North Western - Neagh Bann CFRAM Study Habitats Directive Assessment - Screening Report IBE0700Rp0015 rpsgroup.com/ireland Photographs of flooding on cover provided by Rivers Agency rpsgroup.com/ireland North Western – Neagh Bann CFRAM Study Flood Risk Management Measures Habitats Directive Assessment: Screening Document Control Sheet Client: The Office of Public Works Project Title: North Western – Neagh Bann CFRAM Study Document Title: North Western - Neagh Bann CFRAM Flood Risk Management Plan - Habitats Directive Assessment: Screening Document No: IBE0700Rp0015_NWNB_HDA_Screening_D01 Text Pages: 118pp Appendices: 2 No. Rev. Status Date Author(s) Reviewed By Approved By D01 Draft 20 th Nov. 2015 SM RB MM Copyright RPS Group Limited. All rights reserved. The report has been prepared for the exclusive use of our client and unless otherwise agreed in writing by RPS Group Limited no other party may use, make use of or rely on the contents of this report. 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No part of this report may be copied or reproduced, by any means, without the written permission of RPS Group Limited rpsgroup.com/ireland North Western – Neagh Bann CFRAM Study HDA Screening TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ................................................................................. 1 1.1 THE FLOODS DIRECTIVE ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 North Western – Neagh Bann Catchment-based Flood Risk and Management Study .................................... 1 1.2 LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT ..................................................................................................................... 2 2 APPROACH ....................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 GUIDANCE ..................................................................................................................................... 4 3 STAGE 1: SCREENING FOR APPROPRIATE ASSESSMENT ..................................................... 7 3.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAN ............................................................................................................... 7 3.1.1 The North Western - Neagh Bann CFRAM study and its associated FRMPs .................................................... 7 3.1.2 Site Location .................................................................................................................................................... 8 3.2 ELEMENTS OF THE FRMP S WITH POTENTIAL TO CAUSE ADVERSE IMPACTS ON EUROPEAN SITES ............... 13 3.3 RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER RELEVANT PLANS AND PROGRAMMES ........................................................ 14 3.4 EUROPEAN SITES .......................................................................................................................... 17 3.4.1 Initial Screening Exercise ............................................................................................................................... 17 3.5 SCREENING RESULTS FOR UOM01 .................................................................................................. 21 3.6 SCREENING RESULTS FOR UOM06 .................................................................................................. 32 3.7 SCREENING RESULTS FOR UOM36 .................................................................................................. 37 3.8 SCREENING CONCLUSION AND ST ATEMENT ....................................................................................... 44 4 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 46 5 GLOSSARY OF TERMS ..................................................................................................... 47 IBE0700_Rp0015 i North Western – Neagh Bann CFRAM Study HDA Screening LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Schematic of the stages of Habitats Directive Assessment ................................................. 5 Figure 3.1: North Western - Neagh Bann CFRAM Study Area and Associated Units of Management .. 9 Figure 3.2: Spatial Scales of AFAs in the NWNB CFRAM Study, FRMPs, SEAs and HDA ...................... 10 Figure 3.3: Interactions of the Plan and Environmental Assessments ................................................ 12 Figure 3.4: North Western –Neagh Bann Study Area, AFAs and European sites................................. 18 Figure 3.5: UoM01 European Sites subjected to Screening ................................................................. 21 Figure 3.6: UoM06 European Sites subjected to Screening ................................................................. 32 Figure 3.7: UoM36 European Sites subjected to Screening ................................................................. 37 LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: AFAs in the NWNB CFRAM Study ........................................................................................ 10 Table 3.2: Summary of Flood Risk Management Methods .................................................................. 13 Table 3.3: List of Other Plans and Projects with potential for in-Combination Effects ....................... 14 Table 3.4: European Sites screened for UoM01 .................................................................................. 22 Table 3.5: UoM01 AFAs to be included in Appropriate Assessment ................................................... 30 Table 3.6: European Sites screened for UoM06 .................................................................................. 33 Table 3.7: UoM06 AFAs to be included in Appropriate Assessment ................................................... 36 Table 3.8: European Sites screened for UoM36 .................................................................................. 38 Table 3.9: UoM36 AFAs to be included in Appropriate Assessment ................................................... 43 APPENDICES Appendix A - Summary of Flood Risk Management Methods and their High Level Impacts Appendix B - Screening of European Sites with Potential to be Impacted by the North Western – Neagh Bann CFRAM Study IBE0700_Rp0015 ii North Western – Neagh Bann CFRAM Study HDA Screening LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AA Appropriate Assessment AFA Area(s) for Further Assessment CFRAM Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management [Study] CJEU the Court of Justice of the European Union EC European Commission EIA Environmental Impact Assessment FRMP Flood Risk Management Plan DAHG Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht DARD Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (Northern Ireland) DECLG Department of Environment Community and Local Government DEHLG Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government EPA Environmental Protection Agency ERBD Eastern River Basin District FPM Freshwater Pearl Mussel FRA Flood Risk Assessment FRM Flood Risk Management FRMP Flood Risk Management Plan GIS Geographical Information System HA Hydrometric Area HDA Habitats Directive Assessment IRBD International River Basin District IROPI Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public Interest MCA Multi-Criteria Analysis NBIRBD Neagh Bann International River Basin District NHA Natural Heritage Area NIEA Northern Ireland Environment Agency NIS Natura Impact Statement NPWS National Parks and Wildlife Service NWIRBD North Western International River Basin District NWNB North Western – Neagh Bann IBE0700_Rp0015 iii North Western – Neagh Bann CFRAM Study HDA Screening OPW Office of Public Works PP Plan or Project RBD River Basin District RBMP River Basin Management Plan SAC Special Area of Conservation SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment SI Statutory Instrument SPA Special Protection Area SuDS Sustainable Drainage Systems UoM Unit of Management WFD Water Framework Directive IBE0700_Rp0015 iv North Western – Neagh Bann CFRAM Study HDA Screening 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 1.1 THE FLOODS DIRECTIVE The Floods Directive is being implemented in Ireland through the European Communities (Assessment and Management of Flood Risks) Regulations 2010 [S.I.122/2010], which appoints the Office of Public Works (OPW) as the Competent Authority for the Plans. The Statutory Instrument also identifies roles for other organisations; such as the Local Authorities, Waterways Ireland and ESB, to undertake certain duties with respect to flood risk within their existing areas of responsibility. In Ireland, the approach to implementing the Directive has focused on a National Flood Risk Assessment and Management programme. This was developed to meet the requirements of the Floods Directive, as well as to deliver on core components of the 2004 National Flood Policy. Pilot Catchment-based Flood Risk and Management (CFRAM) studies have been undertaken since