NOISE ASPECTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE: CRITICAL ISSUES AND PROPOSALS

Directive 2011/92/EU has harmonized the principles for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure of projects by introducing minimum requirements, with regard to the type of projects subject to assessment, and, recently, Directive 2014/52/EU has proposed amendments in order to strengthen the quality of the EIA, aligning that procedure with the principles of smart regulation and enhance coherence and synergies with other Union legislations and policies. Noise issues are present in EIA procedure, having in many cases, such as major transport infrastructures, a prevalent role. The preliminary activities of investigation of EIA procedures of the projects, carried out by Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) at Italian national level, considering noise aspects, have highlighted many critical issues, about the assessment methods, the technical requirements and the monitoring activities. Most of the problems encountered are discussed in this paper, together with the related proposals, to be carried out in order to strengthen the quality of the EIA procedure, regarding noise issues, considering also the requirements introduced by the newly amended EIA Directive 2014/52/EU.