Environmental Regulatory Agencies Research Articles

DATA RESISTANCE: A SOCIAL MOVEMENT ORGANIZATIONAL AUTOETHNOGRAPHY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA AND GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE.

The dismantlement of evidence-based environmental governance by the Trump Administration requires new forms of activism that uphold science and environmental regulatory agencies while critiquing the politics of knowledge production. The Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI) emerged after the November 2016 U.S. Presidential elections, becoming an organization of over 175 volunteer researchers, technologists, archivists, and activists innovating more just forms of government accountability and environmental regulation. Our successes include: 1) leading a public movement to archive vulnerable federal data evidencing climate change and environmental injustice; 2) conducting multi-sited interviews of current and former federal agency personnel regarding the transition into the Trump administration; 3) tracking changes to federal websites. In this article, we conduct a "social movement organizational autoethnography" on the field of movements intersecting within EDGI and on our theory, tactics, and practices. We offer ideas for expanding and iterating on methods of public, collaborative scholarship and advocacy.

Heavy metals accumulation and endocrine disruption in Prochilodus argenteus from a polluted neotropical river

Heavy metals are considered major pollutants of aquatic environments due to the difficulty of metabolization and the bioaccumulative potential in tissues of aquatic organisms, especially fish muscle that is often used as food worldwide. In addition to causing cell damage, some metals such as aluminium (Al), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and lead (Pb) can act as endocrine disrupting chemicals in fish. The Paraopeba and Abaete Rivers are important tributaries of the upper São Francisco River basin, but the Paraopeba River receives, along its course, the discharge of many types of effluents that affect fish species, including widely consumed species such as Prochilodus argenteus. This study evaluated histological and molecular changes caused by chronic exposure to heavy metals in P. argenteus from the Paraopeba River and compared this to fish from the non-impacted Abaete River. Sampled fish from both rivers were used in histological analyses and immunohistochemical assays. The results showed increased incidence of histopathologies and changes in number and morphology of germline cells in both sexes. In addition, up-regulated expression of oestrogens-induced proteins in the liver of males were detected in polluted environment. All the alterations were related to the concentration of metals in water and fish. The high concentration of various metals observed in water and fish from Paraopeba River serves as an alert to the environmental and public health regulatory authorities.

The Importance of Developing Exposure Factors Handbook in Nigeria

As environmental conditions continue to change and deteriorate, the residents in African Countries such as Nigeria have become increasingly threatened by continuous exposure to contaminants in gradient concentrations but with little or no adherence to environmental regulations by the government. Nigeria is also facing with great increase in number of potential health risk associated with environmental contamination with the UN projection on increase in population. It is now imperative that the government, regulatory bodies, scientist, industrialist and general public are aware of the dangers that contaminated soil, water, air, foodstuffs, and consumer products pose to humans and the ecosystem and how to manage these risks to protect human and ecological health. However, as of the time of writing the paper, no Environmental regulatory agency in Nigeria has a complied data or handbook will serve as a national index for demonstrating the physiological, food ingestion, and behavioral characteristics of the Nigerian people so as to provide basic information for health risk assessment and risk management. Since African people have unique exposure patterns and specific time-activity owing to the geological, social and economic difference, the existing Exposure Factors Handbooks in North American, Europe and other countries as USA, Canada and China cannot be used in evaluating the risks of Nigerian population.It is thus imperative to develop Exposure Factor Handbook to provide basic information for health risk assessment and to enlighten and sensitize Nigerians on the risks of environmental and health hazards. The paper highlights the significance of exposure factor handbook, the need for Nigeria to join list of countries with exposure factor handbook.

Dissolved air flotation combined to biosurfactants: a clean and efficient alternative to treat industrial oily water

The present review was motivated by the increasing demand of environmental regulatory agencies for the treatment of oily water generated during industrial activities. Flotation is a promising process for this purpose. Particularly, dissolved air flotation (DAF) is the most indicated technology due to its high efficiency and the possibility of controlling the physical variables, such as microbubble size, residence time and concentration of the effluent. DAF can also be optimised with the use of biodegradable tensioactive agents that increase the adhesion of oil particles, thereby enhancing the efficiency of the process. Among such tensioactive agents, biosurfactants are a viable, innovative, eco-friendly option with important properties, such as a reduction in surface tension, low toxicity and stability in the presence of adverse environmental conditions. Therefore, the aim of the present review is to offer a new perspective regarding the use of the flotation process combined with these specific biomolecules.

