ENVID is an essential process in project development that explores the impacts of planned projects on the environment it inhabits, while also proposing preventative, control, and mitigation measures for the environmental hazards identified.
Both planned and unplanned (emergency/accidental) environmental hazards/aspects, their impacts and their duration/likelihood shall be identified in ENVID.
Planned impacts are those which result from routine (planned) activities performed either on continuous or abnormal activities performed on intermittent basis for operational and maintenance purpose.
Scenarios for accidental (unplanned) events (such as loss of containment etc.) and their environmental effects/impacts that were identified in HAZID shall also be further discussed in detail during ENVID session.
The objectives of ENVID are:
- Systematically identify activities and analyze planned and unplanned environmental aspects of the facility;
- Identify all aspects of environment and evaluate impacts associated with all activities;
- Identify control and monitoring measures that are in place;
- Identify additional measures required, if any, to prevent or mitigate impact to allowable environmental standards; and
- Provide input to management in its efforts to manage risks related to environmental issues.
The main advantage of an ENVID review is that it identifies and establishes measures that may affect the present and possibly successive projects and their design processes. The outcome of effective ENVID reviews also provides results that enable the arrival of informed decisions regarding Environment Management and effective design costs for successful project execution.
The identified and proposed measures are closely analyzed by using guidewords for their efficacy while providing alternative measures to ensure negligible environmental damage where unavoidable. Impact assessment is done by using Risk Matrix.
Following steps shall be used while performing the ENVID workshop session.
- Describe the main features of the facility (layout, control and monitoring measures, operating conditions, etc.) or activity;
- Select the first (or next) guideword category from the selected list;
- Identify and determine all potential aspects and their impacts/consequences;
- Assess the severity of the impacts/consequences;
- Assess the duration of the impact
- Identify control and monitoring measures;
- Assign mitigated environmental impact severity ranking for each aspect;
- Provide recommendations, if required;
- Apply the next guideword (relevant to the selected Aspect);
- Apply the next Aspect until they all have been considered; and
- Move to the next activity until all activities has been examined.
ENVID workshops progress as a brainstorming session with the objective to:
- Analyze suggested entries as possible environmental or occupational issues of concern.
- Multi-disciplinary team assessment of possible environmental threats related to project.
- Examine measures to prevent, control and manage potential environmental hazards.
- Acknowledge the significance of impacts of the potential hazards.
ENVID report compilation
The outcome of an ENVID report entails the possible impact of the proposed project, their potential risks on the environment, and the measures to prevent, control, or eliminate these risks.