Environment

Frequently Asked Questions on ADB's Environmental Assessment Requirements

Changes between the Old OM (Section 20) and New OM (Section F1)

1. What are the changes between the new and old OM on Environmental Considerations in ADB Operations?

There are a number of major changes:

• environmental assessment as an ongoing process--rather than a one-time report-of environmental analysis, management and planning taking place throughout the project cycle
• addition of a new category FI (for projects involving financial intermediaries)
• country environmental analysis as a mandatory input to CSP
• introduction of strategic environmental assessment as an optional tool for program loans and sector loans
• public consultation as a requirement for category A (with specific consultation points) and B projects
• information disclosure as a requirement for all SIEE and SEIA reports
• EA requirement to cover all project components whether financed by ADB, co-financiers, or the government
• clarification that the most-environmentally sensitive component of the project is the basis of project classification in the case of a multi-component project
• ADB to follow the World Bank's Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook for standards and approaches to pollution prevention and abatement but that such may be superseded by alternative standards and approaches derived from the EA of any individual project
• need for project re-classification and environmental assessment in case of major changes in scope during implementation
• provision of a mechanism to address the environmental impacts brought about by uncertainties in locations and alignments of infrastructure
• provision that in case unanticipated impacts are identified after loan closure, ADB will encourage, and assist as required, the borrower to plan and implement remedial measures, and
• greater emphasis on the environmental management plan.

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Project Classification

1. What criteria apply in classifying B (sensitive) projects? What is ADB's current position in as far as project classification of B (sensitive) projects is concerned?

ADB's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) may deem category B projects to be environmentally sensitive for the purposes of (i) the 120 day disclosure rule, and (ii) the environmental management plan requirement, if such project:

• is near environmentally sensitive areas
• involve deforestation or loss of biodiversity
• involve involuntary resettlement issues
• involve the processing, handling, or disposal of toxic and hazardous substances, and
• involve environmentally sensitive activities that also may be of concern to a wide group of external stakeholders (footnote 9, para. 10 OM F1)


2. TA loans are not included in footnote 4 of OM F1 that defines "project" in the context of discussion on "General Requirements for Environmental Assessment". In this context, are TA loans and supplementary loans to be classified?

Yes. TA loans and supplementary loans should be treated like ordinary loans that are subject to ADB's EA requirement and therefore should be classified.

3. At what stage of the project cycle is the environment category confirmed? Can the category be changed later?

The environment category of the project is confirmed at Management Review Meeting (MRM). Yes. Environmental assessment is an ongoing process and thus, if project circumstances (i.e. a major change in scope) warrant a change in category, project re-classification is initiated.

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Public Consultation and Information Disclosure

1. Should and how public consultation requirements be fulfilled for a category A project when the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report has been prepared prior to ADB involvement?

ADB will review the public consultation and disclosure carried out by the project sponsor during and after preparation of the environmental assessment report. If necessary, ADB and the project sponsor should agree on a supplemental public consultation and disclosure program to meet the requirements of OM F1 and address any deficiencies identified by ADB.

If the project is classified as category A, and no consultation whatsoever has been carried out (this would be contrary to good practice and inconsistent with most DMCs' environmental assessment requirements), then the sponsor should agree to:

• consult stakeholders on the draft EIA and incorporate their views in a revised EIA, and
• consult stakeholders on the revised EIA, and how it addresses their concerns.


2. What is the 120-day SEIA disclosure rule?

This rule requires the disclosure of Summary EIA (SEIA) to give the affected public and interested NGOs, the final chance to review the SEIA, and raise comments to the Board of Director concerned before project loan approval.

3. The Environment Policy requires disclosure of Summary Initial Environmental Examination (SIEE) or SEIA reports to the public. If the SIEE is only a supplementary appendix to the Report and Recommendations of the President (RRP) to the Board how can this requirement be met?

It is recommended that SIEE be a core appendix. However, in cases where there are no major issues and where the SIEE cannot be accommodated as a core appendix, the SIEE is attached as a supplementary appendix to the RRP. It is then uploaded to the ADB web site and distributed to ADB Depository Libraries upon Board approval of the loan. The project team leader should receive the borrower's clearance to release the SIEE before the SIEE is disclosed to the public.

