Abstract
Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay Plc (TLSB) is proposing the development of a tidal lagoon (the Project) in Swansea Bay, South Wales for the purpose of ge nerating electricity. This Adaptive Environmental Management Plan (AEMP) Revision 4 represents the fourth revision of the AEMP that was produced as Appendix 23.1 of the Environmental Statement (ES), to accompany TLSB’s application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the Project. The AEMP provides a framework for the monitoring and mitigation of effects of the Project. It is based upon:
- The baseline surveys and monitoring already completed and reported upon in the ES (TLSB, 2014) and those following its completion; and
- The surveys and monitoring planned as the Project progresses through the pre - construction, construction and operational phases in respect of potential effects identified during the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, the Habitats Regulation Asse ssment (HRA) and the Water Framework Directive (WFD) compliance assessment.
It should be noted that this AEMP will be updated as the Project progresses as a result of discussions between TLSB and other parties, particularly in light of the data emerging from the monitoring undertaken. This is seen as an essential part of the process to validate the findings of the extensive studies that have been undertaken to determine the potential effects of this novel renewable energy development. This accords with Policy set out on page 18 of the EC Guidance Note ‘The implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives in estuaries and coastal zones with particular attention to port development and dredging’ (2011) that: “Where uncertainties or lack of knowledge on physical, morphological or biological processes still exist, these should be minimized as far as possible by additional research; where uncertainty remains adaptive monitoring programmes should be foreseen. New evidence and scientific information should be fed back into the management plan and where necessary lead to an appropriate adaptation of the management measures and monitoring schemes.”
A distinction should be made between surveys (which are used to gather information) and monitoring (which is under taken in order to validate an assumption or review an effect against a target). Due to the long lifespan of the Project (up to 120 years or more), monitoring or surveys that are required during the decommissioning and post - decommissioning phases will be de veloped prior to the commencement of that process. This is secured by provisions in the DCO.
Any monitoring or surveys that are programmed to take place pre-construction or during construction and that will not be continued during the operation phase are covered within the Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP). The exception to this is the marine mammal monitoring during piling activity, because information from this The third revision of the AEMP was issued on 28 October 2014 with changes shown in green font. Principal changes to text between the third and fourth revisions are shown in Blue font . In this document, references to the "AEMP" are to this revision, unless the context requires otherwise . Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay plc Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon Adaptive Environmental Management Plan – Revision 4 Page 2 will inform future monitoring strategies. Therefore, excluding the above, a n umber of surveys and monitoring are not covered within the AEMP, e.g. unexploded ordnance, marine and terrestrial archaeology, land quality and hydrogeology (onshore site investigations). Note, with respect to marine archaeology, data from the bathymetric surveys immediately post - construction will be reviewed. This and other monitoring during the construction phase will be detailed in the Written Scheme of Investigation.
The AEMP will guide the monitoring of the effects of the Project at each stage of its progress. In the same way that results of the baseline surveys and monitoring carried out for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process have informed this document, so the results of pre-construction and construction-phase monitoring will provide up-to-date baseline data for operational - phase monitoring. During the lifespan of the Project, the AEMP will be updated, and it is for this reason that this is an adaptive plan (as noted previously). The document will continue to be updated and refined to give the best possible understanding of the Project’s environmental effects enabling mitigation to be adjusted, where necessary.