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PCS/125876
Gordon Brown
Energy Consents and Deployment Unit
Scottish Government
If telephoning ask for:
By email only to: econsentsadmin@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
16 May 2013
Angela Burke
Dear Mr Brown
Electricity Act 1989
The Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment)(Scotland) Regulations
2000
Section 36 Application (Addendum) for the proposed Renewable Energy Plant at the
Port of Dundee
Thank you for consulting SEPA on the addendum to the above application. This representation
relates to the additional air quality information contained in the Environmental Impact Assessment:
Addendum 2 which we received on 3 April 2013 from Forth Energy.
We have reviewed the further information and can confirm that our previous comments remain
applicable. We wish to carry forward the recommendations and conditions contained in our
previous consultation response dated 13 December 2010.
As such, we continue to have no objection to the principle of the development. However, if
Scottish Ministers are minded to grant Section 36 consent, we consider the conditions suggested
by us in Sections 7.3, 9.2, 10.1 and 10.2 of our letter dated 13 December 2010 to be
complementary to our regulatory control. We recommend that these conditions are attached to any
grant of consent.
As requested additional advice for Scottish Ministers (and the applicant) is provided in the attached
appendix.
If you have any queries relating to this letter, please contact the undersigned by telephone on
0131 273 7334 or by e-mail planning.se@sepa.org.uk.
Yours sincerely
Angela Burke
Senior Planning Officer
Planning Service
Ecopy: Michaela Sullivan – Forth Ports: michaela.sullivan@forthenergy.co.uk
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APPENDIX 1: ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Additional advice for Scottish Ministers
1.
Environmental regulation
1.1
The operation of the proposed development will be controlled by us under the Pollution
Prevention and Control (PPC) (Scotland) Regulations 2012. Based on the information
provided in the second addendum report we are satisfied that the development is
potentially capable of being authorised under this regime.
1.2
It should be noted that although the monitoring results from 2011/12 indicate that the
nitrogen dioxide emissions from the proposed plant are not predicted to cause an
exceedance in the air quality objective, that this assumption is still based on limited data
from a single year. As previously advised, there is still a risk that we may be unable to grant
a PPC Permit to enable the operation of the plant, if during the application or determination
process:
a)
b)
the air quality objective is not met; and/or
there is insufficient data to demonstrate that the air quality objectives will be met once
the renewable energy plant is operational.
1.3
Further air quality advice this is provided in Section 2.
1.4
It is important to note that at the Section 36 application stage, we are not seeking to
undertake a detailed assessment of the development in order to meet the regulatory
requirements. We do however, need to establish the acceptability of the development in
principle in terms of land use and ensure that we are able to achieve an acceptable level of
protection through regulation. Assuming that the air quality assumptions in the second
addendum report are accurate we are satisfied that this is achievable.
1.5
This position is given without prejudice to any decision made on elements of the proposal
regulated by us, which may take into account factors not considered at the Section 36
application stage.
2.
Potential impact on air quality
2.1
The comments in this section relate to the air quality assessment contained in addendum 2
to the Environmental Statement.
2.2
The second addendum report presents passive diffusion tube data and automatic
monitoring data for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) measured at the Stannergate Roundabout and
local area during 2011/12. The measured annual mean concentration at the façade of the
residential property on the Stannergate Roundabout was 36.8 µg.m-3. This is lower than the
EU limit value of 40 µg.m-3. The study has shown that the concentrations of nitrogen
dioxide did not exceed the annual mean or hourly air quality objectives and/or EU limit
values during this period.
2.3
The monitoring data has been used to model the predicted annual mean concentrations of
nitrogen dioxide in 2017 when the proposed plant is likely to become operational. The
assessment predicts that when operational (in 2017) the emissions of nitrogen dioxide and
sulphur dioxide from the renewable energy plan will not have a significant impact on local
air quality. We agree with the findings and are satisfied that the air quality modelling is
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reasonable and adequately justified. However, this is based on the assumption that
Dundee City Councils Air Quality Action Plan will be effective at reducing the ambient
concentrations of nitrogen dioxide.
