Mark Shorrock CEO, Shire Oak Energy Ltd, Shire …€¦ · Mark Shorrock CEO, Shire Oak Energy Ltd,...

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Mark ShorrockCEO, Shire Oak Energy Ltd, Shire Oak Quarries Ltd, Tidal Lagoon Power Ltd

Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon

155,000 homes powered: c.90% of Swansea Bay’s

domestic use/ c.11% of Wales’ domestic use

Transportation of Rock Armour from Dean Quarry

1 barge=9000 tonnes=300 lorry loads

Dean Quarry Mineral Rights

Red=Quarry footprint, today and in future

Blue=Accompanying mineral rights

Kurt Larson Managing Director, Shire Oak Quarries Ltd

Background

• BSc Mining Engineering

• Director, Foster Yeoman (UK/USA independent) 1987-2006

• Principal, Result Consulting (International) 2006-present

• Over 30 years of experience in "coastal" quarry / rock armour operations in UK and Scandinavia

Dean Quarry Existing Consent NR/09/00504/ROMPS

UK and International PerspectiveGlensanda – Super Quarry

700 million tonnes (mt) of granite in reserves

Production capacity in excess of 7 million tonnes per annum (mtpa)

Other Quarries in UK

Torr Works Somerset: 200 mt, 5 mtpa

Whatley, Somerset: 200 mt, 3 mtpa

Mount sorrel, Leicestershire: 200 mt, 4mtpa

Cliffe Hill Leicestershire. 200Mt, 4 mtpa

Bardon Hill, Leicestershire, 200mt, 4 mtpa

Dean Quarry Extraction

Dean Quarry consented reserves 6.3 million tonnes

5 million tonnes of rock is needed for Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay

Ambition is for all the large rock armour to come from Dean Quarry - approx. 2.5 million tonnes

Blasting Once established, our intention is to carry out

blasting once or twice a week at a regular time

The time duration of the actual blast is less than 1.5 seconds

Specific methods of blasting to produce rock armour uses less explosive than in conventional quarrying

The danger zone will be within the quarry limits and last for a period of 30 minutes

Walkers on the Coastal Path will be asked to wait in safe public waiting areas on both sides of the quarry

Every effort will be made to publicise proposed quarry blasting times e.g. South West Coastal Path Association and online

Properties within 500m of the quarry will be monitored

In accordance with the current consent, best practicable means shall be employed for controlling dust emissions

Mitigation

Provision of efficient water spray bowser

Dust collection equipment on drilling rigs

Appropriate storage material

Temporary suspension of activities in poor meteorological conditions

Extraction Methodology

Following blasting the rock is sorted into grades for the lagoon breakwater structure

Haulage to stockpiles three grades above 1 tonne

Material less than 1 tonne and above 50 kg is processed in intermediate sizes

Material less than 50kg is crushed into ‘quarry run’ for the core of the breakwater

Transportation to Swansea Bay

Current consent outlines 24/7 loading

All trucks will be weighed prior to loading

Barge loading limit of 9,000 tonnes

Roll on roll off operation

Loading rate of 1,000 tonnes per hour

Loading time per barge approx 10 hours

Average 2-3 barges leaving Dean Quarry each week (20-30 hours loading per week)

Working with the community

Community Liaison

• We propose to establish a Community Liaison Group, attended by representatives of all local stakeholder groups

Communication of Blasting

• SW Coastal Path Association• Home owners• Safe public waiting areas

Community Benefits

• We need your input• Cornish Community Foundation• Funds linked to levels of extraction

We expect to create between 40 and 50 jobs

Quarry manager, foreman, shift supervisors, surveying, site accountant/ship agent, engineers, administration, financial manager, general labour, plant operations, dumper operations, truck operations, trammel and grizzly operators

Where possible, jobs will be offered to applicants with a Cornish postcode

First round interviews have been held - 12

Local Jobs

Ton Van Der Plas Senior Project Engineer, Tidal Lagoon Power Ltd

Why Dean Quarry? Planning consent until 2035

Recently operational quarry

Gabbro is suitable for use as an armour stone

Sufficient resource for more than one lagoon

Opportunity for a coastal quarry

A sustainable and long term solution for extraction of rock armour for future lagoons programmes

