Yell-Unst 1&2 Environmental Supporting Information
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Yell - Unst Marine Licence Application Environmental Supporting Information Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution plc Assignment Number: A100487-S01 Document Number: A-100487-S01-REPT-001 Xodus Group Xodus House, 50 Huntly Street Aberdeen, UK, AB10 1RS T +44 (0)1224 628300 E [email protected] www.xodusgroup.com Environmental Supporting Information A100487-S01 Client: Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution plc Document Type: Report Document Number: A-100487-S01-REPT-001 A02 25/04/2018 Re-Issued for Use RP EH JH A01 20/04/2018 Issued for Use RP EH JH R01 11/04/2018 Issued for Review JH EH EH Checked Approved Client Rev Date Description Issued By By By Approval Yell - Unst Marine Licence Application – Environmental Supporting Information Assignment Number: A100487-S01 Document Number: A-100487-S01-REPT-001 ii CONTENTS ACRONYMS 6 1 INTRODUCTION 8 1.1 Introduction 8 1.2 Work completed to date 9 1.2.1 Marine surveys 9 1.3 Project description 13 1.3.1 Route Overview 13 1.3.2 Submarine cable installation 16 1.3.3 Intertidal cable installation 18 1.3.4 Vessels 19 1.3.5 Schedule 19 1.4 Consent requirements and relevant legislation 19 1.4.1 Marine Licence and supporting information requirements 19 1.4.2 Scottish National Marine Plan 20 1.4.3 Shetland Islands’ Marine Spatial Plan 22 1.5 Stakeholder consultation 23 1.6 Environmental assessment scope 24 2 ECOLOGICAL PROTECTED SITES 25 2.1 Introduction 25 2.2 Consultation 25 2.3 Internationally important sites 26 2.3.1 Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas (NCMPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) 26 2.3.2 Special Areas of Conservation (SPAs) and Ramsar sites 30 2.4 Nationally and locally important sites 30 2.5 Potential impacts 33 3 PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT (INCLUDING SEABED CONDITIONS) 35 3.1 Introduction 35 3.2 Legislation and policy context 35 3.3 Consultation 35 3.4 Physical environment description 35 3.5 Potential impacts 38 4 BENTHIC AND INTERTIDAL ECOLOGY 39 4.1 Introduction 39 4.2 Legislation and Policy Context 39 4.2.1 European Habitats Directive 39 4.2.2 Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 39 4.2.3 Biodiversity Action Plan (BAPs) 40 4.2.4 Shetland Islands Marine Spatial Plan 40 4.3 Consultation 40 4.4 Benthic and intertidal ecology description 40 4.4.1 Subtidal area 41 4.4.2 Intertidal areas 43 4.5 Potential impacts to benthic and intertidal ecology 46 Yell - Unst Marine Licence Application – Environmental Supporting Information Assignment Number: A100487-S01 Document Number: A-100487-S01-REPT-001 iii 4.5.1 Potential impacts during cable installation 46 4.5.2 Potential impacts during cable operation 49 4.5.3 Impact, management and mitigation summary 49 5 MAMMALS, FISH, BIRDS AND OTTERS 50 5.1 Introduction 50 5.2 Legislation and Policy Context 50 5.3 Consultation 50 5.4 Receptor description 50 5.4.1 Cetaceans 50 5.4.2 Pinnipeds 53 5.4.3 Otters 54 5.4.4 Fish ecology 54 5.4.5 Ornithology 57 5.5 Summary of potential impacts 59 6 MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY 61 6.1 Introduction 61 6.2 Legislation and policy context 61 6.2.1 International/ EU legislation and policy 61 6.2.2 UK legislation and policy 61 6.2.3 Scottish legislation and policy 62 6.2.4 Local planning policy 62 6.2.5 Codes of practice, professional guidance and standards documents 62 6.3 Consultation 63 6.4 Sources of information 63 6.4.1 Desk-based assessment 64 6.5 Assessment Methodology 64 6.5.1 Desk Based Assessment 65 6.5.2 Receptor evaluation 67 6.6 Site characterisation 68 6.6.1 Potential for submerged landscapes and prehistoric sites 68 6.6.2 Shipwrecks and aircraft wrecks 68 6.6.3 Unexploded ordinance (UXO) 71 6.7 Potential Impacts 71 6.7.1 Direct damage to or destruction of known marine historic environment assets and unexploded ordnance 71 6.7.2 Direct damage to or destruction of unknown marine historic environment assets including unexploded ordnance 71 6.7.3 Direct damage to or destruction of known and unknown marine historic environment assets and unexploded ordnance 72 6.7.4 Potential indirect damage to or destruction of known and unknown marine historic environment assets including unexploded ordnance 72 6.8 Mitigation 72 6.8.1 Mitigation by design 72 6.8.2 Mitigation during installation 73 6.8.3 Mitigation during operation 73 6.9 Residual Impacts 73 7 CONCLUSIONS 75 7.1 Key receptors 75 7.1.1 Ecological protected sites 75 7.1.2 Benthic and intertidal ecology 75 7.1.3 Marine mammals, fish, birds and otters 76 7.1.4 Marine archaeology 76 7.2 Residual impacts 76 7.3 Compliance with the NMP 76 Yell - Unst Marine Licence Application – Environmental Supporting Information Assignment Number: A100487-S01 Document Number: A-100487-S01-REPT-001 iv 8 REFERENCES 78 Yell - Unst Marine Licence Application – Environmental Supporting Information Assignment Number: A100487-S01 Document Number: A-100487-S01-REPT-001 v ACRONYMS AtoN Aid to navigation BAP Biodiversity Action Plan CAR Controlled activity regulation CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CIfA Chartered Institute for Archaeologists CLV Cable lay vessel CMS Convention for Migratory Species of Wild Animals DBA Desk-based assessment DECC Department of Energy and Climate Change DEFRA Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DSV Dive support vessel DTI Department of Trade and Industry ECoW Ecological Clerk of Works EIA Environmental impact assessment EMF Electromagnetic fields EPS European Protected Species ERM Environmental Resources Management Ltd. ESG Environmental Scientifics Group EU European Union EUNIS European Nature Information System FLMAP Fishing Liaison Mitigation Action Plan GES Good Environmental Status HMPA Historic Marine Protected Areas HVAC Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature JNCC Joint Nature Conservation Committee LDP Local Development Plan LNCS Local Nature Conservation Sites LSE Likely Significant Effects MHWS Mean High water Springs MLWS Mean Low water Springs MMO Marine Mammal Observer MMPP Marine Mammal Protection Plan MPA Marine Protected Area MSFD Marine Strategy Framework Directive Yell - Unst Marine Licence Application – Environmental Supporting Information Assignment Number: A100487-S01 Document Number: A-100487-S01-REPT-001 6 NAFC Natural Environment Research Council NBN National Biodiversity Network NCMPA Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area NMP Scottish National Marine Plan NMPI National Marine Plan Interactive NNR National Nature Reserve NRHE National Record of the Historic Environment OHL Overhead lines OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic PMF Priority Marine Feature pSPA proposed Special Protection Area ROV Remotely Operated Vehicle RPSB Royal Society for the Protection of Birds SAC Special Area of Conservation SAT Shetland Amenity Trust SCANS Small Cetaceans in the European Atlantic and North Sea SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment SHEPD Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution plc SIMSP Shetland Islands Marine Spatial Plan SMR Shetland Sites and Monuments Record SMRU Sea Mammal Research Unit SNH Scottish Natural Heritage SPA Special Protection Area SSSI Sites of Special Scientific Interest UK United Kingdom UKBAP United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan UKHO UK Hydrographic Office UNCLOS United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea UXO Unexploded Ordinance Yell - Unst Marine Licence Application – Environmental Supporting Information Assignment Number: A100487-S01 Document Number: A-100487-S01-REPT-001 7 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction In line with Part 4 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution plc (SHEPD) is submitting an application for a Marine Licence for the installation of two replacement 33kV submarine electricity cables (hereinafter referred to as the cable or cables) from Point of Grimsetter in Yell to Ness of Wadbister in Unst within the Shetland Isles – Yell – Unst North and Yell – Unst South (the ‘Project’). The purpose of this report and the separately produced Fishing Liaison Mitigation Action Plan (FLMAP) is to provide information on the proposed works for the cable installation and present the environmental information required in support of the Marine Licence application. The environmental supporting information has been based on publicly available information including that available through the National Marine Plan Interactive (NMPI) website platform and the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) website. As further information becomes available through additional marine surveys planned for May to June 2018, the potential impact of the proposed cable operations on environmental sensitivities will re-evaluated. The conclusion drawn from the environmental information available is that the proposed cable operations will not significantly impact the environment or protected features in the Project area. For specifically sensitive environmental receptors mitigation plans have been produced The existing 33 kV cables between Yell and Unst were installed in 1984 and 1989 and are nearing the end of their operational life. This has been verified through our existing asset records and following recent visual inspections by Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) on the cable. The replacement of these cables is essential to securing SHEPD power supplies to the island of Unst. The existing cable for replacement is shown in Figure 1.1. Figure 1.1 Existing cables for replacement Yell - Unst Marine Licence Application – Environmental Supporting Information Assignment Number: A100487-S01 Document Number: A-100487-S01-REPT-001 8 1.2 Work completed to date 1.2.1 Marine surveys SHEPD previously appointed a Contractor to conduct marine surveys along the proposed cable route and surveys were undertaken between September and October 2015. The main objectives of the marine surveys were to identify: Seabed conditions (e.g. sand, rock, mud) to optimise the proposed cable route (avoidance of rock outcrops) Potential geological constraints, such as dykes, rock pinnacles, sand waves, incised channels etc.