Offshore Oil & Gas Licensing 28th Seaward Round Irish Sea and St George’s Channel Blocks 103/2, 103/3, 106/13, 106/14, 106/15, 106/18, 106/19, 106/20, 106/22, 106/23, 106/24, 106/26, 106/27, 106/28, 106/29, 107/11, 107/16, 110/12b, 110/13c, 110/13e, 110/14b, 110/15b, 110/17, 110/18b Habitats Regulations Assessment Stage 2 - Appropriate Assessment June 2015 © Crown copyright 2015 You may re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected]. Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at [email protected] This document is also available from our website at www.gov.uk/decc. Potential Award of Blocks in the 28th Licensing Round: Appropriate Assessment Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background and purpose .................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Irish Sea and St George’s Channel Blocks ......................................................................... 2 1.3 Relevant Natura 2000 sites ................................................................................................. 2 2 Licensing and activity .............................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Licensing ............................................................................................................................. 6 2.2 Activity ................................................................................................................................. 6 3 Appropriate assessment process .......................................................................................... 14 3.1 Process ............................................................................................................................. 14 3.2 Site integrity ...................................................................................................................... 16 3.3 Assessment of effects on site integrity .............................................................................. 16 4 Assessment of physical disturbance and drilling effects ....................................................... 18 4.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 18 4.2 Potential physical disturbance and drilling effects ............................................................. 18 4.3 Implications for site integrity of relevant sites .................................................................... 21 4.4 Mitigation ........................................................................................................................... 28 4.5 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 28 5 Assessment of underwater noise effects .............................................................................. 30 5.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 30 5.2 Underwater noise effects ................................................................................................... 30 5.3 Implications for site integrity of relevant sites .................................................................... 33 5.4 Mitigation ........................................................................................................................... 40 5.5 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 42 6 Assessment of accidental spill effects................................................................................... 43 6.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 43 6.2 Spill risk and potential ecological effects ........................................................................... 43 6.3 Implications for site integrity of relevant sites .................................................................... 50 6.4 Mitigation ........................................................................................................................... 67 i Potential Award of Blocks in the 28th Licensing Round: Appropriate Assessment 6.5 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 70 7 Cumulative and in-combination effects ................................................................................. 72 7.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 72 7.2 Sources of potential effect ................................................................................................. 72 7.3 Underwater noise .............................................................................................................. 76 7.4 Other potential in-combination effects ............................................................................... 79 7.5 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 80 8 Overall conclusion................................................................................................................. 82 9 References ........................................................................................................................... 83 Appendix A – The Sites................................................................................................................ 90 A1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 90 A2 Coastal and Marine Special Protection Areas ..................................................................... 90 A3 Coastal and Marine Special Areas of Conservation ............................................................ 98 A4 Offshore Special Areas of Conservation ........................................................................... 106 A5 Riverine Special Areas of Conservation ............................................................................ 106 A6 Ramsar sites ..................................................................................................................... 107 Appendix B – Re-screening tables for the identification of likely significant effects on the sites 109 B1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 109 B2 Coastal and marine Special Protection Areas ................................................................... 110 B3 Coastal and marine Special Areas of Conservation .......................................................... 123 B4 Riverine Special Areas of Conservation ............................................................................ 138 B5 Offshore Special Areas of Conservation ........................................................................... 141 Appendix C – Detailed information on sites where the potential for effects have been identified142 C1 Coastal and marine Special Protection Areas ................................................................... 142 C2 Special Areas of Conservation .......................................................................................... 161 ii Potential Award of Blocks in the 28th Licensing Round: Appropriate Assessment 1 Introduction 1.1 Background and purpose On 24th January 2014, the Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) invited applications for licences in the 28th Seaward Licensing Round. The licensing Round forms part of a plan/programme adopted by the Secretary of State following completion of the Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment (DECC 2011). Applications for Traditional Seaward, Frontier Seaward and Promote Licences covering over 360 blocks/part Blocks were received. To comply with obligations under the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Conservation of Habitats) Regulations 2001 (as amended), in summer 2014, the Secretary of State undertook a screening assessment to determine whether the award of any of the Blocks applied for would be likely to have a significant effect on a relevant site, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects (DECC 2014a). In doing so, the Department has applied the Habitats Directive test (elucidated by the European Court of Justice in the case of Waddenzee (Case C-127/02)) which test is1: Any plan or project not directly connected with or necessary to the management of the site is to be subject to an appropriate assessment of its implications for the site in view of the site’s conservation objectives if it cannot be excluded, on the basis of objective information, that it will have a significant effect on that site, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects. Where a plan or project not directly connected with