The Project

Factors that have informed the design:

The ability to deliver the amount of rock needed within the construction timetable of the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon

Existing jetty is not in a fit state of repair to be used

Ability to load at all states of the tide

Ability to load more than one barge at a time

Sensitivity of the marine environment and the necessity to avoid dredging

Protection from adverse weather conditions

Safe working conditions

Retaining public right of way and safety

Selected Design of The Project (14th Design Iteration)

Protection from most adverse weather conditions

Linkspan bridges to reduce jetty length and enable 24/7 loading

No dredging required

Footbridges to ensure the safety of walkers

Rock infrastructure will be sourced from quarry

Key Facts

Length of breakwater:535 metres

Volume of rock armour for jetties and breakwater: 89,000 tonnes

Volume of aggregate for jetties and breakwater: 335,000 tonnes

Sections of Jetties and Breakwater

Linkspanbridges

Gravity based dolphin piles and walkways

Footbridges

Need to be high enough to provide clearance to a loaded truck (6.2m to the underside)

Lighting At times loading will take

place during the night

Requirement for lighting for safe working practises

The lighting design ensures No upwards light

pollution

No excessive light spill from any luminaires installed

Classification also takes into account the effects of artificial lighting on wildlife such as bats, and the marine environment

Dean Quarry, Coastal processes assessment

Bill Cooper

30th January 2014

Content

Technical approach

Evidence base

Baseline understanding

Assessment of change

Summary

Technical approach

Coastal processes assessment undertaken by ABP Marine

Environmental Research Ltd

Specialist consultancy with over 50 years of experience

ABPmer deliver coastal process assessments for a range of

development types and scales around the UK, including;

marinas, jetties, ports, offshore wind farms, tidal lagoons, etc.

ABPmer led the in-depth review of evidence supporting the

recommended Marine Conservation Zones (MB0016), for

Defra.

Technical approach

Technical approach delivered according to relevant guidance

National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1) from

Department for Communities and Local Government

Marine Conservation Zone advice note from Natural

England and Joint Nature Conservation Council

Approach described in scoping and screening report

Evidence based + analytical assessment + expert views

Drawing from stakeholder comments

Evidence base

Evidence base is the combination of data, information and

technical understanding, including new local survey data;

Metocean survey Waves, water levels and flows

Geophysical survey Seabed levels and textures

Benthic survey For sediment sampling and particle size analysis

Study considers Dean Quarry in the context of the wider

coastal setting (regional scale) to help understand the detail of

the local area. E.g.

Exposure of coastline to waves and tides

Local influences from headlands

Study area inclusive of The Manacles Marine Conservation

Overview of siteWider area views

Overview of site

Wind data from Culdrose

Local area views

Overview of site

The Manacles

Local area views

Reproduced from data obtained

from Channel Coastal

Observatory

Overview of site

Coarse sands

Shallow rocks extending

headland influence

Shallow rock platform

Local area views

Overview of site

Coarse sands

Shallow rocks extending

headland influence

Shallow rock platform

Interpreted map of

seabed type

Yellow = sandy

Grey = rocky

Overview of site

Low levels of suspended sediment

Summer

<1 mg/l

Overview of site

Low levels of suspended sediment

Winter

2 to 4 mg/l

Overview of site

backscatter

water levels

and flows

Summary of baseline:

Clear coastal waters

Rocky seabed with coarse sands and gravels

Typically, moderate tidal flows which do not move coarse

sediments and limit suspended sediments

Limited supply of new sediments to area

Headlands shelter most waves, but easterly aspect still

exposed to long fetches

Large (and infrequent) easterly waves can stir local sediments

Seabed and coastline (beaches) respond to large waves

Consideration of change relative to baseline during for the

following phases of the development:

