Name Assessor or Approver Date

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1 T: +44 (0) F: +44 (0) E: MARINE SCOTLAND LICENSING OPERATIONS TEAM S (MS-LOT) ASSESSMENT OF THE PROJECT S IMPLICATIONS FOR DESIGNATED SPECIAL AREAS OF CONSERVATION ( SACS ) AND CANDIDATE SPECIAL AREAS OF CONSERVATION ( csacs ) IN VIEW OF THE SITES CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES. APPLICATIONS FOR MARINE LICENCES UNDER THE MARINE (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010 FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND CAPITAL DREDGE OF THE FISH FEED MILL AT KYLEAKIN, ISLE OF SKYE SITE DETAILS: KYLEAKIN, ISLE OF SKYE Name Assessor or Approver Date Rania Sermpezi Assessor 05/09/2017 Tracy McCollin Approver 06/09/2017 1

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Appropriate assessment ( AA ) conclusion Introduction Details of proposed operation Consultation Main issues raised during consultation Appropriate assessment of the implications for the site in view of the site s conservation objectives In-combination assessment MS-LOT conclusion Requirement for conditions Prior to the licensed works commencing During the works On completion of the works... 8 TABLE OF TABLES Table 1 Names of Natura sites affected and current status... 4 Table 2 European qualifying interests... 5 Table 3 Conservation objectives

3 MARINE SCOTLAND LICENSING OPERATIONS TEAM S (MS-LOT) ASSESSMENT OF THE PROJECT S IMPLICATIONS FOR DESIGNATED SPECIAL AREAS OF CONSERVATION ( SACS ) AND CANDIDATE SPECIAL AREAS OF CONSERVATION ( csacs ) IN VIEW OF THE SITES CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES. APPLICATIONS FOR MARINE LICENCES UNDER THE MARINE (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010 FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND CAPITAL DREDGE OF THE FISH FEED MILL AT KYLEAKIN, ISLE OF SKYE SECTION 1: BACKGROUND 1 Appropriate assessment ( AA ) conclusion 1.1 This appropriate assessment concludes that there will be no adverse effect on the site integrity of the Inner Hebrides and the Minches csac and there is no likely significant effect on the Lochs Duich, Long and Alsh SAC from the Kyleakin Fish Feed Mill development. 2 Introduction 2.1 The assessment has been undertaken by Marine Scotland - Licensing Operations Team ( MS-LOT ) and is required under Regulation 48 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations This AA is in accordance with Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora ( the Habitats Directive ). MS-LOT, as the 'competent authority' under the Regulations, has to be satisfied that the project will not cause an adverse effect to the integrity of any European site (special areas of conservation ( SACs ) or candidate special areas of conservation ( csac )) before any marine licences can be granted. 2.2 A detailed AA has been undertaken and Scottish Natural Heritage ( SNH ) has been consulted. 3 Details of proposed operation 3.1 The project consists of the extension of an existing pier, the construction of a temporary jetty, the placing of a long sea outfall pipe, capital dredging, and land reclamation. 3.2 The dredging area is 58,000m 2, with 190,000m 3 of sediment being removed. The works will be carried out by a backhoe dredger with a hopper barge unloading dredged material to the temporary jetty. The dredge material will then be stockpiled for future reuse including caissons, scour protection, etc., and no sea disposal will be undertaken. 4 Consultation 4.1 SNH were consulted on the marine licence applications on 02 June 2017 and their responses of 03 and 06 July 2017 identified the requirement for an AA. 5 Main issues raised during consultation 5.1 The Scottish Environment Protection Agency ( SEPA ) responded on 29 June 2017 identifying potential risks with the choice of emerging technology for the construction of the long sea outfall. SEPA did not object to the proposal, but instead 3

