Environmental Impact Assessment River Grudie Kinlochewe, Wester Ross Final Report June 2013 www.erm.com Delivering sustainable solutions in a more competitive world RWE Npower Renewables Limited (NRL) Environmental Impact Assessment Hydroelectric Scheme: River Grudie, Kinlochewe. June 2013 Reference 0131886 Prepared by: John Flannery For and on behalf of Environmental Resources Management Approved by: Bruce Davidson Signed: Position: Partner Date: 07 June 2013 Environmental Resources Management Limited Incorporated in the United Kingdom with registration number 1014622 Registered Office: 2nd Floor, Exchequer Crt, 33 St Mary Axe, London, EC3A 8AA CONTENTS NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION 1-1 1.1 ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT 1-1 1.2 THE RIVER GRUDIE HYDROELECTRIC SCHEME 1-1 1.3 APPROACH TO THE EIA 1-2 1.4 SCHEME DESIGN 1-10 1.5 THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT 1-11 2 PLANNING CONTEXT 2-1 2.1 INTRODUCTION 2-1 2.2 THE PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT 2-1 2.3 MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS 2-5 2.4 SUMMARY 2-6 3 SCHEME DESCRIPTION 3-1 3.1 INTRODUCTION 3-1 3.2 SITE DESCRIPTION 3-1 3.3 KEY COMPONENTS OF THE SCHEME 3-7 3.4 CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES 3-19 3.5 OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES 3-23 3.6 DECOMMISSIONING 3-28 4 ALTERNATIVES 4-1 4.1 INTRODUCTION 4-1 4.2 ALTERNATIVE RUN-OF-RIVER HYDROELECTRIC PROJECTS 4-1 4.3 ALTERNATIVE LOCATIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL SITE COMPONENTS 4-2 5 HYDROLOGY AND THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT 5-1 5.1 INTRODUCTION 5-1 5.2 LEGISLATION AND POLICY CONTEXT 5-1 5.3 ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY AND SIGNIFICANCE CRITERIA 5-4 5.4 CONSULTATION 5-6 5.5 BASELINE CONDITIONS 5-7 5.6 POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS 5-21 5.7 MITIGATION 5-31 5.8 ASSESSMENT OF RESIDUAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS 5-41 5.9 SUMMARY 5-44 6 TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY 6-1 6.1 INTRODUCTION 6-1 6.2 POLICY CONTEXT 6-1 6.3 ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY AND SIGNIFICANCE CRITERIA 6-4 6.4 BASELINE CONDITIONS 6-9 6.5 POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS 6-42 6.6 MITIGATION MEASURES & BEST PRACTICE 6-47 6.7 ENHANCEMENT MEASURES 6-50 6.8 RESIDUAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS 6-50 7 GEOLOGY AND GROUND CONDITIONS 7-1 7.1 INTRODUCTION 7-1 7.2 ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY AND SIGNIFICANCE CRITERIA 7-1 7.3 BASELINE CONDITIONS 7-2 7.4 POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS 7-3 7.5 MITIGATION MEASURES 7-5 7.6 RESIDUAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS 7-7 8 LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL 8-1 8.1 INTRODUCTION 8-1 8.2 LEGISLATION AND POLICY CONTEXT 8-1 8.3 ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY AND SIGNIFICANCE CRITERIA 8-4 8.4 CONSULTATION 8-12 8.5 BASELINE CONDITIONS 8-12 8.6 POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS 8-33 8.7 MITIGATION MEASURES 8-35 8.8 RESIDUAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS 8-38 8.9 CUMULATIVE IMPACTS 8-47 9 ARCHAEOLOGY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE 9-1 9.1 INTRODUCTION 9-1 9.2 LEGISLATION AND POLICY CONTEXT 9-1 9.3 ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY AND SIGNIFICANCE CRITERIA 9-3 9.4 CONSULTATION 9-9 9.5 BASELINE CONDITIONS 9-10 9.6 POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS 9-10 9.7 MITIGATION MEASURES 9-11 9.8 RESIDUAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS 9-11 9.9 REFERENCES 9-11 10 AIR QUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT 10-1 10.1 INTRODUCTION 10-1 10.2 ROAD TRAFFIC AND MOBILE PLANT 10-1 10.3 ASSESSMENT OF IMPACTS 10-2 10.4 MITIGATION MEASURES 10-4 10.5 RESIDUAL IMPACTS 10-4 10.6 REFERENCES 10-5 11 CARBON ASSESSMENT 11-1 11.1 INTRODUCTION 11-1 11.2 ASSESSMENT APPROACH - FACTORS INFLUENCING SOIL CARBON STOCKS 11-1 11.3 ASSESSMENT METHOD 11-3 11.4 RESULTS 11-5 11.5 PREDICTED IMPACTS 11-7 11.6 REFERENCES 11-8 12 TRAFFIC, TRANSPORT AND SITE ACCESS 12-1 12.1 INTRODUCTION 12-1 12.2 PREDICTED IMPACTS 12-10 12.3 MITIGATION 12-11 12.4 RESIDUAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS 12-12 13 LANDUSE, RECREATION AND SOCIO-ECONOMICS 13-1 13.1 INTRODUCTION 13-1 13.2 LEGISLATION AND POLICY CONTEXT 13-1 13.3 ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY AND SIGNIFICANCE CRITERIA 13-3 13.4 CONSULTATION 13-5 13.5 BASELINE CONDITIONS 13-7 13.6 POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS 13-10 13.7 MITIGATION MEASURES 13-13 13.8 RESIDUAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS 13-13 Annex A Scoping Report and Opinion Annex B Schedule of Mitigation Annex C Summary of Consultation Responses Annex D Geomorphology Information and Aquatic Ecology Annex E Supporting Ecological Information Annex F Landscape and Visual Baseline Data Annex G CAR Screening and Supporting Information Annex H Engineering Drawings River Grudie Hydroelectric Scheme NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION RWE Npower Renewables Ltd is planning to submit an application to Highland Council, to construct and operate a run-of-river (1) hydroelectric power development on the River Grudie, Kinlochewe, Wester Ross with a maximum output of about 2.0 megawatts (MW). Under The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 (as amended) consent is required from the planning authority, Highland Council, to construct and operate a hydroelectric