4. Given staff mobility within ADB and in anticipation of a possible inspection case to be filed against ADB, who should be the repository of project records on public consultation and information disclosure within ADB?

The Central File should be the repository of ADB's official project record.

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IEE/EIA and Summary Reports, Environmental Management Plan (EMP), and Budget

1. Is EMP an integral part of the EIA or a separate document?

In some countries, the EMP is a document prepared separate from the EIA. ADB's format for EIA recommends the inclusion of a description of the EMP in the EIA.

2. When does an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) need to be prepared? Does it need to be prepared for all types of projects?

An EMP is a procedural requirement only for projects with significant adverse environmental impacts (category A and category B projects deemed environmentally sensitive by the CCO) requiring mitigation measures, monitoring and reporting programs, and an institutional arrangement to manage these during project operation. Other category B projects may also benefit from an EMP based on mutual agreement between RSES and the project team, as appropriate. A more detailed EMP may be prepared at a later stage.

3. When a project is classified as category B, requiring an IEE by ADB, but the borrowing country's regulations require an EIA for the project, which document is prepared, an IEE or EIA?

The borrower prepares an EIA following the government's regulation. However, to meet ADB's EA requirement, the substantive contents of the report shall be reformatted following the ADB's IEE format. ADB staff request the borrower to follow the ADB-prescribed environmental assessment format wherever possible. Some departure from ADB's recommended report format may be accepted, provided that all the major elements to be covered by the report (see recommended outline in EA guidelines) are properly addressed.

4. A maximum of five pages is prescribed for a core appendix in the RRP. Does this mean that the SIEE be limited to 5 pages?

Yes. This is true for SIEEs included as a core appendix of the RRP. SIEE circulated under the 120-day rule does not follow the five page limit. For details, please read the Environmental Assessment Guidelines.

5. Can an SIEE or SEIA be circulated to the Board of Directors prior to receipt of the national environmental regulatory agency's approval of the IEE/EIA? What is the latest stage when IEE/EIA clearance should be received?

Wherever possible, the borrower gives its final clearance of the EIA or IEE before the SEIA or SIEE is submitted to the Board. Where this is not possible, and final government clearance has still not been received before the conclusion of loan negotiations, a loan covenant requiring government clearance of the EIA or IEE is to be included in the loan agreement.

6. How can we correctly budget for a PPTA to ensure that we have sufficient resources in the case a category B project turns into a category A project because of the findings of the IEE?

In most cases, the likely significance of the potential environmental impacts can be identified during the project classification. It is rare that something completely unforeseen arises during the conduct of the IEE. (In some cases in the past, a category A component was dropped to retain the original category of the entire project.)

In general, when there is potential for significant impacts and there is also considerable uncertainty, it is better to take a conservative approach and classify the project as category A and budget accordingly. However, if it is decided to classify the project as category B and there is likelihood that the project may ultimately be categorized as A, then adequate contingency should be set aside for this possibility.

7. What is the appropriate level of consultant input for an IEE?

There is a base level of input of about 1 person month - associated with understanding the assignment, ADB's environmental assessment requirements, the DMC's environmental assessment requirements and preparation of the IEE report. For projects that require major mitigation measures and monitoring programs, 0.5 to 1 additional person months may be required to prepare adequate environmental management plans. A simple site visit and field investigation will usually require about 0.25 person month. For projects that involve a large number of sites or subprojects, additional inputs may be needed for multiple field investigations. The amount of input will depend on the number and nature of field investigations. The level of effort assumes that there is no primary data collection or environmental sampling required.

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EA Requirements and Lending Modality

1. Based on the new OM F1, what is required from the project proponent of the sector loan?

The project proponent should:

• develop an environmental assessment and review procedure (EARP) that describes how it would screen the subprojects, develop the selection criteria, review the EA reports for subprojects, monitor compliance, arrange for submission of reports to ADB, and identify and develop its capacity to carry out the EA work
• prepare an IEE for identified core subprojects, and
• based on the IEE of a representative subproject, prepare a sample SIEE and include as a core appendix of the RRP to describe the range of applicable mitigation measures for similar subprojects under the sector loan.


