Environmental Impact Reporting
The construction and operation of the HSL will impact the environment considerably. It is stipulated by law that all environmental effects must be brought into view before the minister can make the Route Decision definitive. For this reason, the HSL Project Organization composed an extensive Environmental Impact Report, with predictions about the expected effects for the environment.
These expectations then must be verified. This is done by conducting a (statutory) assessment of the Environmental Impact Report, which compares the environmental effects that actually occur with the environmental consequences as predicted in the report.
In effect, the assessment of the Environmental Impact Report serves two purposes:
- if the environmental effects are more serious than predicted, the assessment serves as a basis for the decision whether the Minister must take measures to limit the consequences as much as possible or undo them;
- future projects can learn from the experiences in the area of environment that were gained in the HSL project. In this way, the government fulfils its (statutory) obligation to society to take due care of the environment and wildlife.
An assessment report will be made for the HSL after one year of its operation, and again after ten years.