Construction

Operation

Decommissioning

Baseline will also show change in the future, irrespective of any

development, and in line with climate change influences

Construction

Short-term disturbances – maximum 16 weeks of marine works

Concern that material will be released into the water column

and disturbed from the seabed, leading to sediment plumes

Screening will mitigate fines from Gabbro quarry run removing

material less than 20 mm (equivalent to coarse gravel)

Natural sediments coarse so any disturbance will be short-lived

and material will quickly re-settle to seabed

Should fines in sediment be disturbed then they are limited to

being carried by a distance of around 126 m in axis of flow

Operation

The breakwater will modify local flows and provide additional

sheltering of the coast and beaches

Baseline flows already complicated by headlands and rocky

shoals, some local flow diversions expected and some calmer

areas created

Silting up of calmer areas unlikely as there is no sediments in

the water column to settle out

No change in water levels to change flood risk

Decommissioning (2035)

Various options for decommissioning

Leave in situ

Part removal (breakwater remains)

Full removal

Removal activities create similar levels of disturbance as

construction

Summary

Local area can be described as a coastal cell bounded

between Manacle Point and Lowland Point

Waves are the main process influencing the coast and

sediment movements

Breakwater will have an additive effect on existing flow patterns

and a local sheltering effect to waves

Sediment plumes from the site not considered to be significant

in any way, sources of sediment minimised, material generally

coarse and flow mechanism too weak to transport

No change in flood risk profile locally or further afield

Thank you for your attention

Bill Cooper

Dr Marc Hubble; Dr Rafael Pérez-Dominguez; Sheryl Davies

30th January 2015

Dean Quarry Project: Marine Ecology Assessment

APEM project experience

• Poole Harbour Masterplan development EIA

• Pembroke Dock underwater noise assessment

• Mersey Estuary Tidal Scheme Feasibility Study and EIA

• Severn Estuary Tidal Scheme SEA

• Hinkley Point C Nuclear New Build EIA

• Mersey Gateway EIA

• Lochboisdale Port and Harbour EIA

• Noss Head Directional Drilling Risk Assessment/CEMP

• Fylde Coast outfalls HRA

• Sandon Dock HRA

• BritNed cable landing benthic assessment

• Natural England species sensitivity assessments

• Marine Scotland Marine Protected Area assessments

• Natural England protected site Condition Assessments

Dean Quarry Development

• Construction of two new loading points- Two jetties- Two linkspan bridges- Dolphin piles

• Construction of breakwater- Main structure- Mooring piles

Marine Ecology Considerations

• Changes to species abundance and community composition

• Changes to habitat extent

• Species/habitats of conservation interest (protected by policy/legislation) e.g.

- Maerl- Pink sea fans- Basking shark and marine mammals

• Non-native invasive species

• The Manacles Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ)

• Species of commercial interest e.g. fisheries

Dean Quarry

Manacles Marine Conservation Zone

The Manacles MCZ

Manacles MCZ

• Designated November 2013- Broad-scale Habitats- Habitat and Species Features of

Conservation Importance (FOCI)

• MCZ managed by MMO and Cornwall IFCA

• Aim is healthy, sustainable and balanced use of marine resource

• MCZ assessment report completed

Features Area (km2)/No. of records

Conservation Objective

Broad-scale Habitat

Intertidal coarse sediment 0.03 Maintain

Moderate energy intertidal rock

0.04 Maintain

Subtidal sand 1 Maintain

Subtidal macrophyte dominated sediment

1 Recover

Moderate energy infralittoral rock

0.2 Maintain

Moderate energy circalittoral rock

0.2 Maintain

Habitat FOCI

Maerl beds 1 Recover

Species FOCI

Sea-fan anemone 3 Maintain

Spiny lobster 2 Recover

Stalked jellyfish 1 Maintain

Data for assessment

• Desk-based data review- Plankton- Fish and fisheries- Marine mammals- Basking shark

• Project-specific survey

- Intertidal species/habitat- Habitat mapping, quadrats, coring

- Subtidal species/habitat- Benthic grab sampling- Underwater video

Data for assessment

• Spatial coverage- within and outside footprint

• Design approved by MMO/NE

• Conducted July 2014

Marine ecology baseline

• Plankton- Wide range of taxa, potential for seasonal blooms

• Finfish and shellfish- Range of fish species with wider spawning/nursery

areas encompassing Dean Quarry site- Commercially fished species potentially present- Area protected by fishing byelaws- Potting crab and lobster- Recreational fishing (sea bass, mullet, pollack)

