Distillieries - Environmental Clearance

Conceptual Facets of EIA2.2 Pollution Control StrategiesPollution control strategies can be broadly categorized in to preventive and reactive. Thereactive strategy refers to the steps that may be applied once the wastes are generated orcontamination of the receiving environment takes place. The control technology or acombination of technologies to minimize the impact due to the process rejects/wastesvaries with quantity and characteristics, desired control efficiency and economics.Many combinations of techniques could be adopted for treatment of a specific waste orthe contaminated receiving environment, but are often judged based on techno-economicfeasibility. Therefore, the best alternative is to take all possible steps to avoid pollutionitself. This preventive approach refers to a hierarchy that involves i) prevention &reduction; ii) recycling and re-use; iii) treatment; and iv) disposal, respectively.Therefore, there is a need to shift the emphasis from the reactive to preventive strategyi.e., to promote preventive environmental management. Preventive environmentalmanagement tools may be grouped into management based tools, process based tools andproduct based tools. A few of them are given below:Management Based Tools Process Based Tools Product Based ToolsEnvironmental ManagementSystem (EMS)Environmental PerformanceEvaluationEnvironmental AuditsEnvironmental Reportingand CommunicationTotal Cost AccountingLaw and PolicyTrade and EnvironmentEnvironmental EconomicsEnvironmental Technology AssessmentToxic Use ReductionBest Operating PracticesEnvironmentally Best PracticeBest Available Technology (BAT)Waste MinimizationPollution PreventionCleaner Production4-R ConceptCleaner TechnologyEco-efficiencyIndustrial EcologyExtended ProducersResponsibilityEco-labelingDesign forEnvironmentLife CycleAssessment (LCA)2.3 Tools for Preventive Environmental ManagementThe tools preventive environmental management can be broadly classified in to followingthree groups.Tools for assessment and analysis - risk assessment, life cycle assessment, total costassessment, environmental audit / statement, environmental benchmarking,environmental indicatorsTools for action - environmental policy, market based economic instruments,innovative funding mechanism, EMS and ISO certification, total environmentalquality movement, eco-labeling, cleaner production, eco-efficiency, industrialecosystem or metabolism, voluntary agreementsTools for communication - state of environment, corporate environmental reportingSpecific tools under each group are discussed precisely in next sections.TGM for Distillery Industry August 20102-2