Marine Environmental Conditions Update Report
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ISLANDMAGEE GAS STORAGE FACILITY Marine Environmental Conditions Update Report IBE1600/Rpt/01 Marine Environmental Conditions Update F02 9 December 2019 rpsgroup.com ISLANDMAGEE GAS STORAGE FACILITY Document status Version Purpose of document Authored by Reviewed by Approved by Review date D01 Marine Licencing DH MB AGB 29/10/2019 F01 Marine Licencing DH MB AGB 31/10/2019 F02 Marine Licencing DH MB AGB 09/12/2019 Approval for issue AGB 9 December 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 Infrastrata PLC Daniel Hogan BSc MSc CSci C.WEM MCIWEM John Wood Associate - Water Environment and Flood Risk Chief Executive Officer Management Elmwood House,74 Boucher Road, Belfast 200 Strand Road Co. Antrim BT12 6RZ London, WC2R 1DJ IBE1600/Rpt/01 | Marine Environmental Conditions Update | F02 | 9 December 2019 Page 2 rpsgroup.com ISLANDMAGEE GAS STORAGE FACILITY Contents 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 10 1.1 Context ......................................................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Islandmagee Gas Storage Facility ............................................................................................... 11 1.2.1 Project History ................................................................................................................ 11 1.2.2 Project Description .......................................................................................................... 12 2 ONSHORE CONSTRUCTION WORKS ................................................................................................ 16 2.1 Phase 1: Wellpad Construction and Confirmation Well Drilling ................................................... 16 2.1.1 Well Pad Construction (2013) ......................................................................................... 16 2.2 Confirmation Well ......................................................................................................................... 18 2.2.1 Analysis of the salt core / composition of brine .............................................................. 18 3 MARINE FEED DESIGN ........................................................................................................................ 20 3.1 Seawater Intake ........................................................................................................................... 20 3.1.1 Overview ......................................................................................................................... 20 3.1.2 Alternative Solutions ....................................................................................................... 20 3.1.3 Design ............................................................................................................................. 20 3.1.4 Construction .................................................................................................................... 21 3.2 Brine Outfall ................................................................................................................................. 21 3.2.1 Overview ......................................................................................................................... 21 3.2.2 Alternative Solutions ....................................................................................................... 22 3.2.3 Design ............................................................................................................................. 22 3.2.4 Construction .................................................................................................................... 22 4 SCOPING AND CONSULTATION ........................................................................................................ 24 4.1 Consultation ................................................................................................................................. 24 4.2 Scoping ........................................................................................................................................ 29 5 MODELLING THE BRINE DISCHARGE ............................................................................................... 30 6 ASSESSMENT OF UNDERWATER NOISE ......................................................................................... 31 6.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................... 31 6.2 Assessment Methodology ............................................................................................................ 33 6.2.1 Fundamentals of Underwater Noise ............................................................................... 33 6.2.2 Acoustic Metrics .............................................................................................................. 34 6.2.3 Underwater Noise Thresholds ........................................................................................ 35 6.3 Receiving environment ................................................................................................................. 38 6.3.1 Site Location ................................................................................................................... 38 6.3.2 Baseline Underwater Noise Measurements ................................................................... 38 6.3.3 Noise Monitoring ............................................................................................................. 38 6.3.4 Significance of the baseline noise levels ........................................................................ 40 6.3.5 Sensitivity of the Receiving Environment ....................................................................... 40 6.4 Construction Impacts ................................................................................................................... 40 6.4.1 Seawater Intake .............................................................................................................. 41 6.4.2 Brine Outfall .................................................................................................................... 41 6.5 Operational Impacts ..................................................................................................................... 41 6.5.1 Seawater intake .............................................................................................................. 41 6.5.2 Brine Outfall .................................................................................................................... 41 6.5.3 Shipping .......................................................................................................................... 41 6.5.4 Underwater Noise Impacts ............................................................................................. 42 6.6 Underwater noise model .............................................................................................................. 43 6.6.1 Underwater Noise Source Levels ................................................................................... 44 6.6.2 Noise Modelling Results ................................................................................................. 44 6.7 Cumulative Impacts ...................................................................................................................... 46 6.8 Remedial and Mitigation Measures .............................................................................................. 46 6.8.1 Mitigation Requirements ................................................................................................. 46 IBE1600/Rpt/01 | Marine Environmental Conditions Update | F02 | 9 December 2019 Page 3 rpsgroup.com ISLANDMAGEE GAS STORAGE FACILITY 6.8.2 Mitigation measures .......................................................................................................