Geothermal environmental impact assessment studies in Hebei Province, China

Abstract

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) work is becoming more and more extensive in the world because of its importance and practicality and is becoming a powerful safeguard in the project planning process. Every country has its own EIA system. It is an aid to decision-making and to the minimization or elimination of environmental impacts at an early planning stage. The EIA process is potentially a basis for negotiations between the developer, public interest groups and the planning regulator. There are many techniques used in EIA in the world, such as matrices, checklists, overlay maps, and networks. Geothermal resources are abundant in the Hebei province, China and are widely utilized, providing considerable economic and environmental benefits. EIA work in this field has not yet been developed there. The purpose of this report is to find suitable techniques for carrying out EIA for the geothermal fields in Hebei province, by comparison of several EIA methods used throughout the world. This work led to the following recommendations for Hebei province: Use matrices and checklists for impact identification and potential impacts. Use the pollution factor index method for quantitative analysis of pollutant components and degrees of pollution. Prediction and mitigating measures should be improved beyond the present local technical level.