ABSTRACT
Consultation is a vital p a rt o f the EIA process and is at the h eart o f the 1985 EEC Directive. Article 6 o f tha t Directive specifically requires the im plem entation o f public participation and consultation procedures before decisions are m ade on EIA projects. This requ irem en t goes back to the early days o f EIA, particularly in the USA. T he whole concept o f EIA sprang, in part, from a general d isenchan tm ent with environm ental decision-making processes which excluded the public. It was very often the public who suffered m ost from bad p lanning w hen people had to live with the consequences o f decisions over w hich they had little or no influence. EIA was seen by many o f its advocates as a m eans o f m aking public participation and consultation central to environm ental decision m aking1.
