Environmental impact assessment

NB Please be aware that legal statutes and guidance may be updated

1. The Harbour Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999 No. 3445) implement, for Great Britain, the European Council Directive 85/337/EEC (as amended by 97/11/EEC) on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. The Regulations, and therefore the need for an environmental impact assessment to be carried out, relate to a range of works in harbours that are defined within the Regulations and Directives. Works that are authorised by an Order made under the Harbours Act 1964 are included within the scope if the area of works exceeds 1 hectare, if any part of them is in a sensitive area (including Sites of Special Scientific Interest, World Heritage List properties, areas of outstanding natural beauty and sites designated under the Habitats Regulations), or if the Secretary of State so determines.

2. There are similar provisions for works to be authorised by an Order under the Transport and Works Act 1992.

3. Works that require the Secretary of State's consent under the Coast Protection Act 1949 or local legislation ("Tidal Works" provisions), or a licence from a harbour authority will also need to be assessed to see whether an environmental impact assessment is necessary.

4. Other works may require an environmental impact assessment if they are subject to a requirement for consent under other controls including planning, local Acts and Crown Estate fish farm licences.

5. The criteria that trigger an environmental impact assessment are set out in Annexes I and II to the 1985 Directive. Annex I lists development for which an environmental impact assessment is mandatory. The Annex II list gives the Secretary of State discretion to require an assessment if he considers that the project would be likely to have significant effects on the environment. The categories in the latter list include:

Annex 1
Inland waterways and ports for inland-waterway traffic which permit the passage of vessels of over 1,350 tonnes.
Trading ports, piers for loading and unloading connected to land and outside ports (excluding ferry piers) which can take vessels of over 1,350 tonnes.
Extraction of petroleum and natural gas for commercial purposes where the amount extracted exceeds 500 tonnes per day in the case of petroleum and 500,000 cubic metres per day in the case of gas.
Pipelines for the transport of gas, oil or chemicals with a diameter of more than 800 millimetres and a length of more than 40 kilometres.

Annex II
Description of development	Applicable thresholds and criteria
Intensive fish farming.	The installation resulting from the development is designed to produce more than 10 tonnes of dead weight fish per year.
Reclamation of land from the sea.	All development
Extraction of minerals by fluvial dredging	All development
Installations for the harnessing of wind energy for power generation (wind farms).	The development involves the installation of more than 2 turbines; or the hub height of any turbine or structure exceeds 15 metres
Construction of harbours and port installations including fishing harbours (unless included in Annex I).	The area of the works exceeds 1 hectare.
Inland-waterway construction not included in Annex I, canalisation and flood relief works	The area of the works exceeds 1 hectare.
Oil and gas pipeline installations (unless included in Annex I).	The area of the works exceeds 1 hectare; or, in the case of a gas pipeline, the installation has a design operating pressure exceeding 7 bar gauge
Coastal work to combat erosion and maritime works capable of altering the coast through the construction, for example, of dykes, moles, jetties and other sea defence works, excluding the maintenance and reconstruction of such works	All development
Marinas	The area of the enclosed water surface exceeds 1,000 square metres
Any change to or extension of development of a description listed in Annex I or in the preceding Annex II categories, where that development is already authorised, executed or in the process of being executed, and the change or extension may have significant adverse effects on the environment.	In relation to Annex II development listed in the preceding categories, the thresholds and criteria relevant to that type of development. In relation to Annex I development: Inland waterways and ports: the area of the works exceeds 1 hectare; Extraction of petroleum and natural gas: the area of the development exceeds 0.5 hectare; Pipelines: the area of the works exceeds 1 hectare; or, in the case of a gas pipeline, the installation has a design operating pressure exceeding 7 bar gauge

6. The Regulations provide a procedure for obtaining a prior opinion on the need for an environmental impact assessment - this is mandatory for harbour revision orders that authorise a project. If, after consulting with relevant bodies that have environmental responsibilities, the Secretary of State decides that an environmental impact assessment is necessary he will issue a formal opinion to the applicant which will include his views on the scope of the environmental statement that should accompany the application for consent. In addition the Directive stipulates ¹ certain requirements for the environmental statement which the consenting authority may request; these include:

A description of the project, its construction and the environmental impact of its subsequent operation;

An outline of the main alternatives considered and their environmental effects;

A description of the aspects of the environment likely to be affected by the project;

A description of the likely significant effects of the project on the environment, directly and indirectly;

A description of the measures to be taken to offset any adverse environmental effects;

A non-technical summary of the above information; and

An indication of any difficulties encountered in compiling the required information.

7. This environmental statement must then accompany the application for consent. It must be advertised and made available for public inspection and comment before a decision can be reached.

Environmental Action Plans

Environmental Impact Assessments often produce large reports which make various recommendations about work that needs to be undertaken to minimise environmental damage. In order to bring these recommendations in to a more practical document the Environment Agency have developed the idea of the Environment Action Plan which focuses on this work and sets out to help implementation. Guidelines to Environmental Action Plans are attached.

Compensation, Mitigation and Monitoring Agreements

A major development will often involve a number of environmental issues that span the development and subsequent routine management and operation of the development.

Compensation can involve creating new habitat to replace that was lost
Mitigation can involve a range of measures that seek to minimise the environmental impact of the development
Monitoring is a process which seeks to measure whether promised compensation and mitigation measures are being delivered.

Increasingly the delivery of compensation, mitigation and monitoring is being delivered with the help of formal agreements between the developers, managers and regulators. An example included is from the Port of Felixstowe.

Often developers will need to mitigate - lessen or minimise - the environmental effects of the development - the example of this mitigation and monitoring from Harwich Haven (Undertaken by Posford Haskoning) is a good example of this approach

Mitigation monitoring - Reporting

An example of the type of report produced by the ongoing monitoring of mitigation measures is included.

Environmental impact assessment

Environmental Action Plans

Compensation, Mitigation and Monitoring Agreements

Mitigation monitoring - Reporting

See also

Policy, guidance and research