Environment

Strategic environmental assessment

What is SEA?

The SEA process aims to ensure that likely significant environmental effects arising from plans and programmes are identified, assessed, mitigated, communicated and monitored, and that opportunities for public involvement are provided. It enables plan-making authorities to incorporate environmental considerations into decision-making at an early stage and in an integrated way.

The EU Directive (2001/42/EC) is an important advance in planning and environmental law. The objective of the Directive is to:

Provide for a high level of protection of the environment and to contribute to the integration of environmental considerations into the preparation and adoption of plans and programmes with a view to promoting sustainable development.

Transposed into UK legislation in July 2004, the SEA Directive requires an environmental assessment of new plans or programmes in the following sectors: agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy, industry, transport, waste, water, telecommunications, tourism and land use planning. Plans likely to require SEA include: LDFs, RSSs, LTPs, National Park and AONB Management Plans, Health Plans, Regional Economic Strategies (see ODPM SEA guide for more).

A key product of the SEA process is the Environmental Report, published at the end of the process, which must contain:

	an outline of the contents, main objectives of the plan or programme and relationship with other relevant plans and programmes
	the relevant aspects of the current state of the environment and the likely baseline without implementation of the plan or programme
	the environmental characteristics of areas likely to be significantly affected
	the environmental protection objectives, which are relevant to the plan or programme, and the way the objectives and any environmental considerations have been taken into account
	the likely significant effects on the environment (biodiversity, population, human health, fauna, flora, soil, water, air, climatic factors, material assets, cultural heritage, landscape and the interrelationship between the above factors)
	the measures envisaged to prevent, reduce and as fully as possible offset any significant adverse effects on the environment as a result of the plan or programme
	a description of the measures envisaged concerning monitoring
	a non-technical summary