% respectively. Only 15% of antenatal clinic attenders in this district visited a health facility with a laboratory capable of performing the EIA. Although it is less sensitive than EIA, its greater accessibility, and the fact that treatment can be given on the same day, means that the use of POCT would result in a higher proportion of women with syphilis receiving treatment than with the EIA in this district of Tanzania

Screening elite winter athletes for exercise induced asthma: A comparison of three challenge methods

The official published version can be obtained from the link below.Background: The reported prevalence of exercise induced asthma (EIA) in elite winter athletes ranges from 9% to 50%. Many elite winter athletes do not report symptoms of EIA. At present there is no gold standard test for EIA. Objective: To establish the efficacy of screening for EIA and examine the role of the eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation (EVH) challenge and laboratory based and sport specific exercise challenges in the evaluation of elite winter athletes. Methods: 14 athletes (mean (SD) age 22.6 (5.7) years, height 177.2 (7.0) cm, body mass 68.9 (16.9) kg) from the Great Britain short-track speed skating (n=10) and biathlon teams (n=4) were studied. Each athlete completed a laboratory based and sport specific exercise challenge as well as an EVH challenge, in randomised order. Results: All 14 athletes completed each challenge. Two had a previous history of asthma. Ten (including the two with a previous history) had a positive test to at least one of the challenges. Ten athletes had a positive response to EVH; of these, only three also had a positive response to the sport specific challenge. No athletes had a positive response to the laboratory based challenge. Conclusions: Elite athletes should be screened for EIA. EVH is a more sensitive challenge in asymptomatic athletes than sport specific and laboratory based challenges. If sporting governing bodies were to implement screening programmes to test athletes for EIA, EVH is the challenge of choice

A REVIEW ON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN MALAYSIA

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was introduced to measure the benefit or cost from physical development to the public and community. In Malaysia, EIA was initiated in 1988 as a mandatory legislative requirement to protect and enhance the quality of the environment through licensing, setting of standards, coordination of research and dissemination of information to the public. Public involvement in assessment period is vital, and this conceptual paper identifies that there are three levels of participation in EIA. However, public participation in EIA in Malaysia, in general, is only instrumental due to weaknesses in regulation, lack of awareness and expertise among the public. This further raises the question of effective EIA implementation when public representation is characterized by pseudo participation and select involvement rather than broad participation of all community members, which is an important prerequisite for effective public participation.EIA, community involvement, public participation process

Principles for effective impact assessment: Examples from Western Australia

What makes an impact assessment process effective with respect to underlying legal and other principles? Prompted by a local review of administrative processes for environmental impact assessment (EIA), I identify 10 key aspects of IA legislation and practice in Western Australia along with corresponding principles. The EIA system in Western Australia (WA) has established an international reputation as a strong model for successful practice, and draws on more than 30 years of operation. Recent government reviews pose some threat and uncertainty regarding the future. In this context I reflected on the key ingredients of the legal and operating framework and realised that each conformed with important principles for good practice. Examples include a significance test at the screening step based on an environment-centred approach; public involvement that upholds natural justice expectations, transparency and accountability; the application of rational-scientific principles in the pursuit of adaptive environmental management; as well as upholding the polluter pays principle by ensuring that the proponent is responsible for all major EIA tasks and outcomes which in turn are legally binding and enforced. I outline each of the 10 principles using extracts from the legal arrangements for EIA in WA practice to illustrate each. I argue that the simultaneous attainment of all principles is necessary to deliver an effective impact assessment practice. The WA arrangements may have relevance to practice elsewhere in the world. I conclude with some observations on the implications of recent EIA review for the situation in Western Australia