Environmental Regulatory Authorities in India: An Analysis

Environmental regulatory authorities in India are post-constitutional development. It allowed for a nationally regulated and state-coordinated governance of environment. Federally speaking, while ‘right to decide’ belongs to the centre, states have authority to execute and act upon central decisions in a manner provided under such decisions. The present article analyses the major environmental enactments and structural and functional dimensions of different regulatory authorities both at the national and state levels. Methodologically, primary reliance has been made on acts and orders. The article argues that environmental governance at once is a matter of standardisation of rules and norms of conduct, regulation of policies and activities having considerable bearings on environmental protection and coordinating activities of state and non-state actors. The article concludes that environmental governance is extremely loaded in favour of the centre.

Independent Environmental Regulation in India: Less an Authority and more a Process from Below

With India’s well-intentioned environmental laws and legal interpretations in place, there is still a perceptible weakness in the enforcement of her environmental regulations. This is ascribed to the centralised departmental structure and process of implementation, which prioritise clearances of developmental projects over monitoring and cleaning up of already polluted environments. Although in a democratic set-up, a lack of transparency and participation of knowledgeable stakeholders in decision-making are other process weaknesses noticed. Establishing an Independent Environmental Regulatory Authority has been tried repeatedly but given up mainly because its effectiveness depends on the same resources support as at present, on reliable primary field-level environmental data, not gathered regularly now and on sustained political support. Technically analysing the issues involved, this article suggests a process shift towards a locally relevant, transparent, decentralised, participative and area-science–value-based approach that can strengthen environmental regulation from below.

Agenda‐Setting at the Energy‐Water Nexus: Constructing and Maintaining a Policy Monopoly in U.S. Hydraulic Fracturing Regulation

AbstractDespite calls to increase federal oversight of hydraulic fracturing (HF), the U.S. Congress has maintained a regulatory system in which environmental regulatory authority is devolved to the states. We argue that this system is characterized by a long‐standing “policy monopoly”: a form of stability in policy agenda‐setting in which a specific manner of framing and regulating a policy issue becomes hegemonic. Integrating theories on agenda‐setting and environmental discourse analysis, we develop a nuanced conceptualization of policy monopoly that emphasizes the significance of regulatory history, public perceptions, industry–government relations, and environmental “storylines.” We evaluate how a policy monopoly in U.S. HF regulation has been constructed and maintained through a historical analysis of oil and gas regulation and a discourse analysis of eleven select congressional energy committee hearings. This research extends scholarship on agenda‐setting by better illuminating the importance of political economic and geographic factors shaping regulatory agendas and outcomes.

Decentralized Wastewater Systems in Bengaluru, India: Success or Failure?

Decentralized wastewater treatment and reuse (DWTRU) using small-scale on-site sewage treatment plants (STPs) is an attractive solution addressing the problems of water pollution and scarcity, especially in rapidly urbanizing cities in developing countries, where centralized infrastructure for wastewater treatment is inadequate. But decentralized systems face several challenges (economic feasibility, public acceptance) that need to be better understood. The city of Bengaluru in India provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate such systems. In 2004, in an effort to curb the alarming levels of pollution in its water bodies due to untreated sewage disposal, the environmental regulatory agency mandated apartment complexes above a certain size to install STPs and reuse 100% of their wastewater, resulting in the installation of more than 2200 on-site STPs till date. This study attempts to analyze the factors influencing the extent of treatment and reuse in such systems, through structured surveys of residential associations, STP experts and government officials. The results are analyzed using a framework that integrates the technology adoption literature with the monitoring and enforcement literature. The study indicates that, while no apartment complex is able to reuse 100% of its treated water, there exists significant variation across apartment complexes in the level of treatment and reuse (from partial to poor) due to a complex mix of economies of scale, the price of fresh water, the level of enforcement and awareness, and technological choices made under information asymmetry. Only apartments dependent on expensive tanker water supply had clear economic incentives to comply with the order. Yet many large complexes that depended on low-priced utility or borewell supply were partially compliant, owing partly to lower (although positive) costs, higher level of formal enforcement and perhaps greater environmental awareness. On the other hand, the high treatment cost pushed smaller complexes to curtail the operation of their STPs (and the lower levels of enforcement further worsened this), resulting in inadequate treated water quality and consequently low reuse levels. The study recommends relaxing the infeasible 100% reuse criterion, and raising the threshold size above which DWTRU should be mandated so as to reduce the cost burden and increase enforceability. Subsidies towards capital costs and enabling resale of treated water will enable wider adoption. DWTRU is an apparently attractive solution that however, requires judicious policy-making and implementation to succeed.

