Mynydd y Gwair Wind Farm - RWE.com

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P a g e | 160 Mynydd y Gwair Wind Farm Construction of control building and substation compound at Blaen Gerdinen. Localised works of vegetation removal and excavation associated with widening existing metalled roads and or upgrading existing tracks or paths along the access route connecting the site to the A48 at Pontarddulais. Indirect Impact Sources 9.6.18 Possible indirect effects on habitats are essentially limited to temporary dust deposition or localised disruption to soil water levels affecting vegetation close to access tracks or construction areas together with the potential for watercourses and ditch systems to be affected by increased silt loads arising from areas disturbed by construction operations. Similar effects could also arise from any de-watering operations connected with excavations for piling and base-slab construction. In the long term, changes in vegetation could arise from alteration to substrate and other effects occasioned by the new track network and platform areas beneath turbines. 9.6.19 The principal secondary impact source for non-avian fauna relates to the potential for bats to collide with wind turbines. There is also the potential for the presence of turbines (and associated factors such as shadow flicker and any perceived change in the „openness‟ of the site) to lead to effective displacement of site use by higher fauna through avoidance behaviour. Construction Phase 9.6.20 The potential for significant effects on habitat resources from the siting of turbines, access roads and other wind farm components has been minimised by confining such features wherever possible to degraded examples of upland vegetation that are assessed as of value only on the immediate local scale. Even where affecting areas that might be considered to meet the definitions contained within the local Biodiversity Action Plans for heath, acid grassland and other habitats, the area of such habitats affected is small, both in absolute and relative terms. A proportion of this landtake is expected to be temporary, lasting only for the duration of the construction phase, and thereby giving rise to short-term impacts. Whilst the remainder is a long term impact, only reversing once the wind farm site has been decommissioned and restored, it is minor in magnitude and in the context of the limited value of the habitats, not of significance at anything above the immediate local (i.e. site-wide) scale. The integrity of the Pentwyn Mawr and Mynydd Psygodlyn proposed Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, if adopted, would not be compromised by the presence of the wind farm (confidence: certain). 9.6.21 Similarly, amendments to the design mean that areas of peat deposits greater than 300mm in depth are only affected in a handful of areas, and here they will be retained in-situ through use of „floating track‟ construction techniques. The total volume of peat excavated during the construction phase has therefore been restricted to approximately 20,000m3. As detailed in the Draft Construction Management Plan (Appendix 4.2) the entirety of this will be re-used in restoration on site. Because some loss of peat is likely to be inevitable as a consequence of this disruption, predicted impacts on this County value resource fall within the „moderate‟ category of magnitude. Confidence in this prediction is tempered by the possibility of such losses being compensated to some degree over the long term by recovery of peat forming processes in areas „re-wetted‟ (e.g. as a consequence of track alignments locally intercepting current erosion gullies) Because of such uncertainties as to the magnitude of any negative
P a g e | 161 Mynydd y Gwair Wind Farm effect over the long term, confidence in the impact predictions in terms of the peat resource is set at „probable‟. 9.6.22 Despite the restricted extent of the above-described habitat losses in comparison with the wider on-site and local resource, there remains the possibility, in the absence of applied mitigation, for impacts on fauna that are subject to legal protection. In respect of non-avian fauna, the access route alignment conflicts with an active badger sett and there is evidence of a diffuse population of relatively common but partly protected (from killing or injury) reptile species across at least parts of the upland area. In terms of the loss of available habitat for such species, there is no scope for impacts of anything above negligible magnitude in terms of local or wider populations, but the legal protection afforded to individual animals of these species requires that mitigation measures are taken, as detailed under „Mitigation‟ below. 9.6.23 Direct impacts from access improvements for construction (i.e. along the access route between Mynydd Garn Fach and the A48) have also been restricted to habitats of low (i.e. immediate local) value and in all cases the landtake is minor in magnitude and too small in extent to give rise to habitat loss impacts of significance at any higher than immediate local (i.e. site) level. However measures to ensure legal compliance are required in respect of one area where a narrow gap between trees with potential for bat roosting has to be negotiated by the access route within the area identified as segment 3.on Figure 9.1. Bats typically use tree structures on an intermittent basis, so the worst case has to be assumed even if there is no evidence of roosting at the time of the baseline surveys. It is therefore proposed to offset the loss of bat roosting opportunities at this location by the provision of bat boxes on retained trees regardless of the lack of any evidence of a bat roosting issue here. . 9.6.24 Control of emissions to air and water during construction, including potential runoff and pollution of watercourses, requires strict control for wider environmental as well as ecological reasons. These potential impacts, and the controls to minimise their risk, are described in Chapter 11 (Hydrology and Hydrogeology), and there is no need for mitigation over and above measures described there. 9.6.25 Certain habitats on and downstream of the site depend for their maintenance on the current water regime, including its pH. In particular, the use of calcareous stone in access tracks could give rise to indirect impacts. However, as set out in Chapter 4 Project Details and Construction the use of calcareous material will be avoided for supply reasons even before ecological and any other considerations are taken into account. Accordingly no significant impact is likely from this source. Operational Phase 9.6.26 During the operation of the wind farm the extent of habitat loss is expected to progressively reduce from that associated with the construction phase as a consequence of habitat recovery, in particular in areas used only on a temporary basis but also after re-instatement of soils (including peat) and associated vegetation along track shoulders and around turbines. Thus, there will be no additional direct impacts from land take on fauna or flora, post construction. 9.6.27 The potential for air or water pollution from emissions or disturbance from maintenance or repair operations would be subject to the same strict controls as during the construction period (see Chapter 4, Project Details and Construction).These should be adequate to avoid the risk of significant impacts to ecology. No further mitigation is required for such impacts.
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Page 3 and 4: P a g e | 131 shown on Figure 9.1.
Page 5 and 6: P a g e | 133 time, and at various
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Page 37 and 38: Impact Source P a g e | 165 Table 9
Page 39 and 40: Impact Source temporary landtake fo
Page 41 and 42: Impact Source Indirect effects (dus
Page 43 and 44: P a g e | 171 Operation Mynydd y Gw
Page 45 and 46: P a g e | 173 Cumulative Impacts My
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