4 recommended that an options appraisal of the secondary treatment system is carried out to ensure that Environmental Quality Standards ( EQS ) can consistently be achieved with use of the proposed outfall, as they were unsure of the long-term success of the secondary treatment in processing effluent. Under the terms of the marine works licences and the decision notice granted for these, should the proposed methodology prove to be inadequate, then the licences will no longer be valid and a new application and consultation will be required. 5.2 SNH did not have an objection to the proposal in their responses of 03 and 06 July, or within the further clarification provided as part of their European Protected Species ( EPS ) licence application comments of 10 August SNH confirmed they had similar concerns to those of SEPA in terms of the success of the secondary treatment system, however these were with regards to impacts on the flame shell bed, which are considered as part of the MPA assessment. 5.3 They identified that the proposal is likely to have a significant effect on harbour porpoise within the Inner Hebrides and the Minches csac, but advised that as long as it is undertaken strictly in accordance with the proposed mitigation, then the proposal will not adversely affect the integrity of the site. This mitigation includes: Use of vibro-piling rather than impact piling as much as possible; Use of a soft start substitute technology; Compliance with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee ( JNCC ) 2010 piling protocol; Employment of the soft start substitute technology where gaps in piling works are expected to last more than ten minutes but less than one hour; Use of Marine Mammal Observers or Passive Acoustic Monitoring for 20 minutes in order to observe for marine mammals within a mitigation zone of 500m where gaps in piling works exceed one hour; Noisy activities occurring before the summer months; No piling to take place overnight between 20:00 and 07:30; Minimising the time spent piling; Consideration of undertaking dredging and piling works concurrently; and Conducting monitoring of the acoustic output from the piling works. SECTION 2: INFORMATION ON NATURA SITES 5.4 This section provides links to the Scottish Natural Heritage Interactive ( SNHi ) website where the background information on the sites being considered in this assessment is available. The qualifying interests for each site are listed as are the conservation objectives. Table 1 Names of Natura sites affected and current status Inner Hebrides and the Minches csac 4

5 Lochs Duich, Long and Alsh Reefs SAC Table 2 European qualifying interests Inner Hebrides and the Minches csac Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) Lochs Duich, Long and Alsh Reefs SAC Reefs Table 3 Conservation objectives Inner Hebrides and the Minches csac Note: Conservation objectives for this site have yet to be published. Therefore, generic conservation objectives have been used for this assessment in lieu of sitespecific ones. To avoid deterioration or significant disturbance of the qualifying species (harbour porpoise), thus ensuring that the integrity of the site is maintained and the site makes an appropriate contribution to achieving favourable conservation status for the qualifying interest. To ensure for the qualifying species that the following are maintained in the long term: Population of the species as viable component of the site. Distribution of the species within site. Distribution and extent of habitats supporting the species. Structure, function and supporting processes of habitats supporting the species. No significant disturbance of the species. Lochs Duich, Long and Alsh Reefs SAC To avoid deterioration of the qualifying habitat (Reefs), thus ensuring that the integrity of the site is maintained and the site makes an appropriate contribution to achieving favourable conservation status for the qualifying interest. To ensure for the qualifying habitat that the following are maintained in the long term: Extent of the habitat on site. Distribution of the habitat within the site. Structure and function of the habitat. Processes supporting the habitat. Distribution of typical species of the habitat. Viability of typical species as components of the habitat. No significant disturbance of typical species of the habitat. 5

6 SECTION 3: ASSESSMENT IN RELATION TO REGULATION 48 OF THE CONSERVATION (NATURAL HABITATS, &C.) REGULATIONS Is the operation directly connected with or necessary to conservation management of the site? The operation is not connected with or necessary to conservation management of the site. 5.6 Is the operation likely to have a significant effect on the qualifying interest? In their responses dated 03 and 06 July 2017, SNH advised that the proposal would have a likely significant effect on: Inner Hebrides and the Minches csac Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) The proposed works are likely to have a significant effect on harbour porpoise, due to the disturbance associated with underwater noise generated through construction, capital dredging and vessel movements. SNH advised that the proposal would have no likely significant effect on the Lochs Duich, Long and Alsh SAC and its reefs, and as such no further assessment has been undertaken in this document. MS-LOT agree with this advice and have used it to undertake an appropriate assessment for the site. 6 Appropriate assessment of the implications for the site in view of the site s conservation objectives. 6.1 According to SNH s advice, underwater noise generated through piling works for the pier extension, capital dredging works and increased vessel movements can cause disturbance to harbour porpoise, with mortality and auditory injury being avoided due to the use of JNCC s piling protocol. 6.2 Piling and capital dredging are expected to last around 5 months, which can be considered as temporary disturbance. 6.3 Harbour porpoise have been seen returning to the site of works at times when noise disturbance has temporarily ceased, which means that Marine Harvest s commitment to avoid piling after 20:00 and until 07:30 can be beneficial for harbour porpoise that may have been displaced and require to travel through Kyleakin at night. 6.4 SNH confirmed that should the mitigation measures included in the Environmental Statement ( ES ), supporting information and those proposed by SNH, are followed, there will be no adverse effect on the site integrity of the csac. MS-LOT concur with this conclusion and have added the mitigation measures as marine licence conditions, as per below. 7 In-combination assessment 7.1 An in-combination assessment to consider the cumulative effects of the Kyleakin project with other projects that have a marine licence and have been subject to an 6