Congressional Plenary Power and Indigenous Environmental Stewardship: The Limits of Environmental Federalism

Congressional plenary power has been a powerful force in federal law for over a century, forming the legal foundation of Congress’s extraordinarily wide range of legislation over indigenous Americans, their lands, and their governments. The Supreme Court's corollary Plenary Power Doctrine has bolstered this power over time by requiring highly deferential judicial review of the many statutes related to Indian affairs. Despite the lack of a strong Constitutional foundation, Congress has consistently used the mantle of Plenary Power to legislate in a wide range of indigenous matters and the Supreme Court has declined to place meaningful constraints upon its exercise. In the area of environmental law in particular, Congress exercised its plenary power to delegate environmental regulatory authority through various statutes, including the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and others. These delegations have been widely lauded for the opportunities they created in the area of tribal environmental law. Yet, despite the excitement that these amendments initially brought, their value remains open for debate. For instance, less than .1% of federally recognized tribes have obtained primacy from EPA under one or more of the Tribes as States (TAS) provisions in the environmental statutes. The faulty legal foundation and arguably low level of success of the TAS provisions (particularly when viewed across the entirety of tribal and indigenous lands in the United States) call into question the continuing role and value of the Congressional Plenary Power Doctrine itself. For, while the short-term goal of improving air or water quality might be achieved by the tribes that can manage to satisfy the numerous criteria to obtain primacy in one or more areas, the legal reality is that the federal government still controls the regulatory playing field for the vast majority of tribes, and even for tribes that have obtained TAS status in one area, but not others. This Article examines critically the role of Congressional plenary power, in the past and in the modern era, to illustrate how the Constitutional basis for Congress’s asserted power in this area is inherently flawed. It also explores the pragmatic limitations of Congressional plenary power over tribal environmental quality. Finally, the Article explains how continued recognition of Congressional plenary power over indigenous environmental regulation and environmental quality causes serious and troubling concerns for tribal sovereignty and tribal environmental quality in the long term.

Health risk assessment and soil and plant heavy metal and bromine contents in field plots after ten years of organic and mineral fertilization

Heavy metals and bromine (Br) derived from organic and industrialized fertilizers can be absorbed, transported and accumulated into parts of plants ingested by humans. This study aimed to evaluate in an experiment conducted under no-tillage for 10 years, totaling 14 applications of pig slurry manure (PS), pig deep-litter (PL), dairy slurry (DS) and mineral fertilizer (MF), the heavy metal and Br contents in soil and in whether the grains produced by corn (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under these conditions could result in risk to human health. The total contents of As, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn and Br were analyzed in samples of fertilizers, waste, soil, shoots and grains of corn and wheat. Afterwards, enrichment factor (EF), accumulation factor (AF), health risk index (HRI), target hazard quotient (THQ) and target cancer risk (TCR) were determined. Mineral fertilizer exhibited the highest As and Cr content, while the highest levels of Cu and Zn were found in animal waste. The contents of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in soil were below the limits established by environmental regulatory agencies. However, a significant enrichment factor was found for Cu in soil with a history of PL application. Furthermore, high Zn contents were found in shoots and grains of corn and wheat, especially when the plants were grown in soil with organic waste application. Applications of organic waste and mineral fertilizer provided high HRI and THQ for Br and Zn, posing risks to human health. The intake of corn and wheat fertilized with pig slurry manure, swine deep bed, liquid cattle manure and industrialized mineral fertilizer did not present TCR.

