Baseline and significance- EIA lecture 2

Question 1

Where is the content of an Environmental Statement set out?

Answer 1

UK regulations, part II of schedule 4

Question 2

What is a baseline?

Answer 2

General description of an area and particular features such as population size

Question 3

Why do we need to develop?

Answer 3

Population growth
House prices
Job creation
Integration into local policies

Question 4

Describe the consultation process under the Planning Act 2008.

Answer 4

Who do you talk to?
Did this have a role in the scoping process?
Consultation is an iterative process

For example: wind turbines 
Max/min number of turbines
Max/ Min nacelle height 
Max/ min blade tip height 
Minimum clearance above mean sea level 
Minimum separation between turbines

The 2008 Act places a duty upon developers to engage meaningfully with:
Affected communities
Local authorities
Other statutory consultees over their proposal at pre-application.

Question 5

During the consultation process- what must the develop/publicise?

Answer 5

A statement of community consultation

Question 6

What is a statement of community consultation?

Answer 6

Proof of consultation with and have regard to the views of any relevant local authority on the content of the statement.

For example- the horizon nuclear power mission statement- Wylfa Newydd Anglesea.
Includes:
What they are proposing
When they will be consulting
Who and where we will be consulting (zone a, b, c, classified into zones by particular direct or indirect features).
How we will consult with people, groups and community organisation about the Wylfa prject
- newsletters, press adverts, press released, posters, website, engaging with stakeholders, social media. ]

how do you respond?
- feedback forms

Question 7

What are some of the key receptors and possible impacts to take into account for the DIbden Bay development?

Answer 7

Employment
Traffic and Transport
Ecology and nature conservation 
Marine environment
Navigation 
Landscape and visual impacts
Lighting 
Noise and vibration
Air quality 
Agriculture 
Archaeology and cultural heritage 
Freshwater and drainage 
Ground quality 
Services

Question 8

When documenting findings, what is included in the impact section?

Answer 8

Introduction to the area
Important designations
Scoping findings
Methodologies 
Baseline data 
Impact prediction 
Suggested mitigation

Question 9

What are potential receptors?

Answer 9

Population
Flora
Fauna
Soil
Water
Air
climatic factors
Material assets, including architectural 
Archaeological heritage
Landscape
Interrelationships

Question 10

What is supported by an Environmental Management Plan?

Answer 10

Monitoring which can be required as a planning condition

Question 11

How did technology lead to a EIA revolution?

Answer 11

1980s- EIS poorly put together, mixed documentation

1990s/ early 2000s- professionally produced, often single volume, available free of charge or at nominal charge

2006 onwards- all documents online via LPA planning websites; paper copies only by request and at large costs (+200 quid)

New Directive (2014)- requires all documents to be available online across the EU

Although…not everyone has access to technology
Sometimes websites are not easy to navigate

Question 12

What is Baseline data?

Answer 12

Looks at selected parameters (e.g. human beings, flora, fauna, soil, water, air, climate, material assets, cultural heritage) by:

Collecting existing information (desk study, consultation)

Gathering existing additional information by survey work

Question 13

What are the aims of collecting baseline data?

Answer 13

Assess the value of the baseline environment (e.g. regional or national importance).

Provide data to predict changes at receptors which the development might cause

Provide a baseline for future monitoring

Question 14

What is the general model for gathering baseline data?

Answer 14

Draw up limits to area: - of the development - of the potential impacts

Desk study

Field work: phase 1, phase 2 and phase 3.

Question 15

What are the limits to environmental impact?

Answer 15

The site
The immediate locality
Wider effects: National/ International/ Global

construction, operation and decommissioning phases should all be assessed

Question 16

Example 1: What was the Dibden Bay enquiry?

Answer 16

Associated British Ports submitted application to build a new container terminal. LOTS OF OPPOSITION.

Economic support:
National need for more container handling capacity
More jobs both during construction and operation
Increased efficiency
More money in local area

Environmental opposition: 
Threat to designated environmental areas 
Risk of oil spills 
Habitat loss
Visual impact on landscape 

Public enquiry 2001-2002, transport minister upheld the inspectors recommendation that the new container terminal should not go ahead.

Question 17

Example 2: what were the ‘site itself’ impacts of Heathrow T5?

Answer 17

Land take: conservation, impacts, hydrology and flooding to the local area

Locally: road improvements, employment, noise (local and on flight paths)

National: status of impacted conservation areas economy: local and national effects

International: Greenhouse emissions, trade benefits, tourism impacts

Question 18

How long and how much did the Heathrow terminal cost and take?

Answer 18

Construction took 6 years (2002-2008) for phase 1, with a further phase completed in 2011

Planning processes cost £63million over 14 years

included a 46 month public enquiry
Construction costs were 4.2 billion

Question 19

Why did the Heathrow T5 need to be developed?

Answer 19

Failure to build would cost the UK £600 million a year in exports through international trade.