2. Based on the new OM F1, what should be the scope of an environmental assessment report for a loan involving a financing intermediary (FI)?

The environmental assessment report for a loan involving a FI should report on the FI's environmental management system that describes its environment policy, project screening including selection criteria, review of EA reports, monitoring of compliance, reporting procedure, and capacity of the institution to carry out this work.

3. An urban development project loan has several investment components and a FI component. What report is required from the project proponent?

The project proponent should prepare a SIEE covering all investment components with significant environmental impacts, and an environmental assessment and review procedure for the FI component (please refer to item 19).

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Scope of Environmental Assessment Requirement

1. If ADB finances a power plant but not the transmission line system from the power station. Does the environment assessment cover the transmission line?

Yes. ADB's environment assessment process covers all components of projects, whether financed by ADB, governments, or co-financiers. Wherever possible, a single environmental assessment will be conducted to satisfy the requirements of ADB and the co-financiers. While the scope of the environmental assessment covers the project in a broad sense, the specification of detailed mitigation measures to be implemented by the borrower will focus on those components for which the borrower and consequently ADB has some influence.

2. Some grants have policy or investment components that may have potential environmental impacts. Are they subject to ADB's environmental assessment requirement?

Yes. Grants (like JFPR, GEF) are subject to ADB's EA requirement.

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Pre-PPTA Fact-Finding Meeting among the Project Team Leader and Environment Specialists

1. The idea of a project team holding a meeting before the Project Preparatory Technical Assistance (PPTA) fact-finding with the Environment Specialist (ES) from the Regional Department (RD) and from the Environment and Social Safeguard Division (RSES) is a good one. What is the objective?

The objective of the pre-PPTA fact-finding meeting is to get a better understanding of the project and the applicable EA requirement, and to gather enough information that would aid in the process of determining the scope of the EA.

Discussion with the ES in RSES should focus on:

• potential environmental issues and likely mitigation measures in the context of similar project experiences in the past
• applicable government's environmental regulations, and
• capacity of the national environmental protection agency, the executing agency, and other relevant government institutions.



This is also an opportunity for the project team leader to request any or all of the following information:

• PTL's Environmental Safeguard Checklist
• PTL's Public Consultation and Information Disclosure (PCID) Tools (stakeholder analysis, approaches & GP for PCID)
• Environment Categorization Form and REA Checklist
• Relevant sector guidelines
• Sample EA TOR
• Annotated format of and sample of EA report
• Environmental and other relevant country regulations and
• ADB's Accountability Mechanism

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Change in Scope

1. What happens when there is a major change in scope during project implementation?

A major change is one that materially alters or fundamentally affects the project's purpose (immediate objectives), components, costs, benefits, procurement, or other implementation arrangements as approved by the Board. All major changes in scope must be screened for environmental significance, and classified accordingly. All proposed changes that are classified as category A require an EIA and those classified as B require an IEE. In the case of environmentally sensitive changes, the SEIA or SIEE must be made available to the general public, as well as the Board, at least 120 days before the change in scope is approved.

Safeguard Policy Compliance (SPC) Memorandum

1. When is the second SPC memo issued?

On some occasions, a second SPC memo can be issued when there is a second MRM or second PSCCM (Private Sector Coordination Committee Meeting) to advise Management if there are remaining safeguard compliance-related issues. This happens when actions recommended to ensure compliance in the first SPC memo have not been done as advised by Management in the first MRM or assurance of compliance after loan approval is considered weak by the CCO.

2. Should all applicable environmental safeguard requirements in a loan be complied with before project loan approval?

EA is an ongoing process and certain requirements are met during implementation. In cases where, for example, an environmental issue requires further study to identify and develop the mitigation measures, a project may be deemed compliant at loan approval if the loan agreement includes an assurance to complete the study before loan disbursement proceeds.

The guidelines is available online.