Dalgety Bay Remediation Works
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DALGETY BAY REMEDIATION WORKS Environmental Impact Assessment Volume 4 - Non-Technical Summary February 2017 Figure NTS1: Site Location with a range of stakeholders to develop a strategy to Project Background clean up the foreshore in order to reduce or control the During the First World War, the area surrounding the health and environmental risks associated with the Dalgety Bay foreshore was utilised by the Royal Naval Air contamination identified. Service as an airfield (Donibristle) which subsequently Significant work has been carried out to identify the most became a fleet aircraft repair depot. The area was then efficient solution to cleaning up the foreshore area. This used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a shore training has included the production of an ‘Options Appraisal’ base until 1939 when it was re-commissioned as HMS which considered four different approaches to managing Merlin, a Royal Navy shore establishment which included the radium, and a ‘Management Strategy’ which a major aircraft repair yard. The facility was eventually developed and tested these Options in order to decommissioned as a military establishment in 1959. recommend a preferred solution. Radioactivity was discovered on the beach at Dalgety The preferred solution recommended in the Management Bay during a routine baseline monitoring campaign Strategy has now been taken forward to the design phase related to the Rosyth Naval Base in June 1990. A limited and the associated physical works require both planning survey was then carried out which confirmed the consent (from Fife Council) and a marine licence (from presence of discrete sources of radium-226 (a radioactive Marine Scotland). Due to the scale and nature of the contaminant). development, an ‘Environmental Impact Potentially the radium-226 identified in the Dalgety Bay Assessment’ (EIA) has also been carried out and foreshore results from military instruments containing reported in an Environmental Statement (ES). luminescent paint which, in line with recognised practice This document provides a summary of the EIA process at the time, were incinerated with the resulting material and reports on the environmental effects which have buried on site. been identified. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) (a department of the Ministry of Defence) has been working 1 Other Sources of information In addition to the ES, a number of other documents have been prepared to accompany the planning and marine licence applications. These are summarised below and it is recommended that these are considered in conjunction with this document: ES Volume 1: Detailed reporting of the EIA which has been carried out. ES Volume 2: Supporting drawings. ES Volume 3: Technical appendices which support the EIA. Planning Statement: This Statement provides an explanation of the principles behind (and justification for) the Development and how it fits with the national, regional and local planning and marine policies. Design and Access Statement: This Report explains the design principles and concepts that have been applied to particular aspects of the Development and how access issues have been considered. Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) Report: This document summarises the engagement which has been carried out to inform the community and the other stakeholders of the progression of the project and identifies how outcomes and feedback have informed the design process. Coastal Processes Report: The Coastal Processes Report determines how likely the sediment transport processes, and therefore the type of sediment within the bay, will change as a result of the Development. The overall conclusion is that the Development will not adversely affect the sediment transport within Dalgety Bay. Park Bay North) are located in the Boatyard area. The Site The upper sand and gravel beach is typically 10- Dalgety Bay is located within Fife Council region, on the 15m wide with sand, mud and rock below. Above north shore of the Firth of Forth on the east coast of the beach there is some steeply sloping rock Scotland. The actual site where physical works will be armouring of approximately 1m in height. carried out (‘herein referred to as ‘the Site’) is identified in more detail in Figure NTS1. Area BN-Z (Boat Park Bay North Zone 1) is located on the landward strip at Boat Park Bay The landward element of the Site encompasses the North and covers an area of approximately 5m wide Dalgety Bay Sailing Club (DBSC), which comprises a by 35m long. The area comprises the unprotected number of buildings and structures including the club part (i.e. no rock armouring) of Area BN, north of house, a boat store and rescue-boat house. the reclaimed boat park. The DBSC has a single track vehicle access from an adjacent residential street, The Wynd which leads to car parking and a boat park. The Foreshore area includes two slipways and a jetty used by the club and an area used currently as a boat park. The Ross Plantation, primarily broadleaf woodland, is located to the north-west of the DBSC. Much of the