EIA background

Legal framework for EIA

Parliament and the president.

In 2008, sector specific EA guidelines have been developed to facilitate the conduct of EIA in various sectors, such as mining, tourism, energy, health, manufacturing, transportation, agriculture and general construction.

Forestry and wood sector EIA guidelines have been issued in 2002.

• Ghana EIA procedures 1995
• The EPA has issued:  EIA in Ghana; a guide, 1996.
• Ghana's mining and environment guidelines, 1994, also contain instructions for EIA

The regulation states that the goal of EIA is achieving sustainable development and fulfilling the objectives of international agreements.

EPA may request a full EIA for any activity which has the potential to cause significant impacts on the environment. This applies to governmental and private projects, as well as to national and foreign projects.

Schedule 1 and 2 of the Environmental Assessment Regulations provides a list of projects requiring some form/level of assessment. Schedule 1 projects are required to register and obtain an environmental permit. Schedule 2 projects are required to undertake a full EIA before an environmental permit is issued by the EPA

EIA is linked to the environmental permitting system. Environmental permitting decisions are based on the preliminary or full EIA.

EIA is also linked to the planning permit processs, water abstraction and use permits, Energy Commission Permits and National Petroleum Licences, Mining licences etc.    

Institutional setting for EIA

EPA has around 10 regional EPA offices. In relation to EIA, they have the mandate at regional level for screening and review of EIA's (eg. Accra municipal EPA receives around 250 applications per year of which around 10% require full EIA). There are cross-sectoral EIA Technical Review Committees set up in all the 10 regions to support the EPA offices in screening and reviewing of EA applications and reports. The committees make recommendations after the review and submit it to the headquarters for quality assurance and approval. Permit schedules are pepared and approved at national level. Regional EPAs also have a role in compliance monitoring, approval of annual environmental reports and verification of environmental management plans.

EIA procedure

The Environmental Assessment Regulations (1999) contain positive lists that specify the projects subject to EIA. Schedule I of the regulation lists the activities that require registration and an environmental permit, and may also require a preliminary or a full EIA. The list specifies minimum thresholds. Schedule II lists the activities that require a full EIA, this list also specifies minimum thresholds. EPA may request a full EIA after review of the preliminary EIA. EPA can also request a full EIA for any activity that is not listed.

A proponent has to submit a registration form or environmental screening form to the EPA for all activities listed in Schedule I and II. The EPA then decides on the need for further study of the activities and on the level of detail of the study. For Schedule I activities, EPA may request a preliminary or full EIA, it may also request a full EIA after review of the preliminary EIA. For all activities in Schedule II the EPA will require a full EIA. Furthermore, the EPA may accept the proposed activities directly if no EIA is deemed necessary, or reject proposed activities outright.  The screening decision is issued in a report.

The screening documentation submitted by the proponent should contain information on:

• Details on the proposed activity (including a description of waste generation);
• The proposed location ( location, zoning, site description, land cover and topography);
• Infrastructure and utilities;
• Environmental impacts (air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, water quality and hydrology, noise, other impacts); 
• Health and safety impacts;
• Management of impacts (air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, water quality and hydrology, noise others);
• Alternatives to the establishment of the activity;
• List of stakeholders consulted (including evidence).
  

The preliminary EIA should complement the information already submitted in the screening document, in particular, it should contain a more detailed description of the effects on the environment.

During scoping, the Proponent is directed to advertise the project in at least one national newspaper and a local newspaper. The proponent should consult  with affected parties. The public may also express their view to the managing director of the proposed activity and the executive director of EPA. Furthermore the proponent should also give notice of the proposed undertaking to the relevant Ministries, government departments and organisations and the relevant Metropolitan, Municipal or District Assembly.

Finally, the proponent has to produce a scoping report, which includes a Terms of  Reference for the EIA. The proponent makes the scoping report available for the general public. The EPA reviews the ToR and has to approve it before the EIA can proceed.

The scoping report contains a description of any issues raised during  consultation process, and how these will be addressed in the EIA. The scoping document should contain a draft Terms of Reference. The EIA regulation stipulates that this ToR contain:

• a description of the activity;
• the need for the activity;
• alternatives (including a 'no-build' alternative, and site- alternatives);
• site selection;
• the current environmental, social and economic situation;
• potential impacts;
• the potential impact on health;
• mitigation measures;
• monitoring ;
• contingency plans;
• public consultation;
• illustrative materials;
• an Environmental Management Plan;
• financial compensation for possible damage; and
• transboundary impacts.

The EIA report has to contain information on direct and indirect impacts of the undertaking on the environment at the pre-construction, construction, operation, decommissioning and post-decommissioning phases, including:

• Concentrations of pollutants in the environment;
• Direct ecological changes;
• Alteration in the ecological processes;
• Consequences such as direct destruction of existing habitats;
• Noise and vibration levels;
• Odour;
• Traffic generation and potential increase of road accidents;
• Changes in social, cultural and economic patterns;
• Health impact;
• If relevant, reclamation plans (for extractive industry and mining)
  

The Environmental Assessment reports (both preliminary EIA and EIA report) are required to be easily understandable and must contain a non-technical summary.

