Evolution of EIA

The phrase `Environmental Impact Assessment ‘comes from Sec. 102 (2) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 1969, USA. Some rudiments of EIA are implicit even in early examples of environmental legislation. Napoleon in 1910 issued a decree which divided noxious occupations into categories: those which must be far removed from habitations, those which may be permitted on the outskirts of towns, and those which can be tolerated even close to habitations, having regard to the importance of the work and the importance of the surrounding dwellings.