Sea Statement
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SEA STATEMENT FOR THE CARLOW COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2015-2021 STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT for: Carlow County Council Athy Road County Carlow by: CAAS Ltd. 2nd Floor, The Courtyard 25 Great Strand Street Dublin 1 JULY 2015 Includes Ordnance Survey Ireland data reproduced under OSi Licence Number 2014/21/CCMA/CarlowCountyCouncil. Unauthorised Reproduction infringes Ordnance Survey Ireland and Government of Ireland Copyright. © Ordnance Survey Ireland SEA Statement for the Carlow County Development Plan 2015-2021 Strategic Environmental Assessment Table of Contents Section 1 Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 Terms of Reference ..........................................................................................................1 1.2 SEA Definition .................................................................................................................. 1 1.3 Legislative Context ............................................................................................................1 1.4 Content of the SEA Statement ...........................................................................................1 1.5 Implications of SEA for the Plan .........................................................................................1 Section 2 How Environmental Considerations were integrated into the Plan........ 3 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Consultations ................................................................................................................... 3 2.3 Communication of environmental sensitivities ...................................................................... 3 2.4 Suggestions of Plan provisions to mitigate effects ................................................................ 4 Section 3 Environmental Report and Submissions & Observations ...................... 25 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 25 3.2 SEA Scoping Submissions ................................................................................................ 25 3.3 Submissions on the Environmental Report ........................................................................ 25 3.4 Environmental Report ..................................................................................................... 26 Section 4 Alternatives and the Plan ...................................................................... 27 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 27 4.2 Description of Alternatives ............................................................................................... 27 4.3 Summary of Evaluation of Alternatives.............................................................................. 28 Section 5 Monitoring Measures ............................................................................. 32 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 32 5.2 Indicators and Targets .................................................................................................... 32 5.3 Sources ......................................................................................................................... 32 5.4 Reporting ....................................................................................................................... 32 5.5 Thresholds ..................................................................................................................... 32 CAAS for Carlow County Council i SEA Statement for the Carlow County Development Plan 2015-2021 Strategic Environmental Assessment Section 1 Introduction 1.1 Terms of Reference Where SEA is undertaken, the Regulations require that a Statement available to the public This is the SEA Statement for the Carlow County and the competent environmental authorities Development Plan 2015-2021 Strategic after the making of a Development Plan. This Environmental Assessment (SEA). Statement is referred to as an SEA Statement1. 1.2 SEA Definition 1.4 Content of the SEA Statement SEA is a systematic process of predicting and evaluating the likely environmental effects of The SEA Statement is required to include implementing a plan, or other strategic action, information summarising: in order to ensure that these effects are appropriately addressed at the earliest a) how environmental considerations have appropriate stage of decision-making on a par been integrated into the Plan; with economic and social considerations. b) how the following have been taken into account during the preparation of the 1.3 Legislative Context Plan: the environmental report, Directive 2001/42/EC of the European submissions and observations made to Parliament and of the Council, of 27 June 2001, the planning authority on the Draft on the assessment of the effects of certain plans Plan and Environmental Report, and and programmes on the environment, referred any transboundary consultations [this to hereafter as the SEA Directive, introduced the is not relevant to this SEA] requirement that SEA be carried out on plans c) the reasons for choosing the Plan in the and programmes which are prepared for a light of the other reasonable alternatives number of sectors, including land use planning. dealt with; and d) the measures decided upon to monitor the The SEA Directive was transposed into Irish Law significant environmental effects of through the European Communities implementation of the Plan. (Environmental Assessment of Certain Plans and Programmes) Regulations 2004 (Statutory 1.5 Implications of SEA Instrument Number (SI No. 435 of 2004) and the Planning and Development (Strategic for the Plan Environmental Assessment) Regulations 2004 (SI No. 436 of 2004). Both sets of Regulations SEA has been undertaken and the findings of became operational on 21 July 2004. The the SEA are expressed in an Environmental Regulations have been amended by the Report, the first published version of which European Communities (Environmental accompanied the Draft Plan on public display. Assessment of Certain Plans and Programmes) The Environmental Report was updated in order (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI No. 200 of to take account of: 2011) and the Planning and Development (SEA) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI No. 201 of recommendations contained in 2011). submissions; and changes to the Draft Plan which were Article 7 of the Planning and Development made on foot of submissions. (Strategic Environmental Assessment) Regulations 2004 (SI No. 436 of 2004) as amended requires that Strategic Environmental 1 Assessment is undertaken for the preparation of Department of Environment, Heritage and Local certain Development Plans. Government (2004) Implementation of SEA Directive (2001/42/EC): Guidelines for Regional Authorities and Planning Authorities, Dublin: Government of Ireland. CAAS for Carlow County Council 1 SEA Statement for the Carlow County Development Plan 2015-2021 Strategic Environmental Assessment Members of the planning authority have taken into account the findings of all relevant SEA output during their consideration of the Draft Plan and before its adoption. CAAS for Carlow County Council 2 SEA Statement for the Carlow County Development Plan 2015-2021 Strategic Environmental Assessment Section 2 How Environmental Considerations were integrated into the Plan 2.1 Introduction 2.3 Communication of Environmental considerations were integrated environmental into the Plan through: sensitivities Consultations with environmental authorities; 2.3.1 Overview Communication of environmental sensitivities through the SEA and Environmental considerations were integrated associated Appropriate Assessment (AA) into the Draft Plan before it was placed on and Strategic Flood Risk Assessment public display. Environmental sensitivities were (SFRA) processes; and mapped in order to identify which areas of the Suggestions of Plan provisions to County would be most sensitive to development mitigate effects. and would suffer the most adverse effects if growth was to be accommodated in those areas unmitigated. 2.2 Consultations The sensitivities were communicated to the As environmental authorities identified under the Plan-making team on a regular basis from the Planning and Development (SEA) Regulations, outset of the Plan preparation process. as amended, the following authorities were sent Identifying areas with the most limited carrying SEA scoping notices indicating that submissions capacity within the Plan area helped future or observations in relation to the scope and level growth to be diverted away from these areas. of detail of the information to be included in the environmental report could be made to the Sensitivities included the following: Council: Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Communications, Energy and CORINE Land Cover Data; Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, SPAs, SACs, NHAs, pNHAs and Water Fisheries and Food, Department of the Management Units; Environment, Community and Local Proposed Natural Heritage Areas; Government, Department of Arts, Heritage and Freshwater Pearl Mussel Sensitive the Gaeltacht, Carlow Town Council, Kildare Areas; County Council, Kilkenny County