2.4
To inform the determination of any future PPC application we therefore recommend that
the monitoring undertaken in 2011/12 is continued for a further 2 to 3 years. This will
help determine the effectiveness of the Councils Air Quality Action Plan in meeting the air
quality objective.
2.5
Although the assessment has concluded that the emissions from the proposed plant will not
have a significant impact on local air quality, it has shown that road traffic is the most
significant source of nitrogen dioxide and that the annual mean objective may be exceeded
at some roadside locations in 2017; even without the plant operational. This is
demonstrated in table 12 which shows that the predicted maximum (worst case) emissions
from the proposed plant will be small when compared to the contribution from road traffic.
2.6
In summary, assuming that the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide reduce as predicted, we
are satisfied that the predicted contribution of nitrogen dioxide from the proposed plant on
sensitive receptors is unlikely to lead to an exceedance of an air quality objective or
European limit value. We are therefore satisfied that the proposed plant is potentially
capable of being authorised under the PPC regime. We will undertake a further more
detailed assessment of the potential impacts on human health as part of the PPC
application.
Additional advice for the applicant
3.
Air quality assessment
3.1
Although we satisfied that the assessment methodology is reasonable, there is still a risk
that the air quality standards and EU limit values (particularly those relating to nitrogen
dioxide in the vicinity of the Stannergate roundabout) may not be met before the plant
becomes operational in 2017.
3.2
As explained in section 1.2, we may not be able to grant a PPC Permit to enable operation
of the plant if:
a)
the air quality objective is not met; and/or
b)
there is insufficient data to demonstrate that the air quality objectives will be met once
the renewable energy plant is operational.
3.3
To inform the determination of any future PPC application we therefore recommend that
you continue the programme of ambient air monitoring to demonstrate that the assumptions
and correction factors contained in the second addendum are valid.
3.4
The following detailed comments apply to the methodology and data presented in
the second addendum to the Environmental Statement
Impact on Local Air Quality
3.5
The Addendum 2 Report has shown that when operational, the emissions of nitrogen
dioxide and sulphur dioxide from the proposed plant will not have a significant impact on
local air quality. The conclusions are based on a dispersion modelling assessment and so
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there is a possibility that the actual concentrations might be slightly higher or lower than
those predicted. It is important to consider model uncertainty when assessing the model
predictions to account for physical processes and uncertainties which a Gaussian plume
model is unable to resolve. A factor of 2 is normally considered appropriate in most cases,
and therefore, the model predictions should be doubled to assess the risk in the case that
the model may have under predicted the concentrations. When applied to the proposed
plant Main Stack process contribution in Table 12, the maximum contribution of nitrogen
dioxide (NO2) is doubled to 1.0 µ.m-3 (DDC wind data) and 1.4 µg.m-3 in the case of
Leuchars wind data (Table 20). Even when doubled, the predicted increase is small,
particularly when compared to the contribution from road traffic.
3.6
The assessment has also applied the Janssen methodology (this considers the availability
of ozone that is necessary for creating NO2 from NO) because this is thought to be more
representative of the real life situation. I agree that this is likely to be more representative
of the real life scenario.
3.7
The assessment has assumed that the plant will operate 24-hours a day, 7-days a week,
365 days a year at 100% of the emission limit values that will have been set by SEPA to
protect human health and the environment, during the most unfavourable meteorological
conditions. This will generate data that are representative of worst case and unlikely to
occur in reality.
Meteorological Data
3.8
3.9
The use of appropriate meteorological data has been considered and the author has
decided that local data should be used. However, we note that Section 3.4.40 presents
the findings of a sensitivity assessment that has shown that the use of Leuchars
meteorological data predicts slightly higher maximum annual mean concentrations of
nitrogen dioxide.
