| Term (alphabetical order) | Definition |
|---|---|
| Ascertainment | The determination of clues and evidence of environmental damage and imminent threat of damage through information and data collection, analysis and assessment of the event, the effects on natural resources, the environmental quality status ex-ante and ex-post. The ascertainment can be done also by other investigative methods, such as modelling, risk assessment, expert judgement, etc. |
| Biodiversity | The term “Biodiversity” is used in these Practical Guide and Tables with the meaning of species and natural habitats protected by the Habitats and Birds Directives and – if a Member State has adopted the extension – those included in equivalent provisions of national nature conservation legislation. |
| Damage factors1 | Factors that cause adverse effects to the natural resource protected under ELD. They represent the source of the environmental damage. Note that according to EU COM Notice, until the damage factors have caused environmental damage, they should be called potential damage factors. In this Practical Guide, for simplicity, they will always be called damage factors. |
| Damaging occurrence1 | The range of possible occurrences which may cause environmental damage, whether it is an accident, on-going pollution, over-abstraction, killing of animals, etc. Note that according to EU COM Notice, until the damaging occurrence has caused environmental damage, it should be called potential damaging occurrence. In this Practical Guide, for simplicity, it will always be called damaging occurrence. |
| Determination of clues of environmental damage |
The process of evaluation of cases of potential environmental damage that passed the screening phase. This process is preliminary to the determination of the evidence. The purpose of the determination of clues is to identify candidate cases of significant environmental damage and imminent threat of damage and to dismiss non-candidate ones. It involves the collection and evaluation of data, circumstances and other elements of fact or law indicating the possible existence of significant damage or imminent threat of damage in the light of the requirements of the ELD. It concerns evaluations on the characteristics of the source of the impact and on the effects on natural resources. For example, clues of environmental damage may concern the exceedance of the screening concentration values for soil potentially contaminated. |
| Determination of evidence of environmental damage | The process of evaluation of candidate significant environmental damage cases that confirms them as significant environmental damage cases. This process is preliminary to the phase of designing of quantification of damage and definition and designing of remedial measures for land, and primary, complementary and compensatory measures for water and biodiversity damage (where required). The purpose of the determination of evidence is, thus, to confirm the occurrence of significant environmental damage or imminent threat of damage cases in light of the requirements of the ELD. |
| DRIVER | It is the occupational activity responsible for damage and/or imminent threat of damage. For ELD art. 2, par. 7. “occupational activity” means any activity carried out in the course of an economic activity, a business or an undertaking, irrespectively of its private or public, profit or non-profit character. For ELD art. 2, par. 6. “operator” means any natural or legal, private or public person who operates or controls the occupational activity or, where this is provided for in national legislation, to whom decisive economic power over the technical functioning of such an activity has been delegated, including the holder of a permit or authorisation for such an activity or the person registering or notifying such an activity. |
| ELD case and non-ELD case | ELD case is a case where the environmental damage or imminent threat is found significant in light of the requirements of the ELD. Non-ELD case is a case where the environmental damage under ELD has not occurred or is not determined. |
| Environmental damage | Article 2(1) of the ELD provides that “environmental damage” means: (a) damage to protected species and natural habitats, which is any damage that has significant adverse effects on reaching or maintaining the favourable conservation status of such habitats or species. The significance of such effects is to be assessed with reference to the baseline condition, taking account of the criteria set out in Annex I; Damage to protected species and natural habitats does not include previously identified adverse effects which result from an act by an operator which was expressly authorised by the relevant authorities in accordance with provisions implementing Article 6(3) and (4) or Article 16 of Directive 92/43/EEC or Article 9 of Directive 79/409/EEC or, in the case of habitats and species not covered by Community law, in accordance with equivalent provisions of national law on nature conservation. (b) water damage, which is any damage that significantly adversely affects: (i) the ecological, chemical or quantitative status or the ecological potential, as defined in Directive 2000/60/EC, of the waters concerned, with the exception of adverse effects where Article 4(7) of that Directive applies; or (ii) the environmental status of the marine waters concerned, as defined in Directive 2008/56/EC, in so far as particular aspects of the environmental status of the marine environment are not already addressed through Directive 2000/60/EC. (c) land damage, which is any land contamination that creates a significant risk of human health being adversely affected as a result of the direct or indirect introduction, in, on or under land, of substances, preparations, organisms or micro-organisms. Refer to EU COM Notice as regards all aspects of the definition of “environmental damage”. |
| EU COM Notice | Commission Notice C(2021) 1860 final titled “Guidelines providing a common understanding of the term “environmental damage” as defined in Article 2 of Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage” and published on 25 March 2021. |
| Immediate Management of Damage Factors | EU COM Notice defines it as “all practicable steps to immediately control, contain, remove or otherwise manage the relevant contaminants and/or any other damage factors in order to limit or prevent further environmental damage and adverse effects on human health or further impairment of services”. Along with the necessary remedial measures they are required to be taken when environmental damage has occurred (see article 6(1)(a) of ELD). |
| Imminent threat of damage | Art. 2, par. 9, ELD defines it as a “sufficient likelihood that environmental damage will occur in the near future”. |
| IMPACT | Adverse effects on reference concepts of a natural resource under ELD. |
| ISPD Tables | The ISPD tables are tables concerning the IMPACT, STATE, PRESSURE and DRIVER components of the DPSIR model that was adapted to environmental damage assessment and proposed in the CAED Guidelines and Tables. See the "Explanatory notes" sheet to know how their structure, content, and purpose. |
| PRESSURE | Potential damaging occurrences and related potential damage factors giving rise to an IMPACT or to a potential IMPACT on protected natural resources under ELD. In other words, PRESSURE represents potential damaging occurrences and potential damage factors exposing protected natural resources under ELD to an IMPACT or to a potential IMPACT. |
| Reference concepts1 | EU COM Notice states: “For all three categories of natural resource, the definition of “environmental damage” uses a reference concept to determine whether adverse effects are relevant. For protected species and natural habitats, the reference concept is the favourable conservation status of these species and habitats. For water, it is the ecological, chemical or quantitative status or the ecological potential of waters under the Water Framework Directive and the environmental status of marine waters under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which have different dimensions. For land, it is risks to human health. The function of these reference concepts is to provide parameters and criteria against which the relevance of adverse effects can be examined. The concepts provide elements in respect of which adverse effects are to be measured.” |
| Screening | A preliminary evaluation of cases to identify possible environmental damage and imminent threat of damage cases and to dismiss non-potential environmental damage and imminent threat of damage cases (from the beginning). The screening phase is the very early stage of the evaluation (before the determination of clues). It may be conducted without taking any action of ascertainment/investigation, hence, only in light of the first information/data available about the event and its consequences (no effects/impacts evaluated). For instance, screening is conducted on information and data communicated by the operator or by an authority through a notice reporting about the event. For example, the screening can be useful for environmental inspectors to recognise possible environmental damages or imminent threat of damages as a result of non-compliances discovered during routine/non-routine inspections of regulated/unregulated sites. |
| STATE | Baseline conditions of a natural resource, as defined in art. 2, par. 14 of ELD. The EU COM Notice provides some guidance on how to establish the baseline condition. |
1 See EU COM Notice C(2021) 1860 final.