PENGEMBANGAN SISTEM PEMANTAUAN KUALITAS AIR UNTUK MEMANTAU AIR LIMBAH INDUSTRI SECARA ONLINE

The number of industry in Indonesia continues to increase along with the increase in population. The increase in the construction industry will have a positive impact as increasing social and economic life of society. However, the negative impact is the increasing environmental pollution such as air pollution, water pollution and soil. One of the causes of water pollution industrial waste discharged into water bodies without treatment beforehand. Various attempts have been made by the government for the supervision and control of water pollution by issuing laws and regulations, permit to dispose of liquid waste and Proper Program. Nevertheless, there are still companies and industries that discharge wastewater does not meet the requirements is allowed. One effort in monitoring, particularly in the waste disposal industry by applying online monitoring in real-time at the outlet WWTP Industry. This technology is expected to real-time monitoring can be done by government agencies (Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the Regional Environmental Agency) and can send an early warning when there is pollution. This monitoring system generally consists of sensors, data loggers, data communications and data centers. Sensor data from industrial wastewater outlet will be sent to the data center continuously, then the data will be stored and processed by database system and then displayed on Internet. Keyword : industrial wastewater pollution, online monitoring, wastewater quality, WWTP

Evaluación de los modelos de gestión de proyectos rurales de agua potable y saneamiento básico implementados en los llanos de Colombia

Esta investigación busca diagnosticar los modelos de gestión de proyectos rurales de agua potable y saneamiento básico utilizando tres niveles de gobierno en la Orinoquia Colombiana. Se recolectaron 200 proyectos provenientes de la autoridad ambiental regional, gobernación regional y alcaldía municipal. Se seleccionaron 42 proyectos formulados y ejecutados, se utilizaron como insumo para llevara cabo un análisis cualitativo integral de 14 variables. De acuerdo con los resultados no tuvieron en cuenta variables como cambios tecnológicos, sectorización y tipo de comunidades. Variables como SIG, evaluación socioeconómica, participación ciudadana y cobertura fueron tenidas en cuenta parcialmente y variables que se tuvieron en cuenta fueron apropiación tecnológica, RAS 2000, gobernabilidad.Los proyectos evaluados tienden a cumplir parcialmente con los requisitos mínimos establecidos por la ley y no cumplen con parámetros que, aunque no son obligatorios, si son importantes para suplir las necesidades cambiantes de las comunidades en saneamiento básico yagua potable.

QualeAria: European and national scale air quality forecast system performance evaluation

Air quality forecasts are operationally provided by some of the Italian Regional Environmental Agencies. Some of them adopted a coherent modelling framework and implemented the same boundary conditions provided by the national forecast system QualeAria. This network of regional/urban scale air quality forecast systems represents an effective example of consistent methodology adopted to address the requirements of the European directives, to assess, manage and forecast the state of the atmosphere. QualeAria has been evaluated against the observations recorded by regional air quality networks for the years 2015/2016. The role of phenomena generated at regional/global scales, along with the key role of fine-grained information available at local scale has been investigated by comparing QualeAria with the linked systems at different scales.

QualeAria: European and national scale air quality forecast system performance evaluation

Air quality forecasts are operationally provided by some of the Italian Regional Environmental Agencies. Some of them adopted a coherent modelling framework and implemented the same boundary conditions provided by the national forecast system QualeAria. This network of regional/urban scale air quality forecast systems represents an effective example of consistent methodology adopted to address the requirements of the European directives, to assess, manage and forecast the state of the atmosphere. QualeAria has been evaluated against the observations recorded by regional air quality networks for the years 2015/2016. The role of phenomena generated at regional/global scales, along with the key role of fine-grained information available at local scale has been investigated by comparing QualeAria with the linked systems at different scales.

Medical waste management: A social responsibility quandary in India

Medical waste management is of vital importance due to the associated health risks and environmental hazards. In the last decade, the Indian healthcare sector has undergone exponential growth resulting in higher generation of medical waste comprising of several hazardous and toxic elements like infectious and radio-active materials and sharps. These wastes can be tantamount to a grave risk, if not disposedoff properly. Continuous efforts are been made by waste generators and environmental regulatory agencies to better manage the waste from healthcare facilities. The issue of medical waste management is probably ignored and may yet not be a priority; however, there is an urgent need to recognize that proper disposition of medical waste ought to be central when framing policies about ethical responsibilities of these healthcare providers. This paper explores the efficacy of employing the concepts of corporate social responsibility and environmental citizenship in management of medical waste and reviews the problems faced by the society due to malpractices in medical waste disposal. The study also provides a comprehensive review of the current management practices of medical waste minimisation in India and aims at identifying the challenges and recommends some viable strategies for managing this problem.

