Environmental Statement
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Environmental Statement Stand Alone Non Technical Summary August 2015 s rY ra X11. " . - _ x•- • ' \ } , 10.• y ti, - — ` r•' . fir. `- AIIV Prepared By: Arcus Consultancy Services 7th Floor 145 St. Vincent Street Glasgow G2 5JF T + 44 ( 0)141 221 9997 l E info@arcusconsulting. co.uk w www. arcusconsulting. co.uk Registered in England & Wales No. 5644976 Environmental Statement Non- Technical Summary Glen Noe Hydro Scheme TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 2 EIA PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY .............................................................................. 2 3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................ 2 4 ENERGY AND PLANNING POLICY ................................................................................. 3 5 HYDROLOGY AND HYDRO- GEOMORPHOLOGY ............................................................ 4 6 ECOLOGY ........................................................................................................................ 5 7 ORNITHOLOGY ............................................................................................................... 8 8 LANDSCAPE CHARACTER AND VISUAL ASSESSMENT ................................................. 9 9 SOCIO-ECONOMICS, RECREATION AND ACCESS ...................................................... 11 10 CULTURAL HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY ............................................................... 12 11 NOISE ........................................................................................................................... 13 12 TRANSPORTATION AND A CCESS ................................................................................ 14 FIGURES RWE Innogy UK Ltd Arcus Consultancy Services Ltd August 2015 Page i Environmental Statement Non- Technical Summary Glen Noe Hydro Scheme 1 INTRODUCTION This Non- Technical Summary ( NTS) forms part of the Environmental Statement ( ES) which accompanies the planning application submitted by RWE Innogy UK Ltd ( the Applicant) to Argyll and Bute Council, requesting planning permission to construct, operate and decommission the proposed Glen Noe Hydro Scheme ( the Development). The Development would have a generating capacity of up to 2 megawatts ( MW) and an average annual energy output of approximately 5 ,000 megawatt hours ( MWh). The main components of the Development consist of the following: Up to three intake structures for channelling water from the River Noe, the Allt Garbh tributary and the Allt a’ Bhrait tributary into a penstock ( buried pipeline); A penstock connecting the intake( s) to a power house; A powerhouse ( containing a turbine, generator and associated equipment); An outflow pipeline ( or tailrace) that returns water from the powerhouse to the River Noe. The Development is located on the Glen Noe Estate, near Loch Etive approximately 5 km north east of Taynuilt, within Argyll and Bute ( the Development site). The site location is shown in NTS Figure NTS1. The River Noe travels through the centre of a U -shaped valley in a westerly direction, before feeding into Loch Etive, located immediat ely west of the Development site. Throughout the Development site, the River Noe is met by several tributaries on both the northern and southern sides of the valley. The land adjacent to the River Noe, on both the northern and southern sides, is intersper sed with areas of variable tree cover and consists mainly of moorland. Within the Development site, Invernoe Farmstead and Glennoe Estate are existing residential properties which are accessed by an existing track which travels north from the UC30 Inveraw e Road, which connects to the A85 trunk road near Bridge of Awe, between Tyndrum and Connel. Immediately to the south of the Development site lies Ben Cruachan and several other notable hilltops including Meall Copagach, Meall Riaghain and Stob Dearg. Ben Cruachan houses an existing pump -storage hydro scheme which includes many tunnelled abstractions within the neighbouring catchments, including Glen Noe, and abstracts water from several tributaries which contribute to the River Noe and Allt Garbh. The ES provides information on the identification and assessment of potential significant environmental effects that may occur as a result of the Development. The potential effects as a result of the Development on the following list have been considered with in the ES: Hydrology and Hydro -geomorphology; Ecology; Ornithology; Landscape Character and Visual Assessment Socio -economics, Recreation and Access; Cultural Heritage and Archaeology; Noise; and Transportation and Access. Environmental effects have been studied systematically through an iterative process, the results of which are presented within the ES and summarised in this NTS. These documents inform readers of the nature of the Development, likely environmental effects and measures proposed as part of the Development to safeguard the environment. RWE Innogy UK Ltd Arcus Consultancy Services Ltd August 2015 Page 1 Environmental Statement Non -Technical Summary Glen Noe Hydro Scheme 2 EIA PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY Environmental Impact Assessment ( EIA) is the process undertaken to identify and evaluate the likely significant effects of a proposed development on the environment and to identify measures to mitigate or manage any significant adverse effects. The EIA carried out in relation to the Development has been undertaken by specialist environmental and technical consultants on the basis of project information supplied by the Applicant and following consultation with statutory consultees, other bodies and members of the public. The results and findings of the EIA are detailed in this ES. The purpose of identifying significant effects is to ensure decision makers are able to make an informed judgement on a proposal. Where one or more significant effects are identified, it does not automatically follow that a proposal should be refused. The ES has been prepared following a systematic approach to EIA and project design. The process of identifying environmental effects is both iterative and cyclical, running in tandem with the iterative design process. The key elements in EIA are: Scoping and ongoing consultation, including consideration of responses and how these should be addressed; Technical environmental assessments, including baseline studies, input to the desig n process and identification of potential significant environmental effects; Preparation of the ES; and Submission of the planning application and ES, including publicity of the submitted EIA findings. The aim of the scoping process is to identify key environmental issues at an early stage, to determine which elements of the Development are likely to result in significant effects on the environment and to establish the extent of survey and assessment required for the EIA. A Scoping Request for the Developme nt was issued to Argyll and Bute Council in July 2012, and a summary of the issues highlighted in the Scoping Responses. Argyll and Bute Council’ s Scoping Response was issued in May 2013. This included responses from statutory and non -statutory consultees. Environmental effects have been assessed to identify any effects that may be significant in the context of the EIA Regulations. Mitigation is proposed where possible to prevent significant effects. In accordance with the EIA Regulations, the assessment has considered ' cumulative effects', where applicable. 3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION The layout of the Development is shown on NTS Figure NTS2. The Development is a run -of-river hydroelectric scheme. Unlike storage schemes, the headworks for run- of-river schemes entail minimal water storage upstream of the weir and the output from the turbine is related to the flow of the river. The main components of the Development would comprise the following: Up to three low weirs ( less than 2 m high) that incorporate the inta ke structures from which water is removed into a pipeline ( penstock); A buried pipeline connecting the intake( s) to a powerhouse; A powerhouse ( containing the turbine, generator and associated equipment); An outflow pipeline ( or tailrace) that returns wat er from the powerhouse to the river; and A grid connection to the local electricity distribution network. Arcus Consultancy Services Ltd RWE Innogy UK Ltd Page 2 August 2015 Environmental Statement Non- Technical Summary Glen Noe Hydro Scheme The Development would also require site establishment and laydown areas and a small additional area for site reception, offices and car parking during construction. Operational access to the intakes will be via a ‘ green’ all-terrain vehicle ( ATV) track, rather than a permanent access track. Up to three intake weirs, creating small pools of water ( headponds) upstream, are proposed. The intake weirs wou ld be made of concrete. The corners would be smoothed and local materials ( rock, soil and vegetation) would be used to screen the wing walls to reduce their visual impact and to help integrate the weirs into the surroundings. Water would be collected from the three intakes to collection chambers, which would then transfer flows into a single pipeline leading to the powerhouse. The pipes would be made of plastic or metal and have a diameter of approximately 900 mm with a total length of about 2.8 km. The exact pipeline route would be determined following site investigation as part of the detailed