According to Wikipedia, an Environmental Impact Assessment is the process of evaluating the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or project before a decision is made to proceed. The term Environmental Impact Assessment is commonly used for actual projects carried out by individuals or companies, while Strategic Environmental Assessment applies to policies, plans, and programmes that are typically proposed by government institutions.
Environmental Impact Assessment is a tool of environmental management and forms part of the project approval and decision making process. Environmental assessments may be guided by administrative procedures that require public participation and proper documentation of decisions, and they may also be subject to judicial review.