• Marine mammals- Most frequent: Harbour porpoise, common dolphin,

bottlenose dolphin (Cornwall inshore resident pod)

• Basking shark- Hotspot around Cornwall; peak numbers June/July

Marine ecology baseline

• Intertidal zone- Rocky boulders/cobbles: Sparse fauna (barnacles, algae)- Soft sediment: Barren, amphipod crustaceans, worms

- Two MCZ BSHs: ‘Intertidal coarse sediment’‘Moderate energy intertidal rock’

- No MCZ habitat/species FOCI recorded- No protected species recorded- Species recorded widespread in UK

• Subtidal zone- Mainly coarse sand and rock habitats- Sediments dominated by worms (mainly Mediomastus

fragilis). Rocky habitats mainly kelp, red seaweeds, sea urchins, starfish, sponges

- Two MCZ BSHs: ‘Moderate energy infralittoral rock’‘Subtidal macrophyte dominated sediment’

- No protected species recorded (incl. maerl, pink sea fans)- Species recorded widespread in UK

Environmental Assessment

what is the effect of this activity, at this place, at this time, carried out in this way, and how do we mitigate or compensate for any

effect identified?

Key aspects

• Pressure type & effect pathway• Sensitivity of ecological receptors

Resistance & resilience

• Exposure Intensity & duration

• Receptor importance (functional & structural)

Pressures & potential impacts

Construction I

• Physical disturbance/displacement- Movement of personnel and plant

- Levelling bottom substrate for dolphin piles- Rock placement for structures

Minor/No impact (plankton, benthos, finfish)

• Underwater noise and vibration- Rock and pile placement (gravity piles used)

- Vessel activityMinor/No impact (finfish, marine mammals)

• Collision risk with marine mammals- Vessel activity

Minor/No impact (marine mammals/basking shark)

Potential impacts

Construction II

• Changes to water quality- Re-suspension of potentially contaminated sediments

- Minor discharges from site dewatering and drainage only- Spillage of chemicals/contaminants

Embedded mitigation (discussed later)Minor/No impact (plankton, benthos, finfish)

• Lighting- Artificial lighting of jetty

Minor/No impact (plankton, finfish, marine mammals)

• Spread of INNS- Vessel activity

Embedded mitigation (discussed later)Minor impact (benthos)

Potential impacts

Operation I

• Underwater noise and vibration;Collision risk to marine mammals;Lighting;Spread of INNS

Embedded mitigation for INNS

Minor/No impact for each (all receptors)

• Change in hydrodynamics and sediment transport regime- Presence of jetties and breakwater

Minor impact (benthos) (based on findings of Coastal

Processes study)

Potential impacts

Operation II

• Habitat loss/creation (structure presence)

- Net gain in extent of MCZ BSH feature ‘Moderate

energy intertidal rock’ (approx. 24% of feature in MCZ);- Net reduction in extent of MCZ BSH feature ‘Moderate

energy infralittoral rock’ (approx. 3.1% of feature in MCZ)

- Net area reduction is within the range of data resolution to

estimate habitat area for MCZ designation (UKSeaMap 2010);

- Potentially within range of natural variation across years

• Offsetting

- Use of quarry rock; variable size/shapes/angles/

imperfections- Artificial reef effect; enhancement of habitat/biodiversity- Ongoing monitoring at project site + long term colonisation

study to help inform MCZ managementNo significant risk of hindering MCZ conservation objectives

Potential impacts

Decommissioning

• Various options

• Assessment not yet possible

• Combination of construction and operationimpacts

• Assessment will be undertaken prior to decommissioning occurring which will review the long term monitoring findings and the integration of the structures within The Manacles MCZ

Potential impacts

Mitigation/offsetting

• Changes to water quality- Implementation of CEMP and OEMP- Best practice management- Training to workforce