Ross Plantation and trees around and beyond the Club House are protected and therefore will be maintained. The Site has been divided into five distinct Management Strategy Areas (MSAs) which all require varying remediation approaches to ensure an appropriate solution to addressing the contamination. These areas are summarised below: Area H (Headland) is located between the existing harbour wall and slipways. It is a moderately sloping gravel beach with isolated rock outcrops. Area S (Slipway) is located adjacent to DBSC. There are two existing concrete slipways at beach level and a raised stone jetty set within a moderately sloping gravely/sandy beach. Area BS (Boat Park Bay South) and BN (Boat Figure NTS2: Photographs of Dalgety Bay 2 Key aspects of the development are described below: The strategy for Area H is to replace the existing armour stone and extend the area covered by rock armour with the new Cover System, which consists of a geotextile membrane and protective rock armour to prevent release of radium materials. The Cover System will extend seaward from existing ground level, as is currently the case. At the western edge the Cover System will tie in with existing rock outcrops and at the eastern extent it will be retained against the new Slipway. The strategy for Area S is to remove the existing slipway and jetty structures then excavate the foreshore to remove contamination. It is anticipated that the existing slipways and jetty would be removed in two phases with a temporary jetty installed to allow DBSC to continue to operate while a new Slipway is constructed. The strategy Areas BN and BS is to replace the existing armour stone with a new Cover System and extend the area covered by rock armour as is the case in Area H. The strategy for Area BN-Z is to completely excavate contaminated material and replaced with non-contaminated material. The Development Scoping & Consultation The primary objective of the Development is to address health risks caused by potential exposure to contaminated Proactive engagement has been fundamental to objects. During the design phase, numerous options were addressing the health and environmental risks considered for each of the five MSA’s and each of these associated with the contamination at Dalgety Bay and options was assessed against a number of environmental ensuring the finalised solution is fit-for-purpose. and social criteria. Consultation has been undertaken with a range of interested parties including (but not limited to) formal It was concluded in the Management Strategy that the government bodies such as the Scottish Environment removal of higher activity particles and the installation of a Protection Agency (SEPA) and Scottish Natural ‘Cover System’ to prevent erosion and release of further Heritage (SNH), Fife Council and Marine Scotland, as contamination onto the foreshore was the most favourable well as landowners and the local community. An EIA option. ‘Scoping Report’ was prepared to share information with interested parties on the likely environmental As such, the physical works required to address the impacts and determine which environmental topics radium contamination (‘the Development’) primarily should be addressed in further detail. comprises of a cover system consisting of a robust, ‘geotextile’ held in place and protected by rocks. The Extensive consultation was carried out by Fife Council existing DBSC slipway and jetty structures will also be as part of the scoping process and a number of removed and replaced with a single slipways and jetty additional issues and opportunities were highlighted in structure (‘the Slipway’). the Scoping Opinion: a formal document issued by Fife Council in consultation with Marine Scotland as The majority of materials will be delivered by barge decision making authorities. (example below) to reduce the number of vehicle movements to the Site. Radioactive contaminants Through the scoping process, the following encountered during the construction works which exceed environmental issues were identified as requiring activity thresholds will be removed off site and disposed of assessment: under an appropriate waste licence as required by law. Landscape and Visual; Water; Nature Conservation; Ornithology (Bird Life); Traffic and Transport; Noise and Vibration; and, Coastal Processes These environmental topics have been considered in the EIA and are discussed further in the Environmental Statement. The only exception is Coastal Processes which has been assessed in a separate report which will be submitted in support of the planning and marine Figure NTS3: Construction Barge 3 licence applications (AECOM Coastal Processes Report, The EIA process aims to assist good decision-making February 2017). based on information about the potential environmental effects of the Development. The approach to assessing In addition to the above, two public exhibitions were held the significance of likely environmental effects considers in November 2016 to provide an opportunity for all a combination of the magnitude of the impact and the stakeholders to view the current status of the sensitivity of the receiving environment (receptor).