| Topic / Scope | Justification |
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| Opinion (paragraph 3.8, Appendix 4.2) but requested further justification of the approach. Further justification is set out in Chapter 7: Noise and Vibration. |
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| Landscape [Gower AONB] | The Gower AONB is physically remote from the Project Site, being 10 km away and visually separated from the Project Site by intervening topography, and views are diminished by distance. It has therefore been scoped out of the assessment due to the physical and visual separation and this is shown on Figure 11.8. |
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| Landscape [Brecon Beacons National Park] | The Brecon Beacons National Park lies over 15 km to the north of the Project Site and, due to the intervening distance, is both physically and visually separate. Both protected landscapes have been scoped out of the assessment due to the physical and visual separation. This approach has been agreed with the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority at the request of the SoS (paragraph 3.66, Appendix 4.3). |
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| Water Quality and Resources [Electrical or Gas Connections] | Effects on water quality and resources during operation and decommissioning of the Gas and Electrical Connections are unlikely to occur and have been scoped out of the chapter (Chapter 9: Water Quality and Resources). Ground levels along the route corridor of the Gas and Electrical Connections will be very similar to existing levels and any ongoing maintenance will be negligible, as described in Section 3.9. The impacts during the operation phase are therefore considered to be limited to the presence of the trench if it has different hydraulic properties to the surrounding natural ground. This can be mitigated through careful selection and placing of bedding and backfill material to try and match the natural ground as far as possible. Transport of pollutants associated with previous land uses is addressed in Chapter 10: Geology, Ground Conditions, and Hydrogeology. |
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| Water Quality and Resources [AGI] | The AGI will have a small footprint and the design will include appropriate SuDS measures for control and treatment of surface water runoff in accordance with the drainage strategy for the Project Site. There will be no effluent discharges for the Gas Connection. The Gas Connection lies north of the Generating Equipment Site where flood risks are low, and will be mitigated through raised ground levels where necessary. No comments were received at Scoping stage therefore this has been scoped out of the assessment. |
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| Carbon Capture Readiness | With a rated electrical output of less than 300MW, the Project will be below the threshold set out in Directive 2009/31/EC (as transposed by The Carbon Capture Readiness (Electricity Generating Stations) Regulations 2013) and NPS EN-1 and EN-2. Operators of combustion plants which are above this threshold are required to have assessed the feasibility of: a storage site, transport facilities and economic considerations of the capture of CO2 produced as a result of the combustion process. As a result it is not necessary to assess the viability of CO2 capture in this PEIR. |
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