How to misuse the EIA-tool – a Swedish example

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has its origin in the US National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), of 1969. The EIA-tool has been widely recognised and was implemented in EC-law in 1985. Sweden was late to introduce EIA and it was not fully implemented in the law until 1998, when the Environmental Code came into effect. If we look at how the EIA-instrument has been used in practice, there are deficiencies from several aspects. One is the requirement to present alternatives to the proposed action, which is considered to be the backbone of EIA. This requirement is often poorly met or even lacking. In this paper, the alternative criterion within EIA is given special attention and is analysed from a Swedish perspective. The emphasis is on how the legal requirements, in relation to the EIA, are met and how the reasoning of the courts goes, in reaching their decision.