• Spread of non-native species- Implementation of CEMP and OEMP- No discharging of ballast water at site- Biosecurity assessments for vessels- Other measures in Biosecurity Risk Assessment

• Reduction of MCZ BSH Moderate energy infralittoral rock - Use of quarry rock; habitat enhancement- Ongoing monitoring and colonisation study

Summary

• Species/habitats characterised- Desk-based study- Project-specific Surveys

• Potential impacts assessed- Available data- Experience of similar projects- Outputs of other workstreams- Professional judgement

• Embedded mitigation/offsetting- Required for some impacts

• Residual impacts (after mitigation/offsetting)- All impacts Minor significance/No impact

00:04:56

Dean Quarry Breakwater and Jetties ProjectNOISE IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Ed ClarkeClarke Saunders Associates

SELECTED RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Corrib Gas Pipeline (major tunnelling project)airborne & underwater noise & vibration assessment, monitoring & controlCardiff Bay (canoe slalom course)underwater noise impactSwansea Bay (tidal lagoon)airborne & underwater noise & vibration impactsGolding Barn Quarry (South Downs National Park)noise & vibration assessmentsnumerous off-shore wind turbine projectsunderwater noise impact assessmentsWoodham Concrete Crushing (Surrey greenbelt)noise impact assessment & mitigation

Introduction

Issues•Construction

•Operation

•Combination

Conclusions

NOISE AND VIBRATION

00:04:40

Dean Quarry Breakwater and Jetties Project

• The operation of Dean Quarry is consented

• Breakwater and jetties require planning

• Both construction & operation (loading barges) at night is proposed

• The project needs to be considered on it ’s own merits, but also in combination with the operational quarry

• CSA was instructed to complete the noise and vibration impact assessments for the EIA

• The EIA involved detailed predictions of noise emissions during construction and operation

• Presentation provides an overview of the assessment and findings.

• Opportunity for questions after all the presentations.

INTRODUCTION

00:04:17

Construction• The breakwater and jetty construction is a relatively short term

project (approx. 4months), but disturbance needs to be minimised

• Work will need to be co-ordinated with tides, involving overnight working

Operation• Overnight working is also proposed for the material handling

operation at the jetties, exporting rock armour to the Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay project

Combination• With operation of the quarry to occur while the jetty and

breakwater structures are built, construction and operation need to be considered in combination with quarrying

ISSUES

00:04:59

• Daytime noise levels are predicted to comply comfortably with the lowest threshold levels in BS5228

• At night, however, noise levels at the nearest receptors are predicted to be just above the lowest night -time threshold

CONSTRUCTION

00:04:56

N o i s e E m i s s i o n s P r e d i c t i o n s w i t h o u t m i t i ga t i o n

DEA N Q UA R RY: JET TY & B R EAKWATER CON STRUC TION

00:04:21

N o i s e E m i s s i o n s P r e d i c t i o n s w i t h m i t i ga t i o n ( u s e o f q u i e t e r p l a n t a n d n o v i b r ato r y r o l l e r a t n i g h t )

DEA N Q UA R RY: JET TY & B R EAKWATER CON STRUC TION

00:04:16

• The operational phase is longer and subject to stricter controls

• Predicted noise levels are lower than for construction

• Mitigation by noise management plan, and pre-loading of barges to minimise noise from loading rock armour

OPERATION

00:04:56

• RoMP consent is in place for the quarry

• Cumulative noise impact needs to be considered

• Quarry noise modelled on real noise data

• Comfortable compliance for quarrying within the RoMP limits

• Cumulative impact doesn’t compromise the jetty and breakwater noise assessment

COMBINATION

00:04:56

• Potential for noise impact is greatest at night

• Although audible at times, the impact can be managed to minimum threshold levels

• Further mitigation will be adopted

• Possibility to remove source of disturbance from tonal alarms

CONCLUSIONS

00:04:56

Open Floor for Q&A

Mark Shorrock CEO, Shire Oak Energy Ltd, Shire …€¦ · Mark Shorrock CEO, Shire Oak Energy Ltd,...

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