Distillieries - Environmental Clearance

Operational Aspects of an EIAstudies for preparation of an EIA for its appraisal prior to the grant of environmentalclearance. The necessity of which will be decided, depending upon the nature andlocation specificity of the project, by SEAC after scrutiny of the applications seekingenvironmental clearance for Category B projects or activities.The projects requiring an EIA report shall be included in Category B1 and remainingprojects will fall under Category B2 and will not require an EIA report and publicconsultation.4.2.3 Application for prior environmental clearanceThe project proponent, after identifying the site and carrying out a pre-feasibilitystudy, is required to apply for the prior environmental clearance in Form 1 given inAnnexure IV. The proponent has to submit the filled in Form 1 along with prefeasibilityreport and draft ToR for EIA studies to the concerned Authority i.e.,MoEF, Government of India for Category A projects and SEIAA in case of CategoryB projects. Please refer subsequent sections for the information on how to fill Form1, contents of pre-feasibility report and draft ToR for distilleries.Prior environmental clearance is required before starting any construction work, orpreparation of land on the identified site/project or activity by the projectmanagement, except for securing the land.If the application is made for a specific developmental activity, which has an inherentarea development component as a part of its project proposal and the same projectalso attract the construction and area development provisions under 8a and 8b of theSchedule, then the project will be seen as a developmental activity other than 8a and8b of the Schedule.4.2.4 Siting guidelinesThese are the guidelines, stakeholders may consider while siting the developmentalprojects, to minimize the associated possible environmental impacts. In some situations,adhering to these guidelines is difficult and unwarranted. Therefore, these guidelines maybe kept in the background, as far as possible, while taking the decisions.Areas preferably be avoidedWhile siting industries, care should be taken to minimize the adverse impacts of theindustries on immediate neighborhood as well as distant places. Some of the natural lifesustaining systems and some specific landuses are sensitive to industrial impacts becauseof the nature and extent of fragility. In order to protect such sites, the industries maymaintain the following distances, as far as possible from the specific areas listed:Ecologically and/or otherwise sensitive areas: Preferably 5 km; depending on the geoclimaticconditions the requisite distance may be decided appropriately by the agency.Coastal Areas: Preferably ½ km. away from high tide line (HTL).Flood Plain of the riverine system: Preferably ½ km away from flood plain ormodified flood plain affected by dam in the upstream or by flood control systems.Transport/Communication System: Preferably ½ km. away from highway and railwayline.TGM for Distillery Industry 4-6 August 2010