Leather/Skin/Hide Processing Industry - Environmental Clearance

Conceptual Facets of EIA2.8.1 Direct impactsDirect impacts occur through direct interaction of an activity with an environmental,social, or economic component. The activities in the Tannery may contaminate the basicenvironmental media. For example, a discharge of effluents from the leather/skin/hideprocessing industry into a river may lead to a decline in water quality in terms of highbiochemical oxygen demand (BOD) or dissolved oxygen (DO) or rise of water toxins orrise of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), etc.2.8.2 Indirect impactsIndirect impacts on the environment are those which are not a direct result of the project,often produced away from or as a result of a complex impact pathway. The indirectimpacts are also known as secondary or even tertiary level impacts. For example,ambient air SO 2 rise due to stack emissions may deposit on land as SO 4 and cause acidicsoils. Another example of indirect impact, is the decline in water quality due to rise intemperature of water bodies receiving cooling water discharge from the nearby industry.This, in turn, may lead to a secondary indirect impact on aquatic flora in that water bodyand may further cause reduction in fish population. Reduction in fishing harvests,affecting the incomes of fishermen is a third level impact. Such impacts are characterizedas socio-economic (third level) impacts. The indirect impacts may also include growthinducingimpacts and other effects related to induced changes to the pattern of land use oradditional road network, population density or growth rate. In the process, air, water andother natural systems including the ecosystem may also be affected.2.8.3 Cumulative impactsCumulative impact consists of an impact that is created as a result of the combination ofthe projects evaluated in the EIA together with other projects in the same vicinity, causingrelated impacts. These impacts occur when the incremental impact of the project iscombined with the cumulative effects of other past, present and reasonably foreseeablefuture projects. Figure 2-3 depicts the same. Respective EAC may exercise theirdiscretion on a case-by-case basis for considering the cumulative impacts.2.8.4 Induced impactFigure 2-3: Cumulative ImpactThe cumulative impacts can be due to induced actions of projects and activities that mayoccur if the action under assessment is implemented such as growth-inducing impacts andTGM for Tanneries August 20102-15