MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS, WORKS & LABOUR P O BOX 344, BRADES, MONTSERRAT, W I Tel: (664) 491-2521/2522 Fax: (664) 491-6659 E-mail:
[email protected] Draft Environmental Impact Assessment for Geothermal – Drilling of the 3rd Exploratory Production Well Prepared and Submitted by ATOM Solutions Incorporated If there are any comments, questions or suggestions they can be submitted in writing to
[email protected] Government of Montserrat Environment Impact Assessment For Geothermal – Drilling of the 3rd Exploratory Production Well Prepared and Submitted By November 2015 Executive Summary This EIA seeks to assess the Environmental and Social impacts of a suite of variables identified in the TOR and the Scoping Report. The assessment includes a baseline for each variable followed by a discussion on impacts on the physical, natural, human and social environments. However, since the drilling is taking place in an elevated area on St. George’s Hill, in Zone V, which was evacuated after the 1995 eruption and has remained a restricted area, there are limited human and environmental impacts expected from the drilling of MON-3. Most of the vegetation is secondary forest and scrub. No sensitive or endangered flora and fauna are at risk. The hillside vegetation was once covered in ash. The Belham Valley forms a low lying area north of St. George’s Hill. This has been heavily inundated with volcano muds left over from lahars. Importantly, the drill site was selected not only for its geothermal potential, but also because it’s elevated provides protection from lava flows which may arise from future eruptions.