Aug 26 - DPC Approves Environmental Impact Assessment Certificate For New Power Station
A meeting of the Development and Planning Commission (DPC) this morning approved the granting of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificate to the proposed development of a new power station at the North Mole. The approval is subject to certain conditions being met including the green light being given to an LNG storage facility and the use of advanced pollution mitigation technology.
Objections and submissions from residents of Waterport Terraces and the Environmental Safety Group (ESG) were advanced during a well-attended public meeting at the John Mackintosh Hall.
The EIA’s findings, contained in a highly technical 550-page report prepared by the environmental consultancy Engain Ltd. were also presented and discussed.
WATERPORT TERRACES
The only petitioner this morning was Mr Steven Barea who represented those residents of Waterport Terraces and “associated estates” who object to the location of a power station so close to their homes. So far, several hundred signatures have been collected in support of a petition opposing the proposed siting of the new power station.
Mr Barea said that residents were worried about air pollution and noise from the facility. He also noted that the planned LNG storage facility was not covered in the current EIA and that this was also causing residents concern.
ENGAIN RESPONSE
Two representatives for Engain Ltd, Nikki Wood (Managing Director and Environmental Project Manager) and Alex Newton (Senior Environmental Project Manager) flew in last night to attend this morning’s meeting.
Replying to Mr Barea, Ms Wood said that, based on the assessment’s findings, which had been checked by an independent legal team, the operation of the proposed power station would have “no significant effect on human health.”
She added that the models Engain had used catered for so-called “worst case scenarios” in which the new power station is in use together with an additional diesel-powered generator. Even then, she argued, emissions would be down compared to current levels.
“We’ve gone further than the guidelines,” she said.
She added that measures to mitigate any harmful emissions produced by the power station would ensure that the facility “would not operate above EU limit values for pollutants.”
Ms Wood also addressed concerns over noise pollution by saying that although the Waterport area was already very noisy, the EIA’s findings indicate that there will be a “significant reduction in noise levels once the new power station comes online.”
She noted that noise abatement measures were already incorporated into the design and highlighted that two major sources of current noise – the old power station and the temporary generators – would not be in use once the power station is fully operational in 2017.
Regarding the location and design of an LNG storage facility, Ms Wood explained that this project did not fall within the remit of the EIA under discussion but that any proposal would, as a matter of course, require its own separate technical assessment.
ESG CONCERNS
In response to the claim by the ESG’s Janet Howitt that the EIA had ignored or brushed aside residents’ concerns and anxieties, Ms Wood said: “This is a technical report. It is difficult to discuss individuals’ fears and anxieties…this is science.”
Town Planner and DPC Chairman, Paul Origo, added that consultation with residents did not form part of the standard information gathering which takes place while preparing an EIA.
Mrs Howitt also pressed the point that the current EIA did not consider the whole project including the proposed LNG storage facility. She argued that if future independent safety reports discover intolerable risks associated with any proposal, this would render the current document “invalid.” She urged the Government to ensure that only the best and most modern technology be used to mitigate any harmful effects on the environment and residential areas.
MINISTERIAL INPUT
The Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Joseph Garcia, said that the location of the new power station was always going to be a complex issue because of Gibraltar’s size limitations. He noted, however, that the proposed power station, which is to be built by French contractors Bouygues, would be located further away from residential areas than the current facilities.
The Minister for the Environment, Dr John Cortes, said that the new power station was a “crucial infrastructure project.”
“We are all fed up with power cuts, fed up with pollution and fed up with noise,” he said.
However, he expressed the Government’s commitment to make further improvements to the design to go “above and beyond EU regulations.” He also confirmed that a fresh EIA would be prepared once all the details, designs and safety reports for the LNG storage facility were ready.
He concluded: “The people who live in the area will not even remember that there’s a power station there.”
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