Impact scoping is the process of identifying important tissues of a proposal and focusing the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the high priority issues.
Although impact scoping in one form or another has been inherent to EIA for some time, discussion of its development and refinement have not been forthcoming. This thesis traces the progression of impact scoping through time and highlights the need for such processes in EIA. A Focused Environmental Assessment (FEA) approach to impact scoping that is suitable for implementation in an EIA is conceptually developed within this research study, and advantages of its use are delineated. FEA is a three staged process than encourages impact scoping through progressive steps including impact identification, assessment, and management planning. FEA combines a suite of EIA methods including: issues matrices, impact hypothesis statements and pathway diagrams, valued ecosystem components, and stakeholder participation sessions, all of which effectively integrateimpact scoping within an EIA process. The FEA is presented in the thesis within a case study context through application of the process to an oil sands mega-project in northeastern Alberta (the OSLO Project). The components and principles of impact scoping are practically demonstrated in this example. The impact identification stage included a work session attended by the FEA study team and the key stakeholders. This work session resulted in a matrix depicting the important environmental issues that require further assessment. Subsequent assessment work sessions resulted in thirty-five integrated environmental impact hypotheses statements and pathways diagrams (representative examples are given in the thesis) that are used by the FEA study team and key stakeholders in the preparation of impact forecasts, and to document residual impacts. The final work session was held with all of those individuals from the previous sessions, to determine the optimal monitoring and mitigation plans for the impacts. To evaluate the FEA the author of this thesis compared the FEA impact scoping process used for the OSLO Project case to EIA impact scoping processes used for other oil sand projects. Five oil sands projects carried out over a ten year period, in northeastern Alberta, were selected for the evaluation. A set of evaluation criteria was devised and indicators for each criterion were evaluated under the key impact scoping components of equity, effectiveness and efficiency. Based mainly on
the fact that it is the most recent attempt to formalize and impact scoping process, the OSLO Project attained more evaluation criteria than did the other
five oil sands projects. Examples of good impact scoping were also demonstrated in the other EIAs. The attributes of FEA are discussed in detail within the
thesis, as well as the capabilities for integration of the FEA approach with selected EIA administrative processes.