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REVIEW OF CABLE INSTALLATION, PROTECTION, MITIGATION AND HABITAT RECOVERABILITY The Crown Estate EOR0744 Cable Installation, Protection, Mitigation and Habitat Recoverability Rev03 12 November 2019 rpsgroup.com REPORT Document status Version Purpose of document Authored by Reviewed by Approved by Review date A Prior D James Rev00 Draft N Simpson N Simpson 13/08/19 K Linnane A Crowther Rev01 Draft for client review K Linnane N Simpson N Simpson 20/08/19 Rev02 Draft for consultation K Linnane E Salter E Salter 17/09/19 K Linnane Rev03 Final following consultation N Simpson E Salter 12/11/19 D James Approval for issue N Simpson 12 November 2019 © Copyright RPS Group Plc. All rights reserved. The report has been prepared for the exclusive use of our client and unless otherwise agreed in writing by RPS Group Plc, any of its subsidiaries, or a related entity (collectively 'RPS'), no other party may use, make use of, or rely on the contents of this report. The report has been compiled using the resources agreed with the client and in accordance with the scope of work agreed with the client. No liability is accepted by RPS for any use of this report, other than the purpose for which it was prepared. The report does not account for any changes relating to the subject matter of the report, or any legislative or regulatory changes that have occurred since the report was produced and that may affect the report. RPS does not accept any responsibility or liability for loss whatsoever to any third party caused by, related to or arising out of any use or reliance on the report. RPS accepts no responsibility for any documents or information supplied to RPS by others and no legal liability arising from the use by others of opinions or data contained in this report. It is expressly stated that no independent verification of any documents or information supplied by others has been made. RPS has used reasonable skill, care and diligence in compiling this report and no warranty is provided as to the report’s accuracy. No part of this report may be copied or reproduced, by any means, without the prior written consent of RPS. Prepared by: Prepared for: RPS The Crown Estate Kevin Linnane Ed Salter Principal Marine Consultant Marine Consents Manager Unit 10, Beaufort Park, Riverside Court 1, St. James’s Market Chepstow, Monmouthshire NP16 5UH London, SW1Y 4AH T +44 (0) 1483 746 500 T +44 (0) 20 7851 5225 E [email protected] E [email protected] EOR0744 | Cable Installation, Protection, Mitigation and Habitat Recoverability | Rev03 | 12 November 2019 rpsgroup.com Page i REPORT Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... A 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background .................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Aims of the Project ......................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Steering Group ............................................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Structure of the Report ................................................................................................................... 4 1.5 Plan Level HRA and Marine Protected Areas ................................................................................ 4 2 CABLE INSTALLATION TECHNIQUES REVIEW .................................................................................. 5 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Route Selection .............................................................................................................................. 5 2.3 Installation Phases ......................................................................................................................... 6 2.4 Cable Installation Techniques ........................................................................................................ 8 2.5 Cable Protection ...........................................................................................................................12 3 EFFECTIVENESS OF CABLE INSTALLATION TECHNIQUES AND CABLE PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS ...................................................................................................................................15 3.1 Factors Affecting Cable Installation .............................................................................................15 3.2 Methodology – As-built Cable Burial Technique and Protection Review .....................................20 3.3 Assessment of Installation Effectiveness .....................................................................................23 3.4 Conclusions – Effectiveness of Cable Installation .......................................................................40 4 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND RECOVERY .................................................................................46 4.1 Background ..................................................................................................................................46 4.2 Methodology – Data Review ........................................................................................................46 4.3 Assessment of Environmental Effects of Cable Installation .........................................................47 4.4 Conclusions – Environmental Impacts and Recovery..................................................................56 5 RECOMMENDATIONS ..........................................................................................................................59 5.2 Effectiveness of Cable Installation Techniques ...........................................................................59 5.3 Environmental Effects of Cabling .................................................................................................61 6 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................62 APPENDIX A ....................................................................................................................................................64 APPENDIX B ....................................................................................................................................................65 APPENDIX C ....................................................................................................................................................66 APPENDIX D .................................................................................................................................................... 80 EOR0744 | Cable Installation, Protection, Mitigation and Habitat Recoverability | Rev03 | 12 November 2019 rpsgroup.com Page ii REPORT Tables Table 3.1: Indicative shear strength values and description (DNV, 2016). ......................................................18 Table 3.2: Indicative number of projects and completeness of information in total..........................................23 Table 3.3: Project information for each TCE Region (see Figure 1.1 for map of TCE Regions). ....................23 Table 3.4: Case Study groupings and TCE Regions (see Figure 3.2). ............................................................24 Table 3.5: Marine Bedrock Types for each of the TCE Region considered in this report. ...............................28 Table 3.6: Surface Sediment Types for each of the TCE Region considered in this report. ............................30 Table 3.7: Summary of Total Cable Installation Lengths per Installation Tool. ................................................31 Table 3.8: Summary Cable Protection Measures within each Case Study. .....................................................34 Table 3.9: Maximum Shear Strength values for each Case Study Area. .........................................................37 Figures Figure 1.1: Project Study area - TCE proposed regions to be included in Round 4 and those under further consideration (November 2018). ........................................................................................ 2 Figure 2.1: Cable laying process (DNV, 2016). .................................................................................................. 8 Figure 2.2: Indicative burial tool suitability in different ground conditions (DNV, 2016). .................................... 9 Figure 2.3: ROV jet trencher. (a) Principal components, (b) Cable lay operation (DNV, 2016). ......................10 Figure 2.4: Chain cutter. (a) Principal components, (b) Pre-lay rock cutting operations (DNV, 2016).............11 Figure 2.5: Subsea cable plough. (a) Principal components, (a) Cable lay operations (DNV, 2016). .............11 Figure 2.6: Protection of cable through burial. (a) Jetting/fluidisation, (b) Ploughing, (c) Mechanical cutting, (d) Open trench dredging (DNV, 2016). ..........................................................................13 Figure 2.7: Cable protection. (a) Tubular product, (b) Mattress, (c) Rock placement (DNV, 2016). ................13 Figure 3.1: Indicative tool penetration