Ecotoxicological effects of downstream wastewater samples on Cloeon perkinsi larvae, Rana temporaria tadpoles and Clarias gariepinus frys and fingerlings

Indiscriminate dumping of refuse and direct defaecation into surface water bodies alter physico-chemical qualities of the water and adversely affect the existence of certain fauna. Downstream water samples were collected from five streams (Irefin, Gege, Gbagi, Odinjo and Omi Adio) receiving domestic wastes in Ibadan and a control stream within the University of Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Physico-chemical qualities of the downstream water were analysed using standard methods.  Acute toxicity of contaminated water was investigated on some fauna. The 48-hour-LC50 of stream samples was determined for Cloeon perkinsi (mayfly) larvae (CP); while 96-hour-LC50 for Rana temporaria tadpoles, Clarias gariepinus frys (CG1) and fingerlings (CG2) were determined using Probit method. Zero dissolved oxygen values were recorded for Irefin and Gege while 1.07 mg/L was recorded for Odinjo and these were lower than permissible limit for aquatic life. The values of biochemical oxygen demand (43.34 – 160.66 mg/L), chemical oxygen demand (136 – 487.10 mg/L) and phosphate (81.63 – 1877.60 mg/L) recorded for all the samples were significantly higher (P<0.05) than the control sample and were higher than limits set by National Environmental Standards and Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA). The 48-hour-LC50 of contaminated stream water to CP (Irefin, 12.67%; Gege, 8.63%), and 96-hour-LC50 to CG1 (Gege, 0.79%; Gbagi, 2.75%) and CG2 (Gege, 3.33%; Irefin, 5.64%) indicated high toxicity of the sites. High toxicity of the study sites revealed that the streams were polluted in Ibadan. Therefore, there is need for adequate management and disposal of solid wastes to prevent further environmental contamination.

The control of small and medium sized public wastewater treatment plants in the Veneto region (North Italy): general situation, critical issues and case studies

Abstract Water bodies' quality objectives are defined in accordance with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive 91/271/EEC and the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC. For regulation and control of small-sized waste-water treatment plants (WWTPs), responsibility is delegated in Italy to Regional Authorities that fix specific regulations (Water Protection Plan WPP included in the River Basin Management Plan RBMP) in collaboration with the District Authorities. Small (<2,000 population equivalent – PE) and medium sized (2,000–10,000 PE) WWTPs in the Veneto Region (North Italy) represent about 10% of the total organic load (Imhoff systems included). This also comprises some industrial discharges. Due to the urban sprawl, plants are spread over the regional territory. In the Veneto Region, data from the official census reveals there are n. 248 plants under 2,000 PE and 135 plants in 2,000–10,000 range while the total number of authorized plants is 488 for a total potentiality of 9,141,572 PE. Data from institutional controls performed by the Veneto Regional Environmental Agency (ARPAV) on WWTPs has been recovered for all the WWTPs with up to 10,000 PE in the provinces of Venice, Treviso and Vicenza (for a total of 306,118 PE and for a total of 164 plants) in the period 2008–2015 and elaborated to assess critical parameters and plants. The general situation, critical issues and case studies have been presented and discussed. Organic load, nutrients and Escherichia coli are the most critical parameters considering the regional WPP.

