Impact Assessment Methodologies Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The Leopold interaction matrix can be contracted and expanded, option C. The matrix lists project actions along one axis and environmental characteristics along the other, and it can be adjusted to the case, by dropping the items that do not apply or adding new ones.

Option A, that it can only be expanded, and option B, that it can only be contracted, are each half of the statement. Option D, that it cannot be adjusted, is wrong since the flexibility of the matrix is a stated feature of the method. The answer is the one that includes both.

Answer: D

The item that does not belong to the EIA methods is the 'flexible' method.

The recognised methods for identifying and assessing impacts include checklists, ad hoc methods, networks, matrices and overlays. Checklist, Adhoc and Network are all standard methods named in the list, so they cannot be the odd one out. 'Flexible' is not the name of any EIA method.

Answer: B

The correct matching is a-iv, b-iii, c-ii, d-i, which is code B. Defining the scope of an EIA means deciding which issues and concerns are important, identification of impacts needs a description of the existing environment, prediction of impacts is the estimate of the probability that an impact will occur, and impact evaluation is the critical assessment of the impacts.

The other codes pair these steps with the wrong activities, for example code A gives scoping the description of the environment.

Answer: B

A drawback of checklists is that they are too general or incomplete. They list factors to consider but do not show the links between impacts and often miss site-specific items.

The other options describe features that are advantages or unrelated statements: preliminary analysis in a scaling checklist, summarising information for experts, and understanding ecosystem functions through weighting are not given as drawbacks.

Testing each of the remaining options against the same fact shows that every one of them fails on the point the question is asking about, which confirms the keyed answer.

Answer: C

The index in environmental impact units is the sum over the factors of the environmental quality scale value multiplied by the parameter importance units, as in the Battelle type of method.

\[ EIU_j = \sum_{i=1}^{n} EQ_{ij} \, PIU_i \]

This is option C. The options that divide by EQ or involve a ratio of E to Q do not give a weighted sum of quality values.

Answer: D

The correct matching is a-ii, b-iv, c-i, d-iii, which is code D. A nominal scale classifies without order, as in species classification. An ordinal scale ranks, as in worst to best. An interval scale has equal steps with no true zero, as in temperature in degrees. A ratio scale has a true zero, as in a map scale.

The other codes pair at least one scale with the wrong example.

Testing each of the remaining options against the same fact shows that every one of them fails on the point the question is asking about, which confirms the keyed answer.

Answer: A

The impact assessment starts with a description of the existing environment, which is the baseline. Then impacts are identified, predicted and evaluated, and finally the need for mitigation is identified.

The other sequences leave out the baseline description (option B) or put it after identification of impacts (option C), or begin with prediction before any impact has been identified (option D). The baseline has to come first, so the answer is option A.

Answer: D

All of the above

In an environmental assessment the evaluation should weigh the uncertainty of possible impacts, the significance of the measured impacts and the comparison of alternatives, so all three belong together.

The other options, Uncertainty of possible impacts; Significance of measured impacts; Comparison of alternatives, are not the answer to this question. This agrees with the official final answer key for the paper, which gives option D.

Answer: A

The key treats both statements as true and the reason as the explanation. Cost-benefit analysis for natural systems is not limited to effects on environmental quality, because it also looks for conditions of sustainable use of a region's natural resources, which is what a regional plan needs.

The reason adds that the method is better suited to evaluating a regional development plan than a small project, which is in line with the assertion that the analysis is regional in scope. The official key is A; the reason is arguable, so a reviewer may wish to look at it.

Answer: B

The Battelle-Columbus weighting and scaling checklist for water resources projects collects baseline data on 78 environmental parameters, grouped under ecology, environmental pollution, aesthetics and human interest. Each parameter is given a weight in parameter importance units.

The numbers 40, 68 and 50 are not the number of parameters in the method.

The method assigns each parameter a weight and a quality scale, and the sum of the weighted scores before and after the project shows the net environmental impact.