A broader and more general environmental impact statement that sets forth development standards and review thresholds for future developments, usually for a larger or more complicated area.
Allow for more efficient and cost-effective environmental review of future developments.
Because it is not as detailed as typical EIS, careful consideration is required of how large an area to study, how long a time period to consider, and what data to gather and analyze.
- On-going administrative burden as developments take place.
- Technical studies required.
- Coordination among multiple land owners required.
By exempting future projects, there is a strong incentive for developers to conform with the GEIS plan to save the costs and time of an individual EIS. Can be a useful tool for comprehensive, long term planning and implementation over a large or complex geography. A portion of the cost of preparing the GEIS can be placed on developers.