THE USE OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN LOCATING SANITARY LANDFILL SITES A CASE STUDY OF ISLAMABAD CITY

Abstract

Solid waste disposal is a crucial problem in most of the cities of Pakistan. The present day practice of solid waste disposal as open dumping in and around the city on low lying areas has resulted in unsightly and insanitary conditions thus polluting the environment . To cope with the situation , sanitary landfill technique is well accepted. An environment profile for open dumping sites in and around the city of Islamabad has .been made. To that end the environmental setting for the two dumping sites namely Kirpa and H-12 has been made to describe and display the existing environmental conditions of the site. A siting criteria selected for locating a sanitary landfill site provides a guide to assess magnitude and importance of various environmental characteristics of the two under study sites Kirpa dumpsite and H - 12 dumpsite and to select a single site which is more suitable for development as a landfill. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) evaluation methodology suggested in the thesis for the under study dumpsites with a provision to convert into landfill sites provides a convenient inventory of impacts for the three stages of development i.e. construction stage, operational stage and post monitoring stage. Major adverse impacts of the three stages can be reduced by using the suggested EIA evaluation methodology as a guide.