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EIA and WFD for major infrastructure projectsSteve Anderton, Greg Whitfield and Mark Barnett
IAIA Symposium, Lincoln
1st Sept 2016
Presentation overview
► About us
► The Water Framework Directive in England and Wales
► WFD as a coherent framework for EIA of the water environment
► Application to nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs)
► The Amec Foster Wheeler approach to water EIA for NSIPs
► Application of the approach
► Concluding comments
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Amec Foster Wheeler and Water EIA
Key Sectors:
Technical areas:
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Waste
Hydrology and surface
water quality
Hydrogeology and
groundwater quality
Hydroecology Flood risk assessment
Richborough Connection
► a 20km new overhead line in Kent;
► Construction access with multiple watercourse crossings in low-lying area with dense drainage networks.
North West Coastal Connections
► ~140km of new OHL/underground cable in Cumbria/Lancashire;
► Crosses many major watercourses, some of which are very sensitive receptors (SACs); Morecambe Bay tunnel.
Moorside Nuclear Power Station
► Major construction project across main site and multiple, dispersed AD sites;
► Sensitive groundwater, surface freshwater and marine receptors;
► Operational phase abstractions and discharges, most notably associated with cooling water system.
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A selection of our NSIP projects…
“a comprehensive river basin management planning system to help protect and improve the ecological health of our rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal and groundwaters."
► River Basin Management Plans for large scale River Basin Districts (2nd cycle 2015)
► ‘Water Bodies’ are the basic units for assessment of current environmental quality, and for definition of future objectives
► Surface water bodies - ‘discrete and significant elements’ – rivers, canals, lakes, estuaries or coastal waters.
► Ecological and chemical status reported => overall status
► Artificial or heavily modified water bodies –ecological potential reported
► Groundwater bodies – ‘distinct volume within one or more aquifers’.
► Quantitative and chemical status reported.
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The WFD in the UK
► Water bodies are hydrologically
coherent geographical entities
covering all aspects of water
environment:
► Ideal basis for identification of
receptors for EIA
► Water body status provides a
holistic overview of the current
actual and predicted future state
of the water environment:
► Baseline overview
► Basis for assigning receptor
sensitivity
► Promotes consistency of
approach across large projects.
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WFD waterbodies and EIA
Assessment of effects against three classes
of water environment receptor:
1. Aquatic environment
WFD water bodies
Other protected water-dependent environments
2. Water resources
Surface water abstractions and their
associated catchments
Groundwater abstractions and their associated
aquifers
3. Flood risk
Property
Infrastructure
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Our approach to water EIA in a WFD framework
Infrastructure projects of strategic importance
at the national scale relating to energy,
transport, water, waste water and waste
(Planning Act 2008):
► Large spatial scale / spatially dispersed or
linear in nature;
► Major construction projects – potential for
significant construction-phase water
environment effects;
► Some types of NSIP (e.g. power stations; water
infrastructure) could have potentially significant
operational phase effects too.
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NSIPs and water EIA
► Standard source-pathway-receptor approach to identifying potential effects
► Standard matrix-based approach:significance of effect = receptor sensitivity x magnitude of change
► Waterbodies are standard unit for aquatic environment receptor identification
► Receptor sensitivity is then determined as a function of relevant elements of WFD status/potential (current or future predicted), taking into account presence of water-dependent protected areas.
► Magnitude of change acting on receptors is evaluated on the basis of potential for deterioration of WFD status/potential or achievement of objectives, taking into account the following factors: spatial scale of water body versus project activity; proximity of project activity to WFD ‘blue line’; duration and reversibility of effect.
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Assessment of effects within a WFD framework
► Compliance with WFD could be demonstrated via an ES that uses WFD as its basis for assessment of water environment effects;
► However, ESs are generally sub-divided into a number of discipline-based topics, which can make a coherent overall assessment of WFD compliance difficult to present.
► Also, assessment of issues that might prevent achievement of future WFD objectives difficult to evaluate in an EIA context.
► Hence the need for a standalone WFD compliance assessment.
► However, use of WFD as the basis for EIA facilitates production of the WFD compliance assessment and ensures consistency of approach and findings between both studies.
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EIA and WFD Compliance Assessments
► Large scale projects – greater potential for deterioration that could be
justified at the water body scale – greater potential for A4.7 – greater
potential for impacts on one water body that could cause deterioration
in another (A4.8).
► Potential for investment in improvement works to offset/compensate for
WFD deterioration?
► Different situation to smaller developments that cover one or, at
maximum, a handful of water bodies.
► Most NSIPs cover river, estuarine, coastal, lake and ground water
bodies. Complex assessments! Connectivity between water body types
to consider?
► Current regulatory guidance is not sufficient to deal with projects at this
scale. Expert judgement is required, both from developers and
regulators, and care/caution is needed given the DCO process which
means that WFD conclusions may need to be defended legally.
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NSIPs and WFD… A different picture
Concluding comments
► WFD offers a coherent and comprehensive framework for water EIA for
major infrastructure projects.
► Our approach has been developed on several NSIP projects and has
been looked on favourably by statutory consultees.
► Best-practice guidance on approach from regulatory or professional
bodies may be of benefit to all involved in DCO process.
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