| Recent legislation (e.g., Ontario's Environmental Assessment Act of 1975) has established the need for methodologies to organize and synthesize data which will aid an assessor in evaluating the impact of projects on the environment.;The major objective of this paper was to examine and evaluate existing methodologies. To do this successfully, criteria for evaluating methodologies had to be established. Ten criteria were considered to be appropriate after an examination of the way in which the methodology fitted into the expected format of the environmental assessment.;Nine methodologies were discussed and evaluated for the degree to which they fulfilled each criterion. Those considered were: (1) checklists, (2) visual overlays, (3) Regional Environmental Management Allocation Process (REMAP), (4) Leopold Matrix, (5) networks, (6) Stover's Procedure, (7) Fischer-Davies Approach, (8) Battelle Environmental Evaluation System, (9) Berkeley Environmental Simulation Project.;Although there are other methodologies in existence, it was felt that the ones presented in this paper cover the range of methodologies presently available to the assessor.;It was decided that no available methodology could be recommended for all types of projects. Specific methodologies were, however, suggested for specific project types. The Visual Overlay Technique and REMAP can be successfully employed to plan land use and to select a corridor. The Berkeley Simulation Project has been successfully employed for projects in urban areas, and certainly has much to offer a project of this type. The Battelle EES was developed expressly for water projects and can be recommended for facilities affecting the aquatic environment.;These methods, plus the other five considered, must be significantly revised before they can be implemented with confidence. Although much work has been done in developing methodologies, much more is required before they can meet the rigorous requirements of environmental assessment. |
