Norsk Hydro and the Icelandic power company are conducting the EIAs which they plan to present to the Ministry of Environment before the end of March 2001.
Last year the NGOs forced the power company and smelter builders to abandon a similar, combined scheme in a neighboring delta by exposing the inadequacy of the EIAs they carried out.
"This effectively means that the data collection for the EIAs will be conducted within the short summer season, since the companies involved only started them in Spring 2000, " said Arni Finnsson of the Iceland Nature Conservation Association.