INTEGRATED REMOTE SENSING AND GIS FOR MODELING ECONOMIC REHABILITATION DEVELOPMENT OF EX-MINE SITES

The potential environmental impacts of mining, increasing environmental legislation and public awareness have received increased attention world-wide in the last two decades. The focus of concern by the industry, environmental regulatory agencies and members of the public is the systematic rehabilitation of ex-mine sites to improve the quality at site for potential future commercial land use. The minerals extracted from these mine/quarry sites are essential in the construction, semiconductor, high-technology, ceramic and other manufacturing sectors for further industrial development. However, efficient engineering design and systematic economic evaluation of mine sites for site rehabilitation are required in maintaining the expected standards of environmental compliance. With escalating production costs and the keen competitiveness of the mining industry world-wide, the necessity to increase the efficiency in site rehabilitation is getting more prominence. A coordinated environmental protection and rehabilitation programme is essential if the environmental awareness of the community and the demands of the respective planning authorities are to be accommodated. There is thus a need to increase the base of knowledge for efficient planning in the systematic and progressive rehabilitation of current and future ex-mine sites. An efficient modeling tool is required for the systematic planning and design of potential economic land development of ex-mine sites. The applicability of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology is a useful tool to acquire spatial information for the systematic design and planning of potential development of ex-mine sites. This research was conducted to detect the trends in the suitability of land cover changes via land cover change detection of ex-mine sites and validated with reality. The findings are useful to assist in the development of a tool for efficient modeling and design of potential economic development of ex-mine sites. The aim of this research is to quantify, model and map the economic potential of the ex-mine sites for built up areas such as housing and other urban infrastructures. Land cover classes were interpreted into maps and the accuracy of the maps were validated to reference data and actual ground scenarios. The study for validation of the proposed modeling tool was carried out using the large prominent mining area in Malaysia namely the Kinta District. Results from the validation study carried out indicate that the correlation of the results obtained from this Integrated Remote Sensing and GIS tool for modeling to field data is in the range of 0.87-0.92 which is acceptable and close to reality.

COMPETITIVENESS AND THE INCREASING STRATEGY OF COMPETITIVENESS IN TOURISM SECTOR OF TERNATE CITY, NORTH MALUKU PROVINCE

A tourism sector that has high competitiveness can draw a great number of tourists that can result in well-improved regional economy growth, increasing rate of society’s income, and bigger opportunity into the work field. The growth rate of tourist visits in Ternate City from 2011-2015 is increasing, yet its growth percentage is changeable and tends to decrease. This research aimed at: 1) analyzing the competitiveness position of tourism sector of Ternate City against other regions in North Maluku Province; 2) formulating the strategy to increase tourism sector of Ternate City. The data were collected through documentation and interview. The data were obtained from Government Tourism Office, Central Bureau of Statistics, Regional Revenue and Asset Management Office, Development Planning Agency at Regional Level, Environmental Agency and Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia. The data obtained were analyzed using mix-methods consisting of shift share analysis, indexation, and SWOT. The result of this research showed that the performance of tourism sector in Ternate City from 2011-2015 had positive growth better than that from North Maluku Province. This contributed to better society’s economy and employment absorption in Ternate City. The use of Diamond Porter model helped explain that tourism competitiveness in Ternate City is in the top position surpassing the other regencies/ cities in North Maluku Province. The main factor of its competitiveness is the existence of supporting and related industrial activities such as hotel, inn, man power, restaurant and cafe as well as the number of tourist visits. Meanwhile, the less competitive indicators are the number of tourist spots and the regional strategy. Moreover, the government’s role was still considered lower than those from North Halmahera, Morotai, West Halmahera, Tidore, and Central Halmahera. Based on SWOT analysis, the strategies that can maintain and increase the tourism competitiveness in Ternate City are: 1) utulization of Information technology to attract domestic and foreign tourists; 2) building up the cooperation system with the surrounding regions in managing the integrated tourism sector; 3) cooperating with the local and central government in developing the tourism sector; 4)empowering tour operators in attracting the tourists; 5) improving the quality and the quantity of scientific and cultural tourism; 6) facilitating the tourists to enter the tourist destination area.

Evaluation of Environmental Impact Assessment Framework Effectiveness

In 2011, Greece reformed its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system publishing law 4014/2011 on the assessment of effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. However, six years since its issuing, no systematic evaluation has taken place to establish whether this legislative reform achieved its aims. In this paper, the results of an extensive EIA system effectiveness evaluation study which makes use of data from the first ever Greek EIA National Survey, additional in-depth interviews and a quality review of over 100 EIA statements are presented. The methodology involved an exhaustive legislative review juxtaposing the EU and Greek legislative provisions. Furthermore, in order to more holistically evaluate the effectiveness of the EIA system, a National survey was conducted, involving key EIA stakeholders (EIA Specialists and regional Environmental Authorities, as well as in the ministry officials). The results of the study highlight serious issues with the Greek EIA System depicting a chasm between new legal provisions and implementation in practice. The most significant weaknesses are located in the Alternatives, Non-technical Summary and Mitigation measure categories. It should be highlighted that the most significant reason for the insufficiency of the EIA system according to stakeholders is the fact that the supporting tools prescribed in the legislation (e.g. Electronic Environmental Registry) have not yet been activated.