Abstract
The preceding, specialist chapters of this ES (Chapters 6 to 22) report assessments of potential impacts that the Project may have upon the receptors described in those chapters during the construction, operation and decommissioning phases. Where likely significant impacts were identified, mitigation measures and their methodologies have been proposed.
This Mitigation and Monitoring chapter provides a summary of those potential significant impacts that have been identified and the means by which they are to be addressed.
Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27th June 1985 (as amended) on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (the EIA Directive) describes the measures that Member States must take to ensure that the developer supplies all the necessary information. Article 5.2 of the EIA Directive states that the information a developer provides should include a description of the measures envisaged in order to avoid, reduce and, if possible, remedy significant adverse effects.
The Project has aimed since its inception to provide an opportunity for enhancement of the area’s natural resources and amenities, without compromising their inherent value. As such, many measures that might have needed consideration at a later stage in the development, as mitigation, have already been incorporated into the development’s design from the outset and as a result of an iterative process between the design team and the environmental assessment team.
For the purposes of this ES, mitigation is applied through three principal approaches:
- mitigation incorporated during the design phase;
- mitigation for the construction phase;
- mitigation through operational site management;
Furthermore, the project will incorporate measures that provide additional opportunities for wildlife and people. These are discussed under the heading of enhancement.
Monitoring is planned as an important method for evaluating the outcomes of mitigation and enhancement measures. Within the environmental assessment chapters, proposals for monitoring have been briefly described. To further define the monitoring proposals an Adaptive Environmental Monitoring Plan (AEMP) has been prepared and this is discussed further below and presented in Appendix 23.1.