generating scheme under 50 MW in capacity. A licence is also required from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) for authorisation under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (CAR) for certain activities associated with the proposed scheme. A CAR Licence Application for the scheme has been submitted to SEPA. The Environmental Statement (ES) has been prepared under The Environmental Impact Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 2011. Under these regulations, an Environmental Statement reporting the findings of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) must be submitted with the planning application and made available for public review and comment prior to a decision being made by the Council or relevant decision maker. This document is the Non Technical Summary (NTS) of the assessments conducted and the findings reported in the ES. Its purpose is to provide an overview, in non-technical language, of the following: • the project, including its design and the way it will be constructed and operated over the long term; and • its impacts on the environment. The ES and this NTS have been prepared by Environmental Resources Management (ERM) on behalf of RWE Npower Renewables Ltd. This NTS forms part of the ES and is also available as a separate document. Paper copies of the full ES are available, priced £100 each or £10 on CD (including VAT). Copies of the NTS are available free of charge. The NTS can also be viewed on the RWE Npower Renewables Ltd website at the link identified in the (1) Using the flow of the river with very little storage ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT RWE NPOWER RENEWABLES LTD 1 footnote(1). Requests for either document should be made to Environmental Resources Management at the address below: Environmental Resources Management Norloch House 36 King’s Stables Road Edinburgh EH1 2EU Tel – 0131 478 6000 Fax – 0131 656 5813 E-mail – [email protected] The planning application may also be inspected during normal working hours at the following address: Dingwall Service PointRoss House High Street Dingwall IV15 9RY The application can also be viewed online and comments or representations can be made at: www.highland.gov.uk/yourenvironment/planning/planningapplications/Vi eworcommentonaPlanningApplication.htm (1) http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/en/1839748/rwe-innogy/sites/hydroelectric-power-station/united-kingdom/sites- in-development/grudie/ ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT RWE NPOWER RENEWABLES LTD 2 9 ARCHAEOLOGY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE 9.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter considers the probable effects on cultural heritage of the scheme. The assessment has been undertaken by CFA Archaeology Ltd in accordance with the Institute for Archaeologists’ Code of Conduct (2010) and Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment (2008). The principal methods employed in the assessment comprised consultation with national and regional curators, archival and documentary research, and reconnaissance field survey. 9.2 LEGISLATION AND POLICY CONTEXT 9.2.1 Context Scotland’s historic environment contributes to the Scottish Government’s strategic objectives and to the target of improving the state of Scotland’s historic buildings, monuments and environment, and is identified as a national indicator and target under the National Performance Framework. The Scottish Historic Environment Policy (SHEP) (July 2009) sets out Scottish Minister’s policies for the historic environment, and provides a policy direction for Historic Scotland and a framework that informs the day-to-day work of a range of organisations that have a role and interest in managing Scotland’s historic environment. Through the implementation of the SHEP Scottish Ministers wish to achieve three outcomes for Scotland’s historic environment. • That the historic environment is cared for, protected and enhanced for the benefit of our own and future generations; • To secure greater economic benefits from the historic environment; and • That the people of Scotland and visitors to our country value, understand, and enjoy the historic environment. Cultural heritage resources include sites with statutory and non-statutory designations, as set out in Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) (2010). Sites with statutory designations include: • Scheduled Monuments. • Listed Buildings. • Conservation Areas. • Designated Wrecks. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT RWE NPOWER RENEWABLES LTD 9-1 Sites with non-statutory designations include: • World Heritage Sites. • Gardens and Designed Landscapes. • Historic Battlefields. • Other Historic Environment Interests. Cultural heritage resources relevant to the scheme and this assessment are undesignated historic environment interests. This is because there are no sites with statutory designations ie Scheduled Monuments, Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas, Designated Wrecks, World Heritage Sites, Garden or Designed Landscapes or Historic Battlefields in the near vicinity of the proposed development area that could either be directly affected or that could have their settings affected. 9.2.2 Sites with Non-Statutory Designations Other Historic Environment Interests There is a range of other non-designated archaeological sites, monuments and areas of historic interest, including battlefields, historic landscapes, other gardens and designed landscapes (non-Inventory), woodlands and routes such as drove roads that do not have statutory protection.