concept EIA-rapport - Staatsolie

SRK Consulting: Project No: 439414 Staatsolie Pipeline EIA – Draft EIA Report Page 68
It is not expected that new employment will be created during the operations phase. Rather, existing
Staatsolie employees or contractors will assume the tasks of operating, monitoring and maintaining
the pipelines.
6.6 Potential impact: Disruptions to road and river traffic
Potential impacts of the pipeline project on transportation may result from the:
• Movement of construction vehicles;
• Limited restrictions imposed on river traffic during pipeline stringing; and
• Transport of construction materials, equipment and workers to and from the work sites.
Road traffic
Transportation infrastructure in Suriname and in the greater Paramaribo area is experiencing
increased demand and is characterised by a gradually deteriorating road network, although
initiatives to upgrade certain roads are being implemented. Walking and cycling are important modes
of transport in rural and urban areas, although few formalised facilities are provided for these. Given
the generally poor state of the transportation network combined with the high number of pedestrians,
mopeds and cyclists, road safety is a concern in the country and in comparison to other countries
there is a fairly high fatality rate.
The drill pads and other work areas will be accessed mainly via Sir Winston Churchill Road and the
local, unsurfaced road network. During the construction phase, some heavy vehicles will utilise the
local road network to access the site to deliver materials and equipment. No information is available
on the expected numbers of heavy construction vehicles that will service the sites, but traffic is
expected to be limited. Similarly the number of vehicles transporting the workforce will also be
limited.
As a result, the additional (local) traffic due to the pipeline construction is expected to be relatively
minimal, with low intensity impact on the local road network (congestion, community safety and road
deterioration). The impact would be localised and of short-term duration, as the level of construction
phase traffic would not be constant for the entire duration of the construction phase.
River traffic
The lower Suriname River is a major transportation route and provides shipping access to a number
of businesses located along the pipeline route. Other users of the river include commercial,
subsistence fishermen, cargo vessels, sand barges, tourism operators and passenger transport
providers. As such, a high number and variety of vessels utilise the Suriname River.
During the construction phase of the pipeline project, some material (e.g. sand) will be delivered by
barge to the drill pads. However, this is not expected to result in a noticeable increase in river traffic.
The drill rigs will be land-based. The pipeline strings will be laid out on the river before insertion into
the drill hole. This is likely to necessitate restrictions to river traffic along the section where the string
is laid out for approximately 3 to 4 days per HDD section. Jetties in the vicinity and small boat
operations may be impacted. Drilling activities will not impose other restrictions or have other
impacts on river traffic in the study area.
The potential impact of road and river traffic related to the construction phase of the project would
therefore be of medium intensity and of local extent and of short-term duration. It is therefore
assessed to be of very low (negative) significance. The implementation of the recommended
mitigation measures would reduce the intensity of the interference with and increased safety risks to
other road and river users, although the residual impact remains very low (negative) (see Table
6-10).
REUT/DALC 439414_StaatsoliePipelineEIA_Draft EIA Report_Final June 2012