Following the publication of the 2017 EIA Regulations, ‘Human health’ became a defined topic that EIA is required to consider. Before now, there has been no guidance as to how to address human health within the context of an EIA. At the end of November, the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Management (IEMA) launched two new impact assessment guides considering just that.
The guides are focused as follows:
- Effective Scoping of Human Health in EIA
- Determining Significance for Human Health in EIA
The publication of these two guides is very much welcomed, providing a degree of structure and formalisation to the consideration of health as part of HIA going forward.
The ‘Effective Scoping of Human Health in EIA’ guide provides a definition as to what should be considered within the scope of human health, the information to include in a Scoping Report, and gives information relation to engagement on the topic of human health.
‘Determining Significance for Human Health in EIA’ guide aims to explain what ‘significance’ means for human health in the context of EIA, and, as such, clarify how to articulate the importance of human health in relative terms within the wider planning balance and decision-making process.
Access online as below:
If you are not an IEMA member, click here to access the guidance: Human Health in Environmental Impact Assessment – November 2022.
If you are an IEMA member, click here to download the guidance: IEMA – IEMA Guides on Human Health in EIA.
Our Economics team has significant experience in the preparation of Health Impact Assessments, both as standalone studies as well as within the context of an EIA, with a final deliverable being prepared for around 50 separate development projects since July 2021. If you have any queries regarding the topic of human health: please contact Laura Day, Principal Consultant based in Manchester.