7 AA with regards to the Inner Hebrides and the Minches csac, has been carried out. The assessment considered DP Marine Energy Limited s West Islay Tidal Energy Park South West of Islay 1 and Sgeir Mhor (Salmon) Limited s finfish farm installation in Uig Bay DP Marine Energy Limited West Islay Tidal Energy Park, South West of Islay 1 (Reference: 011/TIDE/DPSW1-2). The project involves the construction and operation of a tidal generating station, consisting of between 15 and 30 tidal energy convertors ( TEC ) and associated cabling located on the seabed within the array boundary making landfall at Kintra on Islay. The generating capacity of each TEC is between 1 and 2 MW. No start dates have been made available yet, as there is further design work that will need to be undertaken prior to works commencing. The AA for the West Islay project identified there would be no likely significant effect on harbour porpoise in the csac. Taking this into consideration along with the fact that there is no start date proposed for West Islay and that the Kyleakin works will be complete within 20 months, MS-LOT deem there will be no in-combination effects as a result of the Kyleakin and West Islay developments Sgeir Mhor (Salmon) Limited Finfish Farm Installation, Uig Bay(Reference: 05904). The project involves the installation of a finfish farm at Uig Bay and was given a marine licence on 12 October The AA for the finfish farm identified there would be no likely significant effect on harbour porpoise in the csac, which combined with the small size and short duration of the works would not lead to any in-combination effects. 8 MS-LOT conclusion 8.1 MS-LOT conclude that the fish feed proposal at Kyleakin will not adversely affect the site integrity of the Inner Hebrides and the Minches csac. SECTION 4: CONDITIONS 9 Requirement for conditions 9.1 The requirement for the below conditions is a result of Marine Harvest s commitments in the ES and supporting documentation, along with SNH s requirements for further mitigation to ensure the integrity of the Inner Hebrides and the Minches csac. 10 Prior to the licensed works commencing 10.1 Prior to commencement of the works, the licensee must appoint an Environmental Clerk of Works ( ECoW ) who must be on site during the licensed works, as determined by the Environmental Statement, and shall have authority to halt the works if necessary. 11 During the works 11.1 The licensee must ensure that the works are carried out in accordance with the approved CEMD of 28 September The licensee must use vibro-piling rather than impact piling as much as possible Piling works are not permitted between the hours of 8pm and 7.30am. 7

8 11.4 The licensee must ensure that all Marine Mammal Observers (MMO) utilised in respect of the piling works are trained, dedicated and experienced MMO as defined in the 2010 JNCC piling protocol The licensee must ensure that during hours of darkness or when visual observation is not possible due to weather conditions or sea state, a specialist sub-contractor fulfilling the role of the Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) operative is utilised in accordance with the 2010 JNCC piling protocol The licensee must ensure that prior to the commencement of piling works, the MMO or PAM operative carry out a pre-piling search as per the JNCC piling protocol for a minimum period of 20 minutes The licensee must ensure that a mitigation zone with a radius of 500 metres is employed by the MMO or PAM operative in accordance with the JNCC piling protocol The licensee must ensure that prior to commencement of piling works soft start substitute equipment is employed for a minimum period of 20 minutes The licensee must ensure that soft-start substitute equipment is employed to provide continuity of piling noise throughout any break in piling works which lasts more than ten minutes but less than one hour. The soft-start substitute equipment must be switched off when piling works recommence The licensee must ensure that, where gaps in piling works are expected to last more than one hour, the pre-piling search and soft start procedure (using soft start substitute equipment) is repeated prior to piling works recommencing as detailed in the JNCC piling protocol Noisy activities must occur before the summer in order to minimise disturbance to marine mammals The licensee must consider conducting dredging and piling at the same time to reduce the overall disturbance duration The licensee must conduct monitoring of the acoustic output from the piling works. 12 On completion of the works 12.1 No conditions. 8