Larger aeroplanes (airbus 380: sites 555 people) need bigger infrastructure- next generation of aircraft

Accommodating modern planes can reduce air and noise pollution while still increasing passenger numbers

• would mean more connecting flights- want to keep status of international hub

Question 20

What were the impacts of Heathrow T5

Answer 20

Traffic 
Noise
Air pollution 
Run off- flood risk 
Economy- jobs (60 contractors) 
Global impacts: climate change, trade

Question 21

Example 3: What are the site itself impacts of the Channel tunnel and rail link?

Answer 21

Site itself: major land take
Locally: difficulty finding an acceptable route (through Kent and London)
National
- short term: increase road traffic
- Long term: potential shift to freight on rail
International- improved trade with EU/ national security/ health risks/ migrants

Question 22

When undergoing a desk study for baseline data- who do you contact?

Answer 22

Statutory: 
Natural England
Environmental agency 
Local authorities 
Highways Agency 
Marine Management Organisation 

Non-statutory
RSPB
National Trust 
Local Chamber of commerce
Cyclists
Windsurfers
etc...

Question 23

What are sources of Data in a desk study?

Answer 23

Census
Population records
Employment data
Habitat map and databases (e.g. National Biodiversity Framework, Hampshire Biodiversity information centre)
Schedule of Ancient Monuments

Question 24

Example 4: what were the itself impacts of Ikea Southampton?

Answer 24

Land take of limited importance- brownfield site in urban area
Four storey building, 600 set restaurant, 891 space car park opposite leisure world

Question 25

What the Ikea impacts on immediate area

Answer 25

Construction:
noise, dust, odours, traffic infrastructure, landscape and heritage (medieval city walls Southampton).

Operation:
traffic increased by 15%- junction improvements- council requiring bus links to station, city centre and ferries

Land scape and heritage
Potential economic impacts on local businesses (e.g. John Lewis objected)

Impacts beyond the immediate area:
Traffic, in operation as far as regional motorways and interactions with docks operations and events- economic benefits (£55m pa turnover predicted, 500 jobs locally) but businesses across the region may be impacted.

Question 26

What are the principles of Field Data Collection?

Answer 26

Filling in the gaps (e.g. local traffic, air quality)
Checking existing data (e.g. habitat map- revisit (old map)

Appropriate design for data collection (e.g.)
rocky shore: random/ stratified
Social survey: age/ earnings/ user groups

Appropriate measurements
Water quality- Physical (turbidity), Chemical (dissolved oxygen), Biological (indicator species)

These need to be right as they will be scrutinised- methods may be developed in consultation with Statutory Consultees

How many samples to take? trade off between resources and quality.
How much detail? Generally just phase 1 required. Phase 2 species lists, phase 3 (counts of individual organisms).

Question 27

Why is establishing a significance a challenge?

Answer 27

1984 Glasson report identified 150 methods for predicting impacts

A significant impact is one where the predicted net impact of the activity will regardless of its size, exceed the normal variation in baseline conditions, as they are predicted to be if the proposals do not go ahead.

A measure of variation from the norm, not the importance of an impact.

• sensitivity of the receiving environment
• Magnitude of impact
• Frequency of impact
• Extent of impact
• timescale of impact

Question 28

What are the different approaches to analysing significance?

Answer 28

Matrices, MCDA, cost-benefit, economics, benchmark, ad hoc methods

Question 29

How do you assess the importance of ecological impacts?

Answer 29

Conservation status- international designations

Presence of valued, protected or rare species e.g. wading birds.

Question 30

How do you assess the importance of air quality impacts?

Answer 30

National policy, predicted pollutant levels relative to:
Air quality regulations 2000 (eg. NOx, SO2 and particulates, air quality management areas).
Additional reference to other guidelines (e.g. WHO).

Question 31

How do you assess the importance of an impact?

Answer 31

1) Values, sensitivity and quality of the environment which is likely to be impacted.
2) The extent (intensity, duration, magnitude, and geographic footprint) of the likely impacts.
3) The consequence of likely impacts or change
4) Resilience of the environment to cope with change
5) The resilience of the environment to cope with change
6) Level of confidence of the impacts predicted
7) Objects of the Act, Policies, guidelines, procedures and standards against which a proposal can be assessed
8) the public concern

Question 32

Who makes the decision whether the proposal is likely to have a significant impact?

Answer 32

Made using professional judgement and experience in the application of EIA.

Determination may take into account:
The presence of strategic planning policy framework
The extent to which other statutory decision-making processes meet the EPAs objectives and principles for the EIA.

Question 33

What was the impact of Primetower on Sand Lizards and Smooth Snakes?

Answer 33

Domestic housing (problem)

• Household pets
• Bikes- trampling
• Fires
• Children

The project redesigned- Scoping exercise:
Consultation able to modify before two much money spent by developers.

Win Win- situation for sand lizards/ snakes and developers.