The EIS draft report is reviewed by the EPA, assisted by a cross-sectoral technical committee consisting of  officials of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology and other government agencies. EPA uses an 'instructions for reviewing EIA reports' document. The review should result in a summary of strengths and weaknesses of the report, needs for further study (if any), any impact monitoring required and any terms and conditions that should apply if approval is granted.

The EPA and Committee make the decision whether a revision of the EIA report is required or whether approval can be issued by the EPA. Then the EIA report may be finalized.

EPA may decide to hold a public hearing on the proposed activity, if a strong public concern is expressed within 21 days after the public notice when resettlement fo communities may occur or in case of extensive and far reaching effects on the environment. In this case, EPA  will appoint a panel of three to five persons to gather information on the public concerns and how these could be addressed. At least two-thirds of the panel members must be residents of the geographic area where the activity will be undertaken.

Through the review committee relevant expertise from within government can be involved in review. In certain cases the EPA may request for review support from external/international accredited EIA institutions in the review of EIA reports.

The EPA publishes in the Gazette and the mass media and in such form as the EPA shall determine notice of every environmental permit issued by it within 3 months of the date of issue of the permit.

Monitoring is required. The EPA has established Field Office and headoffice departments that undertake compliance monitoring, evaluation and enforcement of conditions.

Within 24 months after commencing the activity, the proponent should send evidence to the EPA that the activity is in line with the conditions written in the EIA. The proponent then obtains an Environmental Certificate. A (provisional) Environmental Management Plan should be submitted to the EPA within 18 months and thereafter every three years. An Annual Environmental Report should be submitted to the EPA after 12 months and  every 12 months thereafter. Monitoring Regimes and parameters are defined in permitting schedules on case by case basis.

Public concerns are a key criteria in arriving at a screening decisions. (LI 1652). For a full EIA, the affected and interested parties should be consulted at every stage of the EIA process. The public may make comments on the scoping report, make field visits, may comment on the draft EIA report and, if a public hearing is deemed necessary, be involved in the public hearing. The stakeholders, to be involved are: the general public, relevant public agencies, organizations, NGOs, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and local communities. EPA holds a public hearing as part of an Environmental Impact Statement review  in the following cases: 

• The expected environmental impacts are considered extensive and far reaching;
• There is great adverse public reaction to a proposal; and/or
• There will be relocation or dislocation of communities. 

The decision for public hearing is made by EPA guided by the provisions of the LI 1652.

A person aggrieved by a decision or action of the EPA may submit a complaint in writing to the Minister within 14 days. As an "aggrieved person" is not further defined in the regulations LI 1652, this could mean the proponent, the public/non-governmental organizations or private parties. This implies that:

• When a proponent is dissatisfied with an unfavorable decision by the EPA at any stage of the process, there is a right of appeal. The Minister responsible for environment appoints a board to hear the appeal and take a final decision on the proposed undertaking.
• In cases where a public hearing is held in cases because adverse public reaction appeared upon a notice of the draft EIA, the public also has the right to submit a complaint against the decision by the EPA to issue an Environmental Permit.

Any decision by EPA

EIA practice

Applications for permits and certificates increased from 515 in 2002 to 1555 in 2005 and to 2105 in 2008. Estimated no of full EIAs per year is about 50

There is no EIA database, but first steps have been taken in the framework of the decentralization to have on-line application forms, computerization of the EIA permitting system in every region.

Copies of all EISs are kept in the EPA library.

There is no accredicted system to certify consultants. The EPA has a list of all consultants trained by the Agency.

There is the so-called Akoben initiative, which refers to an initiative which aims to improve the monitoring system following the EIA, rating companies on their environmental performance to implement the environmental management system (EMS) and making this information available on a publicly available website. This innovative approach is expected to improve compliance. The software has been developed by a consultant and has been subject of a public review. It is now being installed by EPA for wide application.

Several studies have taken place that have looked specifically at EIA practice and regulation in Ghana:

• Results of EPA and Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment EIA mapping exercise in Ghana.
• EIA in developing countries: the case of Ghana, by S. Appiah-Opoku. In EIA Review 21 (2001) 59-71.
• UNECA 's EIA review of Ghana, 2004 
• Review of EIA in selected African countries, Economic Commission of Africa, 2005. 
• Ghana: country environmental analysis, World Bank, 2006.  
• Piloting the Use of Ghanaian systems to address environmental issues in the proposed world Bank-Assisted Ghana Energy Development and Access Project; safeguards diagnostic review, The World Bank 2006.

Many capacity building activities have taken place in the framework of the Ghana Environmental Assessment Capacity Development Project (GeaCap phase 1, 1999-2001), the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy 2002-2004 and the Ghana Environmental Assessment and Support Project 2006-2008.

Periodic training workshops organized for various groups at the EPA Training School (latest one in 2009).

EIA links

• Ghana EPA website on environmental assessment.
• Ghana Legal environmental information (GHANALEX) Environmental Assessment Regulations