Road Traffic
The assessment has concluded that the emissions from the proposed RTP will not have a
significant impact on local air quality, but it has shown that road traffic is the most
significant source of NO2 and that the annual mean objective may be exceeded at some
roadside locations in 2017, even without the biomass plant in-place.
3.10
Dundee City Council has designated an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) because
concentrations of nitrogen dioxide are exceeding the annual mean air quality objective and
EU limit value at several locations within the City. The Council has published an Action
Plan that contains measures to tackle the issue of poor air quality within the city’s Air
Quality Management Area (AQMA). SEPA will continue to monitor the progress of the
Action Plan.
3.11
Section 3.4.34 suggests that 13,000 people will experience a small increase in the
concentrations of NO2. It is important to note that this increase would be so small that it
would be difficult to measure and in the majority of cases, these people will live in locations
where the concentrations of NO2 are less than half the annual mean air quality objective
and limit value, therefore the air quality objectives and EU limit values for NO2 will not be
exceeded at the background locations.
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EPUK Guidance
3.12
The assessment has applied a methodology that was developed by Environmental
Protection UK (EPUK) and the Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM) that enables the
author to categorise the impact of changes in concentration (Sections 3.4.17 to 3.4.22).
Table 16 indicates that emissions from the proposed plant will lead mostly to imperceptible
increases in the annual mean concentrations of NO2, with negligible impact. A small
increase is predicted to occur at 7 locations, leading to a negligible or Slight Adverse
impact. This approach is generally accepted by air quality professionals.
SO2 Assessment
3.13
The SO2 assessment was undertaken to fulfil Condition 17. The assessment has shown
that the air quality objectives and limit values for sulphur dioxide will not be exceeded. I
agree with the findings of this assessment.
Heavy Metal, dioxin and furan
3.14
Two, one-month monitoring studies were undertaken to establish a baseline position and
see if the assumed concentrations in the original Environmental Statement are correct.
3.15
The report states that monitoring was undertaken in October and February “… when the
concentrations of these substances tend to be at their greatest…”. The assessment has
concluded “…it is apparent that the original baseline, drawn from the most recent
monitoring data at closest locations to Dundee are representative of the true picture…”.
This statement is based on a very small data set, but we acknowledge that the cost of longterm monitoring is very high.
Traffic
3.16
The conclusions of the monitoring study are based on a single year of monitoring data and
it is not clear how 2012 data compares with previous years (is the annual mean
concentration similar to previous years or was it lower or higher)? Also, Sections 2.4.52.4.7 consider road works that were in place between April and August 2012.
3.17
Monitoring has shown there was a reduction of 6.2 µg.m-3 (Table 6) between the roadside
passive diffusion tube (mounted on the lamppost) and the tube that is mounted on the side
of the house – a distance of about 3m (Table A1). The photograph below shows that
roadwork’s pushed passing traffic further away from the monitor (the green box in the
centre of the picture is the automatic monitor housing) increasing the distance between the
source and the monitor. It is not clear how this may have affected the annual mean
concentration that has been reported in this document. The road works and the closure of
the Stannergate Bridge, has introduced a degree of uncertainty at a location that is very
close the annual mean air quality objective threshold for nitrogen dioxide, therefore we
advise that this figure be viewed with caution.
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Road works at Stannergate (The green box in the centre of the photograph is the automatic monitor housing
Reference: Google Maps. 22 April 2013
3.18
End.
As previously stated whilst this assessment is representative of the environmental
conditions at the time of the monitoring study, it may not be representative of levels that
may exist in future years - particularly if the number of Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDV) exiting
the docks at the Stannergate junction were to increase. HDVs emit disproportionally high
levels of NO2 and a small increase in vehicle numbers could have a significant impact on
local air quality. Dispersion modelling cannot accurately predict the impact of a large
vehicle that is under-load and accelerating from a standing start, on a slight incline. This is
relevant in the case of the Stannergate roundabout, where vehicles leaving the port will
pass a residential property where the concentrations